Guess Who's Another Year Older....

Who is this beautiful young lady?

Delores!

She happens to be my mother.

The grandmother of my children.

Great grandmother of my grandchildren.

Today is her birthday.

Her story is a varied one.

She was born in Utah to a single mother back in the day when

that just wasn't supposed to happen.

Her birth mother gave her to Social Services and they placed her with a family as a newborn. Her new parents were in their 60's, her mom being a retired nurse.

Delores grew up in a loving family, she admits she was a bit wild at times!

The Giles family loved her as their own, including her in their eternal family.

Delores married at 18, to my dad. One of my favorite stories she tells is her dream of my dad before she met him. So when he came walking in, she knew who he was. He was in the Air Force so they moved around quite a bit. They lived in Utah, South Dakota, Japan, Philippines, Kansas, California, South Carolina, Alabama, back to Utah. They divorced when I was 8.

Mom made some tough choices for our family. One of the first I remember was moving back to Utah from Alabama. We had an old Dodge station wagon packed with 6 kids, dog, cat, and some of our stuff pulling a U-haul trailer. Needless to say, the car broke down a lot!

But she got us there...

She worked as a realtor most of her working career as well as having part-time jobs to see us through. She worked for many years in the Radiology Department at UVRMC in Provo, UT.

We (my older sister, Debbie, and I) brought Mom to Arizona 10 years ago. All I can say is, I'm so glad she's here! I'm grateful my children have a relationship with their grandma. That they have the opportunity to make memories with her every day.

When she was gone for a couple of weeks earlier this month, my younger children went crazy whenever they saw a plane overhead. They would yell: "Hi Grandma!" When she came home, Sam ran beyond the gate (big no-no!) to throw his arms around her knees. Even ATC...when he hugged her, he burst into tears. I'm so glad they love her~

So, Mom, thanks for all you do for me.

Thanks for loving my children.

Thanks for being someone I am proud of.

I love you , old lady!

Oh, and have an awesome birthday!