WAY BACK WEDNESDAY!

THIS WAY BACK WEDNESDAY IS A TRIBUTE TO MY PARENTS! "ALL THAT I AM, OR HOPE TO BE, I OWE TO MY WONDERFUL PARENTS."

FAMILY HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE. I HAVE TWO WONDERFUL PARENTS THAT I CAN THANK FOR SETTING SUCH A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR ME. THEY TAUGHT ME THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY.

THEY SET SUCH A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF MARRAIGE FOR ME. THEY WERE MARRIED FOR 59 YEARS BEFORE MY FATHER RETURNED TO LIVE WITH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IN FEBRUARY OF 2003. THEY HAD A GREAT MARRIAGE, THEY LOVED EACH OTHER AND TOOK GOOD CARE OF EACH OTHER. NOW, THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE A SPAT NOW AND THEN OR FUSS AT EACH OTHER, BECAUSE LIKE ALL MARRIAGES THEY DID, FOR THEM, FUSSING AT EACH OTHER WAS THEIR "TERMS OF ENDEARMENT". HOWEVER, THEY ALSO KNEW HOW TO FORGIVE AND FORGET. THEY TAUGHT ME THE BALANCE OF NOT JUST MARRIAGE, BUT ALSO OF LIFE. THINGS WON'T ALWAYS GO PERFECTLY SMOOTH SO LEARN HOW TO RIDE OUT THE ROUGH WATERS. FOR THIS I WILL BE ETERNALY GREATFUL.

"LOVE IS NOT A MATTER OF COUNTING THE YEARS, IT'S A MATTER OF MAKING THE YEARS COUNT."

WHEN I LOOK BACK AT MY LIFE, MY GREATEST HAPPINESSES ARE FAMILY HAPPINESSES.

I HAD A WONDERFUL CHILDHOOD. I WAS RAISED IN AN ENVIROMENT OF LOVE, SECURITY, TRUE JOY AND FAMILY. MY PARENTS WERE GREAT PARENTS, I THINK THEY RAISED US IN AN ALMOST PERFECT WAY. WE WERE LOVED, WE KNEW WE WERE LOVED, THEY TAUGHT US COMPASSION, CHARITY, RESPECT, FORGIVENESS, SELF WORTH, PATIENCE, FUN, AND OF COURSE HUMOR. WE WERE TAUGHT TO APPRECIATE OTHERS DIFFERENCES, TO WORK HARD AND TO PLAY HARD, WE WERE TAUGHT VALUES AND MORALES, THEN GIVEN THE FREEDOM TO MAKE OUR OWN WAY IN LIFE MISTAKES AND ALL, ALWAYS KNOWING THEY WERE THERE TO HELP, WE ALWAYS HAD THEIR UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. THEY SUPPORTED US IN EVERYTHING WE DID, I KNEW THEY WERE ALWAYS THERE FOR ME. I ALWAYS FELT SAFE, SPECIAL, VALUED AND LOVED.

"FEELINGS OF WORTH CAN FLOURISH ONLY IN AN ATMOSPHERE WERE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES ARE APPRECIATED, MISTAKES ARE TOLERATED, COMMUNICATION IS OPEN, AND RULES ARE FLEXIBLE - THE KIND OF ATMOSPHERE THAT IS FOUND IN A NURTURING FAMILY."

OUR FAMILY WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE ALWAYS LIVED AROUND OUR GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT-GRANDPARENTS. WHO ALSO PLAYED A HUGE ROLE IN MY LIFE. THEY TOO WERE WONDERFUL EXAMPLES. I HAVE SUCH FOND MEMORIES OF GET TOGETHERS WITH GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS, UNCLES AND COUSINS, IT GAVE ME SUCH A SENSE OF FAMILY AND WHO I WAS AND WERE I CAME FROM. THERE WAS SUCH LOVE AND SUPPORT AND CRAZY FUN TIMES.

I AM SO TRULY THANKFUL FOR PARENTS WHO WERE SUCH GREAT ROLE MODELS. WHO TAUGHT BY EXAMPLE, THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY, OF LOVE FOR LIFE, WHO TAUGHT ME THE IMPORTANCE OF HOW TO MAKE MY OWN HAPPINESS IN LIFE, TO BE CONTENT, TO KNOW THE THINGS IN LIFE THAT TRULY MATTER. FAMILY.

THEY ARE EXEMPLARY PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT GRANDPARENTS. MY, OH, MY, HOW THEY LOVE EACH AND EVERYONE OF THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES. THEY DEDICATED THEIR LIVES TO THEIR FAMILIES. THEY HAVE THIS INNATE ABILITY TO MAKE EACH CHILD FEEL SO LOVED, UNIQUE AND SPECIAL. THEY MADE ME LOOK FORWARD TO BEING A PARENT AND A GRANDPARENT. (BOY, WERE THEY RIGHT, IT IS THE GREATEST)

I BELIEVE WITH MY WHOLE HEART AND SOUL, THAT THEIR EXAMPLE OF MARRIAGE, FAMILY, AND LIFE, IS WHAT SET SUCH A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR MYSELF AND MY BROTHER AND SISTER IN OUR OWN LIVES. THEY TAUGHT ME THE PASSION AND COMMITMENT I HAVE FOR LIFE AND FOR MY HUSBAND, CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, AND EXTENDED FAMILY. I SINCERELY HOPE THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE ATTRIBUTES I WILL BE ABLE TO PASS DOWN TO MY CHILDREN AND MY GRANDCHILDREN.

MY PARENTS LEFT ME SOME BIG SHOES TO FILL, I'M NOT SURE I WILL EVER MEASURE UP, BUT MAN AM I LOVING TRYING. I WILL SPEND MY LIFE TRYING TO LIVE UP TO THEIR EXAMPLES AND HONOR THEM AND ALL THAT THEY GAVE TO ME.

THANK YOU MOM AND DAD, IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO EXPRESS, HOW MUCH YOU TAUGHT ME AND HOW GREATFUL I AM TO BOTH OF YOU.

I LOVE YOU BOTH! THANK-YOU!

MOM THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUING SUPPORT AND LOVE,

(DAD, I REALLY MISS YOU)