Mother's Day

A Wide Spectrum of Mothering
From The Messy Middle
Download a pdf here

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst

To those who have aborted children – we remember them and you on this day

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be

To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths

To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you

To those who placed children up for adoption — we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

What does Mother’s Day mean to you?
From Home for Good
Mother's Day can be a tough day for many. We love this little video from Home for Good, which is perfect for a Mother's Day service that addresses the whole range of positive and negative feelings that exist.
You can view/download a copy of the video here

Paper Beads for necklaces, bracelets and more
Materials:

Glossy magazine paper or wrapping paper
Toothpicks
White school glue mixed with water to thin it out or a glue stick
Paint brush
Scissors
A pen or pencil
Ruler
Clear nail polish or varnish
Optional: piece of Styrofoam

Method:

Choose a magazine page or a piece of wrapping paper to use. You have to start with a square piece of paper.
Cut wedges from your paper. The wedges should be about 2-3 centimetres at the widest point and very narrow at the tip. You can use the ruler and pen or pencil to measure and mark out the wedges. The widest part will be the width of your bead.
Make sure the side that you like is face down. Paint the glue lightly on the entire back side of the paper except for the first two centimetres. You don't want it sticking to the toothpick. Or you can use a glue stick.
Once you have done this take your toothpick and roll the paper around the toothpick until you reach the end of the paper. Smooth the point down, too!
Gently twist the toothpick and remove or slide the bead to the tip of the toothpick and set it aside by sticking the toothpick in a piece of Styrofoam to dry.
When the beads are dry paint with varnish or cover with clear nail polish.
Now the beads are ready for stringing. Make beautiful jewellery or use the beads to cover plant pots or jars.

Confetti Sun-catcher
A special card for Mother's Day

Materials:
·         Coloured card or paper
·         Scissors
·         Glue
·         Baking (wax) paper
·         Coloured tissue paper
·         Hole punch
·         Ribbon or yarn
·         Felts

Method:

Fold a sheet of construction paper width-wise to make a card. With the card folded, draw a heart in the centre of the card and help children cut out the heart shape through both thicknesses. Unfold thr card to reveal a heart-shaped "window" on each half.
With the inside of the open card face up, outline each window with a line of glue and cover each window with a square of baking paper cut slightly larger than the heart opening.
Cut or tear coloured tissue paper into tiny pieces or strips and carefully lay them on top of one of their windows. Do not glue the tissue paper to the baking paper.
Outline one heart with glue. Keeping the tissue pieces inside the window, fold the top half of their card onto the glued half and seal the two halves together.
Punch two holes in the top of each card and thread an 20 cm length of ribbon or yarn through the holes. Tie knots in each end of the ribbon toward the back of the card.
On the front of the completed confetti sun-catchers, help children write messages to their parents, such as "I love you. Happy Mother's Day!"
Hang the cards in front of a window to catch the sunlight

Paper bouquet of flowers Craft
This craft uses a child's own hand to hold the bouquet

Materials :

A piece of light-coloured card for the background
One piece of skin-coloured paper for the hand
Scissors
Glue
Crayons, felts or paint and brushes
Colourful paper for the flowers (or flowers can be drawn with felts or crayons)

To Make the Card

Trace the child's hand on a piece of skin-coloured paper. Cut out the hand
Glue just the palm of the hand to the lower left part of the background paper -- DO NOT glue the fingers down.
Using green paint, crayon, or felts draw the stems of the flowers. Start each stem on the hand, and have it go towards the centre of the paper (make sure to leave room for the flowers).
Roll the fingers of the paper hand over the palm and the stems of the flowers, and glue the fingertips onto the palm (this will make the hand look as though it is holding the bouquet of flowers).
Draw flowers and leaves on the stems -- or glue on flowers made from colourful paper.