Novena to Saint Thérèse ~ Day Seven
Novena to Saint Thérèse ~ Day Six
O St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who during your short life on earth became a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of wholehearted abandonment to God, now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues, cast a glance of pity on me as I leave all things in your hands. Make my troubles your own, speak a word for me to Our Lady Immaculate, whose flower of special love you were — to that Queen of Heaven “who smiled on you at the dawn of life” Beg her powerful intercession the grace I yearn for so ardently at this moment…and that she join with it a blessing that may strengthen me during life, defend me at the hour of death, and lead me straight on to a happy eternity. Amen.
O God, who did inflame with the Spirit of Love, the soul of your servant Thérèse of the Child Jesus, grant that we also may love you and make you much loved. Amen.
DAY SIX
O Little Flower of Jesus, you have shown yourself so powerful in your intercession, so tender and compassionate toward those who honor you and invoke you in suffering and distress, that I kneel at your feet with perfect confidence and beseech you most humbly and earnestly to take me under your protection in my present necessity and obtain for me the favor I ask in this novena…Vouchsafe to recommend my request to Mary, the merciful Queen of Heaven, that she may plead my cause with you before the throne of Jesus, her divine Son.. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted.
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, pray for us.
Little Saints Pre-School :: I Belong to God
A few weeks ago I had a phone call from a friend asking me about the Little Saints Pre-School Program. She was looking for something to use with one of her younger daughters, that wouldn’t take too much extra time and planning… While explaining the program to her, I actually talked her out of using the program (when she heard how much preparation it took), while at the same time asking myself why wasn’t I already using it for Snuggles since it is perfect for him, and I have all the supplies (flannel board pieces and learning games) ready and waiting from when I used it with our four older children.
Snuggles just turned four this past summer, so I had decided to wait and start the Alphabet Path with him next year, and work on Pre-Reading Skills this year using All About Reading (which he is loving so far) and various workbooks. Still he had been needing and wanting something more.
I dug out all of our Little Saints supplies and we got started! The lesson plans actually start with weekly themes beginning in August, so we started out “behind,” but I am not going to worry about that, or even about completing everything in the book. (I’ve learned to modify things to work best for our family since I first used this book when my oldest was only 3 years old – nearly burning out with homeschooling that very first year! lol!) We started with the first theme, are currently finishing up the second, and then we will be skipping ahead to the theme for “Colors” which includes a day for “Angels” which will tie in perfectly for the upcoming feasts of Michaelmas and the Holy Guardian Angels. From there I will just pick and choose which themes we would like to do, adding our own fun crafts and snacks along the way. I am also not going to worry about completing a complete theme in a one week period… We will add it in the afternoons, when we can, and see how it goes! Now that I have started using this program once again, it doesn’t seem nearly as overwhelming as it did in the past!
In addition to the Lesson Emphasis, Bible Passages, Poems, Nursery Rhyme & Finger Play, and Songs and Circle Games (which we pick and choose from depending on how much time we have) here are a few highlights from our first theme:
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State-by-State Baking :: Pennsylvania Hershey’s Chocolate Breakfast Cake!
Pennsylvania’s famous son.
Author, entertainer, comedian –
many awards he has won.”
Are my children the only ones that automatically start singing “Dad is great… He give us the chocolate cake!” at the mention of Bill Cosby? (Thank you, Grandpa M.)
It didn’t even take a second for the girls to ask if they could make “Chocolate Cake” this past week. We did a little searching and decided on this Pumpkin Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Breakfast Cake, with a couple modifications. It cracked me up when they started singing: “Mom is great! She let us make breakfast cake!” instead! 😉
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar (we used Turbinado Sugar)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa (HERSHEY’S!)
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
2 tablespoons oil (we used coconut oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pureed pumpkin (we used canned)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease, or spray with non-stick spray, a 13×9 pan.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine all of the wet ingredients in a medium bowl, and whisk until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently mix and fold together with a rubber spatula until just combined.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading it evenly, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or almost clean.
4. Cool completely before cutting into squares. A plastic knife makes nice, clean cuts, plus it is perfectly safe for younger children to use on their own. Serve plain or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)
The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States
Other Posts of Interest:
State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Pennsylvania
Novena to Saint Thérèse ~ Day Five
O St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who during your short life on earth became a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of wholehearted abandonment to God, now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues, cast a glance of pity on me as I leave all things in your hands. Make my troubles your own, speak a word for me to Our Lady Immaculate, whose flower of special love you were — to that Queen of Heaven “who smiled on you at the dawn of life” Beg her powerful intercession the grace I yearn for so ardently at this moment…and that she join with it a blessing that may strengthen me during life, defend me at the hour of death, and lead me straight on to a happy eternity. Amen.
O God, who did inflame with the Spirit of Love, the soul of your servant Thérèse of the Child Jesus, grant that we also may love you and make you much loved. Amen.
DAY FIVE
O Little Flower of Carmel, Almighty God endowed you, consumed by love for him, with wondrous spiritual strength to follow the way of perfection during the days of your short life. Sickness touched you early but you remained firm in faith and prayer was your life. O pray for me that I may benefit by your intercession and be granted the favor I ask in this novena…
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, pray for us.
Novena to Saint Thérèse ~ Day Four
novice at the Carmelite convent
(Age 16, January 1889)
Novena to Saint Thérèse
St. Therese and Her Family Paper Dolls
With the feasts of St. Therese coming up on Oct. 1st and 3rd (yes, we usually celebrate both her New and Traditional feast days, with our wedding anniversary in between the two on the feast of the Guardian Angels!), I thought now would be a great time to share some pictures of a fun little book I purchased for the girls a couple years ago: St. Therese and Her Family Paper Dolls!
This great little booklet, which helps the Little Flower and her amazing family come to life for little girls, includes 14 beautiful large paper dolls, approximately 10″ high: St. Therese as a child and as an adult; her parents, Blessed Louis and Blessed Zelie Martin; her sisters; her aunt, uncle and cousins; and even the Therese’s dog, Tom. In addition to the beautiful dolls, it also comes with 46 different authentic outfits, including little girls’ dresses, feast day outfits, traveling dresses, wedding gowns and religious habits for all 5 of the girls.
I loved the book and dolls so much when I first purchased it, that I didn’t even want to cut them out for my daughters, thinking they would ruin them (since they were just made of paper) and decided to save them until they were a little older… Then I received an email with some photos and a suggestion from a visitor here, sharing what she had done with her paper dolls – cutting off the tabs, laminating, and then using glue dots to attach the clothes! I loved the idea!!
I started with cutting all the dolls out (which can be a very time consuming task, unless you have older children that can help, considering all the pieces), writing little notes about the outfit and who it belongs to on the back, then the laminating (I purchased this laminator from Costco for less) and trimming went pretty quickly.
Instead of using glue dots, I have been giving my girls a little bit of poster tack for attaching the outfits, which works wonderfully, and they don’t get frustrated with the paper tabs falling off the dolls so easily, yet it is easy enough to remove and change outfits.
This book of dolls is available from Amazon or Sacred Heart Books and Gifts.
Now I am looking forward to eventually purchasing the other books in the series to do the same, including the St. Joan of Arc Paper Dolls and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Paper Dolls… Maybe for my girls for Christmas!
Novena to Saint Thérèse ~ Day Three
O St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who during your short life on earth became a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of wholehearted abandonment to God, now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues, cast a glance of pity on me as I leave all things in your hands. Make my troubles your own, speak a word for me to Our Lady Immaculate, whose flower of special love you were — to that Queen of Heaven “who smiled on you at the dawn of life” Beg her powerful intercession the grace I yearn for so ardently at this moment…and that she join with it a blessing that may strengthen me during life, defend me at the hour of death, and lead me straight on to a happy eternity. Amen.
O God, who did inflame with the Spirit of Love, the soul of your servant Thérèse of the Child Jesus, grant that we also may love you and make you much loved. Amen.
DAY THREE
O Thérèse of the Child Jesus, lily of purity, ornament and glory of Carmel, I greet you, great saint, seraph of divine love. I rejoice in the favors our Lord so liberally bestowed on you. In humility and confidence I ask you to help me, for I know God has given you love and pity as well as power. Tell Him, now, I beseech you, of the favor I seek in this novena… Your request will crown my petition with success and bring joy to my heart. Remember your promise to do good here on earth. “I shall spend my heaven doing good on the Earth. After my death I shall let fall a shower of roses.”
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, pray for us.
A “Not So Small” Success!
As I mentioned last week, my husband has been gone on a two week training session… His last day is today, and (since this particular training is only a few hours drive away) he will be home tonight!
When he left I decided that, in addition to just maintaining (keeping up with the regular housework and homeschooling), I was going to try and get a couple projects completed that I’ve been wanting to get done for a long time.
I started with having my boys bring all the tubs and bags of clothing that were in the little storage area above their closet/bathroom to my bedroom. It was a mess! Big boys clothes was mixed in with little boy clothes. Shoes were stored with the same size clothing that the last child happened to wear them with. I even found some girl clothes mixed in with boy clothes. I had to take everything out and re-sort through it all… At least, with the training (unlike the unpredictable fire assignments), I didn’t have to worry about my husband coming home early to his side of the room taken over by clothing and looking like this (and much worse at times):
He arrives home tonight though, and I was able to finish in time! I reduced the quantity of clothing down to one storage tote per size (one for boys and one for girls) and put the shoes all in smaller separate totes. We ended up taking a carload full of stuff to donate as well.
I did end up keeping two totes of size 4 boy and size 18/24/2T girls since those are the sizes that Snuggles and Rose are currently wearing, and I will reduce the quantity over the next few months, and only store what fits in the tote after they outgrown those sizes… An almost 2 year old girl doesn’t really need 45+ complete skirt and dress outfits now, does she?!
I printed labels for each tote in word, printing two to a page (all 8 on one page for the shoes), and then attached them to the totes with some packing tape. I am really happy with how it all turned out. Now if I could just figure out a way to get them all in to that great new storage area above our dining room… Perhaps I should get Hubby an extension later (and a pulley!) for our anniversary next weekend on the 2nd! 😉
Novena to Saint Thérèse ~ Day Two
Novena to Saint Thérèse
O St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who during your short life on earth became a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of wholehearted abandonment to God, now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues, cast a glance of pity on me as I leave all things in your hands. Make my troubles your own, speak a word for me to Our Lady Immaculate, whose flower of special love you were — to that Queen of Heaven “who smiled on you at the dawn of life” Beg her powerful intercession the grace I yearn for so ardently at this moment…and that she join with it a blessing that may strengthen me during life, defend me at the hour of death, and lead me straight on to a happy eternity. Amen.
O God, who did inflame with the Spirit of Love, the soul of your servant Thérèse of the Child Jesus, grant that we also may love you and make you much loved. Amen.
DAY TWO
Almighty God, giver of all good gifts, who did will that Blessed Thérèse, being watered by the heavenly dew of your guiding grace, should bloom in Carmel with the beauty of virginity and patience in suffering, grant that I your servant may go forward in the order of her sweetness an may be found worthy to become a devoted and loyal follower of Christ. Amen.
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, pray for us.
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