St. Joseph the Worker (May 1)

Fidelity to Work

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations; to work with gratitude and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by means of labor, the gifts received from God, disregarding difficulties and weariness; to work, above all, with purity of intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes death, and the account which I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after your example, patriarch Joseph. This will be my watchword in life and in death. Amen.

~ Father Hardon's Catholic Prayerbook with Meditations, p. 239 ~

May Day Baskets

As a young girl, I enjoyed hanging May Day baskets on ours or our neighbor's door. On Monday, we made May Day baskets, during Little Flowers.

Catherine's and Bernadette's May Day Baskets
Materials:
Wallpaper Scraps (or Construction Paper)
Template (see below)
Scissors
Stapler
One-hole Punch
Ribbon
Easter Grass
Flowers

How to Make:

Trace the template onto the back of the wallpaper (or construction paper). Cut along traced lines. Roll the wallpaper into a cone shape. Staple the cone together (a high and low staple work well). Use the hole punch to make a hole on either side of the open end of the cone. Lace the ribbon through the holes and tie on each side. Fill the basket with Easter grass. Place real or foam flowers in the basket.
On May 1, hang the basket on a neighbor's door, ding the doorbell and run.

Template

A Common Occurrence

Theresa is watching her brother.

Catherine is working diligently.

Patrick has three of his siblings for an audience.

The children continue to watch Patrick.

Patrick is my child who keeps me on my toes. He keeps his siblings watching in awe. If he pours Raisin Bran on the floor, so he can eat the raisins, his sisters and brother watch him. If he pours juice all down the hallway, his sisters and brother watch him. If he pours shampoo on my bedroom carpet, his sisters and brother watch him. If he jumps off a table, his sisters and brother watch him. If he draws on the wall, his sisters and brother watch him. If he pulls everything out of a closet, his sisters and brother watch him. No matter what he does, Patrick's sisters and brother watch him. After Patrick has made a mess, hurt himself, drawn on the wall, or pulled everything out of a closet, then his sisters and brother come and tell me what he has done.

I have to admit that my husband and I often find ourselves watching Patrick. Not when he is being naughty, but when he is figuring out how to do something he has seen one of us do. He is a very intelligent, active, little boy and I thank God for Patrick and his siblings every day.

Happy Birthday Marie-Caroline

A belated Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law! I hope you had a wonderful day, Marie-Caroline! May God continue to bless you!

Daisy Highside (Osteopermum ecklonis)

We planted these on Wedneday, April 26.
Care Notes: Full Sun, Water lightly

Prayers Needed

Some dear friends of mine were in the process of adopting a baby boy. He has been living with them for almost three weeks. The husband just called to ask for a phone number, so that he could call his wife and let her know that the family wants the baby back. Please pray that God's will be done for the baby. Please pray that Mary wraps her mantle around my friends and helps them and their one biological son to get through this. They have suffered so many losses already.

Impatiens Double: Victorian Rose

We planted these on Wednesday, April 26.

Care Notes: Shade, Water regularly

Take Your Children to Work Day

Today was take your children to work day. In our house this is also known as the little ones who stay home get spoiled day. While my three oldest were seeing what Daddy does, visiting the animal shelter, going to the conservatory and sitting on replicas of camels from the Ming Dynasty, I was spoiling Theresa.

First, we went to the pet store. Upon entering, I knew I had to leave as soon as possible. The animal smells made my nausea reach an all time high. We made a bee line for the fish section and finally found the bettas (a Siamese fighting fish). Theresa chose the liveliest red and blue fish she could find. Next she picked out pink gravel and a piece of pink and purple coral. We paid for the fish and other items and I thankfully left the store. Our next stop was right next door, Barnes and Noble. Here, I picked up Sir Cumference and the First Round Table: A Math Adventure. We got back in the van and I realized that I had forgotten to get fish food. I debated going back into the store, but I decided I could not torture myself like that again. We headed to Wendys for lunch, instead. After Wendys, we went home.

When her siblings arrived home, Theresa told them about her fish. They asked her what animals she had seen at the pet store. She responded, "They only had fish there." Actually, the pet store has birds, rodents, rabbits and reptiles, but I felt too awful to show her any of them.

Thank you God for blessing all of us with a wonderful day!

What Do You Use for Garden Tools?

This morning, I started to read Sharon Lovejoy's Trowel & Error: Over 700 Tips, Remedies & Shortcuts for the Gardener. Towards the beginning of the book, I came across the following:

Don't be afraid to break the rules about what to use for garden tools.

I chuckled to myself, as I reminisced about my mom's lamentations regarding her kitchen belongings. My dad (the man who taught me so much about gardening) often took something from the kitchen to use outside. If my mom's kitchen scissors were missing, we all knew who had taken them and where they could be found.