Late October Daybook
After some gorgeous and fairly warm autumn weather up here in North Idaho, a cold front rolled in and it’s been raining on and off this past week and snowing at the higher elevations. I’m praying for nice weather on Monday for All Hallows’ Eve!
I am thankful…
That I have access to Shower of Roses. I had quite the scare on Wednesday… I received an email from Blogger letting me know that they had removed my blog… It was gone. The whole blog. All of it… I had no access to any of my content at all. They said that it had been flagged and that after review they “determined that it violates our guidelines”… specifically that the “content has violated our SPAM policy.” I asked them to reconsider – while unsuccessfully trying to hold it together and keep from sobbing… The automatic response was that they would get back to me within two business days. An hour later (probably thanks to everyone’s prayers over at Facebook, they emailed back: “Hello, We have re-evaluated your blog against Blogger Community Guidelines https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy. Upon review, the blog has been reinstated. You may access the blog at http://www.showerofrosesblog.com/. Thank you for understanding. Sincerely, The Blogger Team.”
That I have access to Shower of Roses. I had quite the scare on Wednesday… I received an email from Blogger letting me know that they had removed my blog… It was gone. The whole blog. All of it… I had no access to any of my content at all. They said that it had been flagged and that after review they “determined that it violates our guidelines”… specifically that the “content has violated our SPAM policy.” I asked them to reconsider – while unsuccessfully trying to hold it together and keep from sobbing… The automatic response was that they would get back to me within two business days. An hour later (probably thanks to everyone’s prayers over at Facebook, they emailed back: “Hello, We have re-evaluated your blog against Blogger Community Guidelines https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy. Upon review, the blog has been reinstated. You may access the blog at http://www.showerofrosesblog.com/. Thank you for understanding. Sincerely, The Blogger Team.”
I am thinking…
I need to figure out what I need to do to prevent that from happening again… I need to move to somewhere where I own and have full control over my content. It just seems like such a daunting task after over 15 years of sharing here on Blogger. I’m also worried about the potential costs involved and if it’s even a possibility. I was given a couple contacts over on my Facebook post. Please say a prayer that I can figure it out!
Learning all the time…
I’ve been blogging a lot about all the fun I’ve been having with my youngest students. I’ve had a lot of requests and promise that I’ll share more about what the older ones have been up to soon even if it isn’t as interesting!
I need to figure out what I need to do to prevent that from happening again… I need to move to somewhere where I own and have full control over my content. It just seems like such a daunting task after over 15 years of sharing here on Blogger. I’m also worried about the potential costs involved and if it’s even a possibility. I was given a couple contacts over on my Facebook post. Please say a prayer that I can figure it out!
Learning all the time…
I’ve been blogging a lot about all the fun I’ve been having with my youngest students. I’ve had a lot of requests and promise that I’ll share more about what the older ones have been up to soon even if it isn’t as interesting!
Celebrating the liturgical year…
All Hallows’ Eve is coming up on Monday! Our parish will be hosting another All Saints’ Party, but our teens requested to host a small party at our home this year instead of helping with the parish party. Last year it was freezing cold and there was well over 600 people in attendance… Our parish has continued to grow and I’m sure it will be even bigger this year! A good problem to have for sure, and I’m glad it’s an option, but our children really loved and miss the more intimate parties we used to host at our old home in Oregon. Here are the direct links to some of those parties: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.
All Hallows’ Eve is coming up on Monday! Our parish will be hosting another All Saints’ Party, but our teens requested to host a small party at our home this year instead of helping with the parish party. Last year it was freezing cold and there was well over 600 people in attendance… Our parish has continued to grow and I’m sure it will be even bigger this year! A good problem to have for sure, and I’m glad it’s an option, but our children really loved and miss the more intimate parties we used to host at our old home in Oregon. Here are the direct links to some of those parties: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.
We honor the saints in heaven because they practiced great virtue when they were on earth, and because in honoring those who are the chosen friends of God, we honor God Himself.
I am working…
We’ve all been working on coming up with saint costumes! I found a crown I wanted to order for one of the girls but it was expensive and then went out of stock… Last Sunday she started making her own and it is turning out great! I’ll have to share pictures of it when it’s completed.
I am creating…
…some games for our party, this year’s All Saints Guessing Jars, and Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes. I picked up some healthier treats (Unreal Dark Chocolate Coconut Minis and Peanut Butter Cups, That’s It Mini Fruit Bars, Pure Organic Fruit Bars, and Chomps Minis) to fill our Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes with this year.
I am going…
…to finally get my very first passport! I applied for one a couple weeks ago and can’t wait for it to arrive.
I am hoping…
…that, God willing, I can go to Fatima for my baby brother/oldest godson’s wedding early next year!!! I don’t know if we can actually make it happen or not, but I applied for my passport and that was the first step. We’ll see!
I am praying…
…for Sarah Grant, a sweet mother from our parish who was recently diagnosed with cancer after delivering her newest little baby early via c-section.
Pondering these words…
from St. John Vianney:
Around the house…
We have two new kittens! I’m actually allergic, but they are living in the garage and over time we will move them outside/to the shop. We have had a mouse problem since moving here and the kids have all really missed Ferdinand and Isabella. October seems to be the month we end up with cats!
A little peek at our trip to Green Bluff…
From the kitchen…
Craft supplies all over the kitchen counter at the moment! Tomorrow we’ll be carving our annual Saint-O-Lanterns, or at least that’s the plan!
Craft supplies all over the kitchen counter at the moment! Tomorrow we’ll be carving our annual Saint-O-Lanterns, or at least that’s the plan!
We’ve all been working on coming up with saint costumes! I found a crown I wanted to order for one of the girls but it was expensive and then went out of stock… Last Sunday she started making her own and it is turning out great! I’ll have to share pictures of it when it’s completed.
I am creating…
…some games for our party, this year’s All Saints Guessing Jars, and Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes. I picked up some healthier treats (Unreal Dark Chocolate Coconut Minis and Peanut Butter Cups, That’s It Mini Fruit Bars, Pure Organic Fruit Bars, and Chomps Minis) to fill our Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes with this year.
I am going…
…to finally get my very first passport! I applied for one a couple weeks ago and can’t wait for it to arrive.
…that, God willing, I can go to Fatima for my baby brother/oldest godson’s wedding early next year!!! I don’t know if we can actually make it happen or not, but I applied for my passport and that was the first step. We’ll see!
…for Sarah Grant, a sweet mother from our parish who was recently diagnosed with cancer after delivering her newest little baby early via c-section.
…for my friend Anna’s little boy Theo who is also fighting cancer.
…for the soul of Jenn’s dad. May he, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace+
I am reading…
lots of picture books to our preschoolers but not much else. I ordered a new book for me recently and hoping to at least get back to my personal “minimum of 10 pages a day” goal soon.
lots of picture books to our preschoolers but not much else. I ordered a new book for me recently and hoping to at least get back to my personal “minimum of 10 pages a day” goal soon.
Pondering these words…
from St. John Vianney:
Do not try to please everybody. Try to please God, the angels, and the saints – they are your public. – St. John Vianney
Around the house…
We have two new kittens! I’m actually allergic, but they are living in the garage and over time we will move them outside/to the shop. We have had a mouse problem since moving here and the kids have all really missed Ferdinand and Isabella. October seems to be the month we end up with cats!
One of my favorite things…
…High School sports for our teens. It’s so great that high schoolers are allowed to try out and participate in our local high school sports, both back in Southern Oregon and also here in North Idaho! Our oldest two played Varsity Golf all four years of High School, two years of Varsity hockey, two years of Varsity soccer and a year of JV Basketball for one of them. Our oldest daughter played four years of Varsity golf (with unfortunately only one tournament junior year due to shutdowns) and one year of soccer. And our next two joined the fun this school year, playing on the Varsity Girls Golf team and JV Boys Golf team! We went to the Golf Banquet last Wednesday night to finish the season.
…High School sports for our teens. It’s so great that high schoolers are allowed to try out and participate in our local high school sports, both back in Southern Oregon and also here in North Idaho! Our oldest two played Varsity Golf all four years of High School, two years of Varsity hockey, two years of Varsity soccer and a year of JV Basketball for one of them. Our oldest daughter played four years of Varsity golf (with unfortunately only one tournament junior year due to shutdowns) and one year of soccer. And our next two joined the fun this school year, playing on the Varsity Girls Golf team and JV Boys Golf team! We went to the Golf Banquet last Wednesday night to finish the season.
This week’s plans…
- Hockey Practice for the boys Mon/Wed/Fri with games Fri/Sat
- Carving our annual Saint-O-Lanterns Sunday after Mass
- Hosting an All Hallows’ Eve Party Monday!
- Mass on the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls
- Doctor appointment on Tuesday that I scheduled 3 months ago 🙏🏻
- Weekly PT on Thursday
- Friends for dinner next weekend!
Little Saints Preschool :: Colors & Guardian Angels
I’m bouncing ahead from I Belong to God to the Little Saints Preschool theme we finished last week, on the Feast of St. Luke, before moving on to Fall is Here! This was such a fun and colorful unit study and perfect for October with all the gorgeous fall colors and the feasts of the Holy Guardian Angels and St. Luke who is the patron saint of artists. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for a chance to win a copy of How the Angels Got Their Wings!
.: Picture Books :.
Rainbow Stacker • Eco-Kids Finger Paint • Eco-Dough • Small Rainbow Stacker
St. Luke Peg Doll • Archangel Blocks (pictured below)
(Note: Only four of these books* are listed in my Little Saints book, the rest are my own additions.)
My rolling Book Display has been perfect to set up for each unit! I can display all of our picture books on the top, add some toys and games to the shelf, and the bottom holds my other supplies, teacher manuals, and my Primary Arts of Language crate. I also love that I can easily roll it out of the dining room when I want it out of sight.
.: Learning Games :.
Jonathan’s Angel Wings
The story in Little Saints is all about a little boy and his Guardian Angel who tries to help him. With each different challenge the angel’s wings change a different color (red for charity, when the angel was trying to help the little boy not be angry, etc) .
We followed it with the brand new book How the Angels Got Their Wings!
(The girls have asked to be read this so many times now… and always talking about their Guardian Angels!)
Color Hunt
Instead of just asking them to find something in each color and bring it to me, we set up one of their rainbows and displayed the color objects they found. They loved doing this!
Grimm’s Counting Rainbow (similar to this) • Grimm’s Natural Semicircles Building Set
Various Ostheimer Wooden Toys • Wooden Strawberries • Butterfly Finger Puppet
Turtle Finger Puppet • Bluebird Finger Puppet (from the Folkmanis Sequoia Tree set)
Blue Tea Cup • Wooden Bluebird (from Franciscan Friends Lacing Set)
Additional Leaning Games I Added:
Noah’s Rainbow Race
Teddy Bear Counters
Color Palette
(Primary Arts of Language Game)
.: Color Blindness :.
(Not included in Little Saints Preschool but a perfect time to discuss!)
A story for every color blind child and those who love them.
Conan is a creative little chameleon who loves to find new ways of looking at the world around him, but being color blind is not a perspective he loves. He can’t draw pictures right, can’t play color-based games with his friends well, and can’t figure out how to color-change to camouflage correctly. Can Conan find a new way to look at his color blindness and discover how it makes him a truly special chameleon?
This excellent new picture book was written by our 10 year old’s Godparents’ daughter!
He was really excited to read it to his little sisters and learn more about those who are color blind.
They all loved the book! Great job, Elise!
Our littlest has been pulling it off the shelf all month to flip through the illustrations and asing her older siblings to read it to her again.
.: Arts & Crafts :.
We ended up just doing one of the suggested crafts from Little Saints :
Angel of God
We didn’t get around to the crayon resist glue wash and glitter part of this craft…
Additional Arts & Crafts I Added:
(I shared this craft here on the blog back in 2012 – Ten years ago?!)
(In the background you can see how our littlest insists on displaying Conan the Colorblind Chameleon!)
St. Luke Coloring Pages
(from Color the Bible and Waltzing Matilda)
From left to right: Grace (5), Bud (10), Joy (3)
Joy (3) and Grace (5)
.: Snacks :.
I’m adding snacks to our plans for each theme.
For “Colors” we made our St. Luke’s Artist Palette Cookies!
One of our older girls is allergic to Red40 — We love that Trader Joe’s has so many colorful candies without food coloring… Not quite as vibrant as M&M’s put still very pretty!
St. Luke’s Artist Palette Cookies
.: Giveaway :.
Sophia Institute Press has offered to send one of my visitors a copy of How the Angels Got Their Wings! We’ve read it a number of times now and the little girls (and older kids!) love it. It’s definitely and excellent introduction to the angels for little children and has been frequently requested to be read again!
Leave a comment on this post and then enter using the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win. Good luck!
(If you have trouble with Rafflecopter let me know and I can get you added manually, I just need to have a way to contact the winner and emails don’t show up in my current comment box set up — I recently had to get rid of the Intense Debate commenting system I loved since they stopped updating it awhile back.)
You can find all our past Little Saints Preschool posts listed here or scroll through them all here.
Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared.
– Exodus 23:20
State-by-State Baking :: Pennsylvania – Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies
“M is for Milton Hershey,
the finest chocolatier around.
Crowned the “Chocolate King” in later years,
he created a Chocolate Town.”
Years ago her older sisters baked a Chocolate Breakfast Cake when they were studying Pennsylvania, but last month Rose decided on something more decadent… Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies! She is getting so proficient in the kitchen and made them all by herself after her younger brother finished making his Philadelphia Soft Pretzels earlier that morning.
Pennsylvania Notebooking Pages
by Rose (L) and Bud (R)
Pennsylvania – Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies
Ingredients:
- 10 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Unsweetened Hershey’s Cocoa Powder
For the Cream Cheese Center
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 6 Full Sized Hershey Bars to top
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper long enough to hang over on two sides, making it easier to remove from pan once baked. Spray pan and paper.
Her cute retro apron was part of her costume for her sister’s 19th Birthday party this past summer… I really need to share that party with you all. It was another Murder Mystery party and so much fun!
In small saucepot over medium heat, or in the microwave, melt chocolate and butter until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs, vanilla with the sugar. Slowly add in chocolate mixture until well combined.
In small bowl, sift together cocoa, salt and flour.
Add mixture to rest of batter. Do not overmix. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
For the cream cheese filling:
Beat ingredients together until smooth. Pour over brownie batter and evenly spread on top.
Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until just set and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove from oven and immediately top with full size Hershey bars. Let melt and spread evenly. Cool completely.
Resources we used for this State Study:
K is for Keystone Teacher’s Guide (pdf)
Pennsylvania Notebooking Page from United States Maps
State-by-State Baking :: Pennsylvania – Philadelphia Soft Pretzels
After starting with Peach Galette for Delaware, last month Rose and Bud decided to each make their own recipe for Pennsylvania! Rose really wanted to make something with chocolate and Bud had been eyeing the pretzel recipe in The United States Cookbook.
They both did an excellent job and the recipes turned out amazing. I’ll be back soon with Rose’s Hershey Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies, but first here are Bud’s Philadelphia Soft Pretzels for Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia Soft Pretzels
Ingredients:
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 large egg, beaten
- seasame seeds
- mustard for dipping
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Stir the yeast and warm water together in the bowl with the wooden spoon. Make sure the water is not too hot!
Add the sugar and salt and mix well.
Add the flours to the bowl in small amounts and stir well after each addition. Mix with the wooden spoon, stirring constantly until the mixture forms into a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured pastry board or very clean countertop and knead the dough for 5 minutes. To knead, press the dough out with your hands, then fold it in half. Give the dough a quarter turn after each fold and start again.
Using the pastry brush, brush the medium bowl with olive oil. Place the dough into the bowl and cover with the kitchen towel. Place in a draftfree spot, such as your oven or microwave (don’t turn it on!) and allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes.
Cut off pieces of dough and roll into ropes about 12 inches long. Shape each rope into the traditional pretzel shape and place on ungreased cookie sheets, leave about 2 inches of space around each pretzel.
Brush each pretzel with egg and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden in color.
“On the streets of Philadelphia, you can buy big, warm, soft pretzels that make a great snack. Philadelphians eat their soft pretzels with mustard.” – The United States Cookbook
Resources we used for this State Study:
K is for Keystone Teacher’s Guide (pdf)
Pennsylvania Notebooking Page from United States Maps
Our United States of America: Catholic Social Studies
Additional Resources:
Name that State File Folder Game
United States Coloring Book
How the States Got Their Shapes Season 1 and Season 2
Sequence States & Capitals
United States Puzzle (older version of this one)
USA & Canada Geo Puzzle
Handwriting 5 for Young Catholics (contains basic facts for each state and more)
Related Posts:
State-by-State Baking :: Pennsylvania Hershey’s Chocolate Breakfast Cake!
State-by-State Baking :: Pennsylvania Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies
State-by-State Baking :: Pennsylvania Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies
Catholic Dresses for Little Girls
We’ve always loved the dresses and skirts from Miriam Rose & Co! Our baby girls have actually been wearing beautiful clothing made by Sharon, starting with her baby gowns, since they day they born.
They were so excited to have two new dresses to wear to Mass this past Sunday!
They just outgrew their adorable Lady Saints Leggings and Our Lady of Guadalupe Leggings so these are a perfect addition to their closet in honor of our Blessed Mother.
(And where did my baby go?! She looks so much older all of a sudden…)
(The colors are perfect for each of them, with soft pink for our youngest! )
I’m so happy to see her shop open again and have a couple darling new dresses from her for our little ones. Christmas is coming up fast so, if you want anything made for this year, now is the time to place an order. I even have a coupon code to share with you all!
SHOWEROFROSES will get you 10% OFF
PSA: Order Your Advent Candles Now
Advent begins at the end of next month and it’s time for my annual reminder to order Advent Candles for your Wreath. The dear nuns over at The Cloister Shoppe have them ready to ship and they tend to sell out for the season pretty quickly!
For many years now we have been ordering the beautiful 100% Beeswax hand-poured tapers, made by the Dominican Nuns at The Cloister Shoppe, for the wreath we light each night during dinner.
(Note: all links are affiliate links.)
In these pictures you can see Joseph and Mary traveling down our Advent Path. About five or six years ago I decided to create a path down the center of our table for Advent using the ornaments for each day. The first year was actually just a countdown path out doilies … the next year I incorporated our wooden Jesse Tree Ornaments from Jesse Tree Treasures.
I purchased our Our Lady of Guadalupe Candle from Clear Creek Abbey a couple years ago. I haven’t been able to bring myself to burn it but it makes a lovely addition to our Advent decorations.
I seriously can’t believe it’s the end of October again already, but looking at these pictures has me looking forward to Advent.
I try to plan ahead each year and order extra candles to have blessed on Candlemas (Feb 2) to have on hand for the new liturgical year and the following Advent.
In addition to the Advent Candles, some of my favorites have included:
- Tumbler Jar Candles – The Cloister Shoppe makes amazing Jar Candles. In the past I’ve ordered extras of the Three Wisemen Candle (perfect for Epiphany!) to give as gifts.
- Christmas Tree Creche Candle – I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to actually burn this beautiful candle!
- Beeswax Candles – You can’t go wrong with any of these! I replace our Advent Candles with Beeswax Candles for the Christmas season.
- Bayberry Christmas Eve Candle Gift Box – There is an old colonial tradition of burning a bayberry candle on Christmas Eve. I started with the Gift Box and adding purchasing replacement candles this year.
- St. Nick’s Goat Milk Soap – I first featured this in my Seven Fun Finds for Advent back in 2014. This year they have it available in red! Love it!
- Peppermint Foot Creme – Love, love, love this stuff!
We usually have two Advent wreaths set up in our home for Advent.
The taper Advent Candles are placed in an Advent Wreath on our dining room table and we light them during dinner each night.
We also have a larger wreath on the coffee table in the living room which we light during our family rosary each evening and leave it lit while unwrapping and reading from our annual Advent Book Basket.
I still really miss the pillar candles I bought for years from the Benedictine Monks… I currently use these 3×3 candles in purple and pink. (Scroll through all Advent Wreath posts here.)
One year I was feeling extra ambitious and hung our Advent Wreath like the Von Trapps!
Our children have also really enjoy creating their own candles using this 100% Beeswax Advent Candle Kit from Illuminated Ink (pictured above). It’s such a fun Advent activity for children.
I really enjoyed mine last year and can’t wait to pull them out again next month. 🙂
The dear nuns only make a limited quantity of Advent Candles.
They tend to sell out very quickly each year so be sure to order them soon if you are interested!
For more Advent Planning: The Advent Season In Our Catholic Home
Grisley Grisell: A Tale of the Wars of the Roses {Review + Giveaway}
Industrious Family Films recently visited our parish for screening of their full length film followed by a meet and greet with the makers. We weren’t able to attend but we watched Grisley Grisell: A Talk of the Wars of the Roses, a movie based on the novel by Charlotte M. Younge, on DVD this afternoon.
The production of Grisly Grisell admirably includes the entire family in its creation. It invites the audience to explore the lesser known intrigues of 15th century English monarchy.
Industrious Family Films has produced other movies as well including Outlaws of Ravenhurst and Max & Carlota: A Catholic Love Story.
I look forward to seeing what they come up with next!
.: Giveaway :.
I have a set of three DVDs from Industrious Family Films to send to one of you! Please leave a comment on this post and enter for a chance to win using the Rafflecopter box below:
Giveaway closes on 10/28/2022 at 11:59PM PST. I’ll draw a name and notify the winner via the email provided though Rafflecopter on 10/29/22. Good luck!
Back-to-School :: 2022-2023
It’s been well over a month now since we started the new school year, but I wanted to go back and add these pictures to the blog anyway. The kids love looking back at the archives to see the pictures from over the years…
Our Back-to-School Schultütes were pretty simple this year – each cone was filled with a new t-shirt and maybe one other thing, to go along with a new planner (high school students) or notebook (younger students) and a chocolate pencil!
I have gotten pretty quick at making the cones with a sheet of 12×12 card stock from my old craft supply stash, some white tissue paper, tape, a stapler, and some ribbon.
This girl of ours has been taking online dual-enrollment classes from Franciscan over the past year and it was time for her to finally have some college swag of her own!
She had also just received her acceptance letter from Franciscan for next fall!
She is still undecided and keeping options open at this point.
(This is actually her 4th semester – she took classes last fall, spring and summer and will continue with more classes in the spring. She has been taking additional dual-enrollment classes from another college as well. I’ll try to blog more about this sometime soon.)
A toob of WWII Army Men for Bud and, having just recently gotten home from her very first trip to the Ocean, our baby girl received a toob of baby sea animals!
Some Alphabet Cookie Cutters and a t-shirt for her too (!!) which she was very happy to receive!
(I bought the Toobs and Cookie Cutters at Michaels with coupons.)
And there are those pictures I was missing!
..Back-to-School Pictures..
Chiquita :: 12th Grade
Scout :: 9th Grade
Summer birthday so last year we decided to postpone high school until this school year. Mainly for high school sports – he still gets high school credit for completing Algebra 1/Biology/etc last year – giving him four years starting this year to compete with the local high school. He just finished golf season! I’d rather not send any more 17 (or barely 18) year olds away to college.
High School Golf Pictures
Rose :: 7th Grade
Bud :: 5th Grade
Grace :: Kindergarten
With her summer birthday she may end up doing two years of Kindergarten. I suspect she may have dyslexia/auditory processing challenges like her lookalike/oldest brother/godfather. I’d much rather hold her back and have her and her little sister go through school, particularly high school, together like our oldest two boys. We’ll see how it goes! Definitely thankful for the option of home educating and not really needing to define grade levels until they want to compete in high-school sports!
Joy :: Preschool
.: College Kids :.
Even the boys sent me back to school pictures. Senior year!!!
Our oldest is an RA this semester and also loving his internship.
And our 20 year old will be DONE by Christmas break (a semester early) after a crazy 20 credit semester (including his capstone/thesis) all with his right hand in a (now at least removable) cast while recovering from a scaphoid break/surgery. Whew! He’ll return to campus in April for graduation with his older brother.
Our oldest daughter is taking a stop-gap for now and has been working and studying hard for her Insurance license. If you live in OR/WA/ID and would be willing to let her give you a free (no obligation) Home or Auto quote she would really love the extra practice!
September 4th – Just before driving him to the airport. Our oldest had left a week earlier for RA training… missed getting a picture of everyone before summer camp started for the youngest two boys.
Our oldest also picked up my slack by getting his brother/roommate back to school treats too! He sent me this picture and it made me so happy. I loved some of the things he came up with when browsing the aisles at the grocery store! He said he was remembering back to this year.. #oldestchild
One FOOT in front of the other 🙂 – MOTTSIVATION
Trident Your Best!!! – S’more Pop Tarts To HELP you study S’more 🙂
.: Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary :.
We ended the celebration with a birthday cake for our Blessed Mother!
This sweet statue was a gift a friend brought me from her visit to Lisieux a few years ago. It’s a little replica of the Martin family’s treasured statue, “Our Lady of the Smile.” ♥
What a joy to remember that she [Mary] is our Mother! Since she loves us and knows our weakness, what have we to fear?
– St. Therese of Lisieux
Chili for a Crowd
I was searching my blog for this recipe and found that it was still tucked away with a couple hundred other draft posts that have never been finished… Time to finally hit that publish button! It’s not a meal that I can eat due to my food intolerances, but our kids love it, especially our teens and young adults. When we hosted the older boys’ high school soccer team’s end of season party, just before moving out Oregon in 2018, it was the meal they requested, along with cornbread and pumpkin pie. It’s perfect for fall weather and I’ll be making it again soon for All Hallows’ Eve.
Chili for a Crowd
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 2 chopped onions
- 1/2 cup green peppers – chopped
- 1/2 cup celery – chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 3 cans (16 oz) diced tomatoes
- 3 cans (16 oz) kidney beans
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions:
- Saute ground beef, onions, pepper, celery and garlic. Drain fat.
- Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil – 5 to 8 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low. Simmer 30-40 minutes.
- Serves 10.
Note: When I don’t have fresh bell peppers on hand, I use the Melange a Trois (Red, Yellow & Green Bell Pepper Strips) from Trader Joe’s. So easy and convenient when I’m in a hurry and need bell peppers for a recipe.
I usually follow the recipe as listed for just our family, or double this recipe when we are having company for dinner, and cook it in my beautiful cherry colored Staub Cast Iron 9-qt Round Cocotte.
Little Saints Preschool :: I Belong to God
The fourth time I started Little Saints: A Catholic Preschool Program with Classical Disciplines by Cynthia Blum back in 2016 I said:
I’m not sure how much of the Little Saints Preschool Program we will actually get to this year… However, considering it could very well be the last year we have a pre-schooler (our “baby” will turn five in December… how did that happen?!), I’m going to try and fit some of it into our schedule.
Not long after that I found out I was pregnant! It was my hardest pregnancy ever (hyperemesis gravidarum plus back/hip/walking issues) followed by my most sleep deprived year and a half ever... and then our first move with children and then another pregnancy! I survived it all, but we definitely didn’t get very far with all the fun preschool extras!
I’ve attempted Little Saints enough times now to know that it’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever get through all the themes (at this point I don’t think it’s actually possible outside of a school setting, or at least not for this mom of many), but I’m still planning to pull it out when I can this school year (in addition to Primary Arts of Language and Math) as a starting place for some themed unit studies featuring picture books, learning games, and arts & crafts for our littlest ones… and of course I’ll add in some fun snacks too!
Here are some pictures from our first theme in September: I Belong to God.
.: Picture Books :.
God is Love • A Child’s Book of Prayers
.: Learning Games :.
In addition to “I Look Like… ” (using a mirror) and “I Sound Like…” (recording them answering questions) we also enjoyed a Photo Album Family History Tour. Next I pulled out the “Parts of the Body” Learning Game I cut out about twenty years ago… Can you believe I still have it?!
Parts of the Body
Who Does Jesus Love? Keepsake Card
(I guess I missed taking pictures of this one… Here are pictures from 2011.)
Child of God Matching Cards
(This matching game came with Little Saints.
You can find a FREE PRINTABLE of my St. Joseph Memory Match in the archives.)
.: Arts & Crafts :.
My Handprints
“Oh no! we have to get our hands dirty?!”
Someone was super excited and someone was less than thrilled with that idea…
I realized I had never introduced these too to finger paint before… Our 3 year old survived and realized it wasn’t quite as terrifying as she expected. We’ll have to try again sometime soon! Or maybe not…
The Heavenly Jerusalem
.: Snacks :.
On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross – September 14th
Applesauce Spice Cross Cake
Ingredients:
1 pkg Namaste Foods Spice Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 fresh apple, grated or chopped (skin left on is okay)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Powdered Sugar (optional for dusting)
Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚ F. Grease and flour a cake pan. (I choose this Cross Shaped pan for the feast day.) Combine all ingredients and mix well. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar.
*This cake can also be baked in a 9×13 pan for 35-40 minutes, a bundt pan for 45-50 min, or 2 -9″ round layers for 30-35 minutes.
Eventually I hope to share more of what we’ve been up to this school year. This week, at least for these two, it’s continuing on in Primary Arts of Language, finishing up “Colors” and moving into “Fall is Here!” We are headed to the pumpkin patch this afternoon!
You can find all our past Little Saints Preschool posts listed here or scroll through them all here.
I have called you by name… you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you. – Isaiah 43: 1-4
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