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{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: Ascension Thursday

Jun 2, 2011 | {phfr}, Ascension, Puzzles | 7 Comments

Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life.

{pretty}

Our completed Easter Good Shepherd Puzzle: Lost No More

{happy}

Ascension Pancakes for Breakfast on Ascension Thursday!

{funny}

Snuggles: “Excuse me, Mommy, but I don’t want any strawberries!”

{real}

I snapped a quick picture from across the kitchen, as the boys were saying their prayers, before enjoying their breakfast.

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment!

9 Weeks… or so!

Jun 1, 2011 | Precious Moments: 07, Pregnancy | 26 Comments

“My brain is sending signals to my muscles so I can move.

My fingers and my thumbs appear, and I continue to improve.”

~ The Miracle of Me, Week 9

I am back home from my ultrasound, and I must say that it was one of my favorite ultrasounds ever. It was so fun to see how much that little one of ours has grown in the past three weeks, not to mention that it was quite reassuring to see that the baby’s heart was beating strongly and everything looks great. (Even though I didn’t miscarry Gabriel until I was 11 weeks, he had stopped growing at 7-8 weeks.)

It was absolutely precious to see this little one wiggling and bouncing around, waving it’s tiny little arms and legs all over the place. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of my unborn babies so ACTIVE!! (Could that be causing my nauseousness to be worse, I wonder?)

The women at the office were wonderful, as always! This time I got to go back to the office where I have been seen many times in the past. The sweet woman that did my ultrasound was the same one that had done many of my past ultrasounds, including Gabriel’s and Rose’s. (Her dad is also one of my favorite people to visit with after Mass on Sundays… The one that has surprised us in the past with amazing outdoor furniture for the kids.) Oh! And one of the nurses that worked with my midwife when I was pregnant with our first few came out to say hello, and was disappointed that I didn’t have a picture of all the kids for them to see. (I don’t generally carry a picture, since they are usually always with me! lol!) The poor girl who was taking my blood pressure and weight had to put up with all of our visiting!

As for my due date, this ultrasound indicates January 1st, which I think is the most accurate so far, according to all of my dates. We’ll see what my midwife thinks, and whether or not she will change the “official” date.

Most of you probably wonder why it is such a big deal to have such an accurate due date… However, being high-risk and having dealt with pre-term labor a number of times, including the helpless feeling of not being able to do anything when one of my babies was born too early to be admitted into the NICU, days can and do make a difference.

I will feel a lot better once I have made it past 24 weeks, but in the meantime I’ll happily put up with all this nauseousness, knowing that our little one is alive and healthy and just as CUTE as can be!

Thank you all for your prayers!!!

My Daybook :: June 1, 2011

Jun 1, 2011 | Daybook | 5 Comments

Outside my window… it rained pretty much all last week and the forecast for this week is the same… It has been chilly and we even have a fire in the wood stove at the moment. I am so ready for the sun and some warm weather!

I am listening to… the sound of the dishwasher and washing machine. My husband already left for work and the kids are all still sleeping. I am enjoying the quiet!

I am thinking… about my due date, and when it is exactly… My midwife decided, based on how early I found out I was pregnant, according to my new due date anyways, that she would like to do another dating ultrasound to recheck. I guess I will find out more today!

I am thankful… that my husband is home again, safely. The last two weeks were so long and so hard. I really am blessed by how much he helps me with everything!

I am hoping and praying… for a dear friend and her family.

From the kitchen… lots of salad. For some reason, in addition to protein, I have also been craving salads. I’ve just been making them for myself, but the other day the kids all begged me to make them each one too. How could I turn down a request like that?! I made them with Spring Mix, Spinach, Orange Bell Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, Avocado, Cucumber, Carrots, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Cashews, and Cheese. Yum!

Oh, and that reminds me, I need to stop by the store today for some more veggies… we are almost out!

From the learning rooms… we are wrapping up our curriculum for the year. A couple of the children have finished up a number of their subjects, including Math, and the others are almost finished. This week we will complete the last chapter of our Botany textbook and assemble the second lap books, “finishing” Science up for the year. (However, we will continue with our Garden over the summer!) I am hoping to have a chance to sit down soon and make some plans for this coming school year.

Living the Liturgical Year at Home… We are still celebrating the Easter season with the Garden of the Good Shepherd! We will hopefully have our 6th Garden Party sometime this coming weekend. I also spent a little time this morning compiling a post with all the Recipes for the Month of June over at Catholic Cuisine.

I am creating… plans for a Baby Shower that I am hosting for a friend. I’ll post more about that soon! 😉

I am wearing… yes, I know, it is time to get off the computer and ready for the day, but the kids are still sleeping and I’d love to finish this post. In the meantime, these sweats are really warm and comfortable!

I am reading… A Little Way of Homeschooling: Thirteen Families Discover Catholic Unschooling by Suzie Andre, and I am just about finished with it. I have really enjoyed reading it, and highly recommend it to you all, whether you are an “Unschooler” or not! I also just finished reading The House at Riverton, which was due back to the library last week and I will take it back today. 😉

Pondering these words… as I think about curriculum choices for the upcoming school year:

“Seek with St. Therese the easy way, the way that most comfortably fits your family. Believe Jesus and let His yoke be easy, His burden light.”

~ Suzie Andres, A Little Way of Homeschooling

Noticing that… I must keep the front door locked at all times, since someone is very quick at escaping when it isn’t locked!

Towards personal care… After reading a couple articles that Lenetta shared with me in the comment box, I’ve been eating beans to help control the awful pregnancy nauseousness. They haven’t gotten rid of it completely, but they do seem to help a LOT, especially in the car. I am sure I look funny as I drive around (particularly when I was taking the boys to fencing the last couple weeks) with my cup of black beans, taking a bite every time I start feeling like I need to pull over!

Around the house… Puzzle Pieces! The kids started working on the Good Shepherd Puzzle they received on Easter while there Daddy was out of town. It is actually almost finished!

On keeping home… Pretty soon I am going to need to start going through all the kids clothes to see what they will need for summer. I’ve been stalling, and this rainy weather hasn’t helped.

One of my favorite things… Moments like this.

Sunny days and Smiling Faces!

I took this picture when we stopped by my parent’s home one weekend afternoon in April, back when summer felt like it was actually on it’s way!

A few plans for this week:

Dating Ultrasound
Fencing Lesson
Well-Child Check-Up for Rose
First Friday Mass

A Picture thought I am sharing:

These pictures were taken that same day, in the backyard at my parent’s home…
Snuggles is still trying to decide if he is right or left handed! 🙂

The Good Shepherd’s Garden Party :: Week Five

May 30, 2011 | Good Shepherd's Garden Party | 11 Comments

“The tree of life my soul has seen, laden with fruit and always green.

The tree of natures fruitless be compared to Christ the apple tree.

I’m weary with my former toil. Here I will sit and rest awhile.

Under the shadow I will be of Jesus Christ the apple tree.”

~ The Garden of the Good Shepherd: A Sticker Calendar to Count the Fifty Days of Easter

Hello again, after that unannounced and unexpected “break” from blogging! I am still here (thank you to those of you who were concerned) and hanging in there with my (very noticeable) pregnancy symptoms… This past week, by the time I would finish all the daily chores, schoolwork, errands, appointments, dishes, meals, baths, etc, I just didn’t have the energy to sit down at the computer. Thankfully my husband is safely home again from his two week training session in Michigan and ~~I was finally able to take a much needed nap~~ life is back to normal! It is sure nice to have him home!!

It’s funny, but despite the fact that I have been spending very little time in the kitchen, all I have been blogging about lately is food… Bleh! I so wanted to skip this week’s Garden Party, but my children were really looking forward to it, especially since their Daddy missed the last two, and I just couldn’t disappoint them. Instead I decided to modify the menu, only using things that I already had in the fridge or pantry. I suppose a trip to the store would have been a ~~little~~ LOT easier in the end, but everything turned out great. It’s amazing what you can come up with at the last second, without any extra pre-planning. . . Here are some pictures I took to share:

~ The Tree of Life’s Leaves ~

Almond Butter Leaves

I made these amazingly delicious little Almond Butter Leaves using my Nordic Ware Maple Leaf Pan for the first time, with the recipe on the back of the package.

~ The Tree of Life’s Flowers ~

PB&J Flower Sandwiches

I made these with a flower cookie cutter, spreading peanut butter and strawberry jam on one side, before topping it with another flower with a whole cut out of the center (created with a little ring from one of my frosting tips).

~ The Tree of Life’s Fruit ~

These little Cuties were our Fruit.

~ The Owl ~

Even though the owl cupcakes are so super cute, I decided to skip them this year and make a cake instead. I actually made a Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake, baking 2/3 – 3/4 of the batter in a square pan to save for later and the rest in my smallest oval pan (7.75×5.5 in) for our owl.

I cut out a little curve at the top to create his ears, added Oreo halves and Chocolate Macadamia Nuts for the eyes, a Double Bubble Easter Egg Bubble Gum for the nose, and a whole bunch of slivered almonds for his feathers. He is sitting in a nest of pretzel rods dipped in melted white chocolate and rolled in green coconut.

I thought he turned out pretty cute and so did Rose, in her matching owl dress!

~ The Olive Tree ~

These little Olive Skewers were so quick and easy to put together. I assembled them with our favorite Double Stuffed Jalapeno/Garlic Olives, Sweet Cherry Tomatoes, a slice of Cucumber and a fun little sword. A couple of my children wouldn’t eat the olives, but they loved the rest and there were plenty of others to take those “extra” olives. 😉

~ The Palm Tree ~

Palm Tree Napkins and Snacks

We made a similar palm tree Snack last year during T Week, and the girls remember just how to assemble them for me. This time we used a Pretzel Rod, Apple slices and some Coconut M&M’s.

(How perfect that the M&M’s even had little palm tree’s printed on them!!)

I also served Pina-Colada Milkshakes, complete with Palm Tree Stir Sticks and served with Tropical Umbrella Straws. For the milk shakes, I used this recipe as a starting point, first quadrupling it and omitting the nutmeg, then adding a bit of coconut extract and a half of a pineapple, before blending it in my vitamix. YUM!!!!

~ Roses and Lilies ~

Turkey Breast Roses

These were HARD, and didn’t turn our anything like Charlotte’s… I really didn’t even want to post a picture, and was wishing I had “forgotten” to take one!! 😉

Lily Sandwiches

Like I said before, I was using what I had and that meant using up some wheat bread along with the white, in case you are wondering why some of the lilies look dirty! I should have made these first, before the flower sandwiches!

~ A Few More Pictures ~

The link-up will be up sometime tomorrow (probably in the afternoon) over at Catholic Cuisine!

The Good Shepherd’s Garden Party :: Week Four

May 23, 2011 | Good Shepherd's Garden Party | 13 Comments

Your works, O Lord, are manifold and wisely made, and well!

You fill the world with forms of life more than our tongues can tell.

Oh, yonder lies the rolling sea with life of ev’ry sort,

and in it lives Leviathan, whom you have made for sport.

These look to you and you provide, they gather what you give.

You open wide your hand with good to feel all things that live.

~ The Garden of the Good Shepherd: A Sticker Calendar to Count the Fifty Days of Easter

The past ~~couple days~~ week ended up being very busy, with a Little Flowers Meeting and Luncheon on Friday and a Birthday Party to attend on Saturday, so the kids and I had our 4th Good Shepherd’s Garden Party last night, as a late lunch/early dinner.

The little framed image of The Good Shepherd, pictured above, was a gift that arrived in my mailbox this past week from Patty! Isn’t it beautiful?! Thank you Patty!! I had saved our tablecloth, net, and extra plates and napkins from last year, and decorated the center of the table with our Paschal Candle and small Good Shepherd Statue. However, I was very tempted to purchase the Christ as Fisherman of Men Statue that I recently saw on display at our local Catholic Bookstore. It would have tied in so perfectly since the fourth week of The Garden of the Good Shepherd: A Sticker Calendar to Count the Fifty Days of Easter is based on the theme “The Wind and Sea Obey Him.”

~ The Boat, Mast and Sail ~

I’ve been craving protein like crazy, and if I eat enough it seems to help control the morning sickness, so I decided to make Deviled Egg Sailboats, instead of the fruit boats. I’ve also been trying to cut back on using food coloring, so the orange and red pepper sails made a pretty and colorful addition as well!

~ The Net and The Fish ~

This is a variation of a “Go Fish” snack we did a few years ago. Instead of using Pretzel Rods, the kids dipped their nets in the peanut butter before trying to catch their fish. They all loved it, especially Snuggles!

~ The Barbecue ~

Instead of pulled pork I made BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, placing frozen Chicken Breasts, BBQ Sauce, and Crushed Pineapple in the crock pot. They turned out great!

~ The Leviathan ~

Now here is where I caved on the food coloring… I already had some leftover blue cream cheese frosting from Friday’s Little Flowers Meeting, and the Octopus Candies in the cupboard. The kids had so much fun decorating their cupcakes and said they were delicious. I opted for a cup of yogurt topped with some granola and frozen raspberries for dessert.

Snuggles has so much fun overseeing the cupcake decorating!

“Oh no! He got frosting on his finger!”

While helping his little sister decorate her cupcake…

… it wasn’t long before she got frosting all over his nose!

And our little Rose, who had just woken up from a nap, just couldn’t figure out where Snuggles was telling her to put the ~~octopus~~ leviathan!

~ “Sea” Water Ice Cubes with Ocean Spray ~

I happened to find this in the cupboard and decided it would be a perfect addition to this week’s party.

~ A Few More Pictures ~

Patiently waiting for all his siblings to finish washing their hands and sit down so we could say our prayers and eat!

Everyone misses their Daddy dearly… We are so happy that he will be coming home at the end of this week and be able to join us for our next Garden Party!

Be sure to visit Catholic Cuisine to see all of the other Garden Parties from this past week!

A Marian Titles May Crowning Luncheon

May 21, 2011 | Little Flowers, Little Flowers Wreath III, Marian, May Crowning | 9 Comments

Inspired by Charlotte’s May Crowning Feast, I decided to host a Marian Titles May Crowning Luncheon following our May Little Flowers Meeting, which was based on Mary Mother of God and the virtue of Cheerfulness. Each of the girls in our Little Flowers group selected one of the menu items to bring and I filled in the gaps. We had one of our wonderful priests join us for the afternoon! He gave a talk to the girls on Our Lady and the virtue of Cheerfulness, taught them a Marian hymn, led a Marian procession, and then we all prayed the Litany of Loreto before enjoying our feast. It was a lovely afternoon!

~ Queen of Martyrs ~

One of the girls brought a Strawberry Boston Cream Cake, Charlotte’s suggestion for Queen of Martyr’s since her son pointed out that “The red is for the martyrs and the strawberries make it look like a crown.” It was a hit!

~ Holy Mary (Sancta Maria) ~

I picked up a couple packages of Marias cookies for Sancta Maria (Holy Mary) and served them with Nutella.

~ Mystical Rose ~

I made these Strawberry Rose Cupcakes in honor of the Marian title Mystical Rose, saving the rest of the batter to make our Blue Phlox Cupcakes (the flower of the month for Little Flowers).

I had a number of candy molds in my cupboard that tied in with some of the Marian Titles, so I couldn’t resist making a few batches to add to our table These Rose Candies were made with this mold and a mix of Red and White Candy Melts.

~ Blue Phlox Cupcakes ~

Though not based on one of the titles of Mary, theses cupcakes were topped with Blue Phlox Flowers for our study of Our Lady and the virtue of Cheerfulness. The Blue is for Mary and the five petals represent five dimensions of Cheerfulness: Marian, Courageous, Heroic, Consistent, and Contagious.

~ Mother Most Pure ~

I made these Mother Most Pure Lily Lollipops made with this mold, though it doesn’t look like I took a picture after adding the second batch…

I had a feeling that no one would sign up for our Lily Sandwiches and sure enough I was the one to make them. They really aren’t as difficult as they look. . . I ran out of time and only had 30 20 minutes to make them before the girls started arriving. I was able to pull it off! 🙂 I made a couple modifications to our regular recipe, flattening the bread with a rolling pin after cutting it out (which really helped!) and then inserting swizzle sticks for stems (inspired by Charlotte). I am so glad I had a chance to make them and they didn’t last long!

~ Morning Star ~

These Star Shaped Tea Sandwiches were made by my friend Kathleen and her daughter.

I also made a batch of Star Chocolates with this mold.

~ Mirror of Justice ~

I happened to have a mirror from our old hutch, which came in handy for these Mirror of Justice Chicken Salad Sandwiches, brought by Amy’s girls.

~ Tower of Ivory, House of Gold ~

This was also inspired by Charlotte and also brought by Amy’s girls.

~ Health of the Sick ~

For this menu item, which was brought by Dee Dee, I opted for a Veggie Platter, though a plate of Apples would work nicely too!

~ Vessel of Honor ~

Our ~~punch bowl~~ Vessel of Honor, was a wedding gift to my parents and passed on to us. We used Charlotte’s suggested recipe for Mary Blue Punch, mixing 7-up with a small box of blue gelatin (I wasn’t able to find the unsweetened version) and topping it with vanilla ice cream clouds.

Here is the document I created for the buffet signs. I printed them out onto light blue card stock, adding a dark blue Fluer-di-lis quickly created with my Martha Stewart Fleur De Lis Punch.

O God, Who by the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, hast vouchsafed to make glad the whole world, grant, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His mother, we may attain the joys of eternal life, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Little Flowers Girls’ Club ~ Cheerfulness

May 21, 2011 | Little Flowers, Little Flowers Wreath III | 9 Comments

Yesterday afternoon I hosted our 7th Little Flowers Girls’ Club meeting for Wreath III. Since we started late this year, we are a little behind and still have a couple meetings to go over the summer months. For this meeting we decided to skip ahead a month so we could focus on Mary Mother of God and the virtue of Cheerfulness during the the month of May, which is dedicated to Our Lady. We also decided to have a simplified “End of the Year” Marian Titles May Crowning Luncheon following our meeting which turned out so nice and the girls absolutely loved all the symbolic foods!

I be back with pictures from our Luncheon later…
Here is the overview of our meeting:

~ Coloring Pages ~

Queenship of Mary and Most Holy Name of Mary from Waltzing Matilda

~ Notebook Pages ~

For this month’s Virtue Notebook/Scrapbook Page, I used the memory verse for Cheerfulness, and a beautiful Consecration to Mary from Mondays With Mary A Celebration of Marian Feasts Throughout the Year:

“My Queen, My Mother, I give myself entirely to Thee, and to show my devotion to Thee, I consecrate to thee this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my entire self, without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am Thine own, keep me, defend me as Thy property and possession. Amen.”

… an image of Our Blessed Mother, and some blue phlox (the flower for this virtue). You can download my document here.

Here is a picture of the sample page I created:

Here are the girls’ completed pages for “Cheerfulness”:

~ Craft :: Marian Artist Trading Cards ~

There were so many crafts I wanted to do for this meeting, but I ended up needing to keep it simple since I was also planning a May Crowning Luncheon for after this meeting. I ended up deciding to have all the girls create 5 Marian Artist Trading Cards, to participate in Kimberlee’s Marian ATC Swap this month!

The girls all enjoyed illustrating their cards!

~ Lesson on Cheerfulness ~

Father spoke to the girls about Mary and the virtue of Cheerfulness, going through each of the five dimensions of Cheerfulness (Marian, Courageous, Heroic, Consistent, and Contagious) shared in the leader’s manual. Afterwards he taught the girls a Marian hymn, led a Marian procession, and then we all prayed the Litany of Loreto before enjoying our May Crowning Feast.

~ Wreath III Flower Cupcakes ~

Blue Phlox Cupcakes

I wasn’t sure how I was going to decorate the cupcakes this month. . . After looking at various images online of Blue Phlox Flowers I ended up making a little bit of blue frosting. Using a round frosting tip, I put five drops (my kids said they looked like hershey kisses) on each cupcake, then, using the tip of a knife, I pulled the frosting drops towards the center, creating the flowers. I am a total amateur at this sort of thing, but I thought they turned out nicely!

The Blue is for Our Blessed Mother and the Five Petals represent the five dimensions of Cheerfulness: Marian, Courageous, Heroic, Consistent, and Contagious.

I was able to take a quick picture of Father with all of the Little Flowers!

We are so very blessed to currently have him in our area!

Blessed Mother help us to be Cheerful!
St. Therese, the Little Flower, pray for us!

Book Review: The Gift of Summer Snow

May 19, 2011 | Books, Reviews | 7 Comments

I recently was given a copy of The Gift of Summer Snow: A Tale from the Garden of Mysteries to read and review.

As a child I always loved mysteries… Some of my favorite books were The Mandie Collection, The Adventures of the Northwoods, and the Nancy Drew Books. Even though they were great books, I am very happy to have some Catholic alternatives for my own children! (My boys received Lost in Peter’s Tomb and Break-In at the Basilica for Easter and are already enjoying them.)

The Gift of Summer Snow: A Tale from the Garden of Mysteries by Donna Alice Patton is a book that I am very much looking forward to sharing with my children. Especially my girls! It is a story about an eleven-year old Catholic home-educated girl, Becky McGuffey, who loves to grow flowers, especially roses since they remind her of her favorite saint. Any guesses on which saint that would be?! 😉 Yes, St. Therese, the Little Flower!

Becky has been working hard to get her roses ready for the upcoming junior garden show. She is hoping to win the grand prize so she can purchase a special gift for her grandmother. However, someone has been stealing her roses – specifically her prize-winning “Summer Snow” – and so she sets out to try and solve the mystery and catch the “rosenapper.” The series of events that follow ultimately lead Becky to grow in virtue, discover a new friend, and teach her what it means to imitate a saint.

I was also very pleased to see that there is a free Unit Study Guide by Donna Alice Patton also available for this book! I hope to complete it over the summer with my oldest daughter.

The Gift of the Summer Snow can be purchased at Amazon or directly from the publisher at Philothea Press. I am now looking forward to reading the author’s first book, Search for the Madonna, which I recently purchased.

Our Journey Through Geography

May 18, 2011 | Geography | 14 Comments

A couple years ago I purchased a wonderful hands-on Literature Approach to Geography based on four of the classics by Holling C. Holling. Since the Alphabet Path kept us pretty busy last year, I didn’t have a chance to start using it until this year, and my children have absolutley loved this program! Even though my boys are still slowly making their way through their State-by-State Scrapbooks it has been a most welcome addition to our curriculum this year.

Course Materials:

Literature Approach to Geography

(also available here)

“This award-winning study is designed to cover geography, but also includes some history and science as well. The teacher’s guide provides the framework for getting the most out of the Holling books as well as four maps (available separately) designed to be colored and labeled by your student. Three main geographic regions of the U.S are covered in this course as well as an introduction to world geography in the book, Seabird.”

Holling Geography Map Pack

(also available here)

“This set of four 18″ x 24″ maps is used with the Geography Through Literature study guide. Each blank map depicts a different area of the United States.”

Paddle-to-the-Sea • Tree in the Trail

Minn of the Mississippi • Seabird

“Books in this series are: Paddle-to-the-Sea, Minn of the Mississippi, Tree in the Trail, and Seabird. Whether following the adventuresome voyage of a carved toy canoe, tracing the travels of a not-so-timorous turtle, or learning about life on the Great Plains as witnessed by an aged cottonwood tree, readers will relish the blend of history, geography, and nature.”

Last fall we continued our journey though Geography with this wonderful set of books with the story of Paddle-to-the-Sea. We had read this one before and all my children LOVED it (remember their cute little Modeling Wax Canoes?), so they were very excited to dig in deeper.

While reading about Paddle’s journey from Lake Nipigon to the Sea, we also researched Canadian Geese, Sawmills and how they function, Iron Ore, Copper, Freighters, and so much more! The children labeled the States, Capitals and Cities along the path and I even pulled out the couple pictures I have from the trip I took to Niagara Falls with my Dad when I was about Captains age.

Our Completed Map for Paddle-to-the-Sea

Then, in January, we moved on to Tree in the Trail. This was a wonderful story about the history of the Great Plains and the Santa Fe Trail, told by focusing on a cottonwood tree along the trail and the events that happened to and around that tree.

While studying this book, we researched cottonwood trees, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (and added his trail to the map), Comanche Warriors, Flintlock Rifles (and other weapons: Indian arrows and arrowheads), the Wagon Trail to Santa Fe, the Cimarron Crossing and Trail, and much more.

The children labeled the Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, the States of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, in addition to their capitals as well.

They found and labeled the Rocky Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico, and illustrated the Tree in the Trail, the “Yoke” made from the tree, and a cute wagon and buffalo. I thought they did a wonderful job!

Our Completed Map for Tree in the Trail

(click picture for larger view)

We have now moved on to Minn of the Mississippi and will finish up with Seabird sometime during this next school year. That is one of the benefits of home schooling, you can still finish up the extra courses you love even if you are not able to complete them by summer! 😉

Our Weekday Schedule – A Starting Point…

May 17, 2011 | Schedule | 17 Comments

Over the past few months I have received many requests for an updated copy of our Daily Schedule. Our old schedule worked wonderfully for awhile, but, with the changes in our curriculum this year and a new ~~baby~~ toddler, it was time to make some modifications.

This past January I pulled out my copy of Managers of Their Homes and created a new schedule, incorporating this year’s learning plans along with some of the ideas in Large Family Logistics. It was actually going really great until, well, Daylight Savings hit, followed by a number of birthdays, spring sports, Holy Week, Easter, and now “morning” sickness – which has ultimately caused me to throw all schedules out the window, and pray to just make it through the day! Okay, it’s not that bad, but you get the general idea.

Thankfully the routines that we established during our first couple months of really following this schedule have been such a blessing and my children have taken it upon themselves to continue their daily learning, chores, etc, despite my sleepiness, sickness, and overall lack of organization.

Anyhow, with all the inquiries, I was finally inspired to re-print out our schedule, which is more of just a guide for the day, and share it with you all. Our days don’t ~~always~~ ever go according to plan, but that is okay. The interruptions are usually little blessings in disguise and we just jump ahead to whatever is next. Our schedule allows plenty of room for flexibility and for the rabbit trails we love to follow.

For a larger view you can either click on the images above,

or download my document at Scribd.

Note: I never did finish filling in the afternoon/evening blocks with the childrens’ chore assignments, etc, but I just assign what is needed each day, depending on our other plans, outings, and daily focus areas.

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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.