All posts tagged family

NEST … with inspiration from the creative mothers in my life

by Julie on May 17, 2013 in NEST with 1 Comment

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This Mother’s Day made me think fondly of all the creative talent that my mom and mother-in-law have and how much my children absolutely adore and cherish the handmade gifts from their dear grandma and grammie!

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The kids and my amazing mom … they love their sweet grandma! My mom has such a special gift of patience and creativity. She has always made loving gifts for all of her 21 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren and she even made my wedding dress!!

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These blankets lovingly made by my mom are the ones my boys sleep with, snuggle up with when they watch movies, use to build forts, hold tight when they are sick, scared, or sleepless, take on long trips, and the ones we pack along to go camping. These are just a couple of the many blankets handmade by my mom and usually a few are always found on their bed for snuggling.

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More handmade goodness from my mom and my aunt Anna Louise

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A special dress made by my mom.

My kids prefer to have my mom mend all of their clothes, they have even asked her to mend their socks (that I did not allow her to do). I COULD mend their clothes, but grandma’s mending is ALWAYS much better and filled with more love and way more patience.

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My dear sweet girl and her Grammie (my mother- in-law).

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Grammie made a collection of doll clothes with great little details… mini buttons, ribbon, rickrack, and coordinating fabric. She also lovingly makes fantastic photo albums of the entire family (8 siblings and families, soon to be 26 grandchildren!!). Each family sends their favorite pictures and she creatively weaves a year long story through an album of pictures and presents it to us at Christmas. It is such a cherished gift for our family and definitely a labor of love.

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Reflecting on the love and patience of my mom and my mother-in-law allows me to appreciate motherhood even more and value the importance of making and creating for my children and with my children.

I know firsthand how much time it takes to make something by hand, but the meaning and connection is so strong when time is spent laboring over a crafted gift for a loved one.

What handmade gifts are special to you and your family? I would love to hear.

Thank you Moms, we are so blessed!

Julie

NEST + CREATE + NOURISH … with your family this advent season

by Julie on November 27, 2012 in CREATE, NEST, NOURISH with No comments

Advent calandar | Marion House Book

For us, advent is a time of reflection and preparation for the birth of Jesus.   A family goal for this advent season is to reflect on our own gifts and how we can share these gifts with others through acts of kindness and making thoughtful gifts for friends and family, all while cherishing our time together.  I know, for young children especially, that gifts are an important part of christmas, but I want my children to know that the act of giving to others can be so enriching and invaluable to their lives.

The process of thinking about, talking about, and the physical act of making a gift for someone is a nourishing family tradition that I hope will thrive through the years.  

The advent calendar above is from the Marion House Book and I really love the natural quality of it.  It is a simple, monochromatic back drop incorporating objects from nature that becomes unique to each family based on their collection of objects and reused over the years, building a tradition of memories.  Each object can be slipped into the linen bag along with a simple note of a family activity or topic of discussion for the day.  Each item is then displayed on the outside of the bag.

The images below are based on a tradition that, as Catholic family, we are planning to do this year.  With each act of kindness, act of service, or sacrifice, a piece of straw is laid in the Manger and then Baby Jesus is nestled in the manger on Christmas morning.  This encourages children to create a comfortable nest for baby Jesus and honoring his birth through their acts of kindness and generosity.

This activity below from A Holy Experience focuses on planting real seeds of wheat for each act of kindness and each growing sprout represents the acts of kindness.  I love the idea of planting the wheat and watching it grow, but this can also be done with cut grass or straw to make the process easier for little ones.

Another tradition that we incorporate during the advent season is the Jesse Tree, where we reflect on historical biblical symbols and their meanings. Here are a few resources for Jesse Tree inspiration.

Jesse Tree symbols and reflections to download 

Wooden jesse tree ornaments | by Inspired Traditions on Etsy

DIY wooden jesse tree ornaments | by Domestic Church | Currently we have our symbols on felt circles but I like the idea of painting them on wooden circles.

This last idea is a nature based Nativity sent to me from my good friend Lisa

Nature Nativity | by Explore and Express

Please share your favorite Advent traditions, I would love to hear about them.

                                                                                                                                                                       - julie

NOURISH …. taking a summer breather to savor family time

by Julie on June 18, 2012 in CREATE, NEST, NOURISH with No comments

I plan to spend the summer savoring more moments like the ones above with my family.  As much as I enjoy sharing inspiration through this blog, I am taking a breather to spend some lazy summer days….

 nesting with my family | creating with my family | nourishing my family

I will continue to share inspiration for nesting, creating, and nourishing on my pinterest page, where I invite you to follow along, and you can also find updates on the Five and One Facebook page.   I invite you to “like” the Facebook page to receive any new updates.

so, until next time ….

have a beautiful summer with your family.

- julie

 

NOURISH …. a mother’s day thank you

by Julie on May 16, 2012 in NOURISH with No comments

I woke up on Mother’s Day to a great note on our bedroom window from the boys and then more creative notes wrapped up (they worked so hard).  They truly nourished my day with yummy food and  lots of love. It started with a great breakfast of eggs and basil, lunch at a favorite local love, you say tomato, where I chose breakfast yet again and tried their breakfast flatbread with country gravy potatoes, eggs, and cheddar. YUM!  By the way, they also make a mean bierock. As much as I love to cook, it was a welcome treat not to lay a hand in the kitchen.  We finished with a beautiful feast, courtesy of my husband, on the terrace as the sun set.

Merrilee’s,  I lovely love my family print (above) pretty much sums up my feelings for my family.  View more at her blog, mer mag, which has some great family crafts. (you may remember some of her valentine craft’s I have mentioned)  A couple of her newest are DIY Animal Masks, and Animal Circus Trains.

Did I forget to mention the chocolates!! Yes, they all went to Christopher Elbow Chocolates, another local love, and hand picked flavors.  They are all listed below, but the lemon is a new one and it did not make it to the photo.  Just had to savor that one right away.

- julie