I don't think I could ever put into words how much Peggy Jennings Heslep means to my family.  There is not a selfish or mean bone in this lady's being.  She is the true meaning of a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, mother-in-law, sister, friend...the list goes on and on.  She is not only mother to Bobby and Mike, but she has been a mother to me over the years. She has been through sickness and heartbreak and she has bounced back each and every time. Peggy is a caring, honest and true Christian woman. She demonstrates that every day of her life.

I talk to Peggy every morning on the phone as I am headed to work.  She is an early riser, so it is the perfect time to check in on her and hear what she has planned for the day. Many times at 7 a.m. she has already started the laundry, run the vacuum, or baked a cake.  It is not unusual to hear that she is driving a friend or her sister to a doctor's appointment or taking Hayley to school or picking up Alice  so they can head out for the morning. Their first stop is always McDonalds for the "senior" sweet tea. She stays very active by working in her yard, her mini garden, her house, heck...my house....you name it all you have to do is mention it one time and she won't let it go. 

Bobby mows her lawn once a week and she actually stands outside and watches him because "he scares me to death on that bank"...noted...he has slid into the creek on several occasions!  She says "if I just had a power saw, I could get all those limbs hanging down off that tree"...(so Bobby wouldn't have to dodge them when he mows).  Bobby, Mike, and John say NO to the power saw and she can't understand why..haha. 

The whole family absolutely loves it when she has us over for one of her meals. Wow! This lady can cook. On those occasions, she prepares enough for twice the size of our family and always packs up the leftovers for us to take home.  John doesn't mind saying, "Grandma, when are you going to fix us another meal...how about once a week?" She won't agree to once a week quite yet....darn it.

This Mother's Day, Peggy told Bobby that all she wanted for Mother's Day was for him "to go to church service with her" and she told him this like a month in advance. Bobby didn't say much about it until the night before and I asked him what he was going to do and he said, "I'm going to church with Mama tomorrow".  So that morning when we talked to Peggy on the phone and he told her he would meet her at church, you would have thought that she had just won the lottery! It meant so much to her, in fact, the next day when she was telling me about it, she was in tears.  "I just felt so blessed to have him sitting there beside me," she said.  What a special gift that was to her! I know she must have felt so proud having him there! 

Bobby and Mike treat this lady like a queen! Not a day goes by that they don't talk on the phone or stop by her house to check on her. There is never a cross word between them and the respect they have for her is beyond anything I have ever seen.  She is one special lady and we are so lucky to have her in our life!  We love you, Peggy and we are so grateful for the sacrifices you make and for the unconditional love you show all of us!  If you know Peggy, leave a comment and tell me how you know her and what she means to you!