A Message from Mom
To Lara Marie on the occasion of
her wedding.
by Mindie Burgoyne
Posted April 2007
Written February 2005
I’ll never forget the first time
I laid eyes on Lara. She was about
fifteen minutes old and just a
little over six pounds. I had never
seen anything so beautiful or so
perfect (except maybe her brothers).
Times were hard for us then. I
wondered how we would survive as a
family. When I was expecting Lara I
worried so about adding one more
mouth to feed, one more body to
clothe, one more child to shelter …
but somehow I was able to cling onto
enough faith to trust that God would
provide for us.
The great revelation was that God
not only provided enough to sustain
us, He provided us with unexpected
prosperity. Lara was – and is - my
constant reminder of the rewards
that come when you trust in God and
try to live according to His
purpose.
I knew from the first time I held
her and touched her perfect little
fingers that she was special.
Inherently I knew that the joy and
wonder I felt at our first meeting
in the hospital recovery room would
be repeated again and again
throughout our lives.
Lara rarely cried,
always smiled, adored her
brothers and attached herself to me
at the hip imitating everything I
did and said. When I scan my
memories of my little girl growing
up I recall her at age four standing
beside my bedroom vanity smearing
lipstick and eye shadow on her
little face. (she never got over
that passion).
I recall her first day of
pre-school when she was so upset
about leaving me that she threw up
in my car - then two years later,
her sad face sitting across the
breakfast table in her St. Louis
uniform wearing her hair in a French
braid sadly eating her cream of
wheat before she was put on the bus
for her first day of kindergarten.
She never wanted to leave me – and
I have to admit – I didn’t want to
leave her.
When she wasn’t my shadow,
she
was
following her brothers. Though
the boys teased her unmercifully
with stunts that included shoving a
dead bird in her face just for the
“scream factor” and rigging the
scrolling marquee screensaver on the
computer to say in large letters …
“Lara is a hairy beast,” she
couldn’t do without their company,
their protection and their presence
as older siblings. To this day, she
and her brothers share a single
identity in one another’s company,
and those boys still take care of
her when she needs them.
She chose the two of them to escort
her down the aisle on her wedding
day.
 Very
few people know that Lara was
deathly afraid of the dark until she
was well in her teens. I would allow
her to leave the light on in her
room all night, and also allow her
to climb in bed with me ONLY after
she retired in her own bed. Each
night she’d come crawling through
the dark halls of our home in the
wee hours of the morning to sneak
into bed with mom, I’d always
welcome her … I couldn’t refuse.
In the early evening I’d watch
television in my bedroom and Lara
would come in and lay down with me.
When she’d start to fall asleep I’d
tell her to get in her own bed. She
would always pretend that was
already asleep and couldn’t hear me.
Once I asked as I caught her faking
sleep, “Lara when you get married,
how will we tell your husband that
you have to sleep with your mommy
beside you at night?”
Without missing a beat she
replied from a fake sleep, “I’ll be
over it by then.”
“Then” is now and the years have
flown by. My baby is putting
lipstick and eye shadow on strangers
for a living. And she is
transitioning from being my little
girl to being David’s wife. It’s a
bitter-sweet step for every parent
to watch, but Lara’s life continues
to evolve and repeat the pattern of
reward and blessing. When choosing
someone to care for a precious
daughter, who could ask for a finer
young man than
David English?
All during the time my children
were growing up I prayed for their
spouses – yet unknown to us – I
would pray that God would choose a
good mate for each child and would
bless that spouse wherever he or she
was - keeping them safe, healthy and
strong until they married my child.
I always sensed that God would
send someone special for Lara. David
is more than I could have hoped for.
He’s intelligent, dependable,
honorable, hard-working, organized,
and enthusiastic with a zeal for
life and a vision for the future.
But most important, he adores my
daughter and I believe he would lay
down his life for her, and in return
I’ve seen Lara grow into a giving,
loving person who can sacrifice and
endure tough times of separation and
compromise because she loves David.
David’s own name means “beloved” a
meaning which appropriately reflects
his “new” presence in our family.
He’s such an easy guy to love. Dan
and I are grateful that David had
such a loving nurturing family to
help shape him into the fine young
man he’s become.
I drive up and down the Eastern
Shore all week long with my job. I
pass by million dollar water-front
homes and expansive farms that cover
hundreds of acres. Sometimes looking
on that amount of wealth is
overwhelming and I’ll wonder, “How
must it feel to have the kind of
money that purchases these kinds of
homes and land valued in the
millions?”
I wonder if any of those rich
people have a daughter like Lara.
The old rhyme, “If wishes were
horses then beggars would ride”
rings true. But if wealth was
measured not by possessions, but
love, laughter, comforts of family
and home, and children who make
their parents proud – those rich
people have nothing on me. Lara
Marie is the special treasure that
crowns our fortune… and now Dave
brings a fresh vigor to the mix. We
are indeed wealthy.
 The
marriage of these two fine young
people brings a new optimism, hope
and vigor to the Santi, Burgoyne and
English families. May God bless and
keep them both, endow them with the
wealth of children and a happy home,
and keep them close by a mother who
finds joy in the simple pleasure of
being in their company.
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