Happy Birthday, Mary

September 8th is the day set aside to remember the day that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born. Why would we celebrate that? Basically, because it is part of salvation's history. Jesus' timeline. How do you know it's her birthday?

Christians of the second century A.D. recorded the details of Mary's birth in such documents as the Protoevangelium of James and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary. While neither document bears the authority of Scripture, they provide us with everything that we know about the life of Mary before the Annunciation

including the names of Saint Mary's parents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anna (or Anne). It's a good example of Tradition, which compliments (while never contradicting) Scripture.

copied from here.

So, what's a birthday without presents? This was a quick craft, borrowed from this site, where the kiddos decorated gift boxes shaped like cake pieces. They each thought of something nice they could do for the other family members since Mary gave us such a beautiful example of service to others.

Here we hid the "gifts" inside.

Here's the template I drew based on the picture I saw on this site. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my printer to print, which is why I was creating one. I suggest if you need a cake box, just print their template. I made mine on a file folder so the box was really sturdy.

Here is the cheesecake we enjoyed in honor of Our Blessed Mother. White and pure, just like her.

One blue candle, two gift boxes, and four ravenous stomachs. It was a quaint, but meaningful celebration.

Sneak Peek

Saturday evening Bubbles received the Sacrament of Confirmation and it was a big celebration.

Here is a sneak peek of some homemade cookies and decorations. As soon as I can, I'll post some pictures of how LOVELY she looked!

Cookies make everything nice

The baby has fever, she's probably teething

neglecting the to-do list can get me seething.

I'm busy with teaching and keeping things going

Half the stuff that I do, I do without knowing.

The floors, the laundry, the yard work too

It can all start to look like we live in a zoo.

So, what better fix then denial or retreat,

a homemade peanut butter cookie treat.

Made with love from a daughter so sweet

what a great excuse to get off of my feet

I'm thinking it's not cookies that make everything nice

It's thoughtfulness, love, and sacrifice

Prez owns high heels?

Bubbles: "If I wear my new heels for Confirmation, I'll be taller than Rainer, Ryan, and Ms. Mitzi."

Prez: "Oh yeah? If I wear my heels, I'll be taller than cuz."

WHAT??

Feast of St. John the Baptist

Cousin to Jesus.

Baptized with water.

Prepared the way of the Lord.

Humbly moved out of the way and encouraged his followers to follow Jesus.

Beheaded by Herod for speaking the truth.

Oh yes...the famous one....lived on locusts and wild honey.

I thought the kids might like to try some locusts and bread with honey butter.

Just kidding. These were dates. They sure do look disgusting though. Prez did not like them, Bubbles ate one, but did not ask for more. I are three, with cream cheese. :) The bread was a hit with everyone, including Sweetness!

The Feast of St. Monica

This patron saint of mothers is an exemplary example. Through her patience, prayers, and sacrifice, her abusive, pagan husband was converted as well as her mother-in-law.

Perhaps her greatest grief came from knowing that her only Son was leading a sinful and reckless life devoid of God. Through thirty-three years of penance, persistence, and prayer, he finally converted his life. Not only did he become a good Christian, as she prayed, but he became a priest, a bishop, a writer, and a saint! His name is St. Augustine.

These paper ornaments seemed perfect on a day when I didn't feel like doing any extra baking (heating up the house just seems crazy still). I discovered the craft here.

O Saint Monica, help me not to be discouraged if my prayers aren't answered right away. Jesus says to ask and we shall receive, seek and we shall find, knock and it shall be opened. Please intercede for me as I persist in my prayers.

The Feast of St. Rita

This beautiful saint is the example of both physical beauty and inner beauty. Although she was graced with extraordinary beauty, she chose the simple, single life of serving our Lord. She had many temptations and many sufferings. All of it she offered up for our Lord and often said this prayer, "Lord, increase my sufferings and with them increase your love in my heart."

She died at thirty-one and worked till the end on her spiritual beauty.

Bubbles and I spent some time making crepe paper roses in honor of this great saint. We made one for each person we could think of that had attractive inner beauty. An extension of this could have been to contact that person and let them know how much we admire them.

After doing a search for roses, I found this craft here. Super easy!