Happy Mothers' Day

Hi Everybody, Happy Mothers' Day 2017 to all of you wonderful motherly women, mothers, and grandmothers out there!

This Mother at the International Mothers' Day shrine in Grafton, Virginia, looks like she has her hands full like many of you great Moms!

Since the great Tug-of-War incident we haven't been around much so you'll have to excuse this short post this week.

And our sight-seeing has been limited to the bus this week.  We liked the flowers here at this flower shop and maybe you sent your mom flowers for Mothers' Day, too.  

Of course, some Moms like cakes and treats and, being Moms, they would probably love something from a bakery like this called the Baby Star Bread and Cake Shop.

Of course, for the extra-healthy Mom, you might give her some healthy fruit from the April Fruit Shop, unless of course, it's closed like it was today.  Besides it's May not April!

Elder Chandler would give something like fried rice with shrimp from his favorite restaurant, the Happy Restaurant; this should make any Mom happy, don't you think? 
By the way, Elder Chandler's knee is healing well and he is working on his physical therapy exercises and he is also excited to get out his stitches next week.  He is also down to one crutch so he is doing great in his recovery.

So here are a few thoughts from the internet in case you want to know more about Mothers' Day:

Early Mother's Day celebrations can be dated back to the spring celebrations to honor Rhea, the Mother of the Gods, in ancient Greek civilization, according to some sources. Later, Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom was traditionally a day for people to visit the church where they were baptized, although it now also celebrates motherhood in modern times.

Mothering Sunday in England

Mothering Sunday was originally a time when people returned to the church, in which they were baptized or where they attended services when they were children. This meant that families were reunited as adults returned to the towns and villages where they grew up. In time, it became customary for young people who were working as servants in large houses, to be given a holiday on Mothering Sunday. They could use this day to visit their own mother and often took a gift of food or hand-me-down clothing from their employers to her. In turn, this moved towards the modern holiday, on which people still visit and take gifts to their mothers.

Traditionally, people observed a fast during Lent. Lent is the period from Ash Wednesday until Good Friday. During the Lent fast, people did not eat from sweet, rich foods or meat. However, the fast was lifted slightly on Mothering Sunday and many people prepared a Simnel cake to eat with their family on this day.

A Simnel cake is a light fruit cake covered with a layer of marzipan and with a layer of marzipan baked into the middle of the cake. Traditionally, Simnel cakes are decorated with 11 or 12 balls of marzipan, representing the 11 disciples and, sometimes, Jesus Christ. One legend says that the cake was named after Lambert Simnel who worked in the kitchens of Henry VII of England sometime around the year 1500.

The modern-day origins of Mother's Day can be attributed to two women – Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis, who were important in establishing the tradition in the United States. Around 1870, Julia Ward Howe called for Mother's Day to be celebrated each year. It continued to be held in Boston for about 10 years under her sponsorship, but died out after that. Other sources say that Juliet Calhoun Blakely initiated Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the late 1800s. Her sons paid tribute to her each year and urged others to honor their mothers.

In 1907, Anna Jarvis held a private Mother's Day celebration in memory of her mother, Ann Jarvis, in Grafton, West Virginia. In 1908, she played a key role in arranging a church service that attracted 407 children and their mothers. A Mother’s Day International Association was founded in 1912 to promote the holiday in other countries. Mother’s Day has grown increasingly popular since then.

Many people believe that Mother’s Day is now largely commercialized, with card companies, flower shops, jewelry stores, gift shops, restaurants, hotels, and department stores advertising promotions and special deals for this event. Anna Jarvis, in her lifetime, unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit to stop the over-commercialization of Mother's D

There are various ways to show an appreciation for mothers and mother figures on Mother’s Day. They include white carnations, which Anna Jarvis asked to be the official symbol for the day, as well as the International Mother’s Day Shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the preservation of motherhood. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. It is located together with a museum at Grafton, West Virginia, and aims to preserve, promote and develop the spirit of motherhood.

 Mothers and motherly women make a big difference in the world and here's a good link from lds.org if you want to see some sweet and short Mothers' Day videos: Mothers' Day Videos

Here's the best one if you have time:#ItWasMom
HAPPY Weekend and HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!!!!!!!