Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Where Do You Get Your Pants?

Last Fall, on our way to a Church Planters' Bootcamp we went by the airport to pick up our friend and Boot Camp presenter, Roger. On the ride to camp, Roger asked Brianna, then 11 years old, if she was coming to Boot Camp.

Brianna replied, "No, I am homeschooled this year so I am going to my grandma's for Home-Ec. See, I love to cook, do crafts, decorate, & sew, and my mom's not too good at that stuff. So I go to Gram's for that."

...and then she continued, "I get those pants from my Grandma."

With a puzzled look on his face, Roger pointed and asked, "Your grandma made those pants?"

"No," Brianna replied and continued a little more emphatically, "I get those pants from my grandma!"


Then it hit me. "GENES (jeans) Roger, she gets those GENES from her grandma!"

And truly, those jeans, I mean, genes, skipped a generation...right over my head! As you
can see, my mom, grandma, and daughter in the kitchen

preparing Mother's Day Dinner...and my hubby grilled. I am taking pictures!!!! I DID cut up the Watermelon and made them all a nervous wreck thinking I was going to cut off my finger!

I am BLESSED to have the heritage the LORD gave to me. I may not have received the cooking, sewing, and craft pants of my mom and
grandma, but they gave me something FAR greater...a LOVE for JESUS.

If I could get any 'pants' from my mom, I am thankful I inherited those. She taught me to be faithful to the house of the LORD...the importance of prayer and faith and the WORD. I am striving for other qualities I LOVE about my MOM. The gracious hostess, compassionate one, and GIVES AND GIVES in more ways than you can imagine...So Positive and always tries to see the best in everyone...continually putting others before herself...my best girlfriend! She is the BEST grandma...LOVES keeping the grandkids ...teaching Brianna the domestic side of life...watching and listening to Weston play his guitar. She and dad would drive 2 hours to see a 2 hour soccer game, and then drive back home.


MOM...THANK YOU for all you have done to help me to be the woman I am today and am striving to become. I LOVE YOU!


My Grandma, I would love to inherit her pants of ENERGY...work ethic...and humor. She is 84 years old and in February finished her part time job taking care of 'old people!" She goes to the nursing home every Wednesday to visit and help with a little morning singing. She was our taxi service growing up...always running us during the day when our mom and dad were working and she was on 3rd shift. MO...I LOVE YOU! You mean the WORLD to me!


My MOM...my GRANDMA... and my gram in heaven, are (were) such examples to me of sacrifice, love, and compassion. They showed me JESUS in human form.


I only pray I can pass those 'pants' on to my kids.











11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mom,
Thanks so much for getting our oven fixed! It's about time!(:

Love,
Brianna

Anonymous said...

Mary Beth,

I am very touched by your comments.
You have many, many qualities that I wish were my "pants". Your beautiful, friendly personality; and when you sing and speak..we feel so proud that God chose us to be your parents. Do you think the friendly "pants" could be from dad?
You are also a great writer.

Love you so much.

Mom

Julie C said...

I can agree with you, your mom was great, especially as a 2nd mom to us while our own mom was working, and mamo was and will always be the greatest. She passed some wonderful "pants" down to all of us.

Julie C said...

Another comment, as our mothers are sisters, their gene pool is pretty terrific, so we came from great stock

Unknown said...

What a great blog and tribute to the women in your life...I always thought you were a great homemaker and wanted to be more like you in the kitchen! You always had something yummy cooking for after Sunday service and I had nothing :)

Anonymous said...

O.K. MaryBeth-- I haven't seen Weston in forever and I feel really old b/c I remember when he was born!! You were pregnant with him when we first moved to Camden. Your family is beautiful, hope you had a wonderful mother's day!
Angie

Becky Kennedy said...

Woohoo!!! Seriously, the oven is fixed?

Beck

Anonymous said...

You guys are awesome!

Brinna - how much does Mom pay for telling these funny things about you? Just like your parents, you're a real treat. Thanks for sharing your laughable moments with us all.

Oh, and you too, Mary Beth.

Tammy Arnouts

Anonymous said...

Hey Beth,
I just saw this email...I found it in my junk mail!
I love what you wrote.It is so heartfelt and genuine :)
I want you to know that you have the gift of hospitality, you didn't even blink when Chris and I need a place to stay and I will nevert forget the love and encouragement you have given us over the years. I love you with all of my heart!!! You will always be a kindred spirit, Always Anni

Anonymous said...

I love the "pants" thing! The timing of that theme with Mother's Day is super. God has gifted you as a writer, too. Thanks for sharing your blog with your world. Maybe you and I can cut up some watermelon together some day!

Lisa

Anonymous said...

Hi MB,

I loved your blog and the pics.

Reginna Osborn