Some Clarification for You...and an Update

There have been a lot of people asking how the Young Mother of the Year thing came to be.  Some people have even asked if I put my own name in the hat.  HaHaHa!  No.

Two friends nominated me.  Anyone can nominate anyone.  In order to do that (in the state of Oregon), you can send an email to info(at)oregonmothers(dot)org.  In order to find out where to nominate for your state, you can do a google search for "American Mothers, Inc."  I have nominated someone for next year, and I'm very EXCITED about that.

I found out I was nominated for Young Mother of the Year for 2012 when a letter came in the mail inviting me to a luncheon, where I would learn more, and a gala where the 2011 Mother and Young Mother of the Year would be announced.

At this point, I'm still a nominee.  There's still much to do.  Before I can officially be included, I have a portfolio to complete, which is full of questions about how I feel about being a mom.  There are also photos and other things I need to include with that.

In the meantime, there have been a lot of great experiences.  I went to my first board meeting, which I posted about a couple weeks ago--remember the "am I eligible" thing?  Well,  here's the update for you....I'm not.  Not eligible to be Young Mother of the Year, that is.  If I complete the portfolio before the deadline, I can only be considered for Mother of the Year.  Young Mother's children are all under the age of 18 (by February 20th)--that's the only difference between the two women.  Since my daughter will turn 18 in November, I'm not "young" any more.  Boy, you can say that again!

This past Saturday morning, we went to decorate floats for the Portland Rose Festival and today, we're going to the state capitol to go to an open session of the House of Representatives.  #1's taking A.P. U.S. government next year, so I thought this'd be a good field trip for her, so she's going along with me.  I'm so excited about this.

There have been other activities for which invitations have been received--Mother's Day mass at the Grotto, which I didn't attend because #3 was speaking in church, and there was NO WAY I was going to miss that, and dedication of the final phase of the "Walk of Heroines" at Portland State University.

The things I have attended have been so worthwhile.  I look forward to more.

Before the nomination letter, I didn't know very much about this organization.  I had friends who had been nominated in the past, and a woman I served with in a ward we lived in previously has been Mother of the Year in the past, but other than that, I knew nothing about what this group did.  I just want to make other moms aware.  This is a great group!  I encourage you to get involved in your own state.  You don't have to be a nominee, you just have to feel strongly about the role of motherhood.


Here are some photos of us working on the float:

Our good buddy (#2's friend), me, #2 and #1 getting ready to dive in and paint.

#2 and another friend--#2 painted her into the middle of the float and stood there and laughed at her while she was trying to get out.  Where does this wicked humor come from?  Hmm.

Beautiful day!  The crew filling little vials with water for the flowers.

#1 and her friend filling vials.  You'll notice the seafood place next door.  It smelled a bit fishy.

LOVED the teenagers who showed up!  Such a great crew, and such a GREAT time!  Thanks guys!

Two of the women who went with us.  They are really high up off the ground, but you can't tell from the angle.  Total troopers!