No kids, just animals

The discovery

Can you see the head and open beak?

Three heads, fast asleep

Hungry little things

Another discovery

Super cool, right?

Yep.  Totally.

I have pictures of a "baby" praying mantis, not downloaded yet, of course, but all of this in honor of St. Anthony..the patron saint of animals and great miracle worker!

Pentecost Sunday

Yep.  I realize that this is one Sunday behind.  I understand that today is actually the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity and a neapolitan sundae would have been PERFECT, but these days....it's all about keeping my head above water.

So, this year's celebration is a far cry from last year's party, but the decorations are the same, cause I'm cheap like that! :)

The cake white cake symbolized the purity of the Holy Spirit with the "fire/grace" being poured down upon the apostles.  It worked because it was tasty!  What can I say?

Our St. Joseph Altar

Four score and seven years ago Four years ago when our family started out on the homeschooling journey, we joined a local Catholic homeschooling group. Among many wonderful traditions we celebrated as a group, our family was introduced to the St. Joseph altar. All it took was one exposure and we were hooked.

Because of our move, we can no longer participate with our old friends. So, this year I attempted to create our own tradition. The story of the St. Joseph altar is heartfelt and I tried to keep the substance, but our altar is based on the nine meditations of the novena that Hubby and I say each year in preparation for this solemnity. (Yeah, no fasting!)

Prez colored this picture

St. Joseph the foster father of Jesus. ...you shared in the support, upbringing, and protection of the Divine Child as His foster-father. For this purpose the Heavenly Father gave you a genuine heart of a father -- a heart full of love and self-sacrifice. With the toil of your hands you were obliged to offer protection to the Divine Child, to procure for Him food, clothing, and a home. You were truly the saint of the holy childhood of Jesus -- the living created providence which watched over the Christ-Child.

When Herod sought the Child to put Him to death, the Heavenly Father sent an angel but only as a messenger, giving orders for the flight; the rest He left entirely in your hands. It was that fatherly love which was the only refuge that received and protected the Divine Child. Your fatherly love carried Him through the desert into Egypt until all enemies were removed. Then on your arms the Child returned to Nazareth to be nourished and provided for during many years by the labor of your hands. Whatever a human son owes to a human father for all the benefits of his up-bringing and support, Jesus owed to you, because you were to Him a foster-father, teacher, and protector.

Store bought cheesecake with almond wedding rings

Virginal Husband of Mary. God the Son confided the guardianship and the support of His Immaculate Mother to your care.Mary's life was that of the Mother of the Savior, who did not come upon earth to enjoy honors and pleasures, but to redeem the world by hard work, suffering, and the cross. You were the faithful companion, support, and comforter of the Mother of Sorrows. How loyal you were to her in poverty, journeying, work, and pain. Your love for Mary was based upon your esteem for her as Mother of God. After God and the Divine Child, you loved no one as much as her. Mary responded to this love. She submitted to your guidance with naturalness and easy grace and childlike confidence. The Holy Spirit Himself was the bond of the great love which united your hearts.

Bread made in the clover style to represent the Trinity

Chosen by the Blessed Trinity. Saint Joseph, you were the man chosen by God the Father.He selected you to be His representative on earth, hence He granted you all the graces and blessings you needed to be His worthy representative.

You were the man chosen by God the Son.Desirous of a worthy foster-father, He added His own riches and gifts, and above all, His love.

You were chosen by the Holy Spirit.He is the mutual Love of the Father and the Son -- the heart of the Holy Trinity. In His wisdom He draws forth all creatures from nothing, guides them to their end in showing them their destiny and giving them the means to reach it

Grapes represent the servant at the Miracle of Cana

Faithful Servant. Saint Joseph, you lived for one purpose -- to be the personal servant of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.Your noble birth and ancestry, the graces and gifts, so generously poured out on you by God -- all this was yours to serve our Lord better. Every thought, word, and action of yours was a homage to the love and glory of the Incarnate Word. You fulfilled most faithfully the role of a good and faithful servant who cared for the House of God.

Most altars have shaped bread, so hey, I tried. I used the dipping oil to represent the oils used by the church during sacraments.

Patron of the Church. Saint Joseph, God has appointed you patron of the Catholic Church because you were the head of the Holy Family, the starting-point of the Church. You were the father, protector, guide and support of the Holy Family. For that reason you belong in a particular way to the Church, which was the purpose of the Holy Family's existence. I believe that the Church is the family of God on earth.

Patron of families. God has made you a heavenly patron of family life because you sanctified yourself as head of the Holy Family and thus by your beautiful example sanctified family life. How peacefully and happily the Holy Family rested under the care of your fatherly rule, even in the midst of trials. You were the protector, counselor, and consolation of the Holy Family in every need. And just as you were the model of piety, so you gave us by your zeal, your earnestness and devout trust in God's providence, and especially by your love, the example of labor according to the Will of God. You cherished all the experiences common to family life and the sacred memories of the life, sufferings, and joys in the company of Jesus and Mary. Therefore the family is dear to you as the work of God, and it is of the highest importance in your eyes to promote the honor of God and the well-being of man. In your loving fatherliness and unfailing intercession you are the patron and intercessor of families, and you deserve a place in every home.

Hammers made from Swiss Rolls and Twix. YUM.

Patron of Workers. Saint Joseph, you devoted your time at Nazareth to the work of a carpenter. It was the Will of God that you and your foster-Son should spend your days together in manual labor. What a beautiful example you set for the working classes! The kind of work to which you devoted your time in the workshop of Nazareth offered you many occasions of practicing humility. You were privileged to see each day the example of humility which Jesus practiced -- a virtue most pleasing to Him. He chose for His earthly surroundings not the courts of princes nor the halls of the learned, but a little workshop of Nazareth. Here you shared for many years the humble and hidden toiling of the God-Man. What a touching example for the worker of today!

Cucumber salad with a vinegar marinade.

Friend in Suffering. Saint Joseph, your share of suffering was very great because of your close union with the Divine Savior. All the mysteries of His life were more or less mysteries of suffering. Poverty pressed upon you, and the cross of labor followed you everywhere. Nor were you spared domestic crosses, owing to misunderstandings in regard to the holiest and most cherished of all beings, Jesus and Mary, who were all to you. Keen must have been the suffering caused by the uncertainty regarding Mary's virginity; by the bestowal of the name of Jesus, which pointed to future misfortune. Deeply painful must have been the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the disappearance of Jesus at the Paschal feast. To these sufferings were surely added interior sorrow at the sight of the sins of your own people.

Cherry lollipops made by Bubbles.

Patron of a happy death. Saint Joseph, how fitting it was that at the hour of your death Jesus should stand at your bedside with Mary, the sweetness and hope of all mankind. You gave your entire life to the service of Jesus and Mary; at death you enjoyed the consolation of dying in Their loving arms. You accepted death in the spirit of loving submission to the Will of God, and this acceptance crowned your hidden life of virtue. Yours was a merciful judgment, for your foster-Son, for whom you had cared so lovingly, was your Judge, and Mary was your advocate. The verdict of the Judge was a word of encouragement to wait for His coming to Limbo, where He would shower you with the choicest fruits of the Redemption, and an embrace of grateful affection before you breathed forth your soul into eternity.

Here is a link of photos to see just how big a tradition this is in some parts. Maybe next year I'll remember the "lucky" fava bean.

Saint Patrick's Day

After reading the above book as an introduction to this amazing man and saint, we set out to do "something" in which to have fun and help us have a tangible way of remembering Saint Patrick.

Well, it just so happens I have happened upon a new tradition that I will begin with the kiddos NEXT year. :)

We were going to visit some friends, not Catholic, but Irish nonetheless and we wanted to bring something to them. Since Saint Patrick was very devoted to prayer (and I mean hundreds of them a day) we went looking for an Irish blessing.
Since hubby's computer had major malfunctions today, the printer was not working, so I quickly hand scribbled the blessing to attach to our origami basket. (Totally cool basket, right?)
If you know the story of Saint Patrick, you know that he used a shamrock (three leaf clover) to illustrate the mystery of the Trinity. We added one of those on the bag as well, which was a simple craft that Prez and I had done earlier that day.
Because the blessing mentions having a coin in your purse and a rainbow after the rain, we added "gold" coins to play with and a rainbow of Jolly Ranchers.

Here is where the new tradition comes in. From now on, I think I'm going to have the tradition that in the morning when the kids wake up, they'll have a "gift" bag in honor of St. patrick with this blessing.

May you always have work for your hands to do. There will be a craft to make (like a prayer plaque or holy card craft or painted cross)
May your pockets hold always a coin or two. some chocolate coins
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane. ?
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain. a bag of Skittles
May the hand of a friend always be near you. the name of a friend to pray for

And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you. a special drink to use for "cheers"

So, I'm super excited about implementing that.
We then took off to visit our friends. Prez is looking rough because he spilled his bubbles and couldn't find his bubble stick. Poor guy.
Bubbles wasn't with us (she's visiting her best friend for the weekend), but here are the rest of them. We're so glad to have such wonderful friends and fun times.

Saint Patrick, intercede for us that we may work tirelessly to help others understand the depth of God's love.

Lent 2012

I realize that we are eighteen days into this Lenten season, but I'm going to post this anyways because I'd started it so much earlier and already invested a significant amount of time.

Wait! What I meant to say was that, if you are needing a little pick me up to reassert your heart into your Lenten efforts, these might get your creative juices flowing. Also, you can think of us and pray for us on our Lenten journey. Please?

The above crown is a reminder of Jesus' passion and death which demonstrates his great obedience to the Father as well as his tremendous love for us. I like to use it during Lent to remind myself and the kids that our sacrifices and trials are nothing compared to Jesus'.

As Saint John of the Cross put it..."Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent." (YIKES)

I made this out of a grapevine wreath I bought at Michael's (I think it was like $2.99) and then I cut thin, flat wooden craft sticks into pointy tips and colored them with brown and black marker. I got the idea from here and hers is fantastic. Each time the kids do something nice or sacrificial for another family member, they remove a thorn from the crown. On Easter morning, the bowl of thorns will be replaced with candy as a way to celebrate the selflessness they practiced.

This is our traditional Lenten calendar. You might remember last year's. Bubbles and Prez love that they can see the "road" ahead of them and it gives them hope to make it to each Sunday (not officially part of the Lenten 40 days) and then of course to the "Alleluia", as Prez puts it. In our effort to pray more, as Jesus did for 40 days in the desert and in the Garden of Gethsemane, we each wrote down the names people that needed prayers. Each night, we pull from those names and pray for that specific person or group of people. Below each day, we do a different form of spiritual discipline. Mondays is a Bible story, Tuesday a saint's story, Wednesday a rosary (sorrowful mysteries only during Lent), Thursday is a chaplet, Friday the stations of the cross, on Saturday we prepare the Sunday readings, and on Sunday we arrive early to Mass for extra prayer time. It's definitely a lot of discipline to do these, but the kids like the variety and I do too.

Below are some signs I've posted around the house to keep our minds focused on discernment this Lent. I love that Lent is a time to remember obedience. Yes, Jesus loved us enough to die for us, and God loved us enough to send his only Son, but without perfect obedience to the will of the Father, the resurrection would never have happened. So, I often wonder what sort of "resurrections" God has in store for me if I would just surrender to his plan, even if in my eyes it seems like it might hurt a bit.

By the way, these signs were a gift from my dear friend, Mitzi. She shared a great idea the Holy Spirit gave her and now we've used them every year as part of our Lenten practices. :)




Another Lenten practice is that of alms giving. In Matthew 6:2 - 4, Jesus teaches about how to gives alms. "When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."

This Scripture speaks volumes because Jesus says, "WHEN you give alms, meaning that He is expecting us to DO THIS."

One way we practice almsgiving is by having a box in the kitchen. I put some motivational quotes on the edges and I rotate it every day or so. When it comes time to cook, we look for ways to scrimp on what we would like and offer that to the box to be given to a family in need for Easter. For example, we had pasta tonight. Bubble's favorite is Alfredo. We had a jar of Alfredo sauce in the pantry, but we put that in the box and just opened a can of tomato sauce that we added basil and garlic too. Bubbles really wanted cupcakes the other day. We put the cake mix in the box to be donated this Easter and instead Bubbles ate an apple with honey. One last example, Prez likes green beans so instead of choosing green beans for the veggie the other night, he put that can in the box and we had peas instead. We will either drop it off at a food pantry to donate or ask Father for a family in our parish that needs the food.




On a final note, anything you can do to prepare yourself spiritually for Easter, will reap great spiritual benefit for you and those whom you are praying for. I tell the kids that even though some of the 40 days it seems hard to do the extra praying, fasting, and almsgiving, to remember that the church denotes 50 days to celebrate Easter! That means that even after Easter Sunday, we will have 49 more days of Easter egg hunts, dying eggs, and feasting. Yeah! So hang in there. Christ did and so can you!

Saint Valentine's Day--finally!

So faith, hope, love remain, but the greatest of these is love.

- 1 Corinthians 13:13

Last year was a great celebration, but this year had its highlights as well. I'll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves.

Keeping Sweetness quiet with a little bit of our special breakfast.
Prez is begging to open his valentine box, even tries his pouting face, but I tell him he has to wait until breakfast is ready and we are all seated.
Hubby comes in for breakfast and we start dumping - or ripping the boxes-- whichever seemed to yield to the fastest result! ;) The special breakfast consisted of homemade waffles with sweetened strawberries and whipped cream. Yum, yum, yum!
Bubbles reading her valentines.
Prez reading his valentines. It is so fun to see/hear him reading now. Since Bubbles was in public school when she started reading, he is my first child to actually teach how to read and I have such personal pride each time he picks something up and reads. Oh....so.....fun!
Sweetness, who ignores the handful of sugar and goes straight for the demolition of the envelope.
Some of the valentines that Prez received.
Bubbles' valentines.
Even some for Sweetness. They all went in her baby book and one day she'll see just how very much we delighted in her.
The kiddos gifted me with this cute decoration. It is still in the window sill.
Grandma had treats for everyone. Oh...what could it be, Prez? Knowing grandma, it has got to be good.
I'm betting that Bubbles receives chocolate.
What do you know, so does Prez.
Even Sweetness gets a little extra "sweetness".
Whoops! The sugar has kicked in quite early this morning. I guess whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate is not the breakfast recommended by nutritionists.
Party favors for a Saint Valentine celebration. Dog-gone it.....doesn't grandma know how to make each event special?
Look at the surprise we received in the mail? Another super special valentine from our dearest friends in Georgia. Aren't they gorgeous? Don't you just LOVE them?
Our second round of valentine treats which followed our lunch. I'm beginning to think we're getting a little carried away. Well, maybe not yet.
We started the day with chocolate and ended it with chocolate as well. Bubbles and I whipped this up to deliver to our neighbors. We call it the ribbon dessert. Imagine pecan sandies on the bottom, cream cheese/sugar/cool whip goodness in the center, pudding on top of that and topped off with pecans and cool whip. LOVELY!

Now, I'm sure that we have crossed the threshold of gluttony. :)

Actually, that is to come since we only have seven days to get this all eaten before Lent begins. Yikes!