Taylor Swift’s mother, Andrea Swift, was on hand at the ACM Awards Sunday night to present her daughter with a Milestone Award for her contributions to country music.

Andrea Swift Presents Taylor Swift With ACM Milestone Award

Andrea gave an emotional tribute to Taylor Swift, recounting her journey in Country music from when she was a “tangled-hair little girl growing up on our farm.”

“Ever since then, her favorite thing to do has been to write a song, tell a story, play a guitar or piano, and I’ve seen those things carry through her every emotion, every experience in her life, good or bad,” Andrea said.

Andrea, who recently revealed she was diagnosed with cancer, went on to reveal that she and her husband were the inspirations for “Love Story,” one of Swift’s biggest country hits.

“Now, every once in a while, her dad, her brother, or I find ourselves to be the subjects of those songs. Sometimes, we’re merely the inspiration, like the time she was 17 years old, and her dad and I strongly disapproved of a young man. And rightfully so. But she was mad, she was real mad, and she went to her room and she closed the door. And she came out about an hour later with a song called ‘Love Story,’” Andrea said, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

Andrea concluded her speech with a sweet message to the Country music community, saying, “I am a very proud mom. So, I’d like to than the ACMs for honoring her in this way, but I’d also like to thank the entire music community for taking such good care of her. And, to the fans, I know you love her as I love her, and for that, I thank you eternally. And so, it’s my pleasure, my pride and my joy, to introduce my daughter Taylor Swift.”

Swift then took the stage in a sparkling blue gown and echoed her mother’s sentiments, thanking the Country music industry for embracing her as an artist and supporting her move to pop music.

“I’m so happy that I learned to write songs in a town like Nashville, I’m so grateful that I learned what hard work is from my heroes who are all sitting here, and I’m so unbelievably proud that I learned to treat people with kindness and respect from country music. I love you so much,” Swift said.

Casual Sunday night with the parents. #ACMawards50

A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Apr 19, 2015 at 10:28pm PDT