Sua Mãe (17 July 2026)

      Sua mãe and I

“Sua Mãe” (17 June 2026)

Question #1: How did Caleb respond…?

Answer: Sua Mãe!

Question #2: Why was Hezekiah such a good and righteous king when his father was exactly the opposite?

Answer: Sua Mãe! (2 Kings 18:2)

Question #3: Why are my kids so awesome despite my high pants and questionable sense of humor?

Answer: Sua Mãe!

My Mom surrounded by family at Dad’s burial.

“Your poor Mother!” is often the response when others hear I grew in a family of nine boys. While I like to pretend we were all perfect children, we may occasionally tested my mom’s patience. While unconfirmed , there have been allegations of occasional scuffles, sneaking out to “swim” in the nasty pond, or passing off your turn at milking cows to a younger brother so you could go to the Weaver’s house.

Allegedly we also required some level of care and feeding. She may have had to tell us more than once to take off our manure-covered shoes before entering the house and repeatedly remind us to get out of the house to accomplish our many chores. And then there’s the food… I really have no idea how much work she had to do to keep us all fed and healthy. As a young child I remember watching in awe as Scott downed half a loaf of bread in the form of toast, complete with butter and honey, plus cracked wheat cereal with cream, half an orange, and plenty of milk to wash that all down when he came in from moving pipe. Multiply that by 9 very active boys, and again by 3 meals every day for decades…

Did I show my appreciation for all my mom did for me? Does a fish show appreciation when someone drops food in the fishbowl? Did I even understand half of what she did for me? What’s with all these questions? No wonder people say I’m questionable…

Since this is turning into a belated Mother’s Day Farm Story, our theme song will be one your mother heard about while chatting with a São Paulo Uber driver. The driver shared this song, and even played it, in response to Mom’s comment on how long it was taking to learn Portuguese. This song became your mother’s rallying cry for patience amidst her diligent efforts to learn Portuguese.

The song is “Devagar, Devagarinho”:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/devagar-devagarinho/401802056?i=401802069

Patience and diligent effort is but one of the many attributes of great mothers like my mother and your mother.  And it turns out we come from a long line of wonderful mothers- some day we’ll even trace it back to Eve.

Minha mãe, and a mãe dela, e…

Going back one more generation we find  another great mother in your lineage, Dorothy Crockett, who passed away shortly after Kelsey was born (we think Kelsey and Dorothy have a special connection beyond the veil). I share the story of young Dorothy’s first date with an enterprising young Eugene Nielsen in the mountains of Arizona where his idea of a good time was to take live chickens (and a watermelon) into the mountains to kill and eat for dinner. Maybe mothers are so great because they learn critical skills, like patience and long suffering, before they even have children!

Eugene and Dorothy married after serving missions, lived a good life, and raised a great family together, despite that questionable choice of a first date. (So there’s hope even for husbands who don’t lick the cookie beater before putting it in the sink.) They are pictured below after 65 years of marriage. Dorothy didn’t get pictures in her wedding dress on her wedding day, so when her children were cleaning out her house they scheduled a photo shoot at the temple on their 65th wedding anniversary.

Question #6(or 7): Who should we show appreciation for?

Answer: Sua Mãe!

In my defense, I do remember gathering dandelions with Lyle to give to my Mom when we were very young. I suppose it’s the thought that counts.

In summary:

• Sua mãe loves you more than you know.
• Sua mãe does more that you can ever pay back.
• Thanks for being the best kids ever!

Love always,

Dad

Best time to plant a tree was seven years ago. The second best time is today.

The best day to say Happy Mother’s Day is on Mother’s Day, I suppose the second best day is today and every day!

T