Tag Archive | mom

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Apr17

Dad, Mom, Melissa and Kathy 1966 (3) (2014_05_11 03_43_51 UTC)

Mom is 82 years old today. It is hard to imagine her at that age. She still sounds the same and if she still had her sight, I am sure she would be very active and making every occasion special. Sadly, I wasn’t able to go to Roanoke this weekend or today to see her. Her birthday visit will be a week late. This is her first birthday to celebrate without Dad. My sister who is taking care of her now is having a dinner for Mom. I’m sure the table will be filled with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I would love to be there to give her a big hug and sing through the hymnal with her on the porch swing. Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

She always made birthdays special for us. Even as adults, she would show up on our birthday with a cake and gifts or my favorite – gift baskets! Yet, she always downplayed her own special day; telling us, “I don’t need anything.”

~*~

Birthdays. Every family celebrates them differently.

In my family, birthdays were a big event. Extended family members came over for dinner and of course, a beautifully decorated homemade cake of the birthday child’s choosing.

Mine was always white cake, seven-minute frosting with coconut sprinkled on it like snow; graced with a candy “Happy Birthday” along with birthday candles. They were very popular when I was a child.

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Betty Crocker Vintage Birthday Cake Decorations found on Pinterest.

Of course, I always wanted the pink one with little flowers for the candles.

It is usually Mothers who make birthdays special. She bakes the cake, makes sure the freezer is stocked with ice cream, cooks the meal, buys and wraps the gift. My Mom loved making birthdays special. She was the best at wrapping gifts. They were always too pretty to unwrap!

It was Dad Hinchee who took snapshots and taped the special occasion with his Super-eight movie camera. I have a DVD with several years of birthdays and other special moments. unfortunately, he often panned the room too fast and some scenes are just a blur. My baby sister’s first birthday was great! Dinner in our backyard with family and after dinner, cake and gifts were opened, we all went to the Mill Mountain Zoo in Roanoke, Va. I especially remember the gorgeous peacocks. Such a pretty blue! Needless to say, was a memorable event.

This is Mom.

 

 

I would love to give her a special birthday party. I have tried twice to at least take dinner and her gifts but she is hesitant to let anyone come over. She claims the house is dirty and she has nothing to wear. You see, she has always wanted everything to be “perfect.”

We gave her a party on her seventy-fifth birthday. Her sister and brother-in-law came from Richmond. Our Hinchee relatives came to make the day special too.

Mom's 75th Birthday

We had a beautiful cake made by Ashley Schnarr Easter, fresh fruit, finger sandwiches and I actually discovered blooms on the lilac tree! She received wonderful gifts and cards that played music!

 

She was amazed that everyone came and loved having my Aunt and Uncle spend the night with them. She let me know later that she doesn’t want to remember that she is “getting older.” We have gifts for her and I still hope we will be able to take dinner to Mom and Dad.

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There is one gift I can’t wait to give her. She can’t see it but that’s okay. I found on Etsy the fragrance she used to wear when I was a small child. Persian Wood isn’t available in perfume but I found the original Avon Persian Wood Perfumed Talc. I am sure it has lost its fragrance over time but hopefully, there is enough of the fragrance to bring back wonderful memories and just for a moment, she will feel “young” again.

 

Mom opening a special gift
We all sang when Uncle Ronnie came to town. August 28, 1996.

 

 

Grandbabies
Grandbabies
Singing on the porch
Mom doesn’t sing much anymore but while we did the dishes, she joined in What a Day That Will Be!

 

Perhaps we will sit on the porch swing and sing Hymns of the Faith just as we used to.

Happy Birthday, Mom. We love you!

Happy Mother’s Day!

May8
Prov 31 30 Mekel Rice

Mekel Rice

Blessings to Mothers and Mothers at Heart.

It is with joy that we celebrate this special day set aside to honor our Mothers. If you have read my blog, you are already aquainted with my Mom. I have posted many pictures in the past. My brother scanned my favorite picture of Mom. I couldn’t resist using it in the Mothers Day post. She was very young and very pretty. She had been told that she should do a toothpaste commercial. Great smile, Mom!

Barbara and Children taken in house on Conway Street (2013_12_29 18_40_53 UTC)

Mom, Barbara Riley Hinchee Teenager

Mom Hinchee's 75th Birthday April 17, 2010 (2014_02_14 17_52_40 UTC)

Mom and I Lakeside Amusement Park

Until she lost her sight a few years ago, Mom delighted in making things special for her children and her grandchildren.  How many 40 year olds get Easter Baskets from their Mother?  We did and let her know how much we appreciated it!

She always decorated beautifully and enjoyed every moment of making floral arrangements, bow making and wrapping gifts. As you may guess, I inherited her love of dishes, tea sets and old fashioned kitchens. And stories. Love her stories!

My favorite memories are of working together in the kitchen and sitting on the porch swing because we sang the entire time!

Now Mom cannot enjoy the things that once made her happy but she listens to BBN Christian radio and Christian books on tape. Although she received Christ as her Savior when I was six years old and she sat under Bible teaching, memorizing the Word for all those years, now she is even more appreciative of God’s Word. Meditating on His Word and understanding more how to apply God’s Word. Before, she was busy. Now she is learning how to: “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations.”

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 In Memory of Emily L. Purdy

No one could have asked for a more wonderful Mother-in-law. She was truly a treasure.

Part of John’s testimony is that he came to know the Lord because his Mother constantly told him that she was praying for him. Even when he didn’t want to hear that. She was truly a mother who loved the Lord. She had a quiet strength. Often relayed in her poems which I hope to post soon. She had a sweet, sweet spirit.

She was truly a “kindred-spirit”.  The first time we met, she did something wonderful. She invited me into her bedroom and pulled out a box. A treasure box of pictures, poems written by her ancestors. There was even an adorable valentine her Mother, Emma had sent to her future husband, Clarence. So cute. From that time on, she shared so many wonderful family memories with me. I have shared some with you in the (very long) poem I wrote about the day she took us to her grandparents “Homeplace”.

She passed along many family antiques – little things others may have sold at a yard sale. To me they were treasures because they are connected to “family.” A few years before she went home to be with the Lord, she and Dad Purdy were visiting one Sunday afternoon. She gave me the best compliment I have ever had. She sat down in the kitchen and looked around. “I love coming here. I feel right at home.”  One day, we will meet again in our “Forever Home” where she is rejoicing. I know John and his sister, Cathy miss her and will be thinking of her this Mothers Day.

 

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Cathy, Mother, John

Emilie feeding baby Johnny

Emilie Purdy and “Johnny”

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I love the expression on Emilie’s face as little Johnny toddled along. So cute!

 

 

Scan 17

Thank you, Lord, for our Mothers.

Mom’s Birthday

Apr18

Cake by Ashley's CakesToday is my mother’s birthday.

“Barbara Jane” was born April 17, 1936 and won a baby contest when she was one year old. Her parents, Harry and Isabel gave her a lot of attention and obviously, spoiled her rotten! By the time she was only ten months old, Barbara Jane had a little sister, Shirley Ann. As you can see, she became attached to dolls and became a little Mommy to her baby dolls.

I can still remember her taking me to Lakeside Amusement Park. We rode the "grown-up rides" that twirled, rolled back and forth; causing peals of laughter as Mom tried not to squish me! She smelled like Persian Wood perfume, powder and cotton candy.

Mom loved being a student at Lee Junior High School. She still talks about the friends she made at this cozy school. She can name all of her teachers and especially loved her Glee Club teacher who encouraged her to sing alto.

In 1966, she and Dad Hinchee finally gave me a baby sister

And then a baby brother!

 

Hobbies include

  Cooking

Decorating

Gift Wrapping

Making special occasions extra special!

Rocking babies

                                                                                                     Singing Hymns with her daughters

Three years ago, Mom lost her sight due to a virus. The doctors told her that her sight might return within two years but it hasn’t. She would love to continue doing all of the wonderful things she is used to. Now it is her turn for us to do for her. Dad Hinchee is a remarkable caretaker and we are so thankful for him! He deserves a reward for all that he does.

Now, Mom sits on the porch listening to the birds, smelling her flowers, appreciating the breeze on her face and praising the Lord for the little things often unnoticed.  Her day is filled with Christian radio (BBN) and listening to audio books.

I am sure she is also praying for her children, grandchildren and her two great grandsons!

We surprised her on her seventy-fifth birthday with a party. Family and friends gathered for a wonderful celebration. I wish we could do that every year! Filling the house with laughter and chatter really brightened her spirits.

This reunion reminds me that one day, we will be reunited with loved ones who have

 gone ahead long ago. There will be no more sorrow, no pain, no blindness, no more death but we will see Him, our Savior, face to face. What a wonderful day that will be! Until then, we will rejoice for all that He has given us. His love, salvation, new life, joy, peace, grace for every trial, the sweet fragrance of flowers, the singing of birds, love of our family and for Mom!

We love you, Mom!

Thank you friends for sharing in my mother’s birthday celebration. Mom has made so many birthdays special for us, I couldn’t resist giving her a tribute today.

Until next time,

Kathy

Alice has a “sinking” feeling that a bath is in her future.

Mar8

“Alice, what are you doing in the sink?”

“First, you were sitting in the kitchen sink and now, look at you. Do you want a bath?”

“I’m otta’ here before Mom gets the shampoo! Bye-bye for now.”