Stories about Mom

Last night for Family Home Evening we celebrated Mom's birthday by telling some stories about her and listening to one of our favorite tapes. I'm sure you all know the one...Mom was about three and was laughing and singing Oh, My Darlin' Clementine and Doggy in the Window and saying (in her adorable little southern accent) "Clap your hands, Daddy." I have always loved listening to it, and my kids do to. (Sorry, Mom, I know it embarrasses you, but it really is wonderful!)

As I was preparing for last night and trying to come up with some stories about Mom as a kid, I could only think of one thing! That was that when the family moved to Twin Falls the neighborhood children took Mom around to all the houses so that everyone could hear her southern accent. I'm thinking she was about 4 at the time. Is that right, can anyone add anything to the story? Since that was all I could come up with, I had to call Gran, and I got a little bit more. I just had to share them, they are so good. I wish I had a picture to go with them. I'll have to work on that.

When Mom was born, Grandaddy was a popular radio announcer and so he dedicated a song to Gran during his radio show. It was "Daddy's Little Girl" by Eddy Arnold. I put it in my sidebar on the right, all you have to do is click play. It is such a sweet song.

Lots of people heard the dedication and wanted to see the new baby. Mom was born in a new hospital that had a nice big nursery with big windows so everyone could look at the babies. Gran's room was just across the hall and down one door from the nursery so she could hear all the people come. "Which one is the Haeberle baby? Oh, there she is! Isn't she a purty baby?" Lots of things like that. Then they would say, "I wonder which is her room? What is she like?" So Gran would sit up, and read her magazine and look pretty and smile nicely at all the people.

We all know that Mom doesn't like confrontation. She was born that way. When she was young, 3, 4, and 5 years old, and some contention or problem would arise, she would quietly go into her bedroom and close the door. Sometimes she had two doors to her bedroom, and would close both. She would stay there for about 15 minutes and then come out, happy and ready to move on. (I have to say that this story made quite an impression on my children!)

The last is not so much about Mom as a child, but about who she is. When Gran and Grandaddy joined the Church, their missionaries gave them a leather bound triple combination and wrote an inscription inside the cover. They mentioned their love for the family and their hope that the boys would serve missions. They also wrote about Mom becoming a lovely mother and an angel in Zion. What prophetic words! She is a lovely mother, and she truly is an angel to so many people.