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The Twelve Days of Christmas & Cathedral Windows

Dec 29, 2013 | , , , , , | 8 Comments

This is the third 1,000 piece puzzle we have completed this month… 
I think I need an intervention! 😉 


Twinkle Toes and I just started working on this puzzle last night! 
The solid red border was definitely challenging, but after that we made quick progress… 
It was such a fun puzzle to assemble! 


We were able to complete it this morning after Mass…


… and, of course, everyone swooped in joined the fun at the end! 😉 


They kindly let Twinkle Toes add that last piece!



Speaking of The Twelve Days of Christmas…  
I’m hoping to have another Twelve Days of Christmas Dinner Party on Twelfth Night! 

I ran across these cute 12 Days of Christmas Cupcake toppers that might make a fun addition for this year.  (I fell in love with the Meri Meri products when I ordered a few for Rose’s birthday.) 
I actually found them from this Amazon seller at 54% off with Free Shipping and I am hoping they arrive in time.  If not I’ll save them for next year.  I also ordered a Christmas Cupcake Gift Set (complete with an apron!) for only $8.99 and it was originally $29.95.  (There is still one or two left, if anyone is interested.) 


Well, I’m off to start our next puzzle – Heaven on Earth complete with stained glass windows!!! dinner…  I also made some Cathedral Window Cookies in honor of St. Thomas Becket for dessert.   I hope you are all having a Blessed Sunday and Feast of the Holy Family! 

To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others. ~ Bl. Pope John Paul II

On the Feast of St. John

Dec 28, 2013 | , , , | 2 Comments

After a rather crazy Advent, we have all been greatly enjoying these peaceful and relaxing days of Christmastide! Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. John and a name-day in our home.  Instead of baking the Eagle Brownies again this year, Rascal asked if I could make St. John’s Love.  After we all sat down for dinner my husband blessed the wine.

Blessing of Wine for the Feast of St. John the Apostle
(Source: Feast Day Cookbook)

Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who has made heaven and earth.
Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you. (I love that the kids all answered “And with your spirit!”) 
Leader: Let us pray. Be so kind as to bless and consecrate with Your right hand, Lord, this cup of wine, and every drink. Grant that by the merits of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, all who believe in You and drink of this cup may be blessed and protected. Blessed John drank poison from the cup, and was in no way harmed. So, too, may all who this day drink from this cup in honor of Blessed John, by his merits, be freed from every sickness by poisoning and from any harms whatever. And, when they have offered themselves in both soul and body, may they be freed, too, from every fault, through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Leader: Bless, Lord, this beverage which You have made. May it be a healthful refreshment to all who drink of it. And grant by the invocation of Your holy name that whoever tastes of it may, by Your generosity receive health of both soul and body, through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen

To begin the toasting, the Father of the house lifts his glass toward the Mother and says, “I drink you the love of St. John.” The Mother then replies, “I thank you for the love of St. John.” She then turns to the oldest child, lifts her glass and says, “I drink you the love of St. John…” and so on, until everyone has been toasted.

I diluted the children’s spiced wine with lots of 7-up and also had some Sparkling Grape Juice as another alternative for those who were not interested in trying the (well boiled) wine.

 
 

It was not exactly a repeat of his last reaction to St. John’s Love, but close! 🙂 
While we all ate Sean read us a short story all about St. John’s Love from Saints For Young People for Everyday of the Year:
St. John was a fisherman in Galilee and was called to be an apostle with his brother, St. James the Greater. Jesus gave these sons of Zebedee the nickname, “sons of thunder.”  St. John was the youngest of all the apostles and was dearly loved by the Lord. At the Last Supper, it was John who was permitted to lean his head on the breast of Jesus, and John was the only apostle who stood at the foot of the Cross.  The dying Jesus gave the care of His Blessed Mother Mary to this beloved apostle. Turning to Our Lady, He said, “Behold your mother.” So for the rest of her holy life on earth, the Blessed Mother lived with St. John.  He alone had the great privilege of honoring and assisting the all-pure Mother of God.  

John wrote one of the four Gospels, in which he shows us that Jesus is truly God. He also wrote the last book in the Holy Bible, called the Apocalypse, and three Letters to Christians, which we find in the Bible, too. All his long life, St. John taught Christians to love one another, and he himself practiced great charity.  Once when he heard that a young Christian whom he knew and loved had become an outlaw and a robber, he set off at once to find him.  Old as he was, the Saint rode into the outlaw territory alone, and was taken prisoner. As soon as the robber saw St. John, he turned away in shame. 

“Son,” cried the apostle, “why are you running away from me, your father, an old man without weapons? There is time for repentance. I will answer for you to Jesus Christ. I am ready to lay down my life for you. I am sent by Christ!” The young robber stopped when he heard those words. Suddenly he began to weep. He was won over by the love of St. John. Before he left that city, the beloved Apostle made sure that the young man had become a good member of the Church once more. 

When he had grown so old and weak that he had to be carried to church, St. John used to say to his people over and over again, “My little children, love one another.” The Christians once asked him why he spoke to them. St. John answered, “Because iy is the word of the Lord, an if you keep it, you will be doing enough.” 
Today I will try to resemble St. John at least in one of his three great virtues – purity of heart, charity toward all, and love for the Blessed Mother. 
St. John the Evangelist, Pray for us! 

Christmas Eve in Pictures

Dec 27, 2013 | , , | 10 Comments

Baby Jesus will arrive soon!
On Christmas Eve some of my family came over for dinner after they attended Mass. (We always attend either the Midnight or Christmas Day Mass.)  Here are some pictures I managed to take throughout the evening! 
Madonna and Child
.: A Few Pictures :. 
Really wishing I would have had someone snap a family picture for us again this year… 
Maybe on New Year’s Eve! 
.: Christmas Eve Dinner :. 
I made homemade Cream of Broccoli and Beefed Up Barley Soups, Mom provided the meats and cheeses, and my Aunt Bridget made amazing deviled eggs.  I also picked up a veggie platter, chips and salsa, cookies, and baked a chocolate Cathedral Cake. It was a simple meal but still delicious! 
.: Christmas Puzzles :. 
After finishing the Noah’s Ark puzzle, we started the Our Lady of Guadalupe puzzle once again!
This week we are working on The Twelve Days of Christmas! 
 .: A Few Gifts on Christmas Eve :. 
Looking through the Family Photo album I helped my mom assemble.
 She gave a copy to all 12 of us siblings for Christmas!  
Sean picked out a board book and Tug Boat for our niece (his goddaughter) which she loved! 
.: Decorating Gingerbread Houses :. 
.: Presents and Stockings All Ready for Christmas Day :. 

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

On the Feast of Stephen. . .

Dec 27, 2013 | , , , | 8 Comments

Stephen’s Feast and Saint Stephen from Saints: Lives and Illuminations
Today is the second day of Christmas and the feast of St. Stephen. 
I baked Podkovy (St. Stephen’s Horseshoes) to celebrate! 
Good King Wenceslas by Jane Seymour and Good King Wenceslas by John Neale
Actually, after the first couple dozen, I got tired of rolling and shaping all those little horseshoes and used the rest of the dough to make one big horseshoe, adding some chopped up apple as well.   
We will be having the leftovers, with coffee and cocoa, in the morning. Yum!
This little cutie kept playing peek-a-boo with me while I was baking…
Mirkwood Elf Army
Coast Guard Patrol
Lake Town Chase
… and the older boys were all busy, busy, busy, assembling their new lego sets! 
Can you spot the Walkie Talkies in each of the pictures?  These were a last minute decision (when Rose reminded us that Snuggles really wanted a “Laughy Taffy” for Christmas – he was her Christkindl – that is, after I was able to figure out what she meant… Laffy Taffy? You mean candy? “NO! A Lauughyyy Taffyyyy!”) and it has been the favorite Christmas gift for all the boys, since they discovered them peeking out of their stockings on Christmas morning.  In fact, I don’t know why we didn’t think that the girls (especially our oldest daughter, who is usually outside with her brothers) would love them just as much… 
Thankfully the boys have all been more than willing to share! 
For dinner, inspired by Miss Charlotte over on Facebook, we had Deep Dish Pizza, Salad and Sparkling Pomegranate juice.  You can also spot the boys trying to master the new Perplexus Balls in the background. 🙂  We are all very much enjoying our Christmas break! 

What kind of pizza does Good King Wenceslas prefer?
Deep pan, crisp and even!

I hope you are all enjoying a peaceful and joyful Christmas too! 
I’ll be back with more pictures sometime soon…

Over the River and Through the Woods…

Dec 24, 2013 | , , | 5 Comments

A few of my siblings (JoAnn, Kevin, and David) have arrived home from college for their Christmas break! Last night my parents invited us over, along with my brother Brian and his family, my brother Scott, and Aunt Bridget and Uncle Shawn, for a spaghetti dinner and “White Elephant” gift exchange.  It was such a fun night!

 
After dinner it was time for the gift exchange!  
(That is, after those younger brothers of mine nearly gave me a heart attack when Kevin said he wanted to show me something in the trunk of his car, and then a black gorilla – aka: Brian, my 27 year old married brother, wearing an awful mask – growled and jumped out at me…  Some things never change!
Of course, David caught my scream on video. Nice.) 
We had two exchanges, one for the grandchildren, and one for all the adults (plus David… He may be in college, but he’s still only 17, at least until next month!).  We started with the gift exchange for the children.  Uncle David drew names to see who would choose a gift first.  As each person’s name was called they had the option of choosing an unwrapped gift from the pile, or “stealing” one of the gifts that had already been opened.  
I think my favorite part was watching Rascal unwrap an American Girl craft…
 and Captain unwrap a That’s not my dolly… board book! 
The girls were more than happy to steal swap gifts with the boys! 
Everyone will be coming over to our home tomorrow night, so I had better get back to decorating and preparing!

A “Deer in the Woods” Birthday Party

Dec 21, 2013 | , , , | 11 Comments

On Friday our little “Bud” turned 2 years old!  He loves watching the deer in our yard, so this year I decided to give him a “Deer in the Woods” themed birthday party.   We had such a fun day with a reindeer themed pancakes, presents for our little dear, and cake!  We even finally found a Christmas Tree, which tied in with the O Antiphon for the day and made a perfect gift for O Root of Jesse. 
.: A Birthday Banner :. 
Even though I did need to simplify my original plans, I still was able to make a little banner!  I don’t think his godmother would have let me get away with not having one for him! 😉   It came together so quickly with my Cricut.  I used the Winter Woodland cartridge for the deer, squares and circles, and the letters and number 2 were cut with the George cartridge.  
.: Reindeer Pancakes :. 
When I saw these rudolph pancakes I knew I had to make them for Bud’s birthday!  I wasn’t able to make them for breakfast so I served them for lunch instead.  They were easy to make and all the children loved them! 
While I made the pancakes, Twinkle Toes cooked all the bacon for the antlers and Chiquita washed the strawberry noses! 
Bud’s favorite part, of course, was the whipped cream and chocolate chip eyes and he kept pointing to the whip cream bottle and asking for “MORE, pleee!” 
That big lunch tired him out and he snuggled up with his favorite dear for a nap while I got busy decorating his birthday cake.
.: “Deer in the Woods” Birthday Cake :. 
I really wanted to make Charlotte’s White Chocolate Cream Cake, but after burning the white chocolate in the microwave and not having enough left to start over,  I simplified and just baked a yellow cake and topped it with a can of Fluffy White Frosting from the cupboard.  
For the decorations I used the same method I used last year for his Snowman Cake, and made candy deer out of Light Cocoa Candy Melts using some silhouettes of deer that I had found online, resized, and printed.   I also made some trees with the leftover cocoa candy melts and some green melts as well. I made those freehand and they all turned out interesting! 😉  Over all I thought the cake turned out really cute! 
.: Birthday Gifts :.
December is the perfect time of year for a deer themed party!  It was so easy to find deer decorations, wrapping papers, fabric, candles and more! (And most of it was 70% off already!) 

Most of his gifts incorporated the deer theme, with the exception of his  Melissa & Doug Car Carrier!   This little boy of ours points out cars every time we leave the house, and his daddy ordered this toy when he saw it on one of Amazon’s lightning deals.   He knew he would love it and he was right!

Bud also received a few books (My Wonderful Christmas Tree, Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek, and That’s not my reindeer… ) as well as a pair of pajamas and a few more toys including a Woodland Wooden Puzzle, a Forest Friends Block Puzzle, and this Tree Finger Puppet Play House! He also received a card and gift from his grandparents and some adorable Forest Friends Wall Decals from his ever thoughtful godparents!
.: Two Candles on the Cake :. 
The cake ended up being perfect for Bud and he LOVED his little deer! 
Happy Birthday Little Man!

O Christmas Tree

Dec 21, 2013 | , , | 5 Comments

… A few pictures from Instagram and my phone.

December 16th 
I think the kids might be trying to tell us something…
December 17th
I’ve been in survival mode lately, and keep forgetting to take pictures of the Wise Men… They had me laughing this morning when I noticed them loading their Christmas Tree on top of the camel!
December 18th

The five big kids were all gone overnight for our last day without water… When they arrived home yesterday they discovered that the Wise Men (and Legos) had all lost their Christmas trees! 😉

Uh oh!  Now that we finally had water and could get to town, we had a bit of a hard time finding a Christmas Tree… Where we live many people buy Christmas Tree permits and head into the mountains to cut their own trees.  However, due to the weather and roads, most people bought trees in town this year and everywhere is pretty much sold out…   We discovered that the Christmas Tree Farm we have been going to the past couple years closed (they are converting their land to a vegetable farm) and the other local tree farms had closed for the season!  I couldn’t even find artificial trees! 


Sean ended up going to a nursery and came home with this green Blue Spruce. Hahaha!  We joked that someday we will look back on this year and say: “Remember that year we were stuck home due to the snow, had no water for 6 days, couldn’t find a Christmas tree so we bought (a way too expensive) tree at the nursery to plant outside… and even it died!” 😉    That would be our luck this year!

Dec 19th 

My brother Brian called and said he happened to pass by a tree lot, in a little town just south of us, and that they still had some trees!  Sean drove down and ended up buying a tree for only $15!  It is a little lopsided and was a little too tall, but he was able to fix that, and now we just need to decorate it today!

It’s a good thing we didn’t wait any longer to start looking for this year’s tree..
Of course, Christmas would have come just the same, with or without a Christmas Tree!

Checking it Twice… {Christmas Gifts 2013 Edition}

Dec 19, 2013 | , , | 25 Comments

So, how is your Advent going? Ours has been very difficult and challenging…  First it was colds and poison oak (the poison oak on our oldest daughter’s face is finally healing), followed by a snowstorm that kept us home for days, heartbreaking news from one of our favorite priests who is being treated unjustly and will no longer be offering the Friday masses our boys have been blessed to serve since they were 5 and 6 years old, and then frozen pipes due to abnormally low temperatures for here which resulted in our well pump burning up and no water in the house for a total of 6 days (originally just 1 day and then again for 5 days).  I think God might be trying to teach me something this Advent… and my husband says it is time to move!

During these last days before Christmas I am going to try and let go of any unnecessary activities or plans of mine, simplify in all areas, and just focus on prayer (both personal and family), re-creating a peaceful (and clean) home, and catching up the laundry now that we have water again!  Deo Gratias!

My computer time has been extremely limited (everything seemed to take 10x’s as long to complete when the water had to be hauled from the neighbors and heated on the stove for washing dishes and counters!) and I’m falling further and further behind with emails. (In fact, at this point I have only been able to respond to a handful of urgent emails.) As much as I wish it was possible, I just won’t be able to respond to the rest anytime soon, if at all… I will try to address some of the questions I’ve been recieving here on the blog when time allows.  One of the most frequent requests I’ve been getting this past month has been for a peek at my children’s Christmas gift list for this year. I’m spending a little time this evening checking over my list and thought this would be a good time to share it with you all! (Now to make sure I keep the kids off of my blog until after Christmas!  It’s getting harder and harder to share these sorts of things online as our kids get older!) 

Anyways, In last year’s “Checking it Twice” post I explained that our children usually receive “three” gifts each on Christmas morning from their Dad and I, recalling the three gifts Christ was given, plus they wake up to discover their stockings filled as well. Depending on the gifts (and our budget), some years I have combined multiple items into “one” gift package (i.e. clothing, shoes, etc, or various toys). You can see some examples in a past Christmas Morning post. You can also find my 2009 list here: Shh! Don’t tell them….

This year, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, we are doing something a little different and breaking our children’s gifts into three categories: something fun, something faith based, and something to read.  (Most of these gifts will be multiple items wrapped together into one themed gift.) 

Christmas gifts for seven children (plus Christmas Eve pajamas, plus stockings, plus St. Nicholas Day, plus gifts for relatives and godchildren, etc…) adds up quickly! I have found that I have to be really creative in order to purchase quality gifts. I purchase gifts throughout the year, usually on sale or clearance, and also take advantage of the sales following Thanksgiving.  I also will sometimes save samples and review items I have been given to give to the children as well, and my Amazon affiliate commissions help purchase the rest! Once again, thank you to each and every one of you who use my affiliate links!  It is truly a blessing!

Here is a peek at my list for this year.  
I hope it helps some of you who are still searching for ideas!   

Something Fun 
(These gifts are either something they have been wishing for or something I know they will love.)

Right now “Fun” equals “Legos” for my oldest three boys!  This gift will consist of a few lego sets for each of the older boys and a castle for Bud. The girls will all be receiving American Girl doll accessories.  (Note: A number of the items have gone up in price due to high demand or limited stock, and a few items have been discontinued and are no longer available.)

Something Faith Based
(This gift is something that we’d like them to have to help enhance our beautiful Catholic Faith.) 

Something to Read
(This will be a stack of books wrapped for each child – I collect books year round, some I purchase either used or on sale/clearance, some I’ve been given to review, and some have even been wonderful finds through Paperback Swap. Note: I’m saving most of the Catholic titles I have from Neumann Press and Tan Books for next year’s Easter Baskets.) 


(Note: I do want to remind you all that I haven’t read most of these books yet. I made my decision to purchase most of them based on recommendations, reviews, publishers, and the past work of some of the authors/illustrators.)

Stocking Stuffers

Boys

Girls

I’m also really excited about a few of Bud’s (2nd) birthday gifts, particularly this Tree Finger Puppet Play House!   It is SO cute.. So much cuter than the pictures online!  I can’t wait to give it to him tomorrow, with the cute little deer peeking out.  He is going to love it! He will also receive My Wonderful Christmas Tree, Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek, a Woodland Wooden Puzzle, a Forest Friends Block Puzzle, and (just to through you all off from figuring out the theme!) a Melissa & Doug Car Carrier!  I’ll be sure to post pictures after his birthday!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I know I have been hosting a lot of giveaways this fall and winter, but I do have just one more for you all this year… and one more over at Catholic Cuisine! 🙂

Catholic Embroidery has graciously offered to giveaway a set of their beautiful new St. Therese Notecards to one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses!  I have ordered many items from Catholic Embroidery in the past, for myself, my family, and to give as gifts, and everything is so lovely!   Be sure to remember them for any last minute Christmas shopping you still have to complete.  If you’d like to be entered in the giveaway please use the Rafflecopter box below by December 25th.  God bless!

A Perfectly Pink Princess Birthday on Rose Sunday

Dec 16, 2013 | , , | 20 Comments

Yesterday our little “Rose” turned 4 years old!  How perfect for it to fall on Gaudete Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent, this year!  Her older brothers made sure to point out to her at Mass that “Even the priest is wearing PINK!” 🙂  We have been without running water since Friday morning… Despite the additional challenges, we still had a lovely and JOY filled day! 
Last Sunday Mass was cancelled due to hazardous driving conditions.  We were all so happy to be able to make it down our road and attend Mass this Sunday.  My grocery shopping has been limited and before we left I was trying to find a quick and easy snack/breakfast for the little ones – we had run out of cereal, and I completely forgot that my mom had dropped off a box of cereal.  We happened to have some strawberry yogurt in the back of the fridge! (Her dad also found some pink lemonade hidden in the freezer!) Topped with a few sprinkles it made the perfect breakfast for our little princess! 
After Mass we drove through the coffee shop for her “Not-so-Hot” birthday drink!  
I just loved all her reactions – Picture #1 Smiling at the thought of her very own hot warm cocoa.  picture #2 Begging that “Snuggles” could PLEASE have his own drink too! (If not she’d share hers… she loves that big brother of hers!) Picture #3: Seeing the birthday drink being passed through the window to her daddy! Picture #4: Getting ready to enjoy her treat! 
When we arrived home again she pulled out all her favorite cookbooks and got busy making her own birthday plans!  
My girls all love the cookbooks from Barbara Beery including the Pink Princess Cookbook, Pink Princess Tea Parties, and Fairies Cookbook.   (Oh, and actually one of the girls will find this one, a paperback swap score that arrived in perfect condition, under the tree this year!) 


“Mom-ah, You can’t call me the birthday girl until there is a birthday cake-uh!” 
Right… The Cake… 
I usually bake and decorate the children’s birthday cakes the night before their birthday.  Between our lack of running water and helping my mom on a project all of Saturday, I just wasn’t able to make her cake.  I also didn’t have all the supplies I needed for my original plans.  

I decided to keep it extra simple this year and make the Pink Princess Cake, minus the Tiara… and the actual recipe.  I just used a box of white cake mix and a can of cherry frosting. She loved it!  
While I was busy decorating the cake I pulled out some Candy Necklaces that had been in my candy supplies since her last birthday.   

I did have a couple bags of Pink and White Celebration Sixlets that I had picked up at the store and they were such a pretty addition to the cake!

Rose’s favorite though, were the “Three Girls” for on top of the cupcakes!  (I did end up baking a batch of cupcakes too…) My girls have this little song they made up and sing together (that drive’s their brothers crazy…) that starts with “We are the THREEEEE girls….”
I pulled these three princesses out of the Meri Meri Princess Bake Cup Set, and are they CUTE or what?! I love them!!!  Four came in the set, but I just pulled out a couple sets of these three – one for each of my girls.  
For an afternoon craft, we made Flower Tiaras!  Since we had company for Thanksgiving, I didn’t do much shopping on Black Friday, but Sean and I did go into town in the evening and stopped at a few stores including Barnes & Noble.  (They usually have Buy One, Get One 1/2 off on all their toys.) Most of Rose’s birthday gifts were purchased that day, including these adorable Flowery Princess Tiaras! 
While I boiled water to hand wash the dishes, my girls sat at the counter and stitched away!  
They were so easy to make (recommended for ages 4+) and even Rose was able to help!
They turned out beautiful, much to the delight of our birthday girl! 
I’m so glad I had ordered a couple Meri Meri items!  In addition to the Princess Bake Cup Set I also had ordered some I’m a Princess Party Garland.  It was much larger than I had expected, but it was so pretty and made the decorations a piece of cake… Or at least a “piece of cake” when you have running water, electricity, etc! 😉  
I missed seeing the pom-poms in the back of the package at first and the garland looked even cuter once they were added. I hung it in the window along with the pink birthday banner I made in the past and have re-used a couple times.  

 

I had considered the Castle Centerpiece, but it was just too expensive and the girls Melissa and Doug Castle is so much prettier anyways, even if it was a little large for a table centerpiece! 🙂 
We spent the afternoon driving down to town to use the shower at my dad’s office in shifts = JOY JOY JOY!!!   After dinner it was time for cake and birthday gifts! 
I used a mix of paper I already had in pinks, white and gold…  
… and snapped this picture of them all before wrapping!
In addition to the new pink Floral Glitter Belt Dress and Tiaras, this year she received a pretty pink coat ($14.99 at Costco!), a couple additional toys I had picked up at Barnes & Noble on Black Friday including Calico Critter’s The Hopper Kangaroo Family and the Princess Matching Game.  We also gave her Emily. 
She also received three books including A is for Annabelle by Tasha Tudor, 1001 Things to Spot in Fairyland (to replace the older girls well loved copy, also available directly from Usborne), and P is for Princess: A Royal Alphabet. 
It made us all laugh when she unwrapped P is for Princess: A Royal Alphabet and Snuggles said “Oh, NO! ANOTHER princess book.” She ran over to the couch to show him and he covered his ears and shut his eyes before saying “I can’t see it! I can’t see it!” 
She then ran over to give her dad a thank you hug, before unwrapping her last gift (Emily – who I purchased last summer, after hearing that she and Molly were being retired) and playing with all her new little toys.  
We actually had cake before she opened her gifts, but I’ll end the post with these pictures.  She asked if we could use the rose candles for her cake and I agreed they were perfect and most appropriate, especially on Gaudete Sunday!  
 

Happy 4th Birthday to our beautiful “Christmas Rose!”


Our Family

Sean & Jessica, Captain-24, Ranger-22, Twinkle Toes-21, Chiquita-19, Snuggles-17, Rose-14, Bud-12, Grace-7 and Joy-5 (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.

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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.


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Sean & Jessica, Captain-24, Ranger-22, Twinkle Toes-21, Chiquita-19, Snuggles-17, Rose-14, Bud-12, Grace-7 and Joy-5 (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.

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