EliStar Sparkle: July the 8th

July 8th wasn't always an important day to me - when I was a child, my mother's birthday was pretty insignificant as holidays go. Everything revolved around me, and usually mommy's birthday involved Daddy taking me to Walgreens to pick out a card and whatever trinket my allowance could afford, and then focusing on much more important matters. Like MY birthday.

Now that I'm all grown up, I realize how much my mom sacrificed for me. How much she gave up so that I could have a wonderful life and how much she deserves to have given back to her. I'm sure we all come to that point in our lives, but when I was little, I'm sure I never fathomed just how special my relationship with my mom would be. I never realized that not every girl is adored and cherished and understood by her mom like I am, and that is something I try very hard not to take for granted.

So today, I've assembled a post in honor of the woman who gave me life and without whom my life would be imcomplete.

First, let me introduce you to Marlene:

Isn't she beautiful?? This picture was taken on my wedding day, and here she is all aglow. My mom shines in every way.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about why she's so special to me.

If you asked anyone what their first impression of my mother was, their response would most undoubtedly be: "she's bubbly!". In fact, when people accuse me of being bubbly, my response is usually "You only say that because you haven't met my mother." And when people accuse her of being bubbly, I know what they're really trying to say is that my mother is kind. My mother is good. She is genuinely nice and sweet and everything that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. My mother could make friends with a rock. If you opened my mother up, you'd probably find that her heart was ten sizes too BIG. And if it wasn't, it would probably be because she's found other places to store all the love and warmth she brings to so many lives. Because lord knows, my mom finds places to store everything.

She taught me lessons. Lessons like, why friends are important - but family is much, much more important. How to pick a good husband. How to spot people who are going to break your heart. Why Christmas is so special. How to ignore the haters. How to let go of the people who add nothing to your life. Why it's really important to do what you love.

I hope every one of you have someone in your lives that has helped you realize these things.

My mom is not a natural blonde, and neither am I. But we both like a little peroxide in our lives. Everyone thinks we look so much alike, but really if you look close up, we don't. We just see the same hairdresser. Look:

But that doesn't matter.

We are alike in many ways. We're both always smiling. We try to make the best of things. We both have addictive personalities and we both have a really soft spot in our hearts for dogs. Especially this one:

And this one:

We're different in many ways, too. I have a temper. She never loses hers. She cries - alot. But it's ok, because whenever she cries - it's because she really means it. People with big hearts feel things differently than the rest of us.

She loves her family more than anything. When I was going through my teenage years, I always told her I'd never ever be like her. But now I realize that I am like her. And that makes me proud.