Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Mother's Day at church today

Today in church, as in probably every other Mormon congregation where Mother's Day is celebrated, the children sang :). The speakers talked about the important role of mothers and other important women.

For example, the bishop (the leader of our congregation) drew parallels to the Academy Awards and receiving Oscars. He said that there are often women in our lives (or in the scriptures or in history) who deserve "Best Supporting Actress". They aren't necessarily in the lime light, but they play such important roles in our lives.

Then at the end of the sacrament meeting (the main meeting at church), the children distributed a gift to all of the women (whether they're mothers or not :) ). At home in MA, the women often got flowers, a potted plant or a rose, but this year in Germany we got a cute little gift bag that said "15 Minutes of Rest".

Light a candle, drink some herbal tea, read a little story and eat some chocolate. Sounds good to me :)

Some of the things my mom has taught me

I am so grateful for my mom. She's wonderful. She is a hard-working woman and she has taught me so much.

I guess you could say she has also been sacrificing for me (and my 4 siblings) ever since I was barely a multi-celled organism...I apparently ruined her attempt to go her first day of work. She threw up at the bus stop, turned around and went home. And found out that 'morning' sickness is not just a morning thing...but she still put up with it five times! Thank you!

• I was able to help someone sew a button on a coat recently (my mom taught me how to do that--and even how you can put a toothpick under the button to maintain enough distance from the plakat. This is helpful for thicker material, like coats, so that the button hole can get around the button...I don't know if that explanation made sense :P )

• Recently, we got to go to Spain, where my family is currently residing. There my mom helped me sew my crocheted patches onto my favorite sweater. The elbows were wearing thin and I was getting worried..phew! And I think they're pretty stylish to boot :) My mom is good at sewing--in fact, really good. She sewed clothes for me/us when I was little. She made my prom skirt. The list goes on :)

• While in Spain, I also gave my mom's hair a trim. Who did I learn that from? My mom. I've been able to use the skill quite a bit--on my mission, cutting my companion's hair (and even cutting my own...) and cutting F's hair (I even gave him his wedding haircut!).  And that falls right in line with the thriftiness that she's so good at!
• And speaking of haircutting, I made a hair-cutting-cape out of an old umbrella. My mom is creative and resourceful--and here it's helping us too!

• And I also patched a bag that was getting a hole in it..what did I use? Oh, just a not-very-effective bike seat cover. And, although it wasn't effective as a seat cover, it was the perfect material to patch the bag.

• And baking bread, making yogurt--those are things my mom taught me too. And just the fact that she made them--it was important to her to feed us well and she's done a great job!

Other ways she has helped me

My mom has helped me in so many situations--listened to me when I told her about school, helped me with homework, read and helped edit my essays, essentially planned my wedding while I was busy taking finals, sends me great and interesting articles, etc.

She has shared her love of the gospel and of God with me. I have always known that my mom loves God and Jesus Christ. We have read in the scriptures together and memorized scripture verses together. We have gone to church, sung in choirs, prayed, fasted together. We have helped others together. My mom was always willing to help people in need and she brought us along to help too.

I know that my mom isn't perfect (no one is), but I am so grateful for her.

I love you, Mom.