Happy Birthday Jo

[Dale Smith]

Happy Birthday Jo.... hope it is all that you want it to be!  Best wishes!!!

[Diane Amberg]

Happy, happier, happiest birthday to you!  Hope you got to sleep late and can do whatever you want to today.

[Teresa]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!~~
Today is the day that is very special to me.. because if it wasn't for this day.. then I wouldn't be here.
This is going to be a long birthday wish, as I want to share a speck of the memories I have with you about this person that is my mama.

I want to say that I picked goooodddd when I picked this woman to be my mother.( Yes I do believe that with permission of the high council of angels and our Mother and Father God, and the agreement of all involved in this lifetime.. we pick our family and friends that will help us in this lifetime so that we can continue to advance spiritually)
But 'nuff of that...

I wasn't an easy child or young woman to raise. Head strong, independent and extremely ( at times) very rebellious. Mama was always there for me. Her love and support of me never wavered, not for even a minute..even though I know it was at times exhausting and tested every fiber of her being. 
My mother was one that put her girls before herself and anything else. She took the pancakes that were too dark, she said she was fine when we knew she was tired. She never complained... and as I look back,  lordly how that woman must have been tired with all that she did.
She devoted her life to her family and home.
I was the one with the cool mom. The house where all my girlfriends loved to come and stay because she would cook stuff for us, laugh and giggle with us, and no one was ever afraid to talk about boys or anything around her cause nothing ruffled her feathers. ( NOW I know that some of the stuff she must have heard made her suck air, but you would never have known it at the time.)

She never let us down in any way. When there wasn't much money to use for extras, I would wake up before a big event at school and there hanging on the door was a new dress or skirt and blouse to wear. She had stayed up all night sewing and finishing it. Just one of the many many extra's she did for us.
We ate supper every night together at the table ( no TV or radio on ) and visited and laughed, telling about school and what went on in our day.
One of my many many things that I remember is that Daddy liked us all to visit and eat and have a good time at the table.. but ... to eat and not act too wild and unruly.
There was this one time ( there was hundreds of times this happened but this particular time stands out) that Sherri and I started laughing.. (you know..when you really laugh and can't stop. and the more you try to get it under control.. the worse it gets..) Well, I imagine that we blew food or something that made Daddy say enough is enough!
Get it together and eat right, or leave the table! We tried .. really we did. But it just wasn't happening. So we left the table and just when we thought we were done laughing and ready to come back into the dining room to eat, we would start laughing again. We actually did, after 3 or 4 trys, make it to the chairs to set down.
Sherri and I were staring at our plates doing everything in the world to try to NOT look at each other and to will ourselves to not go into another fit of laughter.. but we were concentrating so much on that,  that we couldn't eat.
Daddy glared at Mama with the look that said.."YOU better take care of your girls and get this under control" look...
So....
Mama looked sternly at us.. we looked back.. ~silence hung in the air for about 2 seconds and then we all 3 just snorted and burst out laughing...
We all 3 got up and left the table and just howled in the other room. Daddy finished eating by himself and left the table and we 3 went back in and finally finished our supper.
I have so many wonderful memories of my mother, and every time I am with her, or I talk to her, I continue to make more.

Thanks Mama... for always being there, for the love and support and laughter you give me in my life.
Not only are you my mother, but you are my very best friend.

I love you ..and Happy Birthday.

[Diane Amberg]

Teresa, that is just lovely.

[Kjell H.]

Mom,

Gratulerer med fødselsdagen !!!

Ooops....

Happy Birthday, that is !

[Bonnie M.]

Well, Jo, you're not going to get through Teresa's Happy Birthday message without a tear!  You know, I'm "of the opinion" that it is the most wonderful gift, to hear all of the blessings that you have been to other people, "while we are still alive," rather than having all of these good things being expressed when we are no longer around to hear them!  So, God Bless You, Teresa, for telling your Mother what a wonderful Mother she is to you, and how much you treasure her as your Mother!  It doesn't get any better than that!

[Jo McDonald]

Oh my goodness.  I just came home for lunch ( I am working today for one of the gals who's daughter and grandsons are here for Christmas visiting)
There are tears in my eyes and a smile on my lips and my heart is bursting with love because of  the post that I just read from My Tressy Girl. 
What a joy she and Sherri have been in my life - and everything that I did for them, they have repaid me a million fold.  And Yes, we did have some trying times, but what family doesn't?  And they both turned out sooooooo Fine, we are indeed proud to call them our daughters.  And blessings galore with grand Children and great Grandchildren.  What could be a better Birthday gift than that, and I have it EVERY YEAR!!  Wooooo Hooooo.
   I love you with all my heart, Tressy, and you too Sherri - if you are reading this.
  Sherri and Tania called early this morning and sang to me  - Then I had a message on the machine from
Teresa when I came home ..LIFE IS GOOD !!!!
  Thank you, Son-Kjell.  And thanks so much to the rest of you, how sweet it is to have this forum family.

  Have a  wonderful day .. all of you

[DanCookson]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!!

We will be calling later, but I wanted to chime in!

[flo]

please accept my "happy birthday" too.

[Ms Bear]

Happy Birthday Jo.  The best thing about raising great kids is all the love that we get back.

Ms Bear