Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom and dad just got back from Seattle yesterday. Here's a picture of my beautiful mother standing in front of the famed Public Market along the coast. My dad emailed this little gem to me while they were up in the northwest enjoying their getaway. Most every spring, my dad combines one of his many basketball trips into a little vacation and takes my mom on a trip with him, sometime close to her birthday. Last year it was San Francisco, this year Seattle.

Spending hours in a college gym, watching endless games of basketball, is not exactly my mom's idea of a good time. But she's a good sport about it and goes from time to time to be with my dad. My dad has been in the college basketball business (officiating, evaluating officials, sitting on the rules committee, commissioning, scheduling, training, etc.) ever since I can remember, so my mom has certainly had years of exposure to the game. Thankfully, they spent much more of their Seattle trip sight seeing, touring, eating out, shopping, and enjoying the beautiful Westin in downtown Seattle than they did inside the gym. They reported a wonderful trip! We sure missed them but are so glad they got to steal away for a long weekend together.

Today is my mom's 61st birthday. She was born March 24, 1949, in Phoenix, Arizona to Reid and Sue Teeples.

Named Cynthia Sue Teeples, she was the first of five girls. The Teeples crew grew up in Phoenix, living most of their life at my grandparents' home on Avalon (44th & Thomas).

Cindy, Pauly, Laurie, Nancy & Kristin Teeples

My mom went to Arcadia High (Class of 1967) where she was a Pommie and terrific dancer. She had legs for days! She was so beautiful (and still is). She's 4th from the right in the picture below.

She hated math (and still does), but was good at English and art (and still is). My mom started sewing during her middle school years, and became an amazing seamstress. Her parents bought her first sewing machine and enrolled her in private sewing lessons for her 8th grade graduation gift. I inherited that Singer machine from my mom and am still using it to this day. I am no where near the seamstress that my mom is, but she of course taught me the basics and is always there when I need some help with a costume or have a question about how to finish up one of my little projects. I love to sew, and wish I had more time to do it.

As she grew up, my mom sewed most of her own clothes and many for her four sisters, including prom dresses. When her younger sister, my Aunt Nancy, got married, my mom sewed an amazing wedding dress for her along with all of the bridesmaids and flower girl dresses (I need to find the picture and add it here). When I was a young child, my mom worked as a seamstress doing alterations at LeSueur's Men's Store in downtown Mesa. During my college and early married years, my mom sewed all kinds of draperies, window treatments, and bedding for high end model and custom homes. She's made all the beautiful window treatments in my house (and every house I've lived in), along with my current comforter.

After she graduated from Arcadia, my mom went up to college at BYU, where she met my dad, also an Arizona native. They fell in love pretty fast, and were married when my mom was just 20 years old.

Although my mom always envisioned having a big family, she and my dad were blessed with just two kids: my older brother, Michael, and me.

Michael and his wife, Shari, live in Gilbert with their five fabulous kids, and we are, of course, in Mesa just a hop, skip and a jump away from where I grew up. Here's a picture of our crew taken a few years ago. We need a new one! Nine grandkids from her two offspring. Not bad!

My folks still live in the house where I grew up. They built it in 1974 when I was just two years old. Certainly, the place has changed quite a bit over the years. It has expanded by about 1,000 square feet, the orange colored slump block has been stuccoed over and painted tan, the 1970's hip orange shag carpet was replaced with a neutral tone, and the yellow and brown floral kitchen wallpaper, then the fruit wallpaper, were eventually replaced with just paint. They built a pool and spa themselves (my mom used to drive a cement truck, by the way, and she poured our own pool) when I was in early elementary school.

But even though the place has changed much over the years, it is and always will still be the same. It's the same place where we, and really everyone we know, is always made to feel incredibly welcome. It's the place where our whole extended family gathers on birthdays and holidays and just because days for great dinners. It's the place the grand kids love to swim and visit. The place that everyone knows they will be made to feel like they are the most special person on the planet. It's home and it always will be.

Thanks, mom, for being such an incredible mom, and for helping all of us become better because of your example of service and love.

This is a scrapbook page I made back in 2005, honoring my mom. It pretty much sums up how I feel about her:

(Double click to make it larger)

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!