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A Long Expected Party

Jul 23, 2013 | , , , , | 12 Comments


“Bilbo Baggins called it a party, but it was really a variety of entertainments rolled into one.  Practically everybody living near was invited.  A very few were overlooked by accident, but as they turned up all the same, that did not matter.” 



Our oldest son turned thirteen this past Saturday!  He is turning into such a wonderful young man and we all enjoyed celebrating his special day with a “Lord of the Rings” themed birthday party.  Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Brian, Aunt Meagan, and his little cousin all showed up to celebrate with us as well!  


.: Decorations :.

Gandalf Arrives Lego Set (which is being retired!) and Fireworks left over from the 4th of July

“The fireworks were by Gandalf: they were not only brought by him, but designed and made by him; and the special effects, set pieces, and flights of rockets were let off by him.  But there was also a generous distribution of squibs, crackers, back rappers, sparklers, torches, dwarf-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers and thunder-claps.  They were all superb.  The art of Gandalf improved with age.” 

Folkmanis Enchanted Tree Puppet

“A queer look came into the old eyes, a kind of wariness; the deep wells were covered over. ‘Hrum, now,’ answered the voice; ‘well, I am an Ent, or that’s what they call me. Yes, Ent is the word. The Ent, I am, you might say, in your manner of speaking. Fangorn is my name according to some, Treebeard others make it. Treebeard will do.'”
~ The Two Towers 

Bud LOVES Treebeard! 

I also reused the Door Sign (You can download that document here.) I had made along with the Happy Birthday Banner (inspired by Charlotte’s lovely Lord of the Rings Banner – you can download the banner document here.) from Rascal’s Hobbit Birthday Party earlier this year.  I also had picked up a Middle Earth poster as well.  
All quick and easy! 



.: Lord of the Rings Monopoly :.

“The ring bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need.” 
~ The Fellowship of the Ring


We spent most of the afternoon playing Lord of the Rings Monopoly!


“‘Good… good luck!’ cried Bilbo, stuttering from the cold.”


“Welcome to Gimli Land!” my husband enjoyed saying all afternoon!  
He was having a little too much fun when we all landed on his quickly developed monopoly.  😉


Thankfully, with the LOTR options, once the ring arrived at Mount Doom the torture game ended.  



.:  Second Breakfast :. 

Golden Rings, Scones and Strawberries for during the Game


.:  Middle Earth Appetizers :.

“When every guest had been welcomed and was finally inside the gate, there were songs, dances, music, games, and, of course, food and drink.” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring


Lembas Bread



‘But we call it lembas or waybread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant than cram, by all accounts.’ ~ The Fellowship of the Ring 

Tandoori Naan Flatbread, cut in thirds, wrapped in green napkins, and tied with twine.  

Hobbit Hole Doors
(Same as these but made with Candy Buttons instead of Sixlets)
Wizard Hats 
Council of Elrond (Keebler E.L. Fudge Cookies)
Misty Mountain Trail Mix
The Ring (Peach O’s)
Gollum’s Goodies (Rainbow Fish Candies)


‘Drink it, drink it, while we can! But what is it they’ve got precious? Is it crunchable? Is it tasty?’
~ Gollum in The Two Towers 

Prancing Pony Root Beer
Shire Garden Veggies with Hummus
Farmer Maggot’s Mushrooms
Dead Marshes Dip (Chunky Spicy Guacamole) 
with Blue-Corn Chips


And for music: 

.: Birthday Gifts :.


We wrapped his birthday gifts in gold, dark brown and forest green paper, attaching gift tags and displaying a beautiful new Bookmark hand painted and ordered from The Fig and Thimble!  

There are definitely benefits to having a birthday following a yard sale and all of his younger siblings couldn’t wait to give him the gifts they had purchased with some of their earnings.  🙂 


Snuggles has said earlier in the day: “I just can’t wait to give (Captain) his presents!  He is surely going to give me a BIG hug!” And Rose?  Well, she had been working hard earning tickets with Summer Bingo and purchased the Spoons game from the prize box, which she knew her older brother had been eyeing.  


Rascal had purchased the new Lego Wizard Battle for his brother, Twinkle Toes was so excited to give him the 3D Puzzle (we found for 75% off clearance!) at Barnes and Noble, and Chiquita gave him a Gold Minifigure Case she purchased for a few dollars at ToysRUs. 


He was blessed with such thoughtful gifts from all his grandparents as well!  Sean’s parents sent him a Gettysburg 150th Anniversary Tribute by Time Magazine (having noticed that the boys had recently finished studying the Civil War) and the series of Tales of Foreign Lands which he can’t wait to start reading!  My parents surprised him with The Council of Elrond Lego Set which was assembled before the evening was over! 


The gifts could have easily stopped there, but a thirteenth birthday is extra special, and Sean and I had quite a few for him too including a copy of his favorite movie on DVD (I had sold the VHS during our yard sale), Walk with the Saints Journal (to take to camp with him this summer), along with a hand illustrated Hobbit Notebook and Grey Hood from The Fig and Thimble!


He also received a WWII Bomber Puzzle (from Costco), The Lost Stories, Attack on Weathertop Lego Set (found locally on clearance!), and the biggest surprise of all was the brand new Pirate Ship Ambush (purchased with Amazon rewards and a complete surprise since he hadn’t seen the new lego catalog)!!

The Pirate Ship Ambush has also already been assembled! 


.: One Ring To Rule Them All Birthday Cake :.





I wasn’t able to finish the cake the night before, and it cracked me up that the birthday boy didn’t want to come out to the kitchen until I was finished for “the full surprise!”  It was worth the wait and he loved his cake! 



We topped the cake with 13 candles and 3 extra sparklers to go along with our theme.  


“But they were, all of them, deceived, for another Ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master Ring, to control all others. And into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. “One Ring to rule them all.” One by one, the Free Lands of Middle Earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some who resisted. A Last Alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor and on the slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle Earth. Victory was near. But the power of the Ring could not be undone.”


I picked up this little cake at Trader Joes since it reminded me of a volcano – perfect for Mount Doom, right?  It’s their “chocolate macaroon filled cake” and actually has a ring of coconut macaroon filling in the center!  (You can see a picture on this blog.)  I know… Sparklers aren’t really a very good idea inside the house, but we a large glass of water nearby, they didn’t quite set off our fire alarm, and we were able to get a pretty neat picture! 😉 

 

“And there was also one last surprise, in honour of Bilbo, and it startled the hobbits exceeding, as Gandalf intended.” 




“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 
~ Gandalf the Grey in The Fellowship of the Ring 


Happy 13th Birthday Captain! 

One Ring to Rule Them All

Jul 22, 2013 | , , , , | 10 Comments

On Saturday we celebrated our oldest son’s 13th birthday!  This year he asked for a “Lord of the Rings” party theme and, after looking at many cakes, I decided to try and create a “One Ring to Rule Them All!” birthday cake for him!  My inspiration came from The Art of Being Mama’s beautiful cake, however I opted to use a dark brown frosting for the writing similar to this cake.

I went out searching for a “perfect” non-stick ring cake pan, but ended up using my aluminum jello mold.  I was worried that the cake would stick to the pan, but with a nice thick layer of Bake Easy! it came out just fine.   I’ve been fighting yet another sinus infection, as well as an ear infection and poison oak, so I kept things extra easy on myself and used a “Golden” Butter cake mix for the cake.

I ended up needing 1 1/2 cans of Fluffy White Whipped Frosting.  After spreading the first can of frosting over the cake I popped it in the freezer for 20 minutes to seal in any crumbs and then finished it with one last smooth layer of white frosting before spraying it with a can of Gold Color Mist (picked up at Michaels for just a couple dollars after a coupon).

For the writing I used a tube of Chocolate Decorating Icing with a Wilton Round Decorating Tip #5 and copied the words directly from our copy of Lord of the Rings.   I probably should have practiced a bit on paper first, and I wasn’t able to fit the second half of the second line, but I thought it came out pretty well considering it was my first attempt writing Elvish!

‘I cannot read the fiery letters,’ said Frodo in a quavering voice. ‘No,’ said Gandalf, ‘but I can.  The letters are Elvish, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here. But this in the Common Tongue is what is said, close enough:

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. 

It is only two lines of a verse long known in Elven-lore:
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, 
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, 
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, 
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, 
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.’

He paused, and then said slowly in a deep voice:

‘This is the Master-ring, the One Ring to rule them all.  This is the One Ring that he lost many ages ago, to the great weakening of his power. He greatly desires it – but he must not get it.’

All seven of our children will be taking swimming lessons all of this week and next, but I’ll be back tomorrow with additional pictures from Captain’s Lord of the Rings Birthday Party!

The Civil War Unit Study and Lap Book

Jul 18, 2013 | , , | 12 Comments

The boys have been creating Lap Books as we make our way through American History!  I think, for some children including my own, Lap Books can be an excellent tool for teaching.  Not only do they encourage creativity, they are a great way to reinforce and record the information that is being studied.  Yes, Lap Books do take extra work for both the kids and (especially) mom, but I think that it is time well spent, and it is a sacrifice I am willing to make.  That said, I am usually very selective on which Lap Books I decide to create, choosing only quality materials, and topics my children love, to make it worth the extra time.

The next on our list of Lap Books is the boys’ Civil War Lap Book which they made while the girl’s created one based on the Addy American Girl series.   I have been very pleased with the high quality mini-books from the Time Travelers series – though I do make some modifications to incorporate our Catholic Faith.   

You can find my additional mini books below.

B is for Battle Cry and Safari Toobs: Union Soldiers & Confederate Soldiers

.:  Resources and Book Lists for Unit Five – The Civil War :.

Core Text
From Sea to Shining Sea (Chapters 16-17 – The Civil War Part 1 and Part 2)
From Sea to Shining Sea Worksheets

Additional Books read by the Boys: 

Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad
Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
If You Grew Up with Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (Dell Picture Yearling Special)
Just a few words, Mr. Lincoln: The story of the Gettysburg Address
Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers
Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig
Abe Lincoln Remembers
Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend
A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee
Civil War On Sunday (Magic Tree House #21)
B is for Battle Cry: A Civil War Alphabet
Cassie’s Sweet Berry Pie: A Civil War Story
Thomas Finds a Treasure: A St. John Neumann Story
Willy Finds Victory: A Blessed Francis Seelos Story

The boys took turns reading various picture books, including Cassie’s Sweet Berry Pie: A Civil War Story, to the little ones… 

. . . If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad
Go Free or Die: A Story About Harriet Tubman
Brady
Young Abe Lincoln: The Frontier Days: 1809-1837
Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House
Meet Abraham Lincoln (Landmark Books)
Stonewall
The Long Road to Gettysburg or Gettysburg (Civil War Times Illustrated Special Edition)
The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale (Tale of Young Americans)
My America: My Brother’s Keeper: Virginia’s Civil War Diary, Book One
Robert E. Lee: Young Confederate (Childhood of Famous Americans)
Behind the Blue and Gray: The Soldier’s Life in the Civil War (Young Reader’s Hist- Civil War)
Ghosts of the Civil War
If You Lived At The Time Of The Civil War
Classic Starts: The Red Badge of Courage
Abraham Lincoln and the Heart of America – Jim Weiss Audio

Coloring Books:

Activities and Games:  (A list of ideas… We don’t own all of these.) 

 
.: Timeline Entries :.

  • 1807-1870 Robert E. Lee
  • 1811-1860 St. John Newmann
  • 1820-1913 Harriet Tubman
  • 1824-1863 “Stonewall Jackson”
  • 1861-1865 Lincoln – 16th President of the United States 
  • 1861-1865 Civil War 
  • July 1-3, 1863 Battle at Gettysburg
  • 1863 Emancipation Proclamation
  • April 9, 1866 Civil Rights Act

I asked the boys to choose a few people or events from the list above to add to their History Through the Ages Record of Time timeline book during this unit. The listings in bold are the ones that they choose to include this year. Here are a couple pictures:

.: CIVIL WAR LAP BOOK :.

.: THE FRONT COVER :.

.: INSIDE VIEW #1 :.

Left Flap:

  • The Christian Commission
  • Carpetbaggers
Blue Center Page:
  • The Liberator
  • The North Star
  • Accoutrements, Accessories & Possibles of the Civil War Soldier
Right Flap:
  • Antietam: The Bloodiest Day
  • The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Closeup Pictures of the mini-books:

The Liberator
Accoutrements, Accessories & Possibles – with descriptions on the back of each and stored in the Pocket/Pouch
Antietam – “The Bloodiest Day”
.: INSIDE VIEW #2 :.

Back of Left Flap:
  • Fort Sumter: The First Conflict
  • Federal & Confederate Weaponry
  • Battle of the Ironclads
Center of Folder: 
  • Causes for Conflict
  • Gettysburg: The Turning Point
  • Women of the Civil War
Battle of the Ironclads
Federal & Confederate Weaponry
Gettysburg: The Turning Point
Women of the Civil War
Rose’s favorite in Pink-uh!!!!
.:  Bonus Flap :.

The boys and I decided to include the contributions made by Catholics during the Civil War!

Additional Catholic Mini-Books:

Of course we listened to The Fighting 69th while assembling the Lap Books! 🙂

.: Fully Opened View :. 

The boys completed this Unit Study during our 4th quarter and then moved on to Unit Six – The Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression, which I’ll (hopefully) be sharing with you all soon.  We are also currently studying World War II and the 20th Century over the summer, squeezing it in before we return to Ancient History in the fall!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Jul 18, 2013 | , , , | 15 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
The weekend before last the three oldest went hiking with their Dad!  It was the first time that Twinkle Toes had hiked this particular peak and she enjoyed it so very much.  

Late that night I discovered this beautiful vase of flowers on my dresser which she had picked! 
She is always so sweet and thoughtful…

{happy}

During the girls sewing class last week I took the rest of the children bowling!  The boys had won four free games during golf camp this year and the nice gentleman behind the counter let Rose bowl for free as well!  
Trying to imitate her older brother, as usual, she was hilarious to watch and actually ended up with the highest score of all!

In the meantime, Bud had a blast watching the “BALL!!!”

Oh!  And guess who tried eating lettuce for the very first time on Wednesday night?!?!  This picky picky eater of ours (who literally starved himself as an infant rather than eat foods he didn’t like) noticed that his little sister was enjoying her salad and decided to give it a try.  He was pleasantly surprise that it “tastes like nothing!”  The texture was still a challenge for him, but with the promise of a scoop of ice cream for dessert he finished a whole leaf of green lettuce.  
Hip, hip hooray! 
{funny}
Early last week (after splurging on a new bunk bed for the girls using “Bill Me Later”) I decided to have a Yard Sale!  We live a ways from town on a dead end road and I wasn’t sure if it would be much of a success, but I figured it was worth a shot… As I was working on decluttering our home, our older children were busy with their own preparations!

From Instagram on Friday afternoon:  I sell something for 75 cents and they wait for their 25 cents in change…. The kids sell a large bottle of water and 2 fudge brownies for $2.50, the customer gives them a $5 and says keep the change! Whatever. 😉

{real}
I tend to make a huge mess when I “organize.”  This is what my living room/entry looked like early last week as I started piling up everything to sell.

The kids started to get a little nervous, especially when I decided that I wanted to sell the entertainment center and TV too!  (I purchased the entertainment center for my apartment when I was single.  The television was from a neighbor and the only one we have ever purchased.)  We don’t have any television reception where we live, and have never had cable, but we do have a Wii and a DVD/VHS player.  I was just getting so tired of answering the constant “can we watch…” questions! 
I decided to have a two day sale and set up everything out front on Thursday.   Sean had to work both Friday and Saturday but was able to put up (and take down) the signs all along our road on his way to and from work.  
The boys helped me put little price tags on everything and we made a large “FREE” pile as well.  (It seemed that everyone who found something in the Free pile would then try to also find something to purchase as well!)  We had the same about of traffic (45 cars according to our tally marks) each day but Friday was the most successful with $305.50 in sales!  Saturday I sold another $209.25. Then on Sunday a woman from Mass gave me $100 for the remaining entertainment center, TV, Bookshelf with glass doors, track light, and blue recliner, for an over all total of $614.75!!! The children also made $15.50 in sales from some of their own toys plus another $46.00 in baked goods and water!

Overall I’d say it was a huge success and definitely worth the work!  Between the yard sale and what I already have saved in my Paypal account I have almost enough to pay for the bunk bed!!!   I still have a basket of skirts (though I did pull them out for a couple ladies to look through) to list on ebay and am also planning to host another Online Curriculum Sale Blog Hop here August 1-7th for all who are interested.  
It will probably be replaced at some point, but so far we haven’t missed the TV and the new question I keep hearing is “Can we listen to…” which I don’t mind at all!  The boys have already finished the first four books of The Ranger’s Apprentice series and the girls are currently listening to Anne of Green Gables!  
Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.

Headtime Story :: Kids’ Sewing 101

Jul 10, 2013 | | 19 Comments

Today our oldest two girls had their very first sewing class!  Twinkle Toes has been wanting to learn to sew for awhile now.  I had actually signed them up to take this “Headtime Story” class at JoAnn’s back in June (inspired by Charlotte’s girls), but had to reschedule it when we decided to go to Catholic Family Camp since it fell on the same weekend.   The class normally costs $35 for each child, but Joann’s often runs specials on their classes and I was able to sign them up during a 50% off sale so both the girls were able to take class for the price of one.  They also had to bring their own fabric, pins, scissors, etc, but our local store also provided us with some 40% off coupons which we could use in addition to the regular weekly coupons which really helped make it a little more affordable for us.  We had so much fun searching for fabric and the patterns the girls decided on are just dreamy, don’t you think?!

Chiquita fell in love with this Matryoshka Fabric the minute she first saw it last month, the day we signed up for the classes.  We found some soft pink polka dot fabric to coordinate and she was set. 

Finding fabric for Twinkle Toes was a little more challenging.  At first she was drawn to a variety of fabrics (Hello Kitty, kitty cats, owls, flowers, and more) but wasn’t able to make a decision. (The poor girl gets her inability to make quick decisions and procrastination tendencies from me…)  Anyways, we arrived at the store early today to continue our search and were so happy to find this lovely owl fabric with pretty pink flowers.  Perfect!

  

Peggy was an excellent instructor and the girls learned so much during the three hour class!

  

I completely forgot to tell the instructor, or Chiquita, that the reason I purchased extra fabric was so that the matryoshka dolls could be vertical on the finished pillowcase instead of horizontal… Oh well.  Chiquita doesn’t seem to mind and said “the dolls are sleeping on their sides, just like I sleep!”  🙂

I was so impressed with how great the pillowcases turned out and the girls couldn’t wait to try them out just as soon as we arrived home.   I am looking forward to signing them up for another class soon!  In fact, JoAnn’s is having a “Buy 1 Class, Get 1 Free!” sale July 19-21.  I’m jotting it down on my calendar now!

Celebrating the 4th of July

Jul 5, 2013 | | 9 Comments

Here are Seven Quick Takes from our 4th of July Celebration!  
For additional quick takes visit Conversion Diary.

.: American Flag Cupcakes :.
We have been reading about Our Flag this week, from the sweet Little Golden Book, and the girls were very excited to help create this year’s Flag Cupcakes.  Since we were using all the berries on the cake and brownies the girls decorated the cupcakes with white frosting with white and red sprinkles and blue frosting with white stars!  I thought it turned out great, even if we were short on stars…  Just think of it as the Flag of 1822! 😉 
.: Red, White & Blue Berry Brownie Torte :.
This was inspired by Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Brownie ‘n Berries Dessert Pizza.   I baked a batch of Fudge Brownies in my Pampered Chef Torte Pans.  After they had cooled I combined 1-8 oz package of cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla to divide and spread over the top of both tortes, topping it with blueberries and chopped strawberries.  Yummmmm!!! 
  
.: Flag Fruit & Marshmallow Kabobs :. 


Directions: Thread 4 blueberries, 2 mini-marshmallows and 2 raspberries on each of five 10-inch wooden sticks. On the remaining seven sticks, thread 4 raspberries and 3 marshmallows to create this all-American treat.


.: Star Spangled Berry Cake :. 
.: All Ready to Go :. 
.: At the Party :. 
Don’t you just love those red boots?!  I was able to combine an extra coupon with a great sale at Gymboree and get boots for a couple of the girls for less than $10 a pair!   Unfortunately they were already sold out in Chiquita’s size, but I was able to find her a festive 4th of July skirt instead. 
I think Bud was having fun reenacting the Flag Raising at Iwo Jima which we had read about earlier!  😉
And Snuggles t-shirt?  I had been looking for a Texas Flag Tee for Bud (which had already sold out) when I ran across this “Awesome Sauce” t-shirt.  The day before we had been at my brother’s house and my SIL asked this picky eater of ours if he wanted a hot dog.  He said “Only if it is a good one!” (The little stinker!) She went on to ask him what a “good” hot dog is and he said “one with ketchup!”  The t-shirt was perfect for him and he is wearing it again today… I’m going to have to sneak it out of his room tonight to wash! 
.: Fireworks :. 
The fireworks were beautiful!  Bud especially loved them this year and was so cute as he tried to blow them out!  
Happy Independence Day! 

Star Spangled Berry Cake

Jul 5, 2013 | , | 6 Comments

A couple days ago I still wasn’t sure what I was going to take to the annual 4th of July party we attend each year. The sweet hostess, who had just arrived home after spending the school year on the opposite side of the country, asked me to just bring “one of your FABULOUS dessert items.”   I somehow missed reading the “one,” looked back at what we brought last year, and had a panic attack.  Yes, my archives stress me out sometimes and I occasionally think “How does she do it?”  I can’t compete with THAT!!! 😉  

Thankfully my husband was able to pick up some berries at Costco on his way home from choir practice Wednesday night and after a quick google image search I had a plan.  The girls and I ended up only having enough time Thursday afternoon to make four (of the six) items I had chosen, but it ended up being a smaller party this year and was plenty.  This “Star Spangled Berry Cake” (inspired by this picture) was my favorite!  It was so easy to decorate and turned out beautifully! 
Ingredients:

Directions:
Bake and cool cakes according to directions.  Trim the tops off of each cake.  Place one cake bottom side down on cake platter.  Spread 1/2 cup frosting over cake and layer with strawberries.  Place second cake, top side down, on top of the strawberries.  Spread a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes to seal in any crumbs.  Spread the remaining frosting over the cake.  Using a large star shape cookie cutter as a guide, arrange blueberries on the top of the cake in the shape of a star.  Fill in the rest of the top of the cake with raspberries.  Place blueberries in around the base of the cake. 

 

I took this last picture to post to Instagram/Facebook while I was balancing the cake on my lap during the 45 minute drive to the party,  but thankfully it arrived safely and was definitely a hit.  I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!  I’ll be back with a few more pictures from our celebration soon!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Jul 4, 2013 | , , , , , , | 3 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
Yesterday we spent the day at my parents home and Rose enjoyed picking flowers with Grandma.

{happy}

Sean had to work last Saturday, but the kids and I spent the morning with my two youngest brothers watching our hometown parade and then the afternoon swimming at my brother Brian’s house!

The kids loved watching the parade, and they were all very happy when the employees from the local building supply store handed out full size candy bars to each of them!
 
7 kids + sitting where the parade begins = enough candy to fill a piñata! 

{funny}
 

Bud was so cute playing peek-a-boo with himself at the doctor’s office on Sunday, 
 as we waited for the doctor to remove his stitches! 

{real}

Bud’s injury wasn’t to be the last of the “excitement” for the month of June…  On Friday this poor little baby deer was stumbling around our yard… We gave him water and called both the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and the Department of Fish & Wildlife and basically neither of them do anything to help save injured deer.   I was told that if they came to pick him up “he would just be Euthanized and his best chance for survival is to hope that the mother isn’t dead already (from trying to save her baby from whatever attacked him) and that she will try and find him during the night once it is safer and has cooled down.  Otherwise this baby will just become food for some other animal (i.e. cougar).”  Ugh!  It was really hard to tell the children that we had to just let him go… 
Right after that I was sitting on the porch and Rose was playing with Snuggles on the swings when she did a face dive resulting in yet another mouth injury.  She had torn the frenulum on the top and had put a few of her bottom teeth nearly all the way through her bottom lip. Thankfully, she didn’t have any loose or broken teeth, since it was on the inside of her mouth she didn’t need stitched, it has healed amazingly fast, and we haven’t had any injuries yet this week!   
Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.

Happy 4th of July! 

A Virtual Baby Shower for Sarah and her TWINS!

Jul 1, 2013 | | 0 Comments

You are invited to another Virtual Baby Shower! I’ve hosted one here before and was so happy to see that Mary is hosting a shower for Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things and her TWIN boys! 

Click on over to Better than Eden to join the fun and get a chance to win some great prizes (including one of Charlotte’s awesome quilties or one of Barbara’s beautiful handmade scapulars or tenners!) after signing up to offer prayers for Sarah and her family, donating to a diaper fund, or just by helping spread the word!


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.

My Other Blog: Catholic Cuisine

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Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

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All Saints Party Printables

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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-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.

My Other Blog: Catholic Cuisine

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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!