Blessing #17--My Mother-in-Law

Okay, so I realize I am super behind. I owe you two blogs still. This is one of them. However, I have at least 3 or 4 that I still intend to post at some point. August was just a really busy month. And, the first half of September was filled with travel. But, I am pretty proud that I did as well as I did with sticking to posting almost daily during this "blessings series".

That said, on to another blessing of mine... My mother-in-law... or as I sometimes refer to her, my "mother-in-love".

Me and my MIL, when I was very pregnant

I can not tell you how uberly, unbelievably, abundantly blessed I am to have the MIL that I have. It kinda goes along with how blessed I am with the FIL I have. I don't think I could have envisioned a more amazing "in-law" situation.

My hubby and my MIL dancing at our wedding

When I think of my MIL, the word "family" pops into my mind. Aside from God, I truly believe that family is the most important thing in her life. She lives for her family. She loves on her family. She caters to her family. And it makes her happy to do so. This woman loves her husband, which is obvious. On her birthday, she made food for my FIL. While I would have probably told my hubby that it was my day and he would have to fix his own pizza, she lovingly did it. And then there are her boys... She loves them so much it probably hurts... She wants only the best for them and I think she might even physically feel their pain when things don't go perfectly for them.

My hubby and MIL at our wedding

My MIL dancing with her other son at his wedding

Not only does she give of herself for her husband and her boys, but she loves her daughters-in-laws (or is it daughter-in-laws) as if they are truly her own daughters. Almost as if she had given birth to us herself. That's the love she displays for us. See what I mean? I'm blessed. In fact, she is more of a friend than an "in-law" or a parental figure.

MIL, me, my mom at my baby shower

My MIL laughing at dinner with my sister-in-law

For a while, my MIL and I would make a trip to Wal-Mart together every Sunday. On one particular trip, I thought she was going to pull out in front of on-coming traffic. I may have made some vocal squeal or something because she commented about how I was going to go tell my friends what a crazy, horrible MIL I had. That lead to a conversation about how I had recently been thinking about how the opposite is so true. I actually have a mother-in-law who I like. It isn't the old cliche situation where I dread seeing or talking to "the in-laws". I told her how most of my friends have at least one "in-law situation", where either they or their husbands don't get along with one of the set of parents. But, not us. I feel truly blessed. My parents love my hubby and I love his parents. I actually enjoy spending time with my MIL (and my FIL, but this post is about my MIL, remember?).

My mom and MIL being silly with their lipstick
Selfless is another good word for describing my MIL. She will rearrange her entire day, I'm convinced, to accommodate her family's needs, wishes and desires. If my hubby or I called and asked her to watch Little Buddy that same day, she'd do it. This woman sacrifices her own plans, without complaint, to give haircuts, babysit, or just spend time with her family.

The fam

I think my MIL was designed with some special grandmother feature. She is an amazingly loving, wonderful, patient, creative and thoughtful grandmother. Despite the fact that, at least once an hour, Little Buddy will grab her finger and lead her to the "vacuum closet", she still lets her fingers be visible and she still lets him convince her that he needs to see that vacuum "just one more time". And, my son adores her! When he was going through his stranger anxiety phase, she was one of the only people he'd go to, aside from me and my hubby.

On Toad's Birthday

Just loving her grandson
I could probably write a book on how fortunate I am to have Millie as my mother-in-love. I only wish everyone had this same experience. I wouldn't trade her for the world.