tgif ~ dedicated to my Mother

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Ah, a glorious weekend ahead to celebrate Mothers everywhere. While I unfortunately won't have the opportunity to spend the day with my Mom due to the miles that separate us, I thought I'd send along a long-distance message via a blog post. (I hope she sees it :)

I came into my Mom's life a bit earlier than she expected. While life has not been on the straight and narrow for a good portion of her life, how is it that she had the uncanny ability to provide whatever we needed? I'm not speaking of the monetary items (although that was quite a challenge too). I'm talking about the free things in life ... confidence needed to forge ahead, the structure when it seemed like everything was falling apart, the lightness in the air when problems where weighing us down, music appreciation, and the strength to stand up for ourselves. For all of these items, I will never be able to repay other than to show my gratitude, and wish that I may be able to pass these qualities onto my children. All those rough roads; they do make you stronger.

Whenever I have a chat with my Mom these days, I notice she laughs a lot more, and is enjoying the life she deserved from the start. I believe she kept her chin up throughout the entire process to get where she is today, and she deserves a gold medal in my book.

I do a double take these days, as I walk past the mirror and looking back at me is a reflection of my Mother. I think it's my glasses I've been wearing lately. Whether it's physical appearance or the traits she's passed down, I will forever be thankful.

I love you Mom.

Sincerely, Susan

Congratulations Emma!

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A huge congratulations to Emma Muller for being the winner of our Express Yourself contest! We had so many incredible self portraits. Some just blew us away, and it was so hard to choose just one. In the end, we kept coming back to this self portrait by a 5th grader, Miss Emma Muller. Emma will receive a $100 Visa gift card and $100 additional dollars will be donated to her art department. A great big thank you for all the participated in this contest. It was so well-received, we're going to be having another one in the near future. Calling all High School graphic design students...you're next!