Mom turned 80 years old on Sunday. I talked to her on my way to church and she asked, “Are you surprised you have a Mother who is 80 today?” I responded, “Well, I have never really thought of it that way, but I’m glad I do.”

Following my GuideStone meeting on Monday and Tuesday, Jeana and I drove to my Mom’s and spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights with her to celebrate her 80th birthday. We enjoyed being with family and having those moments together.

On Thursday night at almost 10:00 p.m., Josh, Kate, Meredith, Nick, and our three grand-children Peyton, Reese, and Parker all showed up at the door UNANNOUNCED to Mom. We brought them into celebrate a couple of days with Mom. She was shocked. So here we are in a 1,600-square foot home with eight adults and three children. We all lived through it and survived for two nights. It was all about making memories.

On Friday night, we gave a surprise birthday party for Mom at her church’s fellowship hall. Again, she was shocked! Many of her friends joined us to celebrate, and we just enjoyed fellowship with family and friends. By the time that ended and we cleaned up the fellowship hall, we were all pretty well exhausted.

On Saturday, our children and grand-children, along with Mom and my niece Tanya, journeyed to the cemetery where my Dad was buried. It has been just over two years now that Dad has been with the Lord. He is buried in an obscure cemetery in the country,
about 40 minutes from our home in a cemetery called, “Floyd’s Chapel.” His mom and dad, grand-father and grand-mother are all buried there along with other family members. It is located off of a dirt road about 15 minutes or so from Gonzales, Texas. We spent some time there walking around, mainly at Dad’s grave, and then left.

Then from the cemetery, we said good-bye to Mom and Tanya, and my children, grandchildren, and Jeana and I departed in three separate cars. On our way to the airport in Austin, we stopped by Buccy’s in Luling, Texas, one of the most interesting stops Jeana and I enjoy each time we go see Mom. It is a glorified mega-stop for families traveling on I-10 from Houston to San Antonio. At this place, we said good-bye to Nick, Meredith, and Reese as they drove back to Dallas and the rest of us went to Austin to catch our plane home. It was a busy, busy few days.

So Mom had a special 80th birthday, and I am so glad we were able to participate.

Mom, if you read this, “We love you and celebrate your 80th year on this earth–make it great!”