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by | Dec 29, 2022

Catholic Embroidery {Sponsored Review & Giveaway}

It has been an emotional and whirlwind of a week!  We arrived home from our trip to the children’s hospital late Thursday night (or rather early Friday morning – so far the testing has been going well) and we are turning around and heading out of town again early tomorrow (Sunday) morning… As I mentioned briefly last Monday, we have some big decisions that need to be made soon. I’m sorry to be vague for the time being, but hopefully next week I’ll have the opportunity to get back to blogging again and share some of what has been going on with you all.  In the meantime, could you please offer a prayer or two for our family?

Anyways, before I get off the computer to pack (and hopefully get a few hours of sleep tonight) I have another coupon code and giveaway for you all!

I think I might have mentioned Catholic Embroidery in the past… 😉  I just love their products!

I wish I had time to take updated pictures of some of our favorite items from Catholic Embroidery (there are many!) but I am going to have to settle for sharing the links and pictures to some of the things I’ve posted about in the past:


#1 – Baptismal Blanket from my blog post Our Baptized Baby and a Beautiful Baptismal Blanket

#2 – First Communion Handkerchief from my blog post First Holy Communion Gift Ideas

#3 – Rosary Case from my blog post The Big Purse Dump

# 4 – Rosary Case from my blog post On Easter Morning {Our 2013 Easter Baskets!}

#5 – Custom Children’s Missal Cover from my blog post On the Feast of St. James

#6 – Pysanky Basket Cover from my post Seven Quick Easter Takes and Easter Symbols {An Easter Basket for the Whole Family}

#7 –  My Custom Shower of Roses Apron from my post {pretty, happy, funny, real}

#8 – Custom Ordered Tote from my blog post Celebrating the O Antiphons :: The Golden Nights

# 9 – Love of the Little Flower Afgan from my blog post My Daybook :: October 13, 2013

I have always been beyond happy with each purchase from Catholic Embroidery and I look forward to adding more of their products to our home in the future!


.: First Communion Coupon Code :. 


The “Season of Sacraments” is already upon us and our First Communion Handkerchiefs are just the gift for the Catholic Child. This year, we are offering a Standard and Custom version of the gold-metallicembroidered keepsake. 

Shower of Roses visitors can obtain FREE SHIPPING on both of these styles by entering FIRSTCOMMUNION in the promotion box at checkout through April 4, 2014.

Other things that are especially popular this time of year are our Pysanky Basket Cover, Accessories for Easter Baskets, and our Lamb of God Apron, Table Runner, and Stationery


And now for the Giveaway! 

Catholic Embroidery would like to introduce and give one of their new embroidered Hoodies to one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses; winner’s choice of the Ave Maria Hoodie or the Fleury Child of Mary Pink Hoodie in whatever size of choice. (An over $40 value!)

Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


A March Daybook on the Feast of St. Patrick

Outside my window…
we have been enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

I am thinking…
about so many things.  We have some big decisions to make and we are praying our rosary every night that God will make His will for our family clear.

I am thankful… 
for antibiotics!  I just took the last antibiotic last night and am feeling so. much. better.  I’m still dealing with some congestion though and avoiding dairy and sugar and taking lots of Vitamin C, probiotics, and now some mega doses of Vitamin D, due to some super low test results this past week.

Learning all the time…

I promise I haven’t forgotten about the curriculum update some of you have been patiently waiting for… I had really hoped to finish and share the post by now, but with our trip to see the specialists this week it is going to have to wait a little longer.  We are all really enjoying most of our subjects this year, but also looking forward to our Spring Break next week!
Celebrating the liturgical year…
We are celebrating St. Patrick today and the feast of St. Joseph is coming up the day after tomorrow!  You can find the links to most of our past March feast day celebrations here, thought it looks like I have a little updating to do. . .  It might be best to just search the labels for St. Patrick and St. Joseph.

From the kitchen… 
Shamrock Frittata with Irish Sausage…

Shamrock Toasties, as requested by our sweet boy celebrating a name-day…

.. and Irish Beef and Guinness Stew with Traditional Irish Soda Bread!  Yummmmm.

I am working on… 
resting.  Though you wouldn’t know it after looking at all that yummy St. Patrick’s Day food! 😉

I am creating…
my submission for the summer issue of Catholic Digest.

I am going…
on a road trip with just my husband and oldest two boys!  My parents have offered to watch the five youngest (for the first time overnight) while we travel to see the specialists and I’m really looking forward to spending this special time with just the boys.

I am praying…
that the specialists will have some answers for us when we meet with them on Thursday morning.

 

I am reading…

a new addition to our collection of picture books for March: St. Patrick and the Three Brave Mice.

In my opinion some of the illustrations are rather scary (snakes always scare me) and the story is really short, but the little ones have been asking me to read it over and over again.  They really love the little mice and how they tried to help St. Patrick rid Ireland of that last snake! 

Pondering these words…
from Arthur Brisbane:

“[St. Patrick] was a terror to any snake that came in his path, whether it was the cold, slimy reptile sliding along the ground or the more dangerous snake that oppresses men through false teachings. And he drove the snakes out of the minds of men, snakes of superstition and brutality and cruelty.”

I am listening… 
to Traditional Irish Music on Pandora and the children just finished watching Patrick – Brave Shepherd of the Emerald Isle.

Around the house…
I love that our oldest son picked up my slack and decorated for St. Patrick’s Day this year! He pulled out his statue of St. Patrick along with a few of his Holy Cards, put together a little Leprechaun/Rainbow/Pot of Gold and Irish Flag Lego Creations, and even pulled out one of his favorite stuffed animals from when he was a baby and a paper on St. Patrick that he recently finished writing!

One of my favorite things…  
I never get tired of watching this little guy try and blow out all the candles around our home.
 

This week’s plans…

  • Celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick (and our Irish Heritage!)
  • Math Tutor on Tuesday (Next week is Spring Break!)
  • Table Replacement Arriving! (So excited! It only took 7 months…) 
  • Celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph (It will be extra simple this year…)
  • Trip to take Captain to see the Specialist (Please pray! and I’ll be away from the computer for a couple days…)

A little peek at my day…

Waiting for Grandpa and Grandma to arrive for dinner! We were so excited when I asked my parents at the last minute to join us for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner and they said yes!  Happy name-day to my Dad, Patrick Joseph Murphy, and Happy Birthday to my dear Father-in-law James Patrick and brother-in-law Father T.G. So many reasons to celebrate on this special feast day! 

Prayer Pillowcases {Sponsored Review & Giveaway}

I’m sure you have noticed the beautiful ad in my sidebar for Prayer Pillowcases.  I am so grateful to have them as one of my sponsors here at Shower of Roses and excited to share a closer look at their lovely pillowcases with you all today! 

Last Christmas two of our children were blessed with Prayer Pillowcases of their patron saints! The inspiring and soft pillowcases have been such a lovely addition to our home and I have been very impressed with the quality. These pillowcases are made in the USA and the images are printed directly onto the pillowcase using non-toxic water based inks. I have washed the pillowcases inside out using cold water and have only noticed very minimal fading after the first washing and they still look just as beautiful as when they arrived!

I have covered it up in my photos, but each of the pillowcases has been personalized with our child’s name.   I always love to include a religious gift in our children’s Easter Baskets that reflects one of their patron saints, and the Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph pillowcases are going to be included in two of the boys’ Easter baskets next month!  
In addition to Christmas and Easter, these Prayer Pillowcases would also be perfect gifts for celebrating name-days, First Confession, First Holy Communion, and any other special occasion!  
For a limited time Prayer Pillowcases is offering FREE SHIPPING anywhere in the U.S. and U.S. Territories on ANY SIZE ORDER! (You can find the rates for International Shipping here.)

And now for the giveaway! 

With the feasts of St. Patrick and St. Joseph coming up this next week, Prayer Pillowcases has offered to give a personalized pillowcase to TWO of my visitors here at Shower Roses!  (You can find our past celebrations for St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day in the archives.) 

One visitor will receive the Saint Patrick Prayer Pillowcase and another visitor will receive the Saint Joseph Prayer Pillowcase, each specially personalized for the winner!

 Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Seven Quick Takes} At the end of a quiet week…

— 1 —

From Instagram last Friday: Whew! Just spent the last two hours hand scrubbing the tile and wood floors… (while Sean and the kids worked on the bedrooms and vacuuming the carpets!) Time for our family rosary and then bedtime for all the little ones. It is going to be so nice to start the weekend (and the rest of the to-do list) with a clean home, following a productive school week!

Is it really Friday already?  I didn’t intend to take the week off blogging, but God had other plans for me… Apparently I over did it last week, while still recovering from the H1N1 flu that had gone through our home, and after pushing myself through the weekend, I ended up coming home from our Latin Mass Sunday evening and climbing straight into bed with a horrible ear ache. My husband called my doctors office first thing Monday morning and I didn’t get back out of bed until the appointment he set up on Tuesday afternoon.  I ended up coming home with antibiotics for the infections in both ears (including a double infection on one side) and a sinus infection.  I’ve been so incredibly weak and the little energy I’ve had has been spent on meals and home educating. Please forgive me if I owe you an email… It’s going to take me a little while to catch up online. 
  

— 2 —
We were suppose to be on our way to see the specialist for our oldest son today, but yesterday I ended up rescheduling the appointment for next Thursday.  I just don’t have the strength for the trip yet (it’s a five hour drive each way) and Sean had a work commitment come up for this morning as well.  I hated to postpone the trip, but so thankful they are able to squeeze us in next week instead! Please continue to keep our oldest son in your prayers as we search for answers to his health issues. 
— 3 —
I’ve received a few prayer requests in my inbox this week… I’m praying for all the intentions and wanted to pass along this email to you all.  Please keep Michaela in your prayers!

“We have a friend that was diagnosed with cancer in November. She is the oldest of 9 children. She has had chemo and reconstructive surgery to remove the tumor. Unfortunately the tumor is chemo resistant and she will have to have more intense chemo for a longer period. I was hoping you would be willing to spread the word about Michaela. Her family is requesting prayer (most importantly) but also if anyone feels called to help donate money that would be great as well. You know the financial strains on a large family without a major illness. Here is her facebook page Michaela Ambrose Fund and her website. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! This such a devout and loving family! They really deserve any help you are able to give to them. Thank you!”
— 4 —

From Instagram last Saturday: So grateful for this quiet and peace filled day… It started with Sean taking the kids (all SEVEN of them!) to work with him so that I could focus on some projects/deadlines of my own without distractions; and it’s ending with the sacrament of confession and a visit to the Blessed Sacrament!

Looking back I should have left it at that and not tried to squeeze in another marathon grocery shopping trip (Costco, Trader Joe’s and Natural Grocers) following adoration… At least we had plenty of food in the house while I was sick in bed! 🙂 

— 5 —
It’s raining again this morning, but we’ve been enjoying beautiful Spring weather all week and the children have been spending every afternoon outdoors! 
— 6 —

Sour or Not Sour? Chemistry (Affiliate link) experiments are so much fun with this little guy! 
During this experiment (on Thursday of last week) we also discussed the difference between “sour” and “ew, disgusting!” I expected his reaction to the lemon juice (and wish I would have caught it on video) but who knew Mineral Water tasted so badly?! 😉  
— 7 —

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway for the beautiful St. Therese earrings from Gail Girón Design.  Gail is also offering a Free Shipping Special on all domestic orders through March 17th using coupon code STPATRICK17.  Be sure to check back sometime this weekend for the next giveaway sponsored by Prayer Pillowcases!


For additional Quick Takes visit Conversion Diary.

1st Pontifical High Mass at the Throne

I still can hardly believe that Archbishop Sample is our Archbishop! He gives me such hope for our liberal state and diocese. Deo Gratias!

This beautiful and inspiring sermon was given by His Excellency Archbishop Sample at the Pontifical Mass he celebrated in the Extraordinary Form on March 1, 2014 at the Brigittine Monastery in Amity, Oregon.

The Mass was the crowning celebration of a 3-day conference on Gregorian Chant and the role of sacred music in the liturgy.  I had wanted to surprise my husband with a trip to attend as an early birthday gift, but due to the flu it wasn’t a possibility this year… Instead he will be receiving a 12×18 print of the above photo and hopefully he will be able to attend the next conference. 🙂

Note: You can view the rest of the photos from this Mass here.  The video below and all the photographs were taken and edited by our friend Marc Salvatore.  Thank you Marc! 

“Let’s not ever forget that as much as we may want to get every word right in the liturgy, and as much as we want to get every movement down perfectly in the liturgy, if we do not have love then it’s just a show. So let’s be people filled with love.” 

Gail Girón Design {Sponsored Review & Giveaway}

I’ve mentioned before how much I love the beautiful and unique rosaries and jewelry from Gail Girón Design! The St. Therese Rosary she created for me is still one of my favorites. I am so happy to have Gail as one of my sponsors here at Shower of Roses and excited to share her shop with you all again! 
Last December my mom purchased bracelets from Gail Girón Design as Christmas gifts for my five sisters and I!  I was given this gorgeous bracelet made with red agates and Czech glass with a vintage St. Joseph medal from Belgium!  Mom choose this one for me since one of my patron saints is St. Joseph. (My middle name is Jo, after St. Joseph, my mom Josephine, my grandmother Jo Ann, and my dad’s middle name Joseph.) I was so surprised to see that it also had the Holy Guardian Angels on the other side of the medal, since my husband and I were married on their feast!  It is just perfect and I’ve been enjoying wearing it these past couple months. 

I have also been wearing a couple pairs of earrings, which I ordered for myself, from Gail Girón Design, including a pair of St. Therese Earrings and a pair of Ave Maria Earrings. They are so unique and pretty!  

Any of the beautiful creations from Gail Girón Design would make such a great gift to give for upcoming birthdays, Easter, and Mother’s Day. I know my own mother would be thrilled with something from her shop, especially since she had such a hard time parting with all the bracelets she ordered for her daughters! 😉
And now for the giveaway! 

Gail Girón Design has offered to send a beautiful pair of St. Therese Earrings to one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses! This giveaway is open to everyone, including those overseas! 
Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Lenten Season In Our Catholic Home

Lord, Who throughout these forty days,
For us didst fast and pray,
Teach us with Thee to mourn our sins, 
And close by Thee to stay…

The Lenten Season In Our Catholic Home

Over the years our family has adopted and established many Lenten traditions with our children.  I spent a little time this afternoon finalizing our plans for this Lenten season and have compiled them here to share, including links to the original sources of our inspiration. May you all have a blessed and fruitful Lenten season!  (Note: This post contains affiliate links.)

Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday is a day of preparation for Lent. The name “shrove” comes from the word “shrive” which means “to confess.”  The Church recommends that we receive the Sacrament of Penance frequently and once a year at the every least.  Our family will be going again soon so that we can begin Lent with clear consciences and clean souls.

  • Bury the Alleluia until Easter Sunday!

I am not sure where this tradition originated, but I have read that “In medieval times, in order to signify that the Alleluia was no longer to be sung at Mass from Ash Wednesday to the great Vigil of Easter, people developed the ceremony of “burying the Alleluia”. It typically consisted of putting a scroll with the word “Alleluia” on it inside a coffin and actually digging up a grave in the church lot and throwing it in, where it would rest until retrieved in another ceremony on Easter.”  Instead of a scroll our family has always used wooden letters (painted gold by the some of the children when they were younger) inspired by Elizabeth Foss.  We pack bury them in a box for Lent and they will be unpacked unburied and placed on our mantle Easter morning

Ash Wednesday (Day of Fast and Abstinence)

Daily During Lent: Pray • Fast • Give Alms

UPDATE: A Lenten Calendar for Catholic Children {revised} 

We have always loved using the Jesus Tree as a Lenten bible study for our children.  Each day during Lent we read a story about an event or teaching during Jesus’ life and add a corresponding ornament to the tree. At first, the dead branch (tree) symbolizes the barren and lifeless feeling of the Lenten season as we reflect on our own sinfulness and the crucifixion of our Lord. As the season climaxes with Easter, we see the gift Christ gave us through His death and Resurrection. The beauty of that new life is reflected in the way the dead branch has “blossomed” with all the symbols of Christ’s life and teachings.

NOTE: I’m working on compiling a booklet with the list of coordinating readings I came up with years ago using our New Catholic Picture Bible.  You can find the current list in full here, though many of the coloring page links no longer work. I’m currently working on updating those links as well.  I’ll be sure to update this post with the links to any new/updated posts once they are completed.

  • Lenten Sacrifice Beans

This tradition of ours is inspired by Mary Reed Newland in her book The Year and Our Children. She says, “It is hard to keep track of this treasure that is laid in Heaven if you are quite small and six weeks drag out like six years. We have made this part of the effort visible for the children so that they might see that they were accomplishing something. On or about Ash Wednesday, we dye lima beans purple to be used as counters in a jar. Beans, because they are seeds which, if put in the ground, appear to die only to spring forth with new life. This is what Our Lord said we must do if we would have life in Him. He that seems to lose his life shall gain it. The beans remind us that daily death to self in one self-denial after another is the dying which will find for us new life in Him.” On Easter Sunday the children wake up to discover that all the Lenten Sacrifice Beans have been replaced with Jelly Beans! 

Update: You can see our jar filled with Jelly Beans on Easter Sunday here

  • Lenten Crown of Thorns

A great motivating tool during Lent is the Lenten Crown of Thorns. Create a Crown of Thorns as a Lenten centerpiece for your table using a grapevine wreath (crown) and inserting toothpicks (thorns) to represent the many pains and sufferings Our Lord endured for our salvation. Both children and adults will be encouraged to persevere with their Lenten penances as they remove a thorn for each good deed and sacrifice offered. This tradition was inspired by Waltzing Matilda.

Additional Lenten Activities

Sometime during Lent we will create a Paschal Candle for Easter Morning. You can purchase a Paschal Candle Kit from Illuminated Ink (like the one we made here). Or create your own using the directions found here: Paschal Candle for Easter. Place the candle in the center of your Crown of Thorns centerpiece (see Daily During Lent), replacing all the thorns with flowers!

Fridays During Lent

Crafting our Stations of the Cross – kit from Illuminated Ink (also available at Amazon)

Some excellent resources for praying the Stations of the Cross at Home with Children include The Stations of the Cross for Children (Glory Stories), The Way of the Cross for Children DVD, and Praying the Way of the Cross (featuring Liam Neeson).  We also have an assortment of books and coloring books for the children as well.  Jesse Tree Treasures also carries a lovely set of Stations of the Cross Ornaments

Spring Cleaning

  • De-clutter, simplify, organize and clean!

Past posts include: Spring Cleaning ~ The Goal (2008), Lenten Cleaning (2009), 40 Bags of Stuff (2009), 40 Bags in 40 Days and Update (2010) and Shaking off the Bonds of Stuff :: A 40-Day Plan for Lent (2012). 

Laetare Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent)

Passion Sunday (5th Sunday of Lent)

Note: Now that our children our getting older, the Holy Thursday and Good Friday Teas (originally inspired by Alice Gunther) are a little too much “fun” for our family for Holy Week which is one of the reasons we omitted them last year. We have loved doing them in the past so I’ve decided to move them to the two Sundays prior to Holy Week – Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday – that way we can use them as a teaching tool for the rest of our little ones and I can still spend as little time as possible in the kitchen (and hopefully more time at Church) during Holy Week.  UPDATE: We ended up leaving our Lenten Dinners during Holy Week this year after all.

Palm Sunday (6th Sunday of Lent)

Palm Sunday is also known as “Fig Sunday” due to the tradition that Christ ate figs following his entry into Jerusalem. Celebrate Our Lord’s glorious entrance into Jerusalem by enjoying some fresh figs or Fig Newtons today. Another option is to serve Palm Sundaes (Ice Cream Sundaes topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and shredded coconut – since coconuts grow on Palm Trees) for dessert.

Holy Thursday

Look at His adorable face. Look at His glazed and sunken eyes. Look at His wounds. Look Jesus in the Face. There, you will see how He loves us. ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

Good Friday (Day of Fast and Abstinence)

Holy Saturday

Other Past Posts of the Lenten Season in our Catholic Home

To suffer lovingly is to suffer no longer. To flee from the cross is to be crushed beneath its weight. We should pray for a love of the cross – then it will become sweet. ~ St John Vianney 

A Lenten Calendar for Catholic Children

Update: You can find my revised 2015 Lenten Calendar here.

I’ve been making variations of this Lenten Calendar since our oldest was only 3 year old (for 11 years now!) inspired by an idea I found back then in a little book titled: Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler. (affiliate link)  I first posted about it here back in 2008 and have shared some of our more recent calendars as well. I just finished creating this year’s calendar and thought I’d update the old post and share it again, along with my documents for anyone else who might want to create one as well.

If you are looking for something smaller, quicker, and easier, head on over to Pondered In My Heart or Waltzing Matilda.  They both have beautiful printable calendars, which I just finished printing for my older children!  🙂

LENTEN CALENDAR

SUPPLIES:

  • 1 – 22″x28″ White Posterboard
  • Purple Marker
  • Yard Stick
  • Printed Images and Text (Free Download Here)
  • Scissors and Glue Stick
  • Purple Card Stock or Construction Paper

DIRECTIONS:

Create seven rows of 3 1/8″ x 3 1/8″ squares for the 40 days of Lent plus all of the Sundays, with an 1/8″ border on each side of the poster board.

Label the Days of the week Monday through Sunday.  

Each day of the week has a special prayer intention for which we pray and fast.:

  • Monday – For an End to Abortion
  • Tuesday – For Conversions to the True Faith
  • Wednesday – For our Holy Father and all Priests
  • Thursday – For our Family, Godparents & Godchildren
  • Friday – For Forgiveness of Sins in our World
  • Saturday – For our Deceased Relatives
  • Sunday – In Thanksgiving for God’s Blessings

Title the top of the calendar with LENT: Pray, Fast, Give Alms.

Through prayer, fasting and alms giving, we bring Jesus into our lives, and commit ourselves to being united with him in His suffering, death and resurrection. Through this we also love and serve Him as we love and serve our neighbor.

Cut out, place, and glue all the images for Ash Wednesday, the various feast days, all the Sundays of Lent, and Holy Week.

Our calendar has a square for each day, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Special Feasts and Holy days during that period are decorated to represent that day.  For example, we have a picture of St. Patrick on March 17th and St. Joseph on March 19th.  These special feasts help break up the long Lenten Season. 

Add a Fish Symbol to each Friday representing the days of abstinence.

Hang somewhere it can easily be seen (and reached) by the children.

PRAY • FAST • GIVE ALMS

PRAY

  • Each Morning for the Special Intention of the Day
  • Daily Family Rosary
  • Stations of the Cross on Friday
  • Adoration Hour
  • Daily Mass

When the older children were little I made or purchased stickers of rosaries, stations of the cross, churches, etc for them to add to each day we prayed the rosary, stations, or attended Mass.  I’ll have to see what I can find for this year!

FAST

  • Take one item from the pantry each day for the poor
  • Simple Meatless Meals on Fridays
  • Personal Sacrifices I’m Offering Up for Lent 

Toddlers don’t always understand the concept of giving something up for Lent.  Instead of having our youngest children give something up we have them focus on giving away.  I stock the bottom shelves of the pantry with appropriate food items that can be donated, and everyday the little ones choose something to place in a box to be donated to a needy person or organization.  I fit this extra food into our grocery budget by serving simple meals throughout lent, especially on Fridays.

We are also choosing some things to offer up individually and as a family.  I’ve left it generic on our calendar as “Personal Sacrifices I’m Offering Up for Lent.”

GIVE ALMS

  • Count the items listed for each Day
  • Put corresponding Number of Pennies in the Rice Bowl

In Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler (affiliate link) the author says, “Playing with pennies is fun, and so is putting them in a piggy bank. So try combining the two… Almost every church has Rice Bowls for lent… Think of items in your home that you can count. Select something different for every day of lent and put this on your calendar. For example, after deciding to count all the doors in your house, take the child and count all the doors. For each item counted, give him a penny to put in the Rice Bowl. There can be forty or forty-five pennies each day. It can add up, especially if you have more than one child! After Easter, bring the Rice Bowl to your church and have your child give it to your priest. Explain that this money will be used to buy food and clothes for people who do not have enough money to buy their own.”

Some examples of things that could be counted include: shoes, beds, windows, chairs, tables, pictures on the walls, trees in the yard, rooms, light fixtures, books on the shelf, silverware, stairs, toys, dolls, etc… You can be creative! This is a great opportunity to teach the children to be grateful for all they own. It is also a perfect time to work on filling those 40 bags with items to pass along to someone in need.

In the past I would usually write down something for the children to count in each square at the beginning of Lent (see Give Alms above). However, I’ve found it easiest to just assign them each morning, that way I can easily incorporate specific areas that I want to work on decluttering. 😉

This year I created squares with a cross on one side (printed on purple card stock) to cover each calendar square, instead of the cut out crosses we’ve used in the past.  My plan for this year is to write on the back of each square the assignments for the day – what/where we will be praying, a reminder to fast/take an item from the pantry for the poor, and something to count for the younger children’s “Give Alms.”

At the end of each day – after we complete our prayers, fasting, and alms giving for the day – we will place the purple cross over the square of that particular date on the calendar as we count down the days until Easter Sunday!

You can read more about how our family observes Lent here:
The Lenten Season In Our Catholic Home

Feasts & Seasons :: Our March Book Basket

At the beginning of each month I fill a basket with books featuring the the various saints whose feast days will be celebrated during the month and place it in the living room. Throughout the month I will find the children curled up on the couch reading books they have chosen from the basket, either on their own or to their younger siblings.  I also choose books from the basket for some of our afternoon family read-alouds. Our collection started very small and we have continued adding additional books over the years which we have either purchased or have been given as gifts. Some are picture books, some are chapter books, and some are collections of saint stories. This post is a work in progress and I will continue adding links as I sort through our collection.

This list just includes our Saint Books for March.  You can find most of our Lent and Easter Picture Books here and a few more here
March 1st, St. David of Wales (Hist.):

March 3rd, St. Katherine Drexel (New):

March 5th, St. Ciarán (Hist.)

March 6th, St. Colette:

March 7th, Sts. Perpetua & Felicity (New) (Trad –March 6th):

March 7th, St. Thomas Aquinas (Trad.) (New – Jan. 28th):

March 8th, St. John of God (New, Trad.):

March 8th, St. Senan:

March 9th, St. Frances of Rome (New, Trad.):

March 9th, St. Dominic Savio (Hist.):

Saints for Boys: A First Book for Little Catholic Boys

March 10th, St. Macarius (Hist.):

March 12th, St. Gregory the Great (Trad.) (New – Sept. 3rd):

March 14th, St. Matilda (St. Maud) (Hist.):

March 15th, St. Longinus (Hist.):

March 15th, St. Louise de Marillac (Hist.):

March 17th, St. Patrick (New, Trad.):

March 17th, St. Joseph of Arimathea (Hist.):

March 19th, St. Joseph (New. Trad.):

March 20th, St. Cuthbert:

March 21st, St. Benedict (New) (Trad. – July 11th):

March 24th, St. Gabriel, Archangels (Trad.) (New – Sep. 29th):

March 25th, The Annunciation (New, Trad.):

Tapestries: Stories of Women in the Bible (Note: Tore out one of the pages in this book.) 

St. Luke’s Brush {Sponsored Review & Giveaway}

Our five dolls from St. Luke’s Brush include:
St. Clare, St. Therese, St. Andrew, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and St. Sylvia

This was definitely not the week to sign up for a 7 posts in 7 days challenge. I ended up taking another turn for the worse with this sickness we’ve been fighting and ended up at Immediate Care yesterday morning.  Apparently we’ve been dealing with H1N1… My husband and the kids have started to feel much better, and hopefully it won’t be too much longer before I do too. It has been such a hard week. Please keep us in your prayers! 

Anyways, I DO have another giveaway for you this weekend!  Back in 2008 I came up with Our Alphabet of Saints, hand-painting wooden peg dolls (inspired by Catholic Folk Toys) as an alternative to the Felt Saints Elizabeth Foss had suggested, to go along with The Alphabet Path. My children have always loved these sweet little dolls and it’s been so much fun to see similar collections of painted saint dolls pop up all over the internet. Since then a number of Etsy shops have opened selling hand-painted wooden saint peg dolls including St. Luke’s Brush

St. Luke’s Brush specializes in hand-painted Catholic Saint Dolls, religious education play sets and religious art and gifts. These are high quality, one of a kind toys and gifts guaranteed to inspire a greater love and understanding of the Catholic Faith. Garry and his wife Amy opened the shop in September of 2010 with the hope of bringing handmade Catholic toys to small hands.

More than three years later the art of St. Luke’s Brush has delighted children and adults alike. “One of the things we realized along the way is truly what a small number of saints and religious figures are represented in Catholic statuary. So in addition to providing patron saints as toys for children, adults were finding they could obtain a three dimensional representation of any saint they wanted.” 

As an artist Garry takes inspiration in the many forms of Catholic art and distills it into his own unique vision with each piece having an original and spontaneous quality.

In addition to creating atrium materials for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, St. Luke’s Brush also offers a great selection of gifts, perfect for Christmas, Feast Days, Easter (including the painted eggs above!), Sacrament Gifts and other special occasions. Custom orders are welcome!

And now for the giveaway! 

St. Luke’s Brush has offered to send a hand-painted Bl. Zelie Martin doll to one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses!  This giveaway is open to everyone, including those overseas!  Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Our Family

Sean & Jessica, Captain-25, Ranger-23, Twinkle Toes-22, Chiquita-20, Snuggles-18, Rose-15, Bud-13, Grace-8 and Joy-6 (blog nicknames)

A Little About Me

Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

My Other Blog: Catholic Cuisine

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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.


Our Family

Sean & Jessica, Captain-25, Ranger-23, Twinkle Toes-22, Chiquita-20, Snuggles-18, Rose-15, Bud-13, Grace-8 and Joy-6 (blog nicknames)

A Little About Me

Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

My Other Blog: Catholic Cuisine

Please Visit My Sponsors…

This Week's Popular Posts

Shower of Roses Affiliate Links

All About Spelling
All About Reading
All About Reading Giveaways
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Our Advent & Christmas Books

Shower of Roses Gift Guides

Looking for Something?

looking-back

  • 2026 (1)
  • 2025 (31)
  • 2024 (41)
  • 2023 (30)
  • 2022 (48)
  • 2021 (48)
  • 2020 (57)
  • 2019 (61)
  • 2018 (90)
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  • 2016 (148)
  • 2015 (172)
  • 2014 (227)
  • 2013 (238)
  • 2012 (308)
  • 2011 (297)
  • 2010 (313)
  • 2009 (486)
  • 2008 (564)
  • 2007 (148)

Posts About:

Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

Shower of Roses Easter Gift Guides



All Saints Party Printables

All original photographs and written material are ©2007-2025 Shower of Roses. I'd love for you to link back to me, but please do not copy or take content from this blog without permission. Click here for my Copyright Terms & Conditions. Thank you for visiting!