Celebrating the Saints :: St. Agnes of Rome
We saved these cookies for after dinner.
Amen.
St. Agnes, Ora Pro Nobis!
My Daybook :: January 20, 2014
Outside my window…
the fog has cleared and the sun is shining! I’m hoping to get outside this afternoon and go for a walk… perhaps down by the river!
I am thinking…
about our current curriculum as the second quarter of our school year comes to an end this week… For the most part it is going well, but there are a few things I haven’t been able to fit into our schedule and I plan to make a few little changes for the second half of our year.
I am thankful…
that the Carson 5 Shelf Espresso Bookcases at Target are finally on sale! The current sale price + $5 off $50 coupon code + 5% Target card discount + 2.5% Ebates Rebate = YAY!!!! I am finally going to have somewhere to put all those books that are currently stacked in my closet!
Learning all the time…
- The Primacy of Peter :: A Papal Unit Study and Lap Book
- Papal Lap Book Unit One: St. Peter, The First Pope
- Papal Lap Book Unit Two: The Holy Fathers, Past and Present
- Papal Lap Book Unit Three: The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
- 7 Quick Takes :: Habemus Papam!
Celebrating the liturgical year…
tomorrow is the feast of St. Agnes and Our Lady of Altagracia! After lunch I will read a story about her life while the children color a picture (or illustrate their own to add to their timelines) and then enjoy a little snack. Charlotte has a lovely coloring page for St. Agnes and Catholic Playground has a couple beautiful options.
From the kitchen…
Over the weekend we enjoyed homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza! Olive Oil Pizza Dough (made with the recipe in my copy of The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day) topped BBQ Sauce, BBQ Chicken (I cooked Chicken Thighs in the crock pot with BBQ sauce), bacon, red onion, and mozzarella, transferred to the baking stone in the 500 degree oven with my super peel and baked in just 5 minutes. Yummmmmmmm!
I am working on…
renewing ads and scheduling some giveaways for the next quarter – February through April. I’m so grateful for the support of my new sponsors and all my wonderful visitors here at Shower of Roses!
I am creating…
a meal plan for this week. I haven’t grocery shopped (other than having my husband pick up some milk and fresh produce) since before Christmas! At first it was out of necessity, since I was so sick the first two weeks of January, but now I’m wondering how long I can continue to come up with meals with what has been hiding in the back of the pantry and freezer. 😉 I just used up the last of our ground beef and still have a number of packages of steak and roasts to use up before the next 1/2 of grass-fed beef (which I ordered during the summer) arrives at the end of this month. I wonder if Sean would be willing to grill them on Wednesday or Thursday…
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| I’ve been loving my Mama’s Notebook for jotting down meal plans and the books we’ve been reading aloud each week. |
I am going…
to be staying home as much as possible this month! There are just way too many viruses going around in our area at the moment and I’d love to avoid a repeat of the beginning of this month. I’m actually really enjoying the quite days at home, afternoon read-alouds with the kids, and the return to our weekly routine.
I am hoping…
to add the finishing touches to my Catholic Digest submission for April. It’s due today. You can subscribe to the Quiet Moments here if you don’t already subscribe to the magazine. As inspiring as it is reading through the bible, prayer books, and saint quotes, choosing a quote for every day of the year on an ongoing basis is getting to be quite the challenge. I sure enjoy it though!
I am praying…
for Charlotte’s sister-in-law, Kari, and for my college friend Shalon who delivered baby #7 three weeks ago and is currently recovering from a heart attack she suffered a couple days ago, most likely from post-partum complications. Will you please offer a prayer for these young women too?
I am reading…
The Catholic Girls Guide by Father Lasance! I have been wanting a copy ever since I started the Little Flowers group for my girls. I was so excited when a dear woman from church stopped by last week with some Catholic art, dvd’s and more for our family which included the 1946 edition of this book!
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| The Catholic Girls Guide by Father Lasance and St. Therese rosary from Gail Giron Designs |
Pondering these words…
and remembering all priests in our prayers.
I am listening…
to Bud singing “ALLL-lu-YAHHHHHH!” (like he did in this video) and he ended it with a quick version of his “giggle, giggle.” Love this little boy so much!
Around the house…
the boys and I turned on Christmas music and spent some time taking down the tree on Saturday afternoon and packing up all the ornaments until next December! It was surprisingly light (aka: way too dry!) and it was nice to be able to take care of this “chore” so my husband wouldn’t have to do it after work. He has been working the last two Saturdays – long days with lots of overtime!
The Aroma Cordless Water Kettle, one of the gifts my husband gave me for my birthday, immediately became a new favorite of mine! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Now I won’t burn our house down (or ruin any more pots) after forgetting that I turned water on to boil. . . and it is so FAST!
This week’s plans…
- Math Tutors (at home) on Tuesday and Thursday
- Orthodontist Appointment on Wednesday
A little peek at my day…
If you follow me on Instagram you might have already seen most of these pictures from last night. Snuggles fell asleep on the couch just before dinner:
Building the Great Cathedrals
On December 29th, the feast of St. Thomas Becket, our dinner conversation about the saint and our Cathedral Window Cookies for dessert led to a family movie night following dinner thanks to a recent recommendation I had received from Julie and KC in the comment box! Building the Great Cathedrals by Nova is available on DVD, or you can watch it for free at PBS, You Tube (embed below), or on Amazon Prime (which is how we watched the program). It was excellent!
{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: 36th Birthday Edition
Made with Love :: Another Birthday Cake for Mom!
Celebrating the Saints :: St. Felix of Nola
by Twinkle Toes (age 10) – painted with Prang’s 16 Classic Colors Bargain Priced Books for Spring
I know it is only January, but I have been thinking ahead about gifts for an upcoming baby shower and to include in Easter baskets. I spent a little time this afternoon looking through books and thought I’d share a few of the book bargains I ran across online. I was actually able to order four bargain priced board books (two for my little ones and two to include in the baby shower gift – all 60% off) for only $10.76!
This educational and enjoyable book helps children understand how to plant bulbs, seeds, and seedlings, and nurture their growth. Lois Ehlert’s bold collage illustrations include six pages of staggered width, presenting all the flowers of each color of the rainbow.
A beloved Little Golden Book is now available in our recently launched Golden Baby board book line. In this counting book, the youngest readers will enjoy following an adorable duckling as he explores the farm.
I also ordered Flaptastic: Colors (look inside here) and Curious George’s 1 to 10 and Back Again (look inside here).
Jan Brett’s lovable bunny hero, Hoppi, and her remarkable Easter Rabbit will enchant readers as they pore over illustrations filled with dazzling eggs made by Flora Bunny, Aunt Sassyfrass and others.
And just in case you haven’t heard, the Kindle version of Small Steps for Catholic Moms is currently only $4.39! I have the first edition in paperback, which is usually on my nightstand, but at that price I’ve been considering the kindle edition for easy access in my iPad’s Kindle app as well.
Well, it’s time for our two youngest to take their naps while I read aloud to the rest of the children. Today we are reading another chapter from St. Thomas Aquinas and the Preaching Beggars (from our January Book Basket), the first couple chapters of The Golden Goblet (for our Ancient History studies), and tonight we will move on to the third chapter of Peter Pan. I hope your week is off to a great start!
In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. . .
Christmas Day :: December 25, 2013
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| The Walkie Talkies, Metal Earth Models, Snuggles Toy Swiss Army Knife and Captain’s New Watch were a few favorites found in the stockings this year. |
It’s a bit of a drive, but we were very excited to hear that Father Carmelo was asked to offer Mass at the Veteran’s Domiciliary Chapel at 4pm on Christmas Day! This year, instead of attending the Midnight Mass, we attended Christmas Mass at the Dom and the boys were able to serve for Father once again!
After Mass we drove around looking at Christmas lights in a nearby town before coming home for dinner. It was such a wonderful day filled with joy and blessings!
Noah’s Ark – The Invitation :: A 1,000 Piece Puzzle
























































































































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