Happy Mother's Day

I hope all you mothers out there had a relaxing, stress-free day.
Kurt always does a wonderful job spoiling me with breakfast in bed and doing everything for me all day. He used to change all the diapers and get the kids in bed, but now they do as much as him. This year he actually had them do most of it and they did a great job. I loved my gifts, mostly the homemade cards :) My dad has started a tradition of having the family down to their house and spoiling the mothers with a yummy dinner and dessert. My sisters, mother and grandma get to sit at the table, use the silver and fancy dishes and were served a 4 course meal that ended with lobster and filet mignon! He out-did himself this year, it was delicious.
Matthew was asked to talk in sacrament meeting and that was another precious gift that I loved. He's a really good speaker and did a fantastic job. He's becoming such a wonderful young man. Here's his talk:

A poet wrote:
The holiest words my tongue can frame,
The noblest thoughts my soul can claim,
Unworthy are to praise the name
More precious than all other.
An infant, when her love first came,
A man, I find it still the same,
Reverently I breathe her name,
The blessed name of mother.

President Thomas S. Monson teaches us to have gratitude for our mothers. He said, "First, there is gratitude for our mothers. Mother, who willingly made that personal journey into the valley of the shadow of death to take us by the hand and introduce us to birth - even to mortal life - deserves our undying gratitude." He goes on to say, "My own mother may not have read to me from the scriptures; rather, she taught me by her life and actions. Care for the poor, the sick, the needy were everyday dramas never to be forgotten." One writer summed up our love for mother when he declared, "God could not be everywhere, and so He gave us mothers."

We all need to be thankful for our mothers. They teach us about the gospel and how to be better people through their example and experiences. The show us how to care for others.

The 2000 stripling warriors were taught by their mothers to be faithful to the Lord and to not doubt his power. In Alma 56:47-48 it says, "yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it." They knew that God would deliver them in battle because their mothers had taught them it.

This poem is about 3 kids who express their love for their mother. The three kids are little John, Rosy Nell, and little Fan:
"I love you mother," said little John
Then, forgetting his work his cap went on,
And he was off to the garden swing,
And left her the water and wood to bring.

"I love you mother," said Rosy Nell -
"I love you better than tongue can tell"
Then she teased and pouted full half the day,
Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play.

"I love you mother," said little Fan
"Today I'll help you all I can;
How glad I am that school doesn't keep!"
So she rocked the babe till it fell asleep.

Then, stepping softly, Fan fetched the broom,
And swept the floor and tidied the room;
Busy and happy all day was she,
Helpful and happy as a child could be.

"I love you mother," again they said
Three little children going to bed:
How do you think that Mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best?

As you can see, Little John just forgot his jobs and went to play. He didn't really express his love. Rosy Nell said that she loved her, but then pouted and teased all day. Little Fan, unlike her brother and sister, expressed her love by cleaning for their mother all day.

We all need to show how much we love our mother. My mom has a deathly fear of flies, spiders, moths, and anything else that creeps or crawls. So I am her official bug-get-rid-of-er. By doing my jobs and helping out around the house, I am showing my love for my mother.

I am thankful for all that my mom does for me. Just last Friday she took me to get my permit, an act I am truly grateful for. Even though I don't always appreciate it, I am thankful for her pushing me to stay with piano. She is always behind me nudging me along the way. She keeps food in the house for all the family, she does the laundry, she supports my activities; she does so much that I could never list them all. I love my mother for always being there for me, for being at all my activities, cheering me on. I am thankful for her kindness and patience and all of her hard work to keep our family running. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

(Isn't he sweet? And just FYI, I don't mind flies so much, but he does get all the other bugs for me :)