Relief Society Birthday - March 2017

March is the official month for Relief Society Birthdays.  March 17th marked 175 years since the organization of Relief Society by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842. 

Relief Society helps prepare women for the blessings of eternal life as they increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement; strengthen individuals, families, and homes through ordinances and covenants; and work in unity to help those in need.

On March 11th, our Ward celebrated the Birthday of Relief Society.  We (The Relief Society Presidency) didn't tell anyone what we were doing because we felt that maybe some would feel they couldn't do our project and would not attend......Shhhhhh, it was our little secret.  It was basically a mystery to everyone of what we were doing with the exception of those who were involved with setting up, assisting with preparing food,  and the project itself.

My second counselor's mother owns a florist shop in Rigby, Idaho.  She contributed most of the decoration and our Relief Society Meetings (Homemaking) Assistant also contributed to the decorations.

Our table decorations were not nearly as elaborate as the other decorations.  They were just basic dandelions, made out of white, yellow, and green paper.  The reason for the dandelions?....The theme for our birthday celebration was centered around dandelions.  A Wish, or a Weed?

We started with a lunch of chicken salad croissant sandwiches, vegetable trays, Jell-O, and cupcakes.....serving 25 ladies, which is a lot for our tiny ward.

Our chicken salad was just thrown together by the presidency, not using a recipe.  We had enough requests for the recipe so I asked each of the ladies who were helping put everything together how much of each item they cut, chopped, or mixed together and this is the recipe we came  up with.

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CHICKEN SALAD CROISSANTS

Serves: 28 - 30 Large Croissants

 

INGREDIENTS:

28 - 30 Large Croissants

3 Cooked Chickens; Shredded/Cubed

3 Apples; Chopped

4 Stalks Celery; Chopped

1-1/2 Pounds Red Grapes; Halved or Quartered

2 Cups Hellman's Mayonnaise

1 Cup Sour Cream

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/8 - 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. To a large bowl, add chicken, apples, celery, and grapes; stir to mix.

2. In a medium bowl, add mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, and pepper; mix well.

3. Add dressing to chicken mix and stir till all ingredients are combined.

4. Place chicken mixture in croissants when ready to serve.

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Since it was our Relief Society birthday celebration, we (The Presidency) decided we needed a cake or cupcakes for dessert.  We decided to make cupcakes so I made picks to go in the cupcakes that depicted the theme of our celebration.

When we were almost done eating, we talked about Relief Society historical facts and how this year was the 175th birthday of Relief Society. 

 

I then gave a brief talk that was centered around dandelions and how to some they are considered an annoyance, but to others they are beautiful.  These are just a few point I brought out about dandelions.....

1. How many of you have been gifted with a bright, yellow dandelion bouquet, or a single dandelion stem?  It was a symbol of love.  The dandelion is a child's flower.  As dandelions turn to seed, children love to pick them so that they can close their eyes, make a wish, and blow the seeds into the air.

2.  Like a dandelion; you must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.

3.  The many uses for dandelions...food, cosmetics, medicinal purposes, etc.

4. Dandelions......Some see a Wish....Some see a Weed.

 

Two stories about dandelions were also presented:

Story #1

Story #2

 

After the final story was given, it was time to reveal our little secret.  We told the ladies that we were all going to paint dandelions.  For each lady, we had a painting canvas, painting easel, paints, aprons, brushes.....everything....everything they needed to complete a masterpiece.   We had 21 sisters painting.  The tables were so full that my counselors, myself, and one other sister actually painted ours when some of the ladies had finished and there was room at the tables for us. 

Here is my picture.  I still want to add some different colors of green to the grass to add a bit more depth and texture to my painting.  Whether that will happen or not, is yet to be seen.  I'm a tole painter (years ago)....not an artistic painter.  But, it really was a fun day! 



I think I just may be looking a little differently at the dandelions that I'm sure will be gracing our yard in a few short weeks.

A WISH.....or a WEED!