In honor of both my dad, who just turned 60 yesterday, and my mom, who turned 60 last September, here are the top 60 things I love about my parents…

60.  together they had the best daughter ever:)
59.  they gave me two awesome big brothers
58.  they love me like crazy
57.  they’re very hard workers and taught me to be a hard worker
56.  my dad worked at a publishing company when i was little and bought me books home from work all the time
55.  my mom is the best cook
54.  take a look at me…i am my mother’s daughter, for sure
53.  see my passion…i’m also my father’s daughter, for sure
52.  they’ve been married since 1969 (it’ll be 37 years in June)
51.  they always made sure i went to church
50.  my mom was my Missionettes leader
49.  my dad was a Sunday School teacher
48.  my mom prayed with me before school
47.  at one time they allowed me to take a train to Pittsburgh all by myself (i was 14!)
46.  my dad gets teary-eyed every time I leave
45.  i have to take a deep breathe before i hug my dad because he doesn’t want to let go
44.  they trusted me in high school
43.  they’ve forgiven me for every time i was dishonest to them as a child
42.  they’ve forgiven me for the times that i hurt them
41.  they sometimes pay for me to come visit them
40.  my dad calls to sing the Eagles fight song on my voicemail
39.  my mom gets hilarious when we play games with our whole family (she laughs so hard, it’s hard to contain yourself just watching her)
38.  "Momisms" like how she says…"duffle bag" as "duffie bag" or "balsamic vinegar" as "baslamic vinegar"…one of my all-time favorites-"Chuck E Cheese" is "Chunky Cheese" to my mom:)
37.  "Hot-hands Burton"-my mom can touch any hot dish, right out of the oven without burning herself!  it’s really amazing
36.  my dad’s love for his cat, Robbie
35.  my dad’s patriotism
34.  the way my dad draws a Robbie, the cat, "stamp" on every family birthday/holiday card sent out or given…you really have to see it to appreciate it
33.  the way my dad labels every picture/character on all my birthday cards
32.  my mom always gets me a manicure and/or pedicure for Christmas
31.  when one of my best friends made a video all about me "the kim video", my parents watched it several times and then made other people watch it…
30.  my mom has gotten so many awards at Cardone Industries, where she works (I pretty sure she might take over the company someday)
29.  how much my dad loves to see my pictures-I got his eye for pictures, you know
28.  i love it that when they visited me a year ago, they connected with one of my favorite teens, Casey (my mom was trying to kill him in Uno:)
27.  i love it that my dad comments on my blog
26.  and that my mom actually reads it now!
25.  i love it that i get to share my birthday with my mom
24.  my dad is a huge Philadelphia team fan and tries to keep me in the loop of what’s going on
23.  dad usually knows Detroit weather before I do because he checks it almost everyday
22.  they encourage me
21.  they are so proud of me and that makes me smile
20.  they ache to see my nephews play ball (they really love their grandkids and want to be with them!)
19.  they’re going to move to the midwest someday soon (oh, wait, that’s what i’m hoping for:)
18.  they send me a gift on Valentine’s Day:)-hopefully someday someone else will take care of that
17.  my parents hate the game, Cranium, but will play it with us because us kids love it
16. i love it that my mom actually figured out how to forward a message on her cell phone!  this is very big

15.  my mom knows that I typically need a Philly cheesesteak asap when I go home to visit

14.  my dad passed along his sweettoothe to me

13.  when I would fight with my brothers when I was little, I was always right:)

12.  they let me go far away to college-and didn’t make any bones about it

11.  they’ve allowed God to change them (aren’t we all glad that God does that in our lives?)

10.  they haven’t just gotten older, they’ve grown

9.    they support me in everything that I do!

8.    they make me miss them….

7.    they’ve listened to my stories (my many, many stories)

6.    they always made sure that I met my responsibilities to my church ministries growing up

5.  they took me to church the night I asked Jesus into my heart (and made sure that I told my pastor about it afterward)

4.  they allowed friends to be important in my life

3.  they disciplined me

2.  they put the Word into my hands as a child

1.  God gave them to me!

I truly love my parents, for even more reasons than these.  God loves us so much that He puts in the best places in which we’ll grow to become more like Him.  I’m thankful for my parents, who love me more than I can probably imagine.  And I hope that they have stepped into their 61st year of life with the best yet to come. 

Love you, Mom and Dad!  -Kimberly