As I mentioned in my blog about the weekly series, I am a bit of a freak about saving money and getting myself a great deal. But I am also a huge fan of giving back to the community and to the individuals that shape us and the world we live in. I want this series of posts to be a place where I can post about service opportunities, or I can spotlight great examples of service.

It being Mother's Day tomorrow, I thought I would start this series by writing about a couple of ladies that have been serving my husband and myself for our whole lives, my mom and my mother-in-law. Both of these great ladies have not only served their families, but they serve in church, and in their communities. They are both excellent examples of service that I want to share with you.

Let's start with my mom, Rochelle. My mom is ALWAYS doing some sort of service, whether it be playing the piano for the high school musical, serving in church, raising 4 kids, or helping my brother collect toys for the local hospital. She never stops helping people and she never thinks of herself first. She serves others to a fault. I should mention that she comes by this honestly as her mom, my XiaXia is the same way! NEVER thinks of herself until she has helped everyone else first.

Growing up I sometimes did not realize how much mom sacrificed to do things for us. I just assumed she would always play the piano for all my auditions and she always would end up volunteering to play the piano for the shows as well. But guess what? My mom did not just play the piano for my auditions, she played for and helped prepare myself and all my friends for our auditions as well. It was common in our home to have weeks on end of practice after practice of my friends and I preparing for auditions well into the nights, and my mom would sit at the piano through all those hours and just play over and over and help us get better and better.

Thanks mom for always serving me, my friends, the community and really anyone you could! Thanks for being an example to me and my siblings!

Now, I am going to sound repetitive here, but my mother-in-law, Anne, is equally unselfish in her service to her family, her community, and her church. Whether coaching sports for her kids teams, stopping by the neighbors house just because they seemed like they might need a hand, or serving and raising 6 great kids, one of which turned out to be the great man I married! Like my mom, she never thinks of herself first, and she comes by it honestly as well. Grandma N is a great example of unselfish service and like my XiaXia, passed that on to her children.

I am Greek, and some parts of My Big Fat Greek Wedding are really true in my family, but what I learned when I married Wes was that you do not have to be Greek to live in that "big fat family" world! They are a tight knit clan on both sides, and there are a lot of them! Anne always includes all the family in everything and watches for ways to serve them. She is loving to a fault and would do anything for her family. She extends that service to her friends and neighbors as well. I have never seen someone so dedicated to serving people that try not to accept the service. She WILL take care of people's needs whether they like it or not.

Thanks Anne for raising a great man for me to marry, and for teaching us all from your constant examples of service!

I would be remiss if I did not mention my grandma (dad's dad) and Wes's grandma J (his dad's dad) here as well. They both are wonderful examples of service and have taught it to their children as well. One of my earliest memories of service was of participating in a fashion show to benefit the American Cancer Society with my grandma.

Thanks to all the moms in my life for showing me how to serve and give back. I hope to be like you all someday!

Readers, please leave any comments you would like to about how your mom's serve! I would LOVE to hear about the moms in your lives as well!