“The spirit of adventure was rising in them all, and no one really wanted to be back at school.” – Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
… but they were all ready for their back to school treats!
I was questioning my younger self yesterday, as I assembled this year’s Back-to-School Schultütes… “WHY did I start these little annual traditions all those years ago?!?” I just don’t have the energy I had when I was younger… However they really didn’t take that long to assemble, and the smiles on all my children’s faces made it worth the extra effort!
I’m in love with our new school supplies from OOLY. I happened to discover them at my favorite local store, Pilgrim’s Market in Coeur d’Alene, and had to get some for this year’s Schultütes.
I had to get her the little fox…
Last week she chased off a coyote, saving all but one of our chickens.
We also celebrated with Birthday Cake for our Blessed Mother ♥
..Back-to-School Pictures..
Twinkle Toes :: 12th Grade
Chiquita :: 10th Grade
Snuggles :: 8th Grade
Rose :: 5th Grade
Bud :: 3rd Grade
Grace :: Pre Pre-School 😉
“Mama! Where’s mine?!?”
Our sweet little “Joy” was not too happy that her older sis wouldn’t share…
 |
| A is for Angel (not Anger) 😉 |
I also had a lovely new picture book for my children…
… and a beautiful handmade wire wrap rosary from The Rose Picker to send to one of you!
Update: For all those who are curios, the book, under the rosary, is my Roman Catholic Daily Missal (1962)
To enter the rosary giveaway simply leave a comment on this post!
I’ll randomly choose and then contact the winner on September 14th.
Thank you to The Rose Picker for sponsoring this giveaway!
**Giveaway has ended – Congratulations, Patricia!**
P.S. The Rose Picker is offering 10% OFF ROSARIES until October 1, 2020
with coupon code: SHOWEROFROSES
Such a gorgeous rosary! Looks like a very exciting first day tradition!
2020-09-09 16:59:48
Beautiful! Prayers for a great school year
2020-09-09 17:09:23
Beautiful rosary, beautiful back.to school traditions!
2020-09-09 17:13:14
Such a beautiful family! I’m so glad you give us peaks into your life! And that rosary is beautiful!
2020-09-09 17:16:37
Awesome new supplies. And that new picture book looks amazing!
2020-09-09 17:19:47
Such a beautiful rosary. I can't believe how grown up the children are getting. I've been reading your blog for years, and the girls have really matured into young ladies in the last couple of years.
2020-09-09 17:24:03
Would love this book!
2020-09-09 17:26:53
Beautiful family. Have a wonderful and fun school year!
2020-09-09 17:39:04
Beautiful family! I've been following you for years and it is so neat to see all of your children grow. Thanks for the chance to win! I've been eyeing "A is for Angel" for the past few weeks. I pray that your school year goes well.
2020-09-09 17:45:41
God bless on your school year. We also picked up the A for Angel book, it’s so lovely!
2020-09-09 17:58:18
I always enjoy your updates.
2020-09-09 18:00:18
Such a beautiful family and rosary! All good things begin with Our Blessed Mother. I enjoy your posts and have borrowed many recipes, ideas, and suggestions. Thank you for sharing your faith and family.
2020-09-09 18:02:30
I love your site, please keep it up. You help me live my faith!
2020-09-09 18:11:31
Beautiful children! Have a great new school year!
2020-09-09 18:14:52
Thanks for these great ideas on starting the new school year!
2020-09-09 18:19:22
I’ve heard great things about that book!
2020-09-09 18:34:15
Wow, I love that rosary. Shultüten reminds me of the year we spent in Germany, where I had to super-express make some, as it was a new to me tradition. – I think I'm not eligible for the giveaway, living in Denmark, but I just had to comment on this wonderful post.
2020-09-09 18:42:00
Blessed school year
2020-09-09 18:43:00
Beautiful rosary! Also… those are some great ideas at the start of a new school year!
2020-09-09 18:46:27
So incredibly beautiful!! I also LOVE the school photos and the awesome gifts for each of the children! Beautiful family!! Love your blog!
2020-09-09 18:51:44
Love your site. Your family is beautiful. Love the rosary!
2020-09-09 18:53:38
What a beautiful giveaway. Thank you for the chance to win.
2020-09-09 18:54:38
Beautiful back to school pictures! The Rosary is beautiful and wire wrapped lasts forever. What a generous heart you and the maker have.
2020-09-09 19:08:35
So beautiful ❤️
2020-09-09 19:11:08
Your blog is always inspiring to me. Have a great school year!
2020-09-09 19:16:14
What a beautiful rosary! Thank you for having these giveaways
2020-09-09 19:18:27
I started giving Back to School schultutes to my kids a few years ago after reading about them here. My kids love that tradition. Thank you for showing that to me. I plan to start looking over your blog for ideas about St Nicholas gift ideas. Thank you for everything you do Jessica.
2020-09-09 19:19:36
Blessings on the new school year. 💗
2020-09-09 19:22:42
Have a blessed new year of learning together! Would love to be blessed with such a lovely rosary!
2020-09-09 19:24:43
You had me at “no one really wanted to be back at school“ lol! – you definitely can’t tell by looking at their beautiful, smiling and eager faces! Have a blessed school year!
2020-09-09 19:24:57
What a great way to celebrate your first day!
2020-09-09 19:30:14
What a lovely rosary! I consult your blog frequently. You have the best gift ideas for my Godchildren. Thanks so much for sharing your life and beautiful family.
2020-09-09 19:30:47
What a beautiful rosary! Best wishes for a school year filled with wonder and grace!
2020-09-09 19:38:39
Oh wow, that rosary is gorgeous! I love your posts and inspirations.
2020-09-09 19:40:19
Beautiful pictures & Rosary! 💖💙
2020-09-09 19:41:37
Your children are growing up so fast – as are mine! Such a lovely rosary. Thank you!
2020-09-09 19:44:45
What a nice surprise for your kids. I homeschool my youngest three, but have never done anything like that. Wish I was a student like you. Your kids are growing up so fast. Your baby is beautiful. The rosary is beautiful too.
2020-09-09 19:45:19
Blessings to all this new school year!!
2020-09-09 20:05:16
Beautiful pictures. It’s nice to see all the joy. We are starting our 4th week of being evacuated from our house due to the devastating wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mtns on Aug. 18 (my mom’s 80th b-day). Just so, so much. But seeing you happy family bring joy and hope. 💕
2020-09-09 20:07:32
So beautiful! Deo Gratias! ❤️💕
2020-09-09 20:13:39
You always have such great ideas for gifts! Thank you for sharing once again!
2020-09-09 20:14:18
You create such beautiful memories for your children, and what a lovely way to begin the school year. Sadly, our first day fizzled, but that's not to say I can't make the days to come special…just need to find my energy…it's there somewhere LOL! The rosary is absolutely beautiful!!! My soul would delight in fingering the beautiful beads while saying our family rosary each night. Blessings on your new school year.
2020-09-09 20:18:39
I thought the "A is for Anger" book was a great follow-up to the little crayon war. : P I'd love to hear what your family is using for school this year. I think half of the things we use I first read about here on your blog. : ) I hope you all have a great school year!
2020-09-09 20:23:45
Schultutes have become such a wonderful tradition in our home for the first day of school! It's such a fun way to start a new school year. The rosary is absolutely stunning!
2020-09-09 20:33:19
You have a beautiful family. I hope our school year goes half as well as your first day looks!🤣❤️ And what a lovely rosary. I’ve been trying to say the whole 15 decades daily. This world needs more rosaries!! Thank you for this giveaway. God bless you and your wonderful family. ❤️🙏🏼❤️
2020-09-09 20:39:59
What a beautiful family tradition, Jessica.
2020-09-09 20:56:33
Beautiful rosary and book! Everybody is getting so big!
2020-09-09 21:00:10
It's these little traditions that the kids will always remember fondly. As they get older, they'll realize and appreciate even more the extra work it took.
2020-09-09 21:07:39
This is our first year homeschooling and I made a shultute for our daughter. She was surprised. The rosary is beautiful.
2020-09-09 21:14:33
Great pics! Have a wonderful school year!
2020-09-09 21:18:15
Jessica, I'm so grateful you blog/IG! Thank you for sharing!
2020-09-09 21:19:10
We just started our first year of homeschooling and are loving it.
2020-09-09 21:24:32
The book and rosary are both beautiful! I love the back to school traditions. So special! Do you have links for your older 2 girls dresses? They are so pretty!
2020-09-09 21:25:54
So lovely! Thanks for the ideas.
2020-09-09 21:30:05
Oh I love this idea. I am going to have to use it next year. That book and rosary are beautiful.
2020-09-09 21:32:13
I hope you have a wonderful school year!
2020-09-09 22:07:20
Would love that beautiful rosary! Blessings on a new school year.
2020-09-09 22:22:22
Jessica, you’ve inspired me many times over the years, Thank you for continuing to show how homeschooling is such a continual blessing!
2020-09-09 22:39:06
Thank you for the rosary give-away. So beautiful! I love the school photos of your children. God bless.
2020-09-09 23:33:06
Thank you!
The green floral long sleeve dress was from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Fjv9Nd (Right now you can get some of the colors for only $9.99 – my girls wear the Women's Size S)
Correction… It's the Short Sleeve that is really inexpensive at the moment: https://amzn.to/33gI1vJ
The other is the Reese Floral Midi dress in Mustard from JessaKae last fall, but it's not currently available. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/82612974403345910/
2020-09-09 23:34:26
Oh! Those schultutes brought back memories! We just graduated our youngest (twins) in June, but I used to scramble around the night before school assembling schultutes for my kids. And yes, I asked myself the same question every year!
2020-09-09 23:34:29
Back to school blessings to all of you! Enjoy those wonderful treats!
2020-09-09 23:37:15
A is for Angel is a beautiful book! Thank you for sharing so many ideas!
2020-09-10 00:11:18
Hi ! Wonderful ideas! Thank you for sharing! Just a question what curriculum, plan or suggestions do you have for pre-K homeschooling? Thank you!
2020-09-10 00:30:17
Beautiful rosary! And thank you for the ideas, I’m definitely going to start the shultutes tradition next year!
2020-09-10 00:32:03
The Rosary looks beautiful! You are doing an amazing job! Thanks for sharing, you are inspiring me.
2020-09-10 01:18:31
You have a wonderful family. Have a wonderful school year.
2020-09-10 01:49:10
Beautiful back to school event. May the coming school year be very rewarding.
2020-09-10 01:52:42
Lovely.
2020-09-10 02:01:54
Lovely family! Would love the rosary!
2020-09-10 02:24:11
Have a blessed new school year. Thanks for offering the giveaway!
2020-09-10 02:57:39
Best wishes for your new school year!
2020-09-10 03:19:56
You have beautiful children and wonderful traditions and make the Faith fun. Thanks for sharing it with us.
2020-09-10 03:43:57
The rosary is lovely! Thanks for sharing – I love learning about new Catholic shops to support.
2020-09-10 03:58:28
It's nice to see another back to school post with your beautiful children. Your older two look so grown up now. This reminds me about the alphabet path 🙂 Good times.
2020-09-10 04:10:34
I wish a happy, healthy, and blessed school year to you and your children, with special intentions for your college boys.
2020-09-10 10:12:45
Thank you for your blog, very inspiring!
2020-09-10 11:09:24
Blessings to you for a good school year!
2020-09-10 11:53:29
Always an inspiration Jessica! To think of how many families you've encouraged to live our faith, it is remarkable. Have a blessed school year!
2020-09-10 12:39:57
I love your back-to-school posts! Thank you for sharing your family with us! Yours is such a beautiful example of a lovely Catholic family, and the work behind the vocation of motherhood. So many special traditions that your children will never forget! God bless your school year!
2020-09-10 13:27:16
Many blessings for a fruitful school year! I always look forward to your posts because they are inspirational, and it’s neat to see how another Catholic family incorporates the faith in its daily living.
2020-09-10 13:34:28
I always look forward to your Back to School posts! We started the same day this year! May God bless your academic year and your children❤️
2020-09-10 13:51:11
I love that you have these traditions and I’m sure you’re children will have fond memories of them when they grow up. You’re always so inspiring. The rosary is gorgeous as are you’re children. Have a wonderful school year.
2020-09-10 14:28:12
Such a beautiful family! Hope your school year is amazing. The rosary is beautiful!
2020-09-10 14:35:02
We just got A is for Angel as well. It's stashed for Christmas. I am in need of a new rosary. This one is beautiful! Have a good school year!
2020-09-10 14:41:50
Beautiful rosary and family. Prayers for a great first week of school.
2020-09-10 14:42:28
We have just started our second year of homeschooling. We are all enjoying the experience and blessings so much. Thanks for all you do, Jessica!!! You are a mentor to so many through your sharing on your blog.
2020-09-10 15:28:29
You have such a beautiful family. What a blessing! I love the cake you got for mama Mary!blessings!
2020-09-10 15:40:03
I laughed so hard when I saw "A is for Anger" lol. Adorable. The rosary is gorgeous!
2020-09-10 17:51:27
I thought it read "A is for Anger"! Looks like a lovely book and stunning Rosary! Thanks for sharing.
2020-09-10 18:17:07
Thank You Jessica for the chance to win this beautiful Rosary. Marilyn
2020-09-10 18:35:31
The Rosary is lovely. Thank You for the giveaway. Joan
2020-09-10 18:36:23
Have a great and successful school year . the Rosary is very pretty. Marion
2020-09-10 18:40:33
The cutest family!!! Praying for you all to have a blessed school year. ❤
2020-09-10 19:21:50
Lovely supplies! I added some to my Amazon cart. God bless.
2020-09-10 19:35:56
The picture book and rosary look amazing! Praying for another great school year! Stay safe! 😊
2020-09-10 20:32:31
The children are growing up so quickly! I hope that they have a wonderful school year. God bless! 🙂
2020-09-10 20:33:42
Such a beautiful book and rosary. Happy school year to your family. Everyone is getting so big!
2020-09-10 22:29:12
Happy and blessed back to school! We started back up in July so I can take time off during Advent and Christmas with our new baby. I miss seeing your older boys in your photos. I hope school is well this year for them!
2020-09-11 00:12:39
Thank you for this generous giveaway and for sharing your beautiful family!
2020-09-11 03:43:57
I came to your website when my boys were older so I have always thought I would try the Back-to-School Schultütes when I have grandkids…many, many, many years from now!!
2020-09-11 15:43:54
Our family has been following your posts for years now. My favorite tradition your family inspired in ours is the Christmas book collection! We pray the rosary nightly as a family. Such a beautiful prayer!
2020-09-11 20:15:39
Happy school year! -Autumn (missouri)
2020-09-11 21:42:09
Beautiful family!
2020-09-11 21:56:11
Congratulations, Patricia! You are the winner of the rosary giveaway! Please email me your mailing address and I'll get it sent out to you! God bless!
2020-09-15 01:16:44
May God bless your school year and your family.
2020-09-12 13:52:45
This is a lovely family tradition! Prayers for a wonderful school year!😊
2020-09-12 21:35:50
I really love your blog… and I get beautiful ideas for my grandchildren… thank you so much!
2020-09-12 23:12:28
What a lovely rosary!! Also, i just want to say I love how your kids are dressed so modestly and stylish!
2020-09-13 17:35:57
Thank you for all of your wonderful ideas and inspiration! The rosary beads are very special… wishing everyone a successful school year 🙂
2020-09-13 20:42:10
Thanks for the inspiration. Please share where the dresses your older girls are wearing came from. God Bless Adrianne
2020-09-15 16:41:58
The green floral long sleeve dress was from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Fjv9Nd The other is the Reese Floral Midi dress in Mustard from JessaKae last fall, but it's not currently available. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/82612974403345910/
2020-09-15 18:36:37
I so enjoy reading your creative ideas, but even more love seeing your beautiful family!
2020-09-18 22:58:35
The Rosary is lovely. Thank You for the giveaway.
2020-09-21 16:30:18
Each of your children are so precious. You always capture their expressions so well. I learned about the Schultutes custom when I lived in Germany. It is wonderful that you have this tradition for your children. I do this for my Grandchildren too. It is a sweet custom filled with excitement for a new school year.
2020-09-24 00:59:54
I came across your blog as I was looking for birthday cake ideas for my brother Joseph who loves the Hobbit. What I really found strange is that I saw the picture of Saint Therese on your page especially because today her Feast day (It's 12:08 Los Angeles time) I had just gotten off the phone with my Aunt to greet her in the Philippines. She is named after Therese (they are 16 hours ahead). We were in Lisieux a couple of years ago were blessed to have visited the Basilica as well as her home. I don't believe in coincidences. I'm so happy to have found your blog. It's refreshing to read about your family and something I really needed today. God bless you and your beautiful family.
2020-10-01 07:11:53