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Donut Ever Grow Up :: A 3rd Birthday Party

Jun 16, 2020 | , , , | 13 Comments

Donut Ever Grow Up Birthday Party
“Dough-y!!” 🍩  A certain little girl has really missed her donuts after Mass on Sundays, so last Monday we celebrated her 3rd birthday with a donut themed party!
 
Homemade Donut “Happy Birthday” Banner with Sprinkles
(You are welcome to download my FREE printable document to use it yourself if you’d like!) 
Krispy Kreme Donuts
Decorate Your Own Donut Bar
Milk, Cocoa and Coffee
Donut Picture Books including Curious George Learns the Alphabet
.: Donut Covered Birthday Cake :.
Cake Supplies: 
 
6″ – Four Layer Cake (I use these awesome pans)
Homemade Buttercream Frosting mixed with Plant-Based Dye
Decorate with Donuts
(I used 3 Kristy Kreme Donuts and 3 Krispy Kreme Mini Donuts)
.: Donut Bingo :.
I didn’t have a chance to make my own, 
but this printable download from an Etsy shop was perfect. 
 
 
Me: Nice hat. I can picture you working at Krispy Kreme. 
Him: Yeah. It’s either that, or an engineer… 
.: Birthday Gifts:. 
 
Frozen Backpack and Bow from Great Aunt Bridget
 
My Aunt Bridget flew up to send the weekend with us and flew back Monday morning. Miss her! 
.: Three Candles :. 
Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet girl! 
 

Celebrating Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church

Jun 1, 2020 | | 5 Comments

Our Annual Pentecost Cake

Since Pentecost if the Birthday of the Church, our family always celebrates with a birthday cake! Our cake is usually a white cake with white frosting since Pentecost is also known as Whitsunday. The large candle in the center represents Christ our Light, who promised to send the Holy Ghost, and the 12 smaller white candles represent the 12 Apostles and the tongues of fire. The 7 red hearts (strawberry slices on this cake) represent the 7 gifts of the Holy Ghost, and the 12 strawberries, placed around the cake, represent the 12 fruits of the Holy Ghost.

 

I didn’t realize until looking back through some past pictures that “Rose” wore that same rose covered outfit as a baby on Pentecost Sunday 10 years ago… How has that possibly been 10 years already?!?

Flower Fruit Sandwiches in May

May 29, 2020 | , , | 2 Comments

O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
Bring flowers of the rarest
bring blossoms the fairest,
from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;

… our full hearts are swelling,
our glad voices telling
the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!

 
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

End-of-School Interviews 2019-2020

May 27, 2020 | | 13 Comments

Who else is ready for summer break?! We are so ready and I am excited to finally pack up this past year’s school books and start making some plans for next year. On May 8th I sent Kolbe Academy all of the required paperwork for our high school students records/transcripts and on May 14th the older boys took their last final exam (here at home due to the shutdown) wrapping up their freshman year of college!

Years ago I started compiling End-of-School Interviews for each of our children and I’ve been making them every year since. It’s so fun to look back through them and see how much our students have grown each year and how their answers change over the years. I actually used them for graduation party decorations last summer! 
I didn’t plan to continue interviewing our college kids, but we changed up some of the questions and they were more than willing to join the fun once again. Our 16 year old got the project started this year, asking everyone all the questions, helping take and/or choose photos, and then helping to compile it all in PicMonkey.

Here are this year’s End-of-School Interviews (revised with blog nicknames):

Captain’s Favorite Books: The Odyssey and Beowulf
Ranger’s Favorite Books: Inferno and St. Augustine’s Confessions
Twinkle Toes’ Favorite Books: Black as Night, Waking Rose and The Brides of Montclair
(none of these were actually school books…) 
Chiquita’s Favorite Books: Oliver Twist, Mansfield Park, and North & South
Snuggles’ Favorite Books: The Hobbit and LOTR
Rose’s Favorite Books: The Little House Series and Stories about St. Therese and St. Clare
Bud’s Favorite Book: The Hobbit: Illustrated Edition
Grace’s Favorite Books: Madeline
(*All the kids have voted to change our sweet baby’s blog name from Lily to Joy. It fits her perfectly.) 

Hiking on Mother’s Day

May 18, 2020 | , , | 5 Comments

On Mother’s Day some of my kids and I headed to a nearby trailhead to hike for the afternoon! It was a little more intense than I had imagined… The hike down to the river was easy, but I ended logging 5 1/2 miles on my FitBit and 89 flights of stairs by the time we got back… Whew! Next time I hope we can all go, but perhaps find a different route back to the car which doesn’t include practically scaling the side of the mountain like the loop we ended up taking… It did motivate me to continue working towards getting back in shape so that next time my kids won’t have to worry about their hyperventilating mother. Nevertheless, it was a gorgeous day and we all enjoyed it so much! 
 

 

   

“The way Jesus shows you is not easy. Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain. Do not lose heart! The steeper the road, the faster it rises towards ever wider horizons.” – St. John Paul II

On the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

May 14, 2020 | | 4 Comments

“Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. 
I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.” – Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal 1917
Our eldest daughter did a great job making this year’s cake and the kids loved blowing out the spinning candles! This idea was originally shared by Catholic Cuisine contributor Mary Machado in 2010. 
This cake is also perfect for commemorating the anniversary of the day the sun danced above Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917. 
“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I ask pardon of Thee for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.”
While they were all enjoying cake, I was playing with this little cutie. 
Her squinty smiles are the best! 

“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen.”

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Saint George and the Dragon

Apr 25, 2020 | , | 6 Comments

This year, in addition to making our Saint George and the Dragon Veggie Platter, the girls also tried making A Dragon Scone for Good St. George for dessert! We actually haven’t grocery shopped in over three weeks now, but I managed to grab some fresh produce when I ran into Pilgrim’s for our birthday burgers on Monday. All the fresh fruit and veggies were such a treat and both dragons were quickly devoured along with the pot of stew I had made for dinner!

Saint George & the Dragon by Jim Forest • Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges

 

 
Here is an inspiring story from Saints for Young People for Every Day of the Year (1963 Edition):

Pictures of St. George usually show him killing a dragon to rescue a beautiful lady. The dragon stands for wickedness. The lady stands for God’s holy truth. St. George was a brave martyr who was victorious over the devil.

He was a soldier in the army of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and he was one of the Emperor’s favorite solders. Now Diocletian was a pagan and a bitter enemy of the Christians. He put to death every Christian he could find. George was a brave Christian, a real soldier of Christ. Without fear, he went to the Emperor and sternly scolded him for being so cruel. Then he gave up his position in the Roman army. For this he was tortured in many terrible ways and finally beheaded.

So boldly daring and so cheerful was St. George in declaring his Faith and in dying for it that Christians felt courage when they heard about it. Many songs and poems were written about this martyr. Soldiers, especially, have always been devoted to him.

We all have some “dragon” we have to conquer. It might be pride or anger or laziness or greediness or something else. Let us make sure we fight against these “dragons,” with God’s help. Then we can call ourselves real soldiers of Christ.

St. George from Naturally Catholic was discovered in one of this year’s Easter Baskets
Heroic Catholic soldier and defender of your Faith, you dared to criticize a tyrannical Emperor and were subjected to horrible torture. You could have occupied a high military position but you preferred to die for your Lord. Obtain for us the great grace of heroic Christian courage that should mark soldiers of Christ. Amen.

St. George, ora pro nobis! 

A Happy 15th Birthday

Apr 23, 2020 | , , , | 16 Comments

I have always loved trying to make our children’s birthdays extra special.

It’s been much harder to do the last few years due to our last two babies (sleepless nights/babies in your late 30s and 40s is HARD), our big out-of-state move, and just way less energy than I had when I was younger… Last year one of our daughters’ birthdays fell on Holy Saturday and I said “next year I’ll throw you a big party with friends!” That next birthday was this past Monday.

Between the quarantine and Easter I had not made any plans, other than the gifts that I had bought previously and tucked away in my closet.. I was too tired to even stay up and wrap them on Sunday night let alone bake a cake or pull together any other decorations. When I woke up in the morning it brought tears to my eyes when I walked out to the kitchen and discovered beautiful thank you cards scattered on the counter for every member of the family from the birthday girl. Each card had a sweet and personalized message on the back. I love her so much! She is so beautiful both inside and out and I’m grateful for the gift of being her mother!

 

I was still determined, despite the circumstances, to still make her day as special as possible! As our children have gotten older it’s become more about spending quality time with them instead of fun and creative birthday themes. The birthday girl had a Latin Exam to complete for her online class first thing on Monday morning, but after that we took the rest of the day off! While she was getting her exam done I wrapped her birthday gifts, made cake decorations, and came up with a fun plan for the day. 
The birthday girl loved the Cookies & Creamery Ice Cream cake that “Rose” had for her birthday last December, so I was going to try and pick one up while we were out. 
I wasn’t sure what size I’d be able to get so I made two toppers just in case. That ended up being a good thing since we arrived back home to the two year old covered saying “I ATE CHOT-LIT!!!” with the remnants all over her mouth… At least she only ate one of them and the bigger design just fit on the smaller cake size I had brought home! 
Anyway, it had been over five weeks since our girls had left the home with the exception of enjoying our property or neighborhood walks! (In fact we shut off the liability insurance a month ago, keeping comprehensive only to cover parked cars, on all except my husband’s car in order to save as much as possible while I’ve been laid off work.) We joked that this year she was going to get an “ESCAPE… the Little House on the Prairie” themed birthday. (She had a Little House on the Prairie Birthday Party four years ago.) Sean and the boys agreed to watch the little ones while the three older girls and I got OUT of the house for the afternoon! 
 
Armed with hand sanitizer, and handkerchiefs to use as face masks if needed, we got in the car and everyone held their breath to see if  Mom could still remember how to drive. 😉 

  
The last place the girls had been was to Sunday Mass on March 15th. Our parish actually continued to have Mass through that following Friday, but between a virus that hit some more of the children on Monday morning and then our college boys flying home on the 17th (after spending their spring break and then “second spring break” with a friend in NJ/NYC) our quarantine started early… We still don’t have public Mass yet, but as of last week the church is now open for visits so that was our first stop. 
 
Next up was Dutch Bros! We drove through for her birthday drink. Blended Chai is her favorite! 
The girls in the back shared a Snickers Freeze. I stuck with a small breve, no flavor but still a treat. 

Idaho currently allows hiking as long as we “recreate responsibly” and maintain social distancing from those who are not immediate family/household members. I ran in to a store to pick up lunch (Arugula Balsamic Grass-Fed Burgers from Pilgrims!!!) and then we headed to Tubbs Hill to hike. 

 

Last spring we hiked Tubbs with friends every week and WE MISS THAT SO MUCH!

Next we headed over to walk the boardwalk. At 3,300 feet (nearly 3/4 mile) long and 12 ft wide, the Coeur d’Alene Resort Floating Boardwalk is the longest floating boardwalk in the world and encircles the marina on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

This was actually the first time we’ve walked the full length of the boardwalk! We started to during the road trip I took these three girls on back in 2014, but it was so windy we stopped at the bridge. 
Look at them!!! 

I actually took Sean back yesterday and he and I walked it again. So peaceful!  
 

On the way home I ran into Cold Stone and thankfully had just enough charge left on my cellphone to order cake(s). They didn’t have a huge selection and I wasn’t able to get the large Cookies & Creamery Cake we were hoping for. The large cakes were all chocolate glazed, which wouldn’t exactly work with my homemade decoration… sooo, I got two! A large Peanut Butter Playground with “Happy 15th Birthday” written on top and a small Cookies & Creamery that I was able to scrape the decorations off and decorate myself.

With everyone home, the cakes didn’t last long! Everyone had a small piece of each on her birthday and then they finished the second half of the large cake after dinner last night. Such a treat! 
For starting the day without any plans it all came together beautifully. 
I guess the nearly 20 years of practice… and boxes of past decorations… is paying off! 
After I dropped the girls (and frozen cakes) off at home I ran over to Papa Murphy’s to pick up our pizza order, along with some roses and a gallon of milk (which we had been out of for over a week) at the grocery store. There wasn’t much to choose from in the floral section, but when I saw this bouquet of roses I knew they were perfect for her. 
 

  
Birthday gifts were next and included a new swimsuit, a beautiful Tolkien throw blanket from Tea with Tolkien, an Oregon sweatshirt, ChromaCat, and a new backpack style purse… She was recently diagnosed with scoliosis and her doctor recommended backpacks over totes. The one we picked out is technically a “mini diaper bag” but super cute and filled with lots of awesome pockets. It’s the same platinum color as her favorite tote/purse and I have a membership to Freshly Picked so was able to get it at a great price. 
Happy Birthday to our beautiful girl! We love you dearly! 

Painting an Easter Calendar

Apr 18, 2020 | | 4 Comments

Have you seen this gorgeous 2020 Easter Calendar (affiliate link) from Clear Creek Family?!? 
I printed it out for my children to color this Easter, but have actually been enjoying painting it myself a little bit at a time each day! I’ve been wanting to spend some time painting with water colors for years and finally have had the opportunity… in about 10 minute increments! I’m loving it. 
(Note: It’s based on the Traditional/Extraordinary Form Calendar.) 
{affiliate link} 
Happy Easter! Alleluia! 

Good Friday Lenten Dinner for Children

Apr 11, 2020 | , , | 4 Comments

Every year our children look forward to our Lenten Dinners which were originally inspired Alice’s Lenten Teas. Here is the link to this year’s Holy Thursday Lenten Dinner.

For a number of years, when we are all able to go to Stations and the Veneration of the Cross, I would move this particular dinner to either Passion Sunday or Holy Saturday and just serve soup and Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday.  Last year we had it on Holy Saturday (which also happened to be our daughter’s birthday, before heading to the beautiful, and very long, Easter Vigil Mass as a whole family for the first time!) This year, due to the pandemic and stay-home order I had the time to pull this simple and symbolic dinner together once again on Good Friday as our one family meal for the day.

Even though there are a number of menu items, it basically just includes the ingredients to assemble your own burrito along with a hard boiled egg, a fruit leather and a Hot Cross Bun.  While the Hot Cross Buns were rising, we spent the afternoon praying along with our parish’s live stream of Stations of the Cross and Good Friday Service.

~ The Water Bowl ~
Glasses of Water to drink and a bowl of water for washing hands…
“Pilate took water and washed his hands before the crowd saying, “I am innocent of this righteous man’s blood.” Matthew 27: 24
~ The King’s Crown ~
A Small Bean, Cheese and Chip Crown… We use it to make burritos.
“And Pilate asked Him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ And He answered him, ‘You have said so.'” Mark 15: 2
~ Out of Envy ~
Avocado slices, also for the burritos, which are green for “envy”
“[H]e perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered Him up.” Mark 15: 10
~ The Purple Cloak ~
As usual, Grape Fruit Leather was served for the Purple Cloak. I remembered to pick up a box during my last big Costco haul a couple weeks ago… 
“And they clothed Him in a purple cloak . . . .” Mark 15: 17
~ The Crown of Thorns ~
Usually we make Crown of Thorns with Ritz Crackers, Peanut Butter, and Pretzels…. I finally managed to get peanut butter from Costco, but we don’t have the crackers or pretzels so I ended up just going with our centerpiece for this menu item this year.   
 
On Easter Sunday the thorns in our Crown of Thorns centerpiece are replaced with flowers and the purple candle with our Paschal Candle. 
“. . . and, plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him.” Mark 15: 17
~ Golgotha Eggs ~
Thanks to our hens, and the beautiful spring weather that is finally starting to arrive, we have lots of eggs! Our 16 year old drew skulls on the Golgotha Egg this year using Food Decorating Pens. I really love how easy it is to prepare our eggs with our countertop egg cooker. They are so much easier to peel too! 
 
“And they brought Him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of the skull)” Mark 15: 22
~ The Seamless Garment ~
Using my kitchen scissors, I quickly cut the tortillas to look like a seamless garment and cubes of cheese for the dice used to cast lots.
 
“But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; so they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.'” John 19: 23-24
~ The Two Robbers ~
Last month I picked up a basil plant at the store and pulled some leaves off to serve with our Good Friday dinner. The two fresh sprigs of Basil (each) are used to represent the two robbers. Legend has it that the Basil plant grew around the site of Christ’s crucifixion. Basil is also symbolic of both hatred and best wishes. The taunting thief and the good thief come to mind.
And with Him they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left.” Mark 15: 27
~ Vinegar to Drink ~
“And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.'” Mark 15: 36
~ The Temple Curtain ~
Tearing Temple Curtains (aka Napkins) in half… After dinner Bud went to grab the copy of The Picture Bible to show me the pages he had recently read.
The Picture Bible – Highly recommend this picture bible for young children!
“And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” Mark 15: 38
~ The Roman Centurion ~
100 Cherry Tomatoes represent the 100 Roman Centurion.
“And when the centurion, who stood facing Him, saw that He thus breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God.'” Mark 15: 39
~ Laid in the Tomb ~
Hot Cross Buns were included for this menu item this year. 
“And he brought a linen shroud, and taking Him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.”

You can find the pictures from our 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2015 Good Friday dinners in the archives for Good Friday. You can also download and print our small card stock signs here.

Next we’ll start baking our Paska and molding butter for Easter Sunday!

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

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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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