One of my boys has a birthday coming up this next week and I am trying to decide on a few gifts for him, while I still have time to place an order online. Anyhow, I recently came across a series of books by Dianne Ahern – Adventures with Sister Philomena, Special Agent to the Pope (which includes Lost in Peter’s Tomb, Break-In at the Basilica, Curse of the Coins, and Secrets of Siena
) – and was curious if any of you/your children have read them and whether or not you would recommend them to others. They seem to have good ratings on Amazon, but I haven’t seen them mentioned on any of the blogs I read (at least not that I remember), so thought I’d ask all of you.
Also, since he loved the lego sets he was given for Christmas, I think we will get him another one to add to his new collection. I’ve just ordered a LEGO® Bricks & More Building Plate 628
so I can make him a Lego Tray, but I can’t decide on whether to just get him a box of Basic Bricks
or another actual set (perhaps the LEGO City Corner (7641)
– which is currently way overpriced on Amazon but might be available locally). Any thoughts? For some reason I am completely overwhelmed by all the choices when it comes to legos! 🙂
Thank you all for your help, and Happy Candlemas! I am sure I will be back later with some pictures from this year’s Candlemas Tea. 🙂
Prayer of Mothers
Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.
We live in Legoland…we have lots of sets as well as a pink box of basics and a blue box of basics.
The sets are more expensive, but that's what Jacob prefers (he'll be 9 in June). Because he's accrued quite a collection, he mixes them up a lot and builds his own creations. He loves to download free instructions from sets he doesn't have on lego.com. Then he uses what he has on hand and builds those, substituting different pieces as necessary.
We have lots of Star Wars sets, some Lego City ones, and then random other ones. Since he's just started collecting them, I'd look for a set you think he'd like that gives you the most pieces for your money but still allows him to build something cool.
I'll post a picture to my blog of Jacob's legos…it's kind of embarrassing!
Oh, and say a prayer for me tomorrow…wisdom teeth extraction at 10am my time. Yuck.
The books are very good. My kids, ages 12, 10 and 7 really enjoyed them. I put the most recent one in my 10yr old's stocking and he was pretty tickled to continue the series. Hope you enjoy them!
Our family just loves those books. We especialy like Lost in St. Peter's Tomb and Break in at the Basilica. Curse of the coins is okay but not our favorite. We have not read Secrets of Siena yet. They are great catholic adventure stories for kids. Have a great Candlemas! God bless!
Grace
Hi Jessica, I have enjoyed reading your blog for a number of months now. I really appreciate all of your wonderful ideas for celebrating our Catholic faith. My son (age 10) enjoyed reading the first 2 books of the series. He said they aren't too scary. God bless you and your family and many thanks for helping us out in our family faith journey. Sincerely, Marianne
Hi Jessica !
My son ,who is almost nine, is a huge Lego enthusiast and enjoy building and constructing for hoers.
We have found too that he enjoys the sets more, he typically build it with the instructions once to get to know them, and then starts making lots of his own projects and combinations.
House and people also invites his sisters to play, and they do have so much joy from it.
If only I could find something online that would make all those little pieces go neatly back in the basket… Sigh ; )
Have a blessed Candle Mas !
~Emma
Thank you all so much! I think I will order him the first two books, and then pick out a Lego Set in town this weekend.
Aimee ~ I will be praying for you!
I just had Jacob look this over with me. He votes for the City Corner set…we don't have that one, but he thinks it looks cool.
You're right…the choices for Legos are very overwhelming. However, my husband enjoyed them as a child/adolescent, so he does all of the choosing!
Hi there! I'm a lurker, but thought I could chime in today on this topic. =) While I'm at it, let me say that I so appreciate that you take the time to share all you do on this blog. I particularly appreciate your Little Flower posts!
I see you've made your decision, but I too vote for "Lost in St. Peter's Tomb." My son (now 11) and I read it together several years ago. It was very enjoyable, but I did notice several typos in the book (I received a promo copy; maybe they've been edited since then). I just thought I'd warn you about that.
And as far as the Legos go, I just don't think you can go wrong! We've never met a Lego we didn't like at our house. =)
Bud received "Lost in Peter's Tomb" last year in his Easter basket and LOVED it! So… I would say it is recommended by the Treehouse!