Add one more thank you!

Ok, now I think there is something going on. Amanda just called and asked if I had looked at Lisa and Greg's blog. I had not. so after we hung up I logged on and WOW, another beautiful entry from a wonderful niece/sister. Funny how it is hard to define just what we are, but love has no bounds so I chose sister. It is hard for me to even begin to think of all the memories I have because I was blessed to have Reed as a brother in law and Joy as my "sister". My life is so rich and I only wish and hope that Joy knows how much I have enjoyed her family and how honored I am to be with them. Life isn't always the way we hope it will be.
I met with my Uncle and Aunt Chet and Mary Zollinger this week to ask about my mom. I learned so much about the real "her". Not the person we say as children, but the woman who had won contests for sales of beauty products for the Charm company, who won a trip to the world fair because of her cooking, who managed a dance hall and was admired again for her friendly personality and her rare beauty of making anywhere she was a home. I learned too of the sadness in her life. I learned that her father really did not like her or appreciate her for the person she was. How she spent her life in such a lonely place not knowing how special she was and how she made the world better for just being her.
It made me aware of how selfish I was when I was young, oh yeah, she died when I was 24 and just learning about being a mom, but I did not honor her as a mother the way I should have, and did not realize the sacrifices she and dad made so that we could be a family. I did not realize how lonely she must have been, always wanting the approval of her father, and never receiving it. It has made me aware today of the need for us to express our love always to the people we care for, and to be able to "report" daily to our Heavenly Father of the blessings we have and the people who bless our lives.
I guess that is why the emails from Lisa and Syndea mean so much to me. What beautiful thoughts and feelings they have expressed. That whole family Aaron, Mike, Jon, Scott, Heidi are all part of my life in such a special way. I know for a fact that their lives have changed mine in so many ways and they have brought joy and laughter to me and mine. They too have been there for every special event in my life and I use them as an example of how to live my life.
Here is a special note to Joy: You will be so proud of your family Joy. They are what every mother would like a family to turn out like. They exemplify the love that you so wanted to share with them and could not. I now understand so much better about your life and how you must have felt after visiting with my Aunt. I want you to know that I will treasure these beautiful people as long as I am here on this earth and you will be remembered for all eternity for the sacrifices you made for them.
Thanks again girls, you made my day!