Celebrating Moms

When your mom and mother-in-law are in Heaven, Mother’s Day is forever changed. My mom, Collene Spencer went to Heaven on February 22, 2015, and my mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg, went to Heaven on January 4, 2018. Last year on April 23, 2025, my sister, Alena Stevens…who was also mom to Michelle Miller, Garrett Stevens, and Lacey Killinger…moved to Heaven too. Mother’s Day is meant to celebrate moms, but when your Mom is in Heaven, it can feel a bit empty. Still, it’s not truly empty, because I’m a mom too, as are my sisters, sisters-in-law, daughters, granddaughters-in-law, and nieces. So, to them and to the moms in Heaven, Happy Mother’s Day.

Being a mom is such a blessing, and I’m so honored to have my two beautiful daughters, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce. They’ve always been an incredible blessing to me, filling my life with kindness and love that has brought me so much joy over the years. Even when I can’t be with them on special days, I know I am in their thoughts and prayers, just as they are always in mine. I cherish our daily chats, whether by phone or text, and the sweet feeling of being on their minds. Each has given me two wonderful grandchildren, and the blessings just keep growing. My granddaughters-in-law, Karen Petersen, who has blessed me with a great granddaughter and two great grandsons, and Athena Petersen, who has blessed me with four great-grandsons, all of whom I love dearly. As my family grows, so does the depth of the blessings I’ve been given. God has been, and continues to be, so good to me. Life is good, and it just keeps getting better.

Some people see days like Mother’s Day as just commercial holidays meant to sell greeting cards, but I couldn’t disagree more. Mother’s Day, like so many other special occasions, is a time to think about our moms and all the blessings they’ve given us. People who still have their mother in their life, really have no idea what it might feel like when their mother is gone from their earthly life. I miss those moms who have gone on before me, and I wish I could be with them on this, their day, but since I can’t, I’ll simply celebrate the joy they’ve brought into my life and always will. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, especially to mine…I love you so much!!