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Dress Suggestions for Santa Lucia Day

Dec 9, 2012 | , , | 10 Comments

Happy feast of the Immaculate Conception!   I don’t think I’ll ever celebrate this feast without remembering and thanking God for the good news we received on this feast, two years ago today!   It’s hard to believe that much time has passed already…

Anyways, I have had quite a few emails lately asking where I purchased our dresses for Santa Lucia Day…   Unfortunately the lovely dresses that my older girls have are not currently available where I purchased them, just the doll sized version. Update: no longer available, link removed. (My girls gowns also came with a pink ribbon/bow sewed to the neckline, which I carefully removed).  

Last year I just used one of my white t-shirts for Rose (which works great for toddlers!) and this year I have been looking for a dress for her to wear.   I bought the big girls their dresses extra extra big back in 2008 and have been cinching them up with the ribbon each year, so we still don’t have a hand-me-down for Rose.

I had been looking and finally ran across this cute little imported Scandinavian Swedish Dress for Lucia with Red Ribbon Sash on Ebay!   It is currently available in 4 sizes, and I ordered the XS for Rose. It arrived today and I still need to wash it, but I did try it her to show you all.  It is slightly see-through, which seems to be the case with most white gowns, but I think it is really cute especially the collar and sleeves!


Here are a few other dress options as well:
*If anyone else has additional suggestions, please leave them in the comment box and I will add them to this list.

Additional ideas for celebrating the Feast of St. Lucy can be found in the archives:





Celebrating the Feast of St. Nicholas :: 2012

Dec 8, 2012 | , , | 15 Comments

I hope you all had a wonderful St. Nicholas Day! Here are a few pictures from our celebration this year:

.: Gifts from St. Nicholas :.

This year St. Nicholas was extra generous, leaving each of the children a new pair of (much needed) boots in addition to a few little treats treats in each of the children’s slippers (A Holy Card from St. Nicholas with a note on the back, an orange, and a bag of treats including a St. Nicholas Cookie, a small candy cane Bishop’s Staff, and some St. Nicholas Chocolate Coins) and a new Christmas Picture Book!   
*Our candles really are purple and pink, even though they all look pink most of the time!

I sure wasn’t thinking when I scheduled orthodontist appointments for 8am on the feast of St. Nicholas, especially with how late I usually end up staying up on the 5th!  Thankfully the alarm was set, and I was the first out of bed… By the time I was done showering, Snuggles had made his way out to the living room to discover the treats!  
Captain and Twinkle Toes got dressed quickly and I snapped a picture of all the kids, before we dashed out the door.   Poor Twinkle Toes now has (in addition to red and green rubber bands for Christmas, matching her older brother) a double wire on top, elastic rubber bands from the top front to bottom back, chains on the bottom, and has been pretty much miserable ever since… Although I was able to get a smile out of her when I took a picture of her with her cookie! 🙂   
By the end of the day everyone had read (or listened to) their new books, at least once!  
 
.: Saint Nicholas Cookies :.

I’ve mentioned before that last year we enrolled our children in a local homeschool charter school, and that we have an ES/Tutor that comes about 3 times a month to spend an hour with each child enrolled (3 weeks on, 1 week off plus holidays/vacations). We have been very blessed to have one of my friends, and mother of one of my Little Flowers, as our ES this year! She comes on Thursdays for 5 hours… I LOVE it! It is such a blessing to have even the little bit of help, plus the fact that my older children have to be accountable to someone other than myself! Anyhow, Thursday is the day that she comes, so while she was working with each of the children, I was able to spend some time with the rest of the kids decorating cookies and preparing some treats for our St. Nicholas Day Brunch (which ended up being breakfast for dinner this year!

The other fun cookies that I made this year for the children (or rather from St. Nicholas) were these Saint Nicholas Cookies made with Nutter Butters!  You can find the recipe over at Catholic Cuisine.  

.: St. Nicholas Day Brunch :.
Did you see Charlotte’s adaptation of our Candy Cane Coffee Cake and Cherry Cheese Coffee Cakes, combining the shape of one, with the recipe from the other?!   Her and I were thinking along the same lines this year, and I ended up doing the same thing for my family.   It’s just so much easier to pop open a few cans of crescent rolls after a long and busy day, than it is to make a braided bread. Plus, I can never go wrong with the Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake, it is hands down the favorite in our home.  
I ended up using the exact recipe for the Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake, only I used three cans of crescent rolls instead of two.    

I made the bottom of each candy cane with 1 1/4 pkgs. of crescent rolls, using the remaining 1/4 package to cut strips to lay over the top. I topped each candy cane with half of the cream cheese mixture and half of the pie filling.

I also served Scrambled Eggs, Oranges, Orange Juice, and St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa (actually just pre-made peppermint cocoa this year, but the same idea).

God, we pray that through the intercessions of St. Nicholas
 you will guide and protect our children. 
Keep them safe from all harm and help them grow
 to become loving disciples of Jesus in your sight. 
Give them strength to always mature into deeper faith
 in you, and to keep alive joy in your creation. 
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

The Baker’s Dozen :: A Saint Nicholas Tale and Baking Cookies for the Feast!

Dec 7, 2012 | , , , , | 25 Comments

Yesterday, in preparation for today’s feast of St. Nicholas, the children unwrapped The Baker’s Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale (a fun tale about generosity and the origin of the term ‘baker’s dozen’) for us all to read together. After reading the book the we baked Saint Nicholas Cookies using the recipe provided along with the template from the back of the book!

We finished decorating them this afternoon, in between early morning Orthodontist appointments, lessons with the tutor, and lego robotics for the big boys.   It was a busy day, but ended with our usual St. Nicholas Brunch (for dinner this year) and another wonderful picture book!

The Baker’s Dozen St. Nicholas Cookies

First we collected all the ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
  • About 4 1/2 cups flour

*I’m including this picture just so you can all see the piles of random items on my counter at any given time… (And show you why I’ve been hesitating to post any more of the gift ideas I have for my children this year, since I frequently find the kids reading my blog!)  

Directions:

1. Melt the butter and set aside.

2. Beat the egg in a large bowl until the yolk and white are well mixed and fluffy.   

(Measure the correct amount of honey, if you can get it out of the bottle!)  

3. Add the honey, milk, almond extract to the egg mixture and beat well.  

(Have you gotten that honey out yet, honey?)  

4. Mix the brown sugar, spices, and salt.  

5. Add to the egg mixture and beat until well mixed.  

6. Add the melted butter slowly and beat until well mixed.

7. Watch mom dump the flour in and make a BIG mess

Add the flour slowly until the cookie dough is solid enough to knead. 

8.  Transfer to your work surface and knead in more flour to make soft, slightly sticky dough. 

9. Shape the cookie with a pattern, cookie cutter, or cookie mold.  

Even though we do have a few various St. Nicholas Cookie Cutters, we opted to copy the pattern provided on the back of our book.  

(I have been keeping an extra close eye on that baby, who is very interested in our Advent Wreath!) 

10. Preheat the oven to 350˚F, or lower for especially thick cookies.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cookies are slightly brown around the edges.  Transfer to cookie racks and cool. 

11. After the cookies have cooled, decorate with red and white icing.  

We started with the red frosting last night, and finished decorating the cookies today, once we picked up some more white cookie icing on our way home this morning.   The children all really enjoyed decorating their own cookies, and helping with the rest!  (The big kids helped Snuggles and Rose decorate their cookies.)  I thought they did an excellent job! 

12. Enjoy!

13. (We have to have a Baker’s Dozen for the directions, right?)

 With a generous spirit like dear St. Nicholas, 
package up some of the cookies to deliver to friends!

Scroll through all our past St. Nicholas posts here and order a copy of The Baker’s Dozen here. 

You can also find my free St. Nicholas Chocolate Coins printable here. 

 
Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!  
 

{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: Christkindl

Dec 5, 2012 | , , , , | 6 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
I recently posted that we were going to begin the Christkindl tradition in our home this year.  We drew names on the First Sunday of Advent after lighting our Advent Candles, updating our various Advent Calendars, hanging ornaments on our Jesse Trees, and unwrapping and reading the picture book for the  first night! It sounds like a lot, but went quickly and made for a beautiful start to Advent! 
{pretty}

Last month I ordered a sweet little Christkindl ornament on ebay (like this one – thank you Cheryl for the suggestion!) and placed her in the middle of a bowl with everyones names listed on a piece of paper.

{happy}

I folded Snuggles and Roses’ names slightly different and they conveniently choose each other, and Bud will help me!  Sean* & I and the four oldest children all drew each others names and everyone is dying to find out who has who!   It was so fun to watch everyone’s reactions!

(*Sean used his real name in the comments of his Twenty Favorite Movies post, so does that mean I can now too?  I’ll have to ask him! 😉  I’ve always felt funny calling him “Hubby” and he hasn’t liked it either, but it’s hard to change nicknames on blogs… just ask Snuggles!  Speaking of him, maybe Slugger would be a good alternative as he gets older, and not so snuggly! lol) 

{funny}

When Snuggles asked his Dad to read his to him (Sean will help Snuggles and I will help Rose) his reaction was hysterical! He said “NOOO!! NO! NO! NOOO!!!!” before covering his mouth and dropping to the floor. Sean later figured out that he thought his NAME CHANGED to that persons for all of Advent and that HE HAD TO BE THEM until Christmas.. No, Snuggles, you just have to pray and do nice things for that person – which will be just as hard, considering that person is “sweet” little Rose! lol

{real}

After we drew names, we went back to the living room to open up the new Advent gifts for this year! Isn’t the apron gorgeous!?  I {big puffy heart} love it!  I’m headed to the kitchen now to put it on and bake some St. Nicholas Cookies with the kids, using the recipe in the back of The Baker’s Dozen, while we listen to our new favorite Advent CD.

Anyways, as I was taking this picture, Sean snuck up behind me and gave me a hug… The kids all immediately yelled “DAD HAS MOM!!! DAD HAS MOM!!!” Hmmm? Maybe he does have me?! (Snuggles yelled “Dad’s MOM!! DAD IS MOM!!!” He still doesn’t quite get it! 😉

I’m also really impressed with the progress that has been made on the new puzzle this year.  I might have to take it apart when they are finished and start over so that I can have a chance to work on some of it! 🙂

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.
(I’ll update the link once they have the post up tomorrow.)

Lighting our Advent Wreath on the First Sunday of Advent

Dec 4, 2012 | , | 24 Comments

Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we pray Thee and come; That, defended by Thee, we may deserve rescue from approaching dangers brought on by our sins, and being set free by Thee, obtain our salvation. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

May we receive Thy mercy, O Lord, in the midst of Thy temple, that we may with becoming honor prepare for the approaching solemnities of our redemption.

This Year’s Advent & Christmas Book Baskets {with a little peek at our plans!}

Dec 3, 2012 | , , , | 39 Comments

I hope you all had a blessed first Sunday of Advent!  Our day was beautiful and peaceful, despite the excessively rainy weather, flood warnings, and Captain coming down with an awful stomach virus… We made the best of it and (thankfully) by the end of the day he was feeling much better.  Deo Gratias! 

As you probably noticed in my last post, I did end up wrapping some of our Advent and Christmas themed picture books in purple, pink and gold paper for the children to unwrap each day during Advent and over the twelve days of Christmas, like we have done for the past few years now.  I usually wait until Christmas morning to add the twelve books wrapped in gold for the twelve days of Christmas, but since Advent is short this year, and I had extra room in the basket, I went ahead and included them as well.  I then piled the remaining books in a few additional baskets and moved them to the living room so they are readily available.   

Our collection has grown so much over the past years, and I was having such a hard time choosing books to wrap!  How was I going to decide which ones to focus on this year?!?  I finally gave up and asked all the kids to choose four favorites each off the shelf and bring them to me… They were all very excited and I ended up with a nice big stack of 25 books, since someone (Rose) apparently snuck in an extra!

Here is the list of books we will be reading through this year as a family:

Note: The ones marked with an * are the ones that I choose for this year, and the books listed in bold are new additions to our collection that I’ve purchased on sale here and there, including a few new ones on Black Friday…

December 2 (First Sunday of Advent) ~ Waiting for Christmas: A Story about the Advent Calendar
*Decorate for Advent with Advent Calendars, Advent Wreath, Jesse Tree, etc…  Set out Manger for Baby Jesus and all of our Christmas Books.   Bless the Advent Wreath during nighttime prayers.  Choose names for Christkindl! 

December 3 ~ The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey with CD: Gift Edition
*Celebrate the Feast of St. Francis Xavier

December 4 ~ The Christmas Cobwebs

December 5 ~ The Baker’s Dozen: A St. Nicholas Tale
*Bake St. Nicholas Cookies (We will probably try the recipe in the book this year!) 

December 6 (Feast of St. Nicholas) ~ The Miracle of Saint Nicholas
*Celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas

December 7 (Feast of St. Ambrose) ~  The Little Fir Tree
*Decorate our Christ Candle for Christmas

December 8 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) ~ *Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree
*Cut Down Christmas Tree after Mass 

December 9 (Second Sunday of Advent) ~ *Our Lady of Guadalupe (pop-up)
* Feast of St. Juan Diego; possibly have our Our Lady of Guadalupe Tea

December 10 (Feast of Our Lady of Loreto) ~  An Orange for Frankie

December 11 ~ Cobweb Christmas: The Tradition of Tinsel

December 12 (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) ~ The Legend of the Christmas Rose
*Begin Christmas Rose Novena

December 13 (Feast of St. Lucy) ~ Lucia, Saint of Light
*Celebrate the Feast of St. Lucy

December 14 ~ Waiting for Noel: An Advent Story

December 15 (Rose’s Birthday) ~ *The Mitten 20th Anniversary Edition
* Birthday Party for Rose!

December 16 (Gaudete Sunday) ~ The Night of Las Posadas

December 17 ~ The Miraculous Child: A Christmas Folktale from Old Russia
*O Wisdom…  (View all our O Antiphon Plans here.)

December 18 ~ Home for Christmas
*O Adonai, and Ruler of the House…

December 19 (Bud’s Birthday) ~ *Snowman at Night
*Birthday Party for Bud! 
*O Root of Jesse…

December 20 ~ The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth
*Bake Cookies for Christmas to give as gifts 
*O Key of David – Key Lime Pie and Sparkling Drinks with Dinner

December 21 ~ One Christmas Dawn
*O Dayspring… Hot Cocoa in thermoses and drive around to see Christmas lights in town after dark, then head to friends home for a Christmas Yule Party!  

December 22 ~ *The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher
*Bake and Decorate Cut-out Cookies.
*O King of the Gentiles…

December 23 (Fourth Sunday of Advent) ~ The Donkey’s Dream
*Bake Starlight Cookies
*O Emmanuel… 

December 24 (Christmas Eve) ~ *A Christmas Manger (Punch-out-and-play Books) 
*Gingerbread House Decorating Party and Midnight Mass

The following are wrapped in gold paper for the 12 Days of Christmas:

December 25 (Christmas Day) ~ The Nativity by Ruth Sanderson

December 26 (Feast of St. Stephen) ~ *Good King Wenceslas (pub. 2012)

December 27 (Feast of St. John the Apostle) ~ Stephen’s Feast

December 28 (Feast of the Holy Innocents) ~ Angela and the Baby Jesus

December 29 (St. Thomas Becket) ~ *S is for Star: A Christmas Alphabet

December 30 ~ Mortimer’s Christmas Manger

December 31 ~ The Little Match Girl

January 1 (Feast of the Circumcision) ~ *Who’s Hiding: A Christmas Lift the Flap

January 2 ~  Mary Engelbreit’s Nutcracker

January 3 ~ Christmas in the Barn

January 4 ~ *The Third Gift (I ended up changing my mind and adding this here, getting this new Our Lady of Guadalupe book instead.  The Third Gift looks wonderful, I just wanted something a little more “girly” for her and this books looks perfect for our little Chiquita!) 

January 5 ~ The Last Straw

January 6 (Feast of Epiphany) ~ *Babushka and the Three Kings

In Addition to the favorites listed above, here are the rest of 
Our Additional Books for Advent and Christmas:


Advent and Christmas Chapter Books:
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Chronicle
Destination: Bethlehem
The Catholic Christmas Book of Cherished Christmas Customs
The Story of Holly and Ivy
The Thirteen Days of Christmas
The Trees Kneel at Christmas

Early Advent:
Advent Storybook: 24 Stories to Share Before Christmas
The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas, An Austin Family Story

Feast of St. Nicholas:
A Gift from St. Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
St. Nicholas: A Closer Look at Christmas
The Church Mouse of Saint Nicholas
The Legend of Saint Nicholas
The Real Santa Claus: Legends of Saint Nicholas

Feast of the Immaculate Conception: 
Mary, Mother of Jesus

Feasts of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe:
Saint Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe(Coloring Book)
The Lady of Guadalupe
The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe Empress of the Americas

Feast of St. Lucia: 
Bells of Santa Lucia
Hanna’s Christmas
Kirsten’s Surprise: A Christmas Story
Lucia Morning in Sweden
Lucia, Child of Light: The History And Traditions of Sweden’s Lucia Celebration

The Christmas Story:
All for the Newborn Baby
Bethlehem
Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers
Christmas in the Barn
Christmas Night Fair and Bright
Father and Son: A Nativity Story
Little Star
One Winter’s Night
The Birds of Bethlehem
The Christmas Bell
The Christmas Bird
The First Christmas
The Stable Where Jesus Was Born
The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale
The Very First Christmas
There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve

Christmas Books Inspired by Music:
Good King Wenceslas
O Holy Night
The Huron Carol

Christmas Around the World: 
Baboushka: A Christmas Folktale from Russia
Christmas Around the World
Marta and the Manger Straw: A Christmas Tradition form Poland
Pablo’s Christmas

Historical Christmas Books:
An Early American Christmas
Christmas in the Trenches

Legends, Inspirational Stories and Other Miscellaneous Books:

A Small Miracle
Night Tree
On Christmas Eve
Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey
Santa’s Favorite Story
Shoemaker Martin
The Christmas Candle

Just for Fun:

Golfer’s Night Before Christmas , A
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Christmas Crafts and Baking:
Christmas Cooking (Activities)

The Twelve Days of Christmas:
Twelve Days of Christmas Stained Glass Coloring Book
The Twelve Days of Christmas

Feast of Epiphany:
We Three Kings


And a Basket of Board Books for our Littlest Ones:

Wishing you all a very Blessed Advent!

A Guest Post from Bud, a Fundraiser, and a Quiltie Giveaway!

Dec 2, 2012 | , | 4 Comments

Hello Y’all!  Happy First Sunday of Advent!  

I’ve been busy checking out all these great board books that my momma pulled out…

… but I want to take a second to tell you about the wonderful fundraiser and giveaway opportunity over at my godmother’s blog down in Texas!

I haven’t gotten to meet her yet, but last year she sent me two of her aweome quilties for Christmas, to keep me warm and cozy, and wrap me in a handmade hug until she can give me a real one.  
(Just look at how little I was back then!!!) 

I use my quilties all the time and they are just as nice (and even softer!) as when they arrived. 

Well, my godmother is helping to raise money for Miss Colleen’s missionary work:
It’s a beautiful outreach of the St. Bryce Foundation that seeks to provide “meaningful work for women in rural Costa Rica whilegiving the gift of a warm handmade quilt to an orphan or survivor in a trafficking safe house through our partnerships with other local organizations.”

Everyone that donates money or helps spread the word will be entered into a drawing for 
their VERY OWN CUSTOM MADE QUILTIE!  

My mom says that this post will earn her an extra entry “coin dropped in the stocking” with her name on it, but I told her she shouldn’t enter because people would talk, if she was to actually win! 

She said she doesn’t care, she is entering the drawing anyways! 😉 

Maybe you’ll have your very own quiltie soon!   

May God reward you, 
and may you have a very Blessed Advent! 

A Few More Jesse Tree Resources and a Link-Up!

Dec 2, 2012 | , | 15 Comments

Advent begins tomorrow!   I just pulled out our Advent Wreath, Advent Calendars, and hung up our Jesse Tree.   This year’s Advent & Christmas Books (I’m working on a post with this year’s list) are wrapped and ready to start reading, our new Advent CD just arrived, and I spent most of today finishing up a couple handmade gifts.  I still have a few things to purchase, a Family Christmas Photo/Card to come up with, and a couple birthdays to plan, but for the most part I am ready to enjoy the seasons of Advent and Christmas!    
I know many of you have been making Jesse Trees for the first time this year and I have a few more resources to share with you all!   The following will also come in handy for anyone who (1) is using our family’s version of the Jesse Tree, (2) hasn’t had a chance to make or purchase their own Jesse Tree and needs something quick and easy, or (3) is looking for an additional way to enhance their current Jesse Tree Study.  You can also find additional Jesse Tree Resources I have shared in the past here:  Links for Advent. 

.: The Jesse Tree Booklet :.

Symbols, Bible Passages, and Corresponding Readings from the New Catholic Picture Bible

I have been meaning to provide you all (and myself!) with a printable to use as an easy reference to the readings we use for our Jesse Tree.  I started making one, but kept getting stuck on how to lay it out in a way which could be used every year, despite the length of Advent changing.   

One of my visitors here did it for us, and has allowed me to share her document with you all! I’ve already printed out the pages and added them to my binder.   Thank you Kelly!  

(Note:  Kelly has also beautifully compiled the Advent-Christmas sections of Around the Year with the Trapp Family for printing, including the quotes that I recently quoted in this post, but I’m still trying to figure out if that is okay for me to upload and share it without violating copyrights.)

.:  Colorable Jesse Tree Ornaments :.

Charlotte also has a new free printable!   She illustrated these Colorable Jesse Tree Symbols to go along with her own Jesse Tree and the reflections that her sister-in-law Erin will be posting this Advent.   

In the past I provided my children with coloring pages for each day, and you can still find those links in my archives, but as my children have gotten older (and multiplied!) we just don’t have the time for this anymore.  I am very excited to have this resource for my little Kindergartner and Pre-schooler!   
.: Jesse Tree Study Guide :.

Advent: God’s Loving Promise
Counting down to Our Lord’s Nativity with the Jesse Tree – The Genealogy of Christ

Although I didn’t have any plans to expand our Jesse Tree Study this year, after receiving a review copy of this brand new Jesse Tree Study Guide, I’ve changed my mind.   This book is beautifully compiled using public domain illustrations and text from out-of-print vintage Catholic Books!  

In addition to the excellent Catholic lessons included, I love the copywork pages that are scattered throughout the book, including the pages for the O Antiphons!  I’ll be printing out copies of these for my children to complete this year, in addition to our O Antiphon treats and activities.   Update:  Unfortunately this book is no longer available.

.:  Jesse Tree Link Up :. 

Do your family traditions for Advent include a Jesse Tree?   Did you make your own Jesse Tree and/or Ornaments this year?  Or did you perhaps participate in a Jesse Tree Swap?  I’d love to see pictures!  

 Last year I hosted an Advent Link-Up for everyone to share their Favorite Advent and Christmas Books.   This year I thought it would be fun to host a link-up for everyone to share their Jesse Trees!   Please add a link to your Jesse Tree blog post below, and be sure to share the link to this post so that everyone can find the link-up. 

 I’ll get it started with a few of my own past Jesse Tree posts!  🙂  This link-up will remain open throughout Advent, so be sure to take some pictures over the next few weeks to share!  


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.

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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
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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

Shower of Roses Easter Gift Guides



All Saints Party Printables

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