Relief Society Birthday Party

Well, sometimes you text this picture to your bfsc Heidi with this accompanying message:

 Will you still love me if I take the gorgeous scarf you brought me back from Europe and drape it over an old straw hat to wear to a Relief Society birthday tea party??

And she texts back in the affirmative, so off you go, feeling a bit like you're wearing a lampshade... a really, really pretty one :).

 March 17th marks the anniversary of the organization of the Relief Society, so every year we get to have a fun birthday party and celebrate this incredible program. This year some amazing women went all out with a tea party theme.

 Some of the attendees and decor.

 

 Food. Amazing, delicious food. I sat next to my friend Jessica and we were totally shameless about refilling our plates like five times.

 Emily, Teena, Virginia, and DeArley were the driving forces behind the whole evening; here are some shots of the activities - a trivia game with questions about general Relief Society history and our ward Relief Society history, and a fun white elephant gift exchange.

 We took advantage of the Bishop wandering in at the end of the evening and had him take a group picture. 

Right before this, our RS president spoke for a few minutes and then the Bishop offered some remarks and it got pretty emotional. As I mentioned, our ward had a rocky start to March, and it actually got more difficult with another ward member passing away. This night was such a neat reminder about how blessed we are to be part of an organization whose primary purpose is to serve others - how incredible and humbling is that? I'm grateful for the sisters that I get to worship with and work with and laugh with and have tea parties with :). Kudos again to everyone who put so much effort into this special evening!!