My popo

About a year ago Ina and I went down to San Francisco, but before that we stopped in Hayward to visit my grandparents, who were being looked after by my aunt. At the time my parents thought it'd be a great chance for us to see them because they were likely too old to travel up to Toronto to attend our wedding the following May.

My Popo and I have had some epic battles back in the day. She would come up to Toronto to visit during the summers from Taiwan and look after me during my summer holidays, and stay until it got cold. We had a lot of fights because Popo was super stubborn and refused to ever let me win at anything, and I hated that because I hate losing. She never let me win, and on top of that often would gloat after beating me, relishing in my defeats. I remember vividly once we were playing Chinese Chess, and once again she creamed me and so I picked up a playing piece and threw it at her in frustration. She threw one back at me and the next thing I knew were we throwing them at eachother. Come to think of it, those things were pretty heavy, I'm surprised we didn't break anything. She got me on the shoulder and I started to cry. She just laughed.

Popo was also way too smart for her own good. I had heard that various pastors and ministers had come to try to share the gospel with her and she refused to believe. She was too clever, Christianity was too "easy" for her, it was silly to her. Even when my mom shared her personal testimony and invited her to church to hear it, she came but she was too stubborn to acknowledge whether or not she was touched by my mom's story.

My Popo never really worked, she painted beautiful paintings using the Chinese watercolor method. I remember back in our old house in Unionville, my dad picked up an old drafting table and set it up in the dinning room, and Popo set up her painting scrolls and paints and brushes and would sit there and practice. She taught me to how to paint too, how to hold the brush (mao bi) properly and how to write. She had these special practice papers which you could paint on over and over with water and the water would just evaporate quickly. She taught me how to paint the flowers, leaves and branches. Our house was filled with many of her painting scrolls. I used to spend about 30 minutes after getting home from school, and practice my writing skills and painting skills while I ate those pineapple filled biscuits (fong li su).

When I was little I loved to eat (and still do) these little banana cakes, (shiang giao gao), and my Popo figured out how to make it. I mean this was before the internet when you could just look it up and find a recipe. She made it by tasting it and feeling its texture. She'd never made it before and she just figured it out, somehow.

When I was 11, my mom, my brother and I went to Taiwan and stayed there for 6 weeks. This was during the school year so I missed all that time from school, though I took lots of homework and textbooks to keep up. I remember going shopping with my grandma, just the two of us. We'd go into the grocery store and they had this conveyor belt just for your shopping cart to take it upstairs because there was no other way to take it up there. I guess it was to save space. Then when you bought stuff you stick it back on there and it brings it back down for you. She used to buy me all kinds of yummy goodies and little toys with wound up rubber bands as engines. At the apartment she always made me this pork that I loved.. I still remember it. It had just enough meat and fat on it.. I think we ate it almost every other day. It was so good.

I have so many fond memories of Popo.

Anyway, while we were visiting in Hayward, my aunt told me that Popo hadn't really spoken in some time. She did most of her communication by pointing to things. But while I was there I got to talking to her and she spoke to me. It was a touching moment for me, one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I introduced her to my future wife, and we talked a bit about the old times, memories and silly things I used to do to make her laugh. I found out that she had accepted Christ, which was really great news.

Popo passed away on August 21, 2008. She will be missed.

Grief

For Christians, when a person dies there is two or three things that come to mind. One, is that God has decided to bring that person home. Another, is a wonderment of why God decided to take that person away from you. Third, is the human side, the pain and the grief of losing someone.

Last night, I came home exhausted at 9pm and laid down on the couch to relax and watch the World Series. My mom has been in town for the last 3 weeks and will be here for another week. She's been such a blessing for Darryl and I, we've had home cooking for the past 3 weeks. You wouldn't believe how much money I've saved on food. Not to mention the food is just better. I wonder if 30 years from now my son or daughter will come visit Ina and I and be grateful for our cooking. I find that really hard to believe. Neither of us can cooking particularly well. And yet "great home cooked meal" seems to be a constant for all generations. I guess that means my cooking skills are going to improve drastically in the next 20 years... Anyway, about my mom, she was planning to take a trip to Syracuse for the weekend, to visit some old college friends that she hadn't seen in a few years.

Boston had just taken the lead on a two-out double by Mike Lowell and I was pumping my fist in celebration. The Leafs had just beaten my Penguins and I needed something to lift my spirits. Mom couldn't understand what I was celebrating about, and went back to her room to do whatever moms do. After a little while I heard her say "Oooh!". I called out to her "What happened?", and then I heard two words. "Jean died.". There was a crack in her voice.

Brian: "Oh." Brain: "OH!".

It took about 3 seconds to register and that's when I jumped to my feet and raced over to comfort my mom, who was sobbing by the time I got there.

I remember as far back as age 6 or 7, when our family used to go over to Uncle Albert and Auntie Jean's home for fellowship. My parents were in a cell group with a few other parents that I probably wouldn't be able to name, but all of whom are likely going to be at my wedding next spring. At that time their youngest daughter Ruth probably wasn't even born yet. Rachel was around my age and her older sister Lynn was around a year or two older.

My parents went to visit her when they were here back in March. I guess they had given Uncle Albert my phone number, because after the car accident in May, he called me up to see if I was okay. He knew all about it I guess through my parents, and also even asked about how Ina was doing. It really took me by surprise because the last time I had talked to Uncle Albert was probably about 7-8 years ago. Probably one of my fondest memories of Auntie Jean was just how she always remembered things about me. All of my parents' other friends would ask me the same old things like how's school, how's your brother, things like that. But Auntie Jean always picked out specific things to ask me and so you could tell she wasn't just talking to me because I was my parents kid, she actually cared about me and how I was doing. As we got older we saw that family less and less, but whenever we did visit she'd remember me, and talk about the old days, she was a very nice lady, very kind and very loving.

Auntie Jean was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago. But I guess because I hadn't seen them in so long, it didn't affect me the way it might have, had it been someone who was 'currently' close to me. I prayed for her off and on, but most of the time I just forgot. Sometimes you just forget, when there's so much in the world to pray for.

I don't know about you guys but when I see either of my parents cry, that is a real tear jerker right there. Nothing can really prepare you to see your parents cry. I guess we are just wired that way -- we're so close to our parents that, when they feel something you feel it too, even if you shouldn't. Seeing my mom devastated by the news made it a whole lot worse for me than it really was.

You just know that none of that is helping her emotionally, because you've also lost a loved one before and none of those statements helped you feel any better either.

After hugging my mom for about 5-10 minutes, she finally stopped crying. I never know what to say to people when they're crying and dealing with grief. Crying for physical pain is a little easier to comfort, or because you hurt their feelings, that's all about just saying sorry and hugging them. But for grief, a loss of a life, that's hard. There's always those token phrases that you know just doesn't help at all, like "She is in a better place.", or "She died peacefully.", or "Don't worry we will all see her again some day.."

Mom muttered something about how she had wanted to go see her but Jean had asked that no one come visit her because she wanted them to remember her as she was, and not as she is. Then she sobbed some more and then told me how they were expecting their first grandchild in 2 weeks. Damn.

When I got back to the couch and started to think about how close Jean and Albert were to her and what it might be like for me, how could I understand or wrap my head around how she was feeling. I really wanted to empathize with those affected by this huge loss. I thought about some of our (Ina and I) closer friends, like Stan and Yee Lee, Nancy and Duncan, and how it might be like if one of them died. We've known these people for on average 5-6 years, and have grown really close to them over the past year, but my parents had been friends with Jean and Albert for 25 years. Imagining the magnitude of friendship from that standpoint fast forwarded me to the reality my mom was dealing with.

It also made me think about Jean's 3 daughters and husband, and 2 son-in-laws, and how they were feeling at this particular moment. Jean was expecting her first grandchild, due in 2 weeks. She died peacefully, with her husband and youngest daughter by her side.

These emotions stirred inside me as I prayed the night away. Grief.

Spiritual Leadership

Before he left, Daniel encouraged me to step up more a spiritual leader after the first week at Longlac. For me, it was something I was already looking and trying to do, so getting some encouragement was nice. To me being responsible for the spiritual well-being of our team wasn't as hard as I thought it could be. The thing is you're on a missions trip so God is right there with you, it's impossible not to pray for something before you try it in that kind of scenario. If anything, you're even more in-tune with Him than ever. It's nearly impossible to forget about God while doing God's work.

With God working right there with us, almost hand-in-hand, I barely felt any kind of pressure or burden to lead, other than to lead by example.

Lately, I've been thinking more about spiritual leadership from a relationship standpoint. When I get married in May 2008, I'll have to take on a new responsibility, as head of the household. And more importantly, spiritual head of the family.

I feel a lot of pressure with this one, and rightly so.. to have the responsibility to ensure that we as a couple are living the life God intended us to live. I think about my brother and I, and how I encourage him to attend church and read the bible regularly, but when he doesn't there isn't a whole lot I can do on my end. Yes, it's somewhat my responsibility but not really. I advice will only take him so far.. in the end he needs to make his own adult decisions.

I talked to my dad about this and he didn't seem to have an answer. My parents don't pray together, nor study the bible together, although both do it avidly, they also do is separately. I suppose it is, once again, about living by example. Dom mentioned how he and his wife do devotions together every day, and they pray together too.

I was telling Daniel about how I'd read an article from Focus On The Family, about a woman's expectations, which basically said many Christian women are looking to marry the pastor-type or someone pastor-like. Daniel concurred, saying he was rather surprised even of his own wife's expectations on this subject, even though he IS a pastor. It's definitely a surprise, especially for oblivious men like myself to have an expectation like that upon us without any prior warning.

So what does it take? Are we talking about devotions and prayer time? Or setting ground rules like mandatory quiet times (like we had at Longlac)? Or is it more about leading by example (which doesn't always work)?

I'm looking for advice and/or ideas. What do you think it means to be a spiritual leader of the family? What does it take? Feel free to leave me your thoughts.. thanks!

All weekend

Another fun filled weekend. Friday we had small group, then Saturday was Kevin and Anita's Jack & Jill party, and then Sunday was my church's annual English Congregation picnic.

Ina was out of town this weekend, so I spent the whole entire weekend answering #2 questions, over and over and over and over again.

"Congratulations! ...where's Ina?", and then followed by
"So.. how did you do it? Tell us the story!!"

And then people would gather around and I'd tell all about how I proposed to her and all that.. the embarrassing and silly parts. Ina and I had felt like we'd told everyone we needed to tell -- evening changing our "Status" on Facebook, but it seemed to me that there were still quite few people left. At the picnic, people really came out of the woodworks to congratulate me, some people I've rarely ever spoken to came up to say hi and ask about the story. That was really cool though.

One thing I found kind of neat, was how every time I told it, people would be hanging on my every word like it was some sort of cliffhanger to a movie. Plus I'd remember more things to add to the story, little details that I'd missed out in the past. And then everyone would be like "Awwww.." at the end, which was weird because I didn't think what I did was all that romantic..

Anyway I had this pretty funny conversation with one of our friends at the picnic. We were talking about how my parents were planning to move back to Toronto after my dad retired.

O: So are your parents moving back?
B: Yea, after my dad retires, the plan is to move back to Toronto.
O: Oh, I see.. is he retiring soon?
B: Yea, he was was telling me the other day he's planning to retire in 6-12 months.
O: Cool.. When they move back, where are you gonna live?
B: I'm going live at Ina's place.
O: (puzzled look) Okay.. and where's Ina gonna live?
B: Huh? We're gonna live together.
O: (incredulous look) Um.. okay.. but.. um.. shouldn't you get married first?

That's when I figured out she hadn't heard about our engagement, so I told her and the world made sense again.

Free?

One of my friends likes to say he's "free" when his wife is occupied with something else, or if she's gone away somewhere, allowing him to do whatever he wants. He gets all excited and invites us over to play video games as if he's been liberated or broken out of jail.

I dunno, Ina's been away for a few days and I don't feel "free" at all. I just miss her a lot.

---

We went to "Sushi on 7" last night, to celebrate my dad's 58th. I had a helluva time trying to find the place. First of all I loaded up Google Maps to get an approximate location before I left. Google maps was way, way off. I typed in the address and it gave me a location that was East of McCowan. Turns out the place is actually West of Kennedy! Secondly it was dark and snowing so we had a hard time looking through the car windows to see the addresses/storefronts. I missed our reservation time by about 20 minutes as a result, but fortunately the restaurant was only half full (we had to have a late dinner because my brother had a night class).

The food at Sushi on 7 is great. They have tons of variety -- over 190 different items are available on their menu. For dinner, it was $17.99 for Mon-Thurs. Food comes fairly quickly so that we're not sitting around letting our stomachs get full in between the waves of food. I've found that to be the case often in many AYCE sushi places. It's like some kind of ploy to get us full so we won't keep eating them out of their business. The service was not great, it's surprisingly difficult to get the attention of any waitress even though the place is really quite small.

Sushi on 7's specialty rolls are okay, not as flavorful as I've found in other places, but the fish is fresh enough to make up for it. Their seaweed salad is the best I've had so far. The beef ribs were cooked perfectly, very tender and tasty. They had one dish, fresh mussels that we kept ordering. Very yummy, very tenderly cooked and light tasting. My mom had some Udon which she said was good. They have coconut pudding -- one of my all-time favorite desserts, one which is fairly rare to find in any restaurant these days so that was a big bonus for me. Their tea sucked.. it was way too diluted.

I don't think they have sashimi for lunch which is a shame because otherwise I'd consider going back there for a lunch, just because they have so many other great choices.

I'd give the restaurant a solid 8/10 rating.

---

I want to buy the new Tim Hughes album. I sampled it at Mitchell's Family Bookstore last weekend, and it sounded GOOD. Well, at least Track 1 sounded good. Too bad it's so expensive at Mitchell's. I mean honestly who pays over $20 for a CD these days? Why are Christians trying to rip each other off? It doesn't make sense.

I guess it's the same as any culture ripping each other off. It's more about profit and greed than who the victim is.

---

The Leafs missed the NHL playoffs for the second straight year, but there are still a few Canadian teams to cheer for. Ottawa, Vancouver and Calgary. I don't like the Senators at all, but I feel we have to cheer for them because I'm just sick and tired of seeing American teams win our Stanley Cup. It ain't right. That being said, at least it's always Canadians who are hoisting the cup, even if they are playing for American teams. I can't help but cheer for the Penguins, at least for this series. I could see myself cheering for Ottawa in the next round, but for me, Sidney Crosby epitomizes the essence of Canadian Hockey -- not an idiot like Daniel Alfredsson.

Go Flames! Go Canucks! Go Canadians!

Post #1001

Firstly, I have updated the comments to haloscan so that anyone can comment. I think people have been having trouble commenting because of the new Google-login feature of comments.

Anyway, I've decided to make a non-Urbana post regarding all I did during my vacation that was un-related to Urbana. It will be in list form and not organized at all. Good luck.

-The flight was seriously boring because my brother slept the entire time so I had no one to talk to
-I watched the movie "Invincible". Pretty good feel-good, zero-to-hero story. 7/10
-The lady sitting beside us evidently never flew before, she was complaining incessantly at the flight, food (no meals), drinks, pilot, Americans.
-Went to In-N-Out burger. Very good. VERY GOOD.
-I bought a laptop at Circuit City, it's a Toshiba Satellite, M115. It's mostly Vista compatible, but then again, it's not like I'll be using Vista any time soon.
-Went to Carl's Jr. These burgers are amazing. AMAZING.
-Vegas is seriously boring unless you gamble, smoke, or have never been there before.
-Watched "Pirates of the Caribbean 2". Quite possibly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. 0/10.
-Watched "The Break-Up" again. What a depressing movie, although it does have its moments. 6/10.
-Went to a Japanese restaurant called Osaka, which is supposed to be ranked #2 amongst Japanese restaurants in Vegas. I'll admit, the food was good. But expensive beyond belief. I got a chirashi that costed enough for 4 people to eat at Sushi Bong.
-Are you still reading?
-I saw and played a PS3 at an EB Games. They had 3 available at the store, but everyone was asking about Wii controllers. Anyway, out of the 3 new consoles (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360), the PS3 has to be the biggest waste of money out there.
-The Colts defense is looking good, but the offense doesn't. How will they fair against the Ravens? The future isn't looking so bright.
-Big (lucky) win by Seattle. I can't help cheering for these guys after they got robbed of the Superbowl by the NFL officials last year.
-Urbana was awesome
-Went to Red Robin, yet another burger place. Burgers were huge. I was still burping up burger meat the next morning.
-Watched "Apocalypto". I've decided that Mel Gibson is a mad man. Pointless movie, but good action and very exciting. So much blood. The blood "cloud" was a neat effect.. 7/10.
-We went to Primm, NV, for their massive outlet mall. I walked through the door, took a right into BR and bought pretty much ALL the clothes for the day. Sales after sales after sales. It was great.
-When I arrived in St. Louis, I quickly texted Ina to see if she was still there, she was. Thank goodness, because I'm pretty sure I would have gotten lost without her.
-We (as in the non-student T3Cers) texted a whole lot throughout Urbana in order to track eachother down. I can't wait to see my cell phone bill. Telus is 15 cents per message.
-The hotel rooms were nice, at the Adam's Mark. Allan refused to share beds so we each had to take a turn on the floor.
-In fact, one night he decided to try sharing so I had to only use half the bed. When I woke up I found him on the floor again.. he couldn't stand the tiny space. Unfortunately I didn't know so I was scrunched up the entire night thinking he was still there.
-Allan called Mils every single night. I thought that was sweet and romantic (or just responsible?) of him.
-I have 4 weddings that I know of, to go to this year. This is surprising because I thought my group was finished. I guess this is the second wave.
-I can't believe you're still reading..
-We have a dog, named Dusty. He's a pug. He's soooo cute. I am proclaiming that Dusty is the cutest dog in the whole world. He knows he's cute. When you call him for a hug, he'll take his fine time coming out.. he'll yawn a few times, stretch his legs a bit and saunter over. It's the cutest thing (although also annoying sometimes because you just know he's taking his time on purpose).
-My mom refuses to set the temperature at home above 70 degrees. That's 21 C. Maybe I'm spoiled but that is really cold to me. Plus I think 21 degrees there is different from here because I have a relatively smaller area for the hot air to cover, and it retains the heat. For some reason, it always feels cold in the house at Las Vegas. Except of course in the summer when it was 37 degrees.
-A lot of people are getting sick. It's some kind of cold virus, that just won't go away. I hope I don't get it.
-Dexter's season finale was quite possibly the most surprising twist I've ever seen. There is no way I could have seen that one coming.
-Speaking of television, my brother and I caught up on Smallville and it is confirmed that this show is going down the drain. One really exciting (but since quashed) rumor was that there would be a spin-off of Smallville for a live-action Justice League. The prospects of this would be unbelievable, but think of the budget too. They recently attempted an Aquaman spin-off that crashed and burned before the pilot even aired.
-During my stay in Las Vegas, I watched and caught up for the show Battlestar Galactica. This is a great great show. I watched all of seasons 1 and 2, and then what's left of 3 so far. This show is so awesome..
-I watch way too much television.
-My mom told me that Rachel Ray won #2 for most influential female. #1 was that first female speaker in US government whatchmacallit. That one is impressive. But Rachel Ray? Really?!?
-I wonder if there are any naysayers of the TJ Ford for Charlie Villanueva trades left. Ford is a beast.
-My brother bought me Far Cry Vengeance for the Wii for Christmas. I haven't touched the Wii since I got back.. but then again I haven't really done anything period.
-I'm starting to get a little bit concerned that I may have bit off a bit more than I can chew, regarding my Perspectives project. Most people do these things in groups, of 3 or 4. I am doing it alone. 2 weeks left til the deadline..

So there you have it. A quick and brief update of my vacation.

I miss my mom

It was my mom's birthday a few days ago, and I sent her a great big happy birthday email..

I know -- I could have done better. I could have easily taken a few minutes out of my busy schedule to give her a call, even despite our time difference, it would have been worth it for her.

As I sit here behind my computer and keyboard, in my pajamas, eating a microwaved meal for the 3rd time this week, 3rd only because I skipped dinner twice, I am in total awe of what an amazing woman my mom is and how much I miss having her around.. or being around her.

In the past I would have said that my dad is the ultimate father/husband. He does it all, he's the total package. I've had friends telling me that my dad was "Super Dad", and they barely know him or barely scratched the surface. But I'm here to talk about my mom today.

Yesterday for Small Group, we studied Proverbs 31:10-31, which is the Prologue of Proverbs, and talks about "a Wife of Noble Character". Our SG leader took translations of each passage and asked us whether the statement was true for the person we were thinking about. (I've quoted The Message so that it can apply more to modern terms):

A good woman is hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.

This is definitely true, my mom is worth more than diamonds -- in fact all the wealth in the world doesn't measure up to how much I value my mom.

Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.

No doubt about that. Dad trusts her with many things, except maybe to not scratch the car (haha).

Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long.

That's certainly true as well. Sure they have occasional spats, every couple does.. But in the end they love eachother immensely and their love overflows into our family dynamics and even far beyond that.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing.

That's definitely true, Mom has patched many, many of my pants, ripped jackets and shirts. She once made a laundry bag for each students graduating from highschool. She helped me sew together my grade 6 tear-away pants that to this day, I believe I deserved an A on, not to mention some kind of patent, I could've been rich, no thanks to you Ms. Paul! Mom taught me how to sew too and I'm pretty good at it now.. Mom help me fix all the mistakes I made after I tried to sew a stuffed doggy for a girl I had a crush on. I wonder if she still has it.. And mom even made macromay flower hangers for a few of our potted plants. So yea, mom can definitely sew/knit.

She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
and brings back exotic surprises.

Whenever Mom goes on a trip somewhere, she buys us something. She got me a shot glass from The Orleans hotel in Las Vegas, a Niagara-On-The-Lake sweater for when she went there on a business trip.

She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast
for her family and organizing her day.

I don't think there are too many mom's out there who hasn't gotten up early to prepare a meal for her family. This one's too easy.

She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden.

Mom definitely has done her share of lawn care and gardening. Our front lawn had been decimated by cinch bugs once, and mom went out, pulled out all the weeds and grass, and literally re-seeded the entire patch of dead grass on her own. It was pretty amazing, if you go and take a look at the house now, that's the most healthy patch of grass on the entire lawn, if not in the entire neighbourhood. Every year I remember we'd always be the first house on the street with beautiful crocuses (which of course always bloomed pre-maturely and died from frostbite because of a 'fake' spring). We always had tulips too, and all kinds of other plants. Mom took me out to the back to meet Mr. French, our old neighbours in Unionville, and let me spend time with Mr. French to learn about wildflowers. How else would a 6-year old be able to tell the difference between Lady Slippers and Lady-in-the-Pulpit?

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

Mom is always the first person awake. Even now, when we go visit, she's always the first awake, to go feed the dog, or prepare our breakfast. I'm an early riser and she even beats me to it. Maybe I get it from her? Come to think of it I don't think Mom ever 'sleeps in'. She's alawys the first (except for Christmas mornings when I'd get up pretty much when everyone went to bed).

She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

Mom spent many late nights (as most accountants tend to do), fixing other peoples' mistakes. I remember how relieved I was when mom finished her CMA so that she wouldn't be coming home late anymore. Mom definitely put in her time to provide for our family.

She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking.

There's a centerpiece and a couple of fake potted plants in my condo that Mom made. She's very skilled.. if you ever came to our home in Vegas, you'd see all the paintings and drawings she's made. People come over and see them and think we bought them. That's definitely Mom's handiwork right there, making our home a warmer place, full of artwork. Since my parents moved to Vegas, Mom's been a full-time housewife.

She's quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.

Mom has always been one of the most compassionate persons I've known. She's always the first to start crying when she sees something sad or sees someone suffering. And she's always the first to go help someone when they're in need. She really goes out of her way to help others.

She doesn't worry about her family when it snows;
their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.

This kind of goes back to the sewing thing, but Mom always had us ready for winter. All the winter clothes would be out and ready, she would always make sure we were bundled up warmly. I remember we could never lose our mitts or gloves because Mom tied a string through the back and sleeves so that they'd just hang off and never get lost. In retrospect I should have done that with my gloves.. I just lost a pair last winter.

She makes her own clothing,
and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

This was probably the only one I couldn't say was true. Mom's always dressed very humbly, never too fancy or flashy. I think some of the clothes she wears could be older than I am. But I think this might be the one point in King Lemuel's writings that is out of place. Mom conserves her own personal spending for the benefit of everyone else. Less new clothes for her means new clothes for the rest of us, and it's that generosity that really shines through.

Her husband is greatly respected
when he deliberates with the city fathers.

Even this is true. Dad works for the government so that covers the "city fathers" part. And he's sent me newspaper articles about him and the work he's been doing there. No doubt you have to be well respected to get your picture in the news!

She designs gowns and sells them,
brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.

I'm not sure if Mom has ever sold any of the clothes she made.. though we could've made a killing on those tearaways! (Yes, I'll never let that one go). Mom made me and my brother's Hallowe'en costumes. Darryl was the cutest pumpkin on the block, and wow we got so much candy when we took him out in that costume!

Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.

Mom does worry about us a lot sometimes, maybe a bit too much. Mom is rarely worried about anything to do with herself. It's always us, or my dad, or my grandparents that she really gets worried about. The whole clothing thing -- again I don't see that as a big positive anyway.

When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she always says it kindly.

Mom is pretty soft-spoken, although I know that she has opened up a lot in Vegas with her women's bible study group, all those ladies seem to know so much about me and Darryl. Anyone who's known my mom knows she's a very kind woman. Even when mom's nagging me, there is always quite a bit of truth in what she's saying, even if I'll deny it. (I will *always* deny this!)

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
and keeps them all busy and productive.

Darryl and I used to say that Mom was against us having fun. Whenever we were having fun, Mom would come and burst our bubbles, and get us to do some work around the house. Vacuuming, washing dishes, mopping, these things always came up whenever we weren't being productive. So this one's definitely bang on!

Her children respect and bless her;
her husband joins in with words of praise:

I think this one goes without saying.. we definitely love and have the utmost respect for Mom and what she has accomplished in her life.

"Many women have done wonderful things,
but you've outclassed them all!"

I don't mean to make comparisons, and let's not go down the "my mom's better than your mom!" road, but out of anyone I know personally, Mom surpasses them all.

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

Mom is always stressing us (me and Darryl, and even to Dad to some extent) to read His word, giving us books of wisdom to read, and urging us to be more active in our faith, to be Christ-like, to be ambassadors of God. She is always telling us to behave, and be nice to old people, to be generous and humble, honest and trustworthy, patient and faithful.

Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!

I had to look that one up. A festoon is like a garland. After reading this scripture, and going through this lesson of noble characteristics, I can say without hesitation that my Mom is a noble character!

Happy Birthday Mom! I miss you!!