St. Martha’s Cake Walk
This year, for our Homeschool Group’s All Saints Party, each family was asked to bring one game. Deciding which one to bring was so hard (there are so many fun ideas!) but I finally settled on doing a “St. Martha’s Cake Walk.”
for those that had already won a cupcake but wanted to keep playing.) 
The children all enjoyed choosing their cupcakes!
Even some of our awesome teens joined the fun!
The game did get off to a rocky start (the cd player I borrowed refused to work so another friend ran home to get another one which ended up being broken as well, but then a talented dad was finally able to get the music going! Whew!!), but in the end, it was the very last game being played! (Thank you Hubby for keeping all the remaining children busy while the rest of us worked on cleaning up from the night!)
Note: Playing Gregorian Chant for Kids makes for a very
Saint Martha, patron of cooks, pray for us!
Mass on the Feast of All Souls
This was our 5th annual All Souls Mass at a local cemetery. (Here are pictures from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years!) Unlike every other year, the weather was just gorgeous today and actually even WARM! Unfortunately our friend Marc wasn’t there to video and take pictures this year, so I only have a few to share from the Mass.
Altar in the Catholic section of a local historic cemetery
As always, it was such a beautiful Mass! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful “retired” priest in our area! Thank you Father Carmelo!!
My children were excited to see Uncle David!
He is my youngest brother and oldest godson. Isn’t he cute! 🙂
We spent some time reading headstones and praying for the souls of those buried beneath.
These headstones belonged to a mother and daughter. The mother died in 1871 at the age of 35, just over 2 years after her daughter died at only 14 years of age. How hard that must have been for the husband/father…
The headstones read:
Catherine E.
Beloved daughter of S.J. & P. Fehely
Died Aug. 5, 1869 Age 14 yrs. 6 m. & 7 days
Her life was as edifying as it was brief.
Sarah Jane
wife of Patrick Fehely
Died Oct. 21, 1871 Aged 35 years
She was a good wife, a loving mother, a sincere
friend, and a useful member of society.
John son of O.&N. Keegan
DIED Dec. 5, 1883
Aged 5yrs.3Ms.11Ds.
Our blessed angel has gone to rest
God has called him and He knows best
I’d love to go back some time and explore some more of this beautiful cemetery!
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Please Pray…
…for Elizabeth and her family as they grieve the loss of a precious little soul.
O merciful Mother, watch over their family, comfort them in their grief, and help them to find peace and solace in trusting in the goodness and love of our merciful God, in whose care their dear baby rests.
Our Cast of Saints ~ 2010
St. Isaac Jogues
St. John the Evangelist
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
St. Therese of Lisieux
St. Pius X
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Happy All Saints’ Day!
Omnes Sancti et Sanctæ Dei, intercédite pro nobis.
Happy All Hallows’ Eve!
~ Our 2010 Saint-O-Lanterns ~
A Rose, Symbol of St. Therese
by Twinkle Toes and Mom
St. George the Dragon Slayer
by Rascal and Daddy
IHS – In Hoc Signo Vinces
which means: By this sign you conquer
(a symbol for the Society of Jesus, including St. Isaac Jogues)
by Captain
In honor of all the Holy Innocents
and our little Gabriel
(who was born into heaven 2 years ago this Thanksgiving)
by Chiquita and Mom
To see more Saint-O-Lanterns scroll through
{this moment}
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane
“In the mountains of Mourne, up twisted old bends,
past blackberry brambles and ancient wood glens,
there stood a tall tower – a circle of stone-
where holy men lived, wearing simple brown robes,
filling simple brown books, eating simple brown bread,
and saying their prayers by their simple brown beds.
They all looked alike, they all seemed the same,
except for the brother they called Theophane.”
A couple weeks ago, my husband and I were browsing through a gift shop after we attended a Pride & Prejudice play for our anniversary. We ran across a picture book by C.M. Millen, The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane
. I hadn’t heard of it before so I opened the cover to see when it was published, and sure enough it was only recently published this past July!
. I hadn’t heard of it before so I opened the cover to see when it was published, and sure enough it was only recently published this past July! It is absolutely lovely!
The story is about the youngest monk, Brother Theophane, who lives in a small medieval Irish monastery where the monks work quietly side by side, copying manuscripts with plain brown ink. Brother Theophane is easily distracted by the beauty of the world outside his window that he is sent outside to work: boiling bark to make ink. Inspired by the stains from the blackberries, he starts experimenting with berries, roots, twigs and leaves to make various colors of ink! Soon the monks were using the colorful ink for their manuscripts.
“Heavenly hues now covered their pages
and filled their bright books with colorful phrases.”
The book is delightful to read and the detailed illustrations are beautiful.
I purchased this book to give to one of my children on the Feast of St. Nicholas this year (one of our family traditions is to give each of our children a new christmas and/or saint books on this feast), but let’s just see if I can keep it packed away that long! I am dying to read it to my little ones…
P.S. Amazon sells this great picture book for much less than I paid at the bookstore! Even less if you buy a used copy… Either way, it is totally worth adding to your home library!
for much less than I paid at the bookstore! Even less if you buy a used copy… Either way, it is totally worth adding to your home library! (Almost) Wordless Wednesday
We are all so excited that the Our Lady of Guadalupe costume that Grandma made for Chiquita back in 2006 fits Rose this year!! Doesn’t she look so cute!?!
He has a point…
Mom: Okay boys, your dictation
“How times and fortunes do change! My circumstances are most comfortable, my duties almost none.”
Hmmm… I guess I could say the same thing, now that we have our new kitchen and dishwasher!
Captain: Well, it certainly cost a fortune!
“Upon Saint Crispin’s Day”
You can find the delicious recipe for St. Crispin’s Apple Crisp at Catholic Cuisine!
Inspired by the Battle of Agincourt, which took place on St. Crispin’s Day in 1415, and the famous St. Crispin’s Day Speech, we also colored a picture from one of our History supplements for this year: Life in a Medieval Castle and Village Coloring Book
.
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“Thank you Miss Charlotte!”
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