Home

by | Dec 29, 2022

Pro-Life Pumpkins



I was so excited when I saw this awesome pumpkin carving earlier today, sort of like our Saint-O-Lanterns, from American Life League:

There are many opportunities to be a voice for the voiceless, and most of those opportunities require us to go to a public place. But, on the eve of All Saints Day, the public comes to us!

So, make a pro-life jack-o-lantern and send your photos to us. Be sure to include your name, age and address in the e-mail, and we’ll post the best ones on our home page!

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It could be as intricate as the design here or as simple as the word “Pro-Life.” Whatever your skill level, be creative and tell the world about the personhood of preborn babies!

You can even download the template here!

Apple Puff Pancakes

Early this morning, before my children woke up, I was catching up on a few posts in my Google Reader and ran across Kimberly’s Apple-y Goodness. Oh, it looked too yummy! I quickly clippedthe recipe, realized I had everything I needed to make it (yay!), printed it out, and headed to the kitchen to get started.

It was very easy to make and was SO SO SO delicious!! In fact, my children kept asking if I could make it again Saturday morning so that their Daddy can have some. I think we will!

The recipe was originally from The Farm Chicks Cookbook. (Oh, and I doubled the recipe, using two pie pans, for our family.)

Apple Puff Pancake

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • Dash of salt
  • Maple syrup or confectioner’s sugar for serving

Heat the oven to 425 F. Place the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a 9-inch pie pan.

Heat in the oven until the butter is melted and bubbly – 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir well and mix in the apple slices. Return to the oven and bake for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender or food processor and process until frothy – 1 minute.

Pour over the apple mixture. Bake until the cake is puffed and the center is set – 18 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm with maple syrup or sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar.

Enjoy!

For My Honeybees Five

Ever since Twinkle Toes pulled out Over in the Meadow, to point out the Honeybees during “H” Week, my children have been singing this song. They were so excited when I ran across this music video with the same illustrations as their book.


… Over in the meadow,
In a new little hive
Lived an old mother Queen bee
And her honeybees five
“Hum!” said the mother;
“We hum!” said the five
So they hummed and were glad
In their new little hive…

Highlights from “H” Week

~ Letter Formation ~

The girls were very excited to move along to “H” week, as you can tell from their smiling faces! They are just loving the Alphabet Path! In addition to their Modelling Wax letter H’s, the girls also worked on making the letter H using Handwriting Without Tears Hands-On Materials and Kimberlee’s Grey Block Paper.

In case you are wondering what is decorating our table, Twinkle Toes asked her daddy if he could help her make an “Autumn Tree with a branch she found outside!

~ Herb Twopence Fairy Coloring Pages ~

From this Coloring Book
(While looking at the Flower Fairies Alphabet book and listening to the CD!)

OH! And “Mom, we can’t forget the honeybees in Over in the Meadow!!!”
(One of our favorite books!!)

~ Picture Study :: H is for Hair ~
George Washington by Gilbert Stuart

Using Museum ABC, Museum ABC Nesting Blocks,
and the image printed onto cardstock.

~ H is for St. Helen ~

Our Painted Saint Helen…

St. Helen from Our Saints Alphabet on CD (50% off for Home Schoolers), Copywork from An Alphabet of Catholic Saints (you can download my document here), and a coloring page of both St. Constantine and St. Helen found on page 28 of this downloadable Icon Coloring Book.

(Charlotte also has a lovely Coloring Page of St. Helena.)

We also listened to parts of In This Sign You Shall Conquer and read about St. Helen in Saints: Lives and Illuminations and Picture Book of Saints.

~ Writing the ABC’s on Little Hearts :: H is for Helpful ~

Thank you Kimberlee and Lydia for these beautiful coloring pages! My girls were extremely Happy to have these this week!
~ Speaking of Helpful :: H is for Home Sweet Home and Housework ~

We read the Home Sweet Home Book Twinkle Toes received for her birthday, and the girls were very Happy to be Helpful with all the Housework!


~ Crafts ~

We made a few crafts this week based on Handprints, Honeybees, and Houses!

Handprint Honeybees

Supplies:

Construction paper
Poster paint in yellow, black and white

Print a single yellow handprint with fingers together in the middle of the paper and leave to dry. Use the side of the hand to print black lines down the handprint for the bee’s stripes. Add an eye with the tip of finger. Again using the side of the hand, add a white line to the bottom of the bee for its sting. Make the wings by using white paint on the side of the hand and moving the hand in a fan shape across the paper with fingers pointing to the bee’s back.

Beeswax Candles
Supplies:


“O” Antiphon House
For a couple years now I have wanted to make an “O” Antiphons House to add to our own traditions for observing the “O” Antiphons, but it just hadn’t happened yet. Even though I have had the supplies for awhile now, I figured if I want to have one ready for this year, I had better finish it before Advent. What better way to make sure I get to it, than incorporating it into our Alphabet Path plans. 😉 “H” is for House after all!
That’s as far as we have gotten, but at least it is a start. I’ll post more pictures once it is completed!
~ Serendipi-Tea time ~

I started the week deciding that we would stick to Healthy Foods like Hummus and Herbs. We did make some delicious Hummus for our Friday dinner, which was Mediterranean Veggie Pitas.


They were definitely Healthy, and absolutely Heavenly!

However, the girls begged me to let them make Honeybee Cookies over the weekend. After all their Help and Housework, I couldn’t turn them down…


The girls were amazed at the efficiency of our new mixer, a recent gift from a friend since she had two (Thank you again Amy!!), and they LOVED sharing the mixer. Watching them brought back memories of sharing the mixer with my own siblings as a child, since my mom’s Kitchen Aid looks identical to this one!

Even though I did opt for a Healthier version than the ones we’ve made in the past, I must say, the perfect sweet and salty combination, leaves this pregnant momma craving “just one more”… Not good! 😉 Hopefully they will all be gone SOON!

My Daybook ~ October 19th

FOR TODAY: October 19, 2009

Outside my Window… I can no longer see the chains holding our porch swing… We’ve had a ton of rain lately, with lots more in the forecast, so Hubby took it down to store for the winter. sniffle…

I am thinking… or rather, trying not to think, about all I am going to need to do this week. Hubby left this morning for training and will be gone until Friday. I have a feeling it is going to be a busy week! Pray for me!

I am thankful… that my cupboards and refrigerator are stocked with food, and that other than a quick library visit and a movie to return, I shouldn’t have to leave the house much this week.

From the kitchen… I spent yesterday afternoon in the kitchen, prepping some meals for the freezer for after the baby arrives. So far I have Polynesian Pork Chops (x2), Hearty Beef Stew (x2), Rocky Mountain Beef Brisket (x2), Baked Steak in Tangy Tomato Sauce (we had this for dinner last night and it was delicious!), and 2 loaves of Delightful Autumn Pumpkin Bread. If any of you have favorite freezer meals, I’d LOVE for you to share the recipes!

From the school room… The girls are moving on to “I” week this week with the Alphabet Path. We’ll be reading lots of books about Insects, among other Interesting things and having some Icy treats. I am also hoping to get back on schedule with Math, since we have been inconsistent the past couple weeks… The boys are studying Mercury in their Astronomy Books, finishing up their study of Connecticut for their State-by-State Scrapbooks, and slowly working through their American Revolution Lap Book and Unit 2 of of their World History. I have found it very challenging to combine both American History and World History (at least when it comes to me being organized enough), and as a result we seem to be making very slow progress right now, but the boys are loving all of it!

Living the Liturgical year at Home… Our plans are well underway for this year’s All Saints’ Party. My children have all decided who they would like to be, now I just need to pull it all together, somehow… I am also on the planning committee for our party, so it is going to be a busy couple of weeks! Also, since today is the (new) feast of St. Isaac Jogues, the boys have asked to listen to Ondessonk.

I am creating… a baby!! Less than 10 weeks to go. OH! And Hopefully a post for “H” week!

I am readingRanger’s Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw: Book 6 and will soon be anxiously awaiting the release of Book 7 so I can move onto reading my copy of Book 8 that I was amazingly able to acquire. I had really been needing a bit of light reading lately, and this was perfect this past weekend.

I am going… to be looking for some fun baby shower ideas/games for a shower I’ll be giving a friend in a few weeks. Any ideas or suggestions for me?

I am wearing… a bandage on my right hand, covering the second-degree burn I happened to give myself cooking breakfast Saturday morning. Why am I constantly damaging my hands/fingers?

I am hoping… that we can continue to avoid catching the flu.

I am hearing… the washing machine finishing up the spin cycle. I was SO behind last week, but managed with lots of help from the rest of the family, to catch it up over the weekend. Now it is all about maintaining and hopefully finding a bit of time to start washing the baby girl clothing.

Around the househum… Still so much to do, and not nearly enough energy to get to it all… I am making progress, just much slower than I would like.

One of my favorite things… I’d have to agree with Elizabeth… Wedding bands! Actually, I nearly burst out in tears when I read that she posted wedding bands… I miss my wedding ring! When we were married, we added a wrap to my engagement ring, instead of a band, and for ten years it has been cutting my finger. (For some reason the edge of my particular wrap was extremely jagged and sharp.) As a 10th Anniversary gift, my super sweet Hubby upgraded my wrap to a band with 5 diamonds (one for each of our children, the ones that were born during our first 10 years). The rings (both the band and engagement ring) are also going to be Platinum and White Gold now (instead of 14k Gold) to match his wedding band. It is going to be gorgeous, but since it is off being sized and my finger is ringless, I really miss my ring and even the cuts and scrapes it was always giving me.

A Few Plans For This Week… I have Little Flowers here on Thursday, and the boys are begging to go Ice-skating “since it is “I” week.” We’ll see… That does sound like it would be a fun way to finish the week!

A picture thought I am sharing:

We did head outside with some Spanish Hot Cocoa to do a little stargazing before bed, but I pretty much dropped the ball on Columbus day this year (unlike last year), but my boys celebrated anyways by pulling out their Columbus Books to read to the girls, and decorating the Baked Potatoes I had made for dinner, but didn’t get around to decorating myself.  
Thank you boys!!!

To see more Daybook’s visit Peggy!


Blue Knights Catholic Club for Boys

When my boys were younger (ages 6 and 4 1/2) they joined a Blue Knights Club for a couple years which they LOVED and looked forward to each month. However, last year, there wasn’t anyone to organize and keep it going. I had my own hands full with my new Little Flowers group and, with Hubby’s schedule, it was too much for him to commit to as well, so the boys took a year off.

I can’t tell you how excited the boys (and I!) were when another mom in our home school group decided to start another group!

Last night was their first meeting and they had a great time. They came home with their list of assignments (at nearly 9pm last night) ready to get started right then on completing them before their next meeting, next month. I am so pleased to see their self-motivation, what a difference a couple years (and being able to read!) makes.

I stayed home with our younger children so that Hubby could attend with the boys.

It looks like the boys are going to have a WONDERFUL year!

Small Successes :: October 15, 2009

“It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that.”

This week has been an especially difficult one, so here is my little attempt to recognize a few of the little things that I have been able to achieve this week… Posting “on time” was not one of them, though I did write this post yesterday, I forgot to publish it!

~ 1 ~
Last night (Wednesday night), after my OB check up I went grocery shopping and purchased the ingredients to make double batches of a few meals this coming week. I plan to freeze one of each (now that we have an extra freezer!!) for when the baby arrives. If I start now, I should be able to have quite a few meals ready. At least, I hope so! I also baked a double batch of Delightful Autumn Pumpkin Bread this morning (Thursday) and our home smells wonderful! Most of it will be going into the freezer as well, if my children don’t eat it all first. =) Now, if only I would have bought the freezer bags I thought I had, and not just plain ol’ ziplocs… Perhaps hubby can pick some up for me today!

~ 2 ~

I went through all the clothing in the girls’ bedroom. Two boxes (all the size 4’s Chiquita just outgrew) are ready to save for Rose, two bags are ready to be donated, their summer clothes has been put away, and their winter clothing is ready to go. Now, just four more children to go. =)

~ 3 ~

I have been busy removing scuffs marks and various “artwork” from all over our home with the help of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Pads! How did I not know about these before? They are AMAZING!!! Thank you to all of you who recently let me know about them, as well as to Robina for even mailing me a couple coupons!

What are your Small Successes this week?

Stop by Faith and Family Live to read more of this week’s Small Successes.

Thank you…

… to the not so nice man, in the checkout line at the grocery store last night, who asked (loud enough for everyone around to hear), “What are you, like TEN or ELEVEN months?” You were able to finally motivate me to exercise again, especially since I still have ten weeks remaining!

Prayer of a Mother with Child

Lord God, Creator of all things, I give this baby to Thee, O Jesus, that she may be more Thine than mine. Look upon her, even now, as Thy beloved child. Prepare this little soul and enrich her, that she may be a worthy tabernacle for the Holy Ghost. Sanctify me that I may sanctify this baby and that all of us – I, the baby, her father – may sanctify each other. Increase Thy life in me, in order that my little baby may benefit from the overflowing grace in the soul of her mother. Please accept and sanctify my discomforts, now and in the days to come, which I, as a mother, wish to offer Thee. Holy Angel of my little baby, escort her to Baptism as soon as she is born; preserving her from every danger now, and later from everything that might stain her soul. O Mary, be her mother, and guide and protect her always. Watch over her Saint Joseph, as you watched over the Divine Infant. Amen.

~ adapted from a beautiful Holy Card I recently purchased

Feast Day Plans and Celebrations

*Or should I say, “Organizing my Archives, so that I can find certain posts a little bit easier for planning purposes!” (After 2+ years of blogging, and over 1000 posts, there is just too much to sift through!) I’ll be linking this post in the top navigation bar, under Feast Day Plans, and continue updating it as I time goes on… After looking through all these old posts, no wonder I am tired! 😉 It has been a busy couple of years!

1/14/2011 Update:   I’ve started adding a few of the links from 2010, but it may take a little while to find the time to update this post once again… 

~ JANUARY ~


January 1st ~ Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

January 2nd ~ Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

January 6th ~ Feast of the Epiphany

The Sunday following the Feast of the Epiphany

January 15th ~ Feast of St. Anthony the Abbot

January 21st ~ Feast of Our Lady of Altagracia

January 28th ~ Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

January 31st ~ Feast of St. John Bosco



~ FEBRUARY ~


February 1st ~ Feast of St. Brigid of Ireland

February 2nd ~ Feast of Candlemas

February 11th ~ Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

February 12th ~ Lincoln’s Birthday

February 14th ~ Feast of St. Valentine



~ MARCH ~

March 5th ~ Feast of St. Ciaran

March 17th ~ Feast of St. Patrick

March 19th ~ Feast of St. Joseph

End of March and the Feast of the Annunciation

~ APRIL ~

April 16th ~ Pope Benedict’s Birthday!

April 23rd ~ Feast of St. George

April 25th ~ Feast of St. Mark

April 29th ~ Feast of St. Catherine of Siena



~ LENT AND EASTER ~

Preparation

Lenten Cleaning

The Jesus Tree

Laetare Sunday

Palm Sunday

The Triduum

Divine Mercy Sunday

Easter Season

The Fifty Days of Easter ~ The Garden of the Good Shepherd

Pentecost Sunday

Ascension Thursday




~ MAY ~

May 5th ~ Cinco de Mayo

May 13th ~ Feast of Our Lady of Fatima



~ JUNE ~


Monthly Dedication

June 13th ~ Feast of St. Anthony of Padua

~ JULY ~

July 3rd ~ Feast of St. Thomas

The 4th of July

July 14th ~ Feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

July 16th ~ Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

July 25th ~ Feast of St. James

  • I tried! (Celebrating the feast of St. James – 2008)

July 31st ~ Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola

OTHER RESOURCES:

~ AUGUST ~

Monthly Dedication ~ The Immaculate Heart of Mary

August 11th (New) and August 12th (Trad) ~ Feast of St. Clare

August 14th ~ Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe

August 15th ~ Feast of the Assumption

August 21st ~ Feast of St. Pius X

August 22nd ~ Feast of the Queenship of Mary

OTHER RESOURCES:


~ SEPTEMBER ~


September 5th ~ Feast of Blessed Mother Teresa

September 5th ~ Feast of the Nativity of Mary

September 9th ~ Feast of St. Peter Claver

September 12th ~ Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary

September 14th ~ Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

September 29th ~ Michaelmas

September 30th ~ Feast of St. Jerome

OTHER RESOURCES:

~ OCTOBER ~
October 1st (New) and 3rd (Trad) ~ Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux
October 4th ~ Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
October 7th ~ Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
October 12th ~ Columbus Day
October 15th ~ Feast of St. Teresa of Avila
October 27th ~ Feast of St. Telka


~ NOVEMBER ~

November 1st ~ All Saints Day

(See Oct 31, All Hallows’ Eve)

November 2nd ~ All Souls Day


November 4th ~ Feast of St. Martin de Porres

November 12th ~ Feast of St. Martin of Tours

November 17th (New) and 19th (Trad) ~ Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

November 25th ~ Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria



~ THANKSGIVING ~


~ ADVENT ~


~ DECEMBER ~

December 3rd ~ Feast of St. Francis Xavier

December 6th ~ Feast of St. Nicholas

December 7th ~ Feast of St. Ambrose

December 12th ~ Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 12th ~ Christmas Rose Novena Begins

December 13th ~ Feast of St. Lucy

December 17th to 23rd ~ The O Antiphons

December 24th ~ Christmas Eve


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
All About Reading
All About Reading Giveaways
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Our Advent & Christmas Books

Shower of Roses Gift Guides

Looking for Something?

looking-back

  • 2026 (3)
  • 2025 (31)
  • 2024 (41)
  • 2023 (30)
  • 2022 (48)
  • 2021 (48)
  • 2020 (57)
  • 2019 (61)
  • 2018 (90)
  • 2017 (128)
  • 2016 (148)
  • 2015 (172)
  • 2014 (227)
  • 2013 (238)
  • 2012 (308)
  • 2011 (297)
  • 2010 (313)
  • 2009 (486)
  • 2008 (564)
  • 2007 (148)

Posts About:

Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

Shower of Roses Easter Gift Guides



All Saints Party Printables

All original photographs and written material are ©2007-2025 Shower of Roses. I'd love for you to link back to me, but please do not copy or take content from this blog without permission. Click here for my Copyright Terms & Conditions. Thank you for visiting!

0 Comments

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
All About Reading
All About Reading Giveaways
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Our Advent & Christmas Books

Shower of Roses Gift Guides

Looking for Something?

looking-back

  • 2026 (3)
  • 2025 (31)
  • 2024 (41)
  • 2023 (30)
  • 2022 (48)
  • 2021 (48)
  • 2020 (57)
  • 2019 (61)
  • 2018 (90)
  • 2017 (128)
  • 2016 (148)
  • 2015 (172)
  • 2014 (227)
  • 2013 (238)
  • 2012 (308)
  • 2011 (297)
  • 2010 (313)
  • 2009 (486)
  • 2008 (564)
  • 2007 (148)

Posts About:

Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

Shower of Roses Easter Gift Guides



All Saints Party Printables

All original photographs and written material are ©2007-2025 Shower of Roses. I'd love for you to link back to me, but please do not copy or take content from this blog without permission. Click here for my Copyright Terms & Conditions. Thank you for visiting!