I think that May could not have begun more splendidly than it did today. Such a special month, with so many reasons to celebrate! I couldn't wait to get started. (And receiving such a beautiful comment from such a beautiful friend so early in the morning brought the biggest smile to my face, which lingered for the rest of the day--thank you! A sweet e-mail later in the day from another dear friend just added icing to the cake. I love you ladies! )
I thought that it would be nice to make some May Day baskets for my mom and Nana today and so this morning, my children and I made some simple cones out of colored card stock (each held together with a cute sticker) and filled them with flowers cut from our gardens. And, since May is also the month of Mary, we included for each of them a pretty Mary magnet which we made using these images. Upon further investigation, however, I realized that Darren had taken the van to work today and so we would not be able to go deliver our surprises as I had planned! Luckily, my mom didn't mind coming over to retrieve her own small gifts, and was more than happy to take the other set to her mom. I think they were both very pleased, but I'm sure no more so than we were to make our gifts for them!
After lunch, Caitlyn reminded me that we didn't have a May Day basket of our own to enjoy, and so we got right to work making another one to display in our home. I think it is truly lovely--we hung it on the inside of our back door, but quickly relocated it to the bulletin board when Meghan discovered how much fun it was to pick the flowers!
Since we were on a roll with the crafting, we decided to make a set of magnets for ourselves, too: one of Mary, and one of her humble husband, Joseph, who's memorial we celebrated today as well. I think they turned out quite nice...and I love seeing them side by side on my freezer door every time I go into the kitchen.
Since we were on a roll with the crafting, we decided to make a set of magnets for ourselves, too: one of Mary, and one of her humble husband, Joseph, who's memorial we celebrated today as well. I think they turned out quite nice...and I love seeing them side by side on my freezer door every time I go into the kitchen. 
To complete our perfectly wonderful day, I decided to make a minestrone soup with items I had on hand in my pantry and refrigerator, and Caitlyn helped me make some soft pretzels to go with it. We feasted mightily and still have tons of food left over! There is not a single thing I would change about today. It was perfect, and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to share these customs and traditions--ones that are actually quite new to me, as well--with my children. Being their Mommy is the most amazing thing in the world. I am so very blessed.
6 comments:
Wow, sounds like a great day! I have a lot to learn. I had never even heard of a May basket...
SO cool! I loved the May Day baskets! I remember doing those with my mom when I was young. We'd make them for our neighbors, hang them on their door knobs, ring the bell and run away. Such a good memory you brought back for me and now I think I'll do it next year with the kids. Thanks, Melissa!
I love you too, by the way, and your sweet comments always brighten my day as well. ;) All of these beautiful and rich traditions that our faith has have really opened me up, humbled me and kept me reaching out to friends like you. Friends who, I know, are aspiring to LIVE their faith with and for their families and their children.
You are such a wonderful mother and I love being able to peek into your own families world and practicing of faith. Thank you for that.
I tell you, I love you guys!
I too, Melissa, was so inspired by all the lovely things you did for May Day. I am disappointed in myself lately because we used to do so much of that and now I barely realized it was even May.
I love the magnets too! I forget if you ever told us, but how do you laminate them. I have some sticky magnet stuff for the back. Yours just always turn out so lovely.
I agree with Nicole. It is a beautiful thing to read your blog and feel that kinship with you as you try to live your faith and make it real to your family.
God bless you.
Thank you all so much. I can't tell you what your lovely comments mean to me. Please know, though, that your kind words have made my day!
Beth, don't worry tto much. There is so much I didn't know before I became a mom, but that is one of the best things about motherhood...getting to discover all these fun activities and traditions along with your children! It won't be long before you and sweet little Madeleine are doing things like this together, too! :)
And dear, dear Celeste: please don't be so hard on yourself! You are an AMAZING mother, and your kids are so lucky to have you. You've had a lot going on in your life, not to mention a new baby in the house! I can't blame you for barely realizing it was May! It's that "Mommy Brain", you know! ;)
P.S. We laminate our magnets using self adhesive laminating sheets found in the office supply section of Wal-Mart...I'm sure they can be found in any store, that just seems to be where we shop most often!
Thanks for the sweet words and for the info on the magnets. I had some of that self-laminating stuff before and it works great. I am looking forward to making some magnets too. Do you search for holy card pics on the internet?
I just figured out the image thing. I searched on Google images like you had suggested for something else. What a great way to find stuff!!!
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