Our 2013 St. Joseph Altar
The St. Joseph Altar is an old tradition from Sicily. You can click here to read an explanation of how the tradition started. There are three tiers to the altar, representing the Trinity and the three members of the Holy Family; Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Usually a statue or picture of St. Joseph is placed on the top tier. Like last year, we didn’t include all of the Foods for St. Joseph’s Altar on our own family altar, but here are a few pictures from our celebration today.
St. Joseph, who felt the tribulation and worry of a parent when the child Jesus was lost, protect our dear children for time and eternity. May you be their father and counsellor. Let them, like Jesus, grow in age as well as in wisdom and grace before God and men. Preserve them from the corruption of his world, and give us the grace one day to be united with them in Heaven forever. Amen.
On the Feast of St. Joseph
Isn’t a Cathedral Cake perfect for today’s feast, in honor of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church?! I thought so! I will be back later to share pictures of our St. Joseph’s Altar, but right now I’m headed back out to the living room to pray our family rosary and then watch a movie with my husband and big kids! I hope you all had a blessed day!
O Glorious Saint Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus, the most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, and the head of the Holy Family. You have been chosen by Christ’s Vicar as the heavenly Patron and Protector of the Church founded by Christ.
Protect the Sovereign Pontiff and all bishops and priests united with him. Be the protector of all who labor for souls amid the trials and tribulations of this life; and grant that all peoples of the world may be docile to the Church without which there is no salvation.
Dear Saint Joseph, accept the offering I make to you. Be my father, protector, and guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me purity of heart and a love for the spiritual life. After you example, let all my actions be directed to the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and your own paternal heart. Finally, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.
Irish Dancing on St. Patrick’s Day
In January the girls were invited to join the sweet little girls in our local Catholic School to learn how to Irish Dance in preparation for a performance at our Parish St. Patrick’s Day celebration! They were taught by two dear women from Ireland each Tuesday afternoon for an hour.
After only just 9 lessons, they all did such a great job yesterday, in dresses made by their teacher, during each of the two separate performances – one early in the day following Mass and a second later in the afternoon. Here are a few short videos:
Two-Hand Dance – 1st Performance:
Three-Hand Dance – 1st Performance:
Three-Hand Dance – 2nd Performance:
The girls looked so cute up on that stage! Sean missed the first dance (he went to an early Mass to stay home with some of our sick children during the late Mass and St. Patrick’s Day Party), but he was able to come long enough to watch their 2nd performance!
The girls were also very excited that my mom, dad, and youngest brother came to watch as well.
The Lucky Winner…
Congratulations to Brian Pate from Happy Catholics, your 3rd entry into the giveaway won the giveaway for you! I’ll be emailing you soon for your mailing address to send to Christine (at Jacob’s Toy Box) so she can get a Brother Hubert Doll and Story Book in the mail and on their way.
The rest of you still have time to place an order for Easter, if you do it soon! Easter is just two weeks away!!! (I spent most of last night ordering some great Easter, Spring, Saint and Historical books, in addition to a few other things including a Brother Hubert doll, for my children’s baskets this year – with the proceeds from all the generous donations on my Papal Lap Book! Thank you all so very much!!!)
I hope you had a very happy and fun-filled St. Patrick’s Day! (And Happy Birthday to my Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law!) I’ll be back soon with pictures and videos from the girls’ Irish Dance Performances at our parish this afternoon! They were so cute! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
7 Quick Takes :: Habemus Papam!
What an exciting week! We’ve been glued to the live feeds online all week (which has left very little time for blogging or answering emails, sorry!) watching for that white smoke, the announcement and first blessing Urbi et Orbi from our new Pope Francis, the Holy Father’s first Papal Mass, and more! I have loved seeing my children’s interest and excitement as well! All that work with the Lap book and Unit Study has paid off, and I have even had my older boys explaining a few things to me this past week!
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| Watching the white smoke and waiting to hear who has been chosen! |
I actually had an appointment at 11:40 on Wednesday, here in our little town, to pick up some paperwork… I was torn on whether to reschedule or not, having seen the white smoke, and knowing the Pope would be announced soon. It was the quickest trip to town EVER! I arrived back home with plenty of time to spare. Whew!
As I posted on the Catholic Cuisine Facebook Page following the announcement and learning a little more about Pope Francis, “I told my children they get to “cook their own meals” today, just like our new Pope!” They loved the idea! I ran to the store to purchase some Argentina Wine and we modified our dinner plans so the kids could make some “Argentina/Italian” pizza!
Snuggles was very happy to finally get to color a picture of “his” Pope!
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Papal Lap Book Unit Three: The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
Sic me Deus adiuvet et haec Sancta Dei Evangelia, quae manu mea tango.
Thus, may God help me and these Holy Gospels which I touch with my hand.
The Conclave is now officially underway and the doors of the Sistine Chapel were closed off just moments after Msgr. Guido Marini announced the famous Latin phase: “Extra Omnes,” which roughly translates to “Everyone Out!”
Read:
Family Read Aloud
- Break-in at the Basilica (continued)
- Read “The Hierarchy” (pages 118-119 of My Catholic Faith)
- Read “Powers of the Pope” (pages 114-115 of My Catholic Faith)
- Who is the Pope? A Very Short Book for Children (e-book)
- Chapter on Apostolic Authority: Peter and the Papacy from Beginning Apologetics
I’ve also created another Novena book option which can be downloaded at Scribd, for my older children. And I also added a informational page for the children to fill out on our “Adopted Cardinals! It can be downloaded here if you’d like a copy.
Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
As we continued discussing the role of Cardinals in the Catholic Church, we read about all “The Hierarchy” (pages 118-119 of My Catholic Faith) while the children cut out (or copied) the definitions and assembled their “Hierarchy of the Catholic Church” mini-books. We also watched the following video:
What are the Chief Powers of the Pope?
For this mini book we read “Powers of the Pope” (pages 114-115 of My Catholic Faith). Some of the children pasted the text into the book (they will understand it more as they get older) and the others copied the text.
What Happens when a Pope Dies?
Using the definitions found in Who is the Pope? A Very Short Book for Children (e-book) and in this EWTN Article, I ended up creating a fill-in-the-blank version of this “What Happens When A Pope Dies?” mini-book.
We have been having so much fun with Monica’s Guess Who?! The Cardinals game!
Jacob’s Toy Box {A Review & Easter Give-away!}
I had been hoping to compile an updated list of Catholic Easter Basket Ideas and Easter Symbol themed gifts, but I haven’t had a chance yet and Easter is quickly approaching!
I haven’t finished my own Easter shopping quite yet, but I did want to share a precious little rag doll from Jacob’s Toy Box that one of my little guys will discover in his Easter Basket this year: Father Martin with his vestments and story.
Isn’t he great?! Not only is he soft and cuddly (um… can you say that about a priest doll?) – perfect for my little toddler – I love the traditional cassock (over pants) and vestments (including an Alb, Cincture, Maniple, Stole and Chasuble)! Now I can’t decide if he is going to end up in Snuggles or Bud’s basket this year… And I’m sure Rose would love Sister Marie… But, I did order Hand-painted Bookmarks of their Patron Saints for the 5 oldest, including Snuggles, and plan to complete a set of blocks for Rose (which I still need to get going on), so perhaps he should go to Bud… What do you think?
Anyways, I’ve really enjoyed “meeting” Christine through our email correspondence, and wanted to share with you all, with Christine’s permission, the beautiful yet heartbreaking story of how she named her business:
“I started this business last summer–2012. It has been a rough couple of years–In 2010 I was diagnosed with a terminal pregnancy–My daughter had trisomy 18– a fatal chromosome defect. We found this out at 24 weeks, and of course we didn’t terminate the pregnancy. She died at 27 weeks. Those were a few tough weeks. Knowing that the baby inside of me wouldn’t live. After she died I started a home-based fresh flower business and it did pretty well.
Then, surprise! At the end of 2011 I found out I was pregnant again. We were so excited–but scared. (Back and 2009 I was told by a medical specialist that I would never be able to get pregnant again–I proved him wrong!) The OB doctor watched me like a hawk–everything was going smoothly. Then when I was 32 weeks had a stress test/ultrasound on a Wed.–Jacob, our son, looked fine. On Friday I only noticed a bit of movement in the morning. Called the doctor that night and he said not to worry. Things had looked fine a couple of days ago. Saturday morning I still had not felt him move. The OB had me come into the hospital. Jacob had died. They were unable to determine what caused his death–he looked perfect!
This experience made me want to focus even more on my family and doing flowers I felt was taking too much time away. But, I wanted to be doing something and have enjoyed crafts in the past. My husband, kids, and friends encouraged me to start making and selling these toys.–thus the birth of Jacob’s Toy Box. By the way, we are a homeschooling family too. My oldest is a senior and my youngest in kindergarten. My husband and I have been married almost 20 years.”
I was very touched by Christine’s story, and my heart aches for her as I know all too well what it is like to lose babies… What a special tribute she has created for her little son with Jacob’s Toy Box!
She also had a story to share about my husband’s brothers:
“Oh–just a funny story about one of your brother-in-laws–When Fr. J. G_____ was at our parish, I went into the confessional to receive the sacrament. The voice of the priest sort of sounded like our priest but not quite. I asked the priest “Are you Fr. G____?” His reply:”I am A Father G____.”
Yes, there are a few of those “Father G’s” around, which is another reason I am thrilled to have a “Priest” doll for my children! Hmmmm… I might have to see if I can eventually order another with dark hair that we can name “Uncle Father” as our children affectionately call those three dear priests! 😉
I sure do love supporting Catholic businesses and families when we can. Some of my favorite gifts for our children have either been handmade by creative and talented Catholics like Christine! These gifts are treasures for sure, and things you just can’t find at those big box stores or websites!
If any of you would like to place an order, you will need to do so no later than March 25th for Easter delivery! These sweet dolls would also make excellent First Communion Gifts, in addition to the other suggestions I posted last year.
Christine has also generously offered to give a Brother Hubert Rag Doll and Brother Hubert and The Battle with the Goat to one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses!
He even has a tonsure! I love it!! He is definitely going on my “wishlist” for one of my little boys!
To enter this give-away:
Click on over to Jacob’s Toy Box and check out all the adorable rag dolls created by Christine and then leave a comment on this post, telling me which is your favorite, before Midnight (PST) on Saturday, March 16th. Be sure to leave your email address, or have it linked in your profile, so that I am able to contact the winner. I will update this post with the lucky winner on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day!
BONUS: Share this giveaway on either your own blog or Facebook page and come back and let me know that you did by leaving a second comment for an extra entry! Like Shower of Roses and Jacob’s Toy Box on Facebook for a third entry! Be sure to leave a comment for each entry since they will be numbered for use with a random number generator to determine the winner.
And before you go, I wanted to add a little prayer request… Please click over to Kirsten’s blog, Sonlight Garden, and let her know you are praying for a miracle for her own beautiful baby.
State-by-State Baking :: Alabama Fried Cherry Pies
all Alabamians have great pride in.
Our state is “The Heart of Dixie,”
a heritage passed from kin to kin.”
We’ve been wanting to make our recipe for Alabama for a few weeks now, but we had to wait for a Sunday. (Since it is Lent and we gave up sweets this year, and since the girls were set on making this recipe!) The last couple Sundays didn’t work out for one reason or another, but this afternoon (on Laetare Sunday!) we finally had the time to spend in the kitchen frying pies inspired by a quote from The United States Cookbook. The girls had previously read Y is for Yellowhammer: An Alabama Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages.
- 1 can Cherry Pie Filling
- 1-2 cans “Flaky Layers” Biscuits
- Powdered Sugar
- Oil/Fat for Frying
On a floured surface, roll each biscuit into a thin circle.
Place one spoonful of pie filling into middle.
Fold over one part of the circle onto the filling, making a semi-circle. Press down to seal the edges using a fork.
Heat about 1/2″ of oil in a frying pan. Carefully, fry the prepared pies for 2-3 mins on each side over medium-low heat until golden brown.
Note: Be sure that the oil is over medium-low and not high, or the pies might burn on the outside and still be gooey on the inside! Ask us how we know… 😉 After a couple attempts (and turning the heat down) we finally were successful!
Sprinkle the warm pies with powdered sugar.
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Alabama
history does glorify.
The uniforms of the Civil War soldiers,
Yellowhammer is our Y.”
.: Alabama by Captain :.
.: Alabama by Rascal :.
*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts.
You can also find the Alabama Fried Pies that the girls made for this state here!
Our Little School Room
I love wooden stacking toys! They are so pretty and the kids have so much fun playing with them! On this shelf you can see the Little Flower Wooden Stacker, a set of Stacking Birds, the Stone Cave, Rainbow, Fire, Water Waves, and a little wooden Peacock from last year’s family Easter Basket.
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