More Roses for Christmas
Little Flowers Girls’ Club ~ Mercy
This past Thursday we had our very first Little Flowers Girls’ Club meeting for the new year!! This year the girls will be working on Wreath II and all of the meetings will be in the afternoon and hosted at my home. It’s going to be a little cramped in my small home, with 12 girls, but that won’t matter too much, right!?! Plus there is plenty of room for them to run around outside, after the meeting, unlike at the bookstore…
Just like last year, we began our meeting with the prayer to St. Therese and the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love. We then reviewed a little bit about our dear St. Therese.
(using Father Lovasik’s book as a guide – Amazon is still offering a 10 pack of this great book for only $1.50!!) and then I read the Helen’s Special Picture. (It is such a sweet book! Amazon charges a small fortune
for it, but I was able to purchase a copy from the Divine Mercy Gift Shop.)
Another great resource for this meeting (or for further review at home!) is Glory Stories Jesus I Trust in You! : The Story of Saint Faustina Kowalska.
Following the lesson the girls began making their notebook pages. I included the memory verse for Mercy, The Divine Mercy Chaplet Prayers, a quote from the bible, and the prayer to St. Faustina from the Little Flowers CD.
Here are the links to the St. Joseph’s Lily and the image of St. Faustina that I choose, and my sample page: (You can download my document here.)
The girls did a lovely job putting together their notebook pages. Here are their completed pages:
This year I decided to have the girls do an additional craft at each meeting. For this virtue we made Guardian Angel Bracelets, since Angel’s are often messengers of God’s Mercy.
And yes, I thought I was all prepared, ordering craft kits ahead of time… However, one of the other moms and I had lots of fun trying to use our fingers to make a loop out of the pin used to make the angel, since i didn’t have a pair of needle nose pliers handy… Next time I will read the directions for our craft before the meeting! 😉
Snack time was next. Just like last year I assigned the moms to help with the snacks. I took the first month, in order to have it done before the baby arrives… We had Divine Mercy Strawberry Shortcakes with Lemonade! (Lily Sandwiches would be another great option for this meeting!)
I realized a little too late that I missed getting a group photo of the girls… Perhaps in two weeks at our next meeting!
Jesus I trust in You!
Special Dedication of the Year for Priests Faith Folder :: In Memory of Ryan Barrett
A couple months ago I hosted a giveaway for The Year for Priests Faith Folder.
If you have not purchased a copy yet, NOW is the time to do so!! Lindy Meyer, owner of Faith Folders for Catholics, has dedicated this particular Faith Folder (Lap Book) to the memory of Ryan Barrett and will be generously donating 50% of the proceeds to the charities chosen by Ryan’s family:
Many of you may already know the touching story of the Barrett Family. Their son, Ryan, suffered a grand mal seizure while on a father-son camping trip and passed away on August 13, 2009. If you haven’t heard their story, please view the links below. Mary Ellen Barrett is a Catholic mom, wife, homeschooler, writer, blogger and has helped many through her writing. Ryan had a beautiful faith and was drawn to religious life. Despite his autism, many in his life wondered if he might have a priestly vocation. His death and the stories that have been shared since then are so touching and, to me, seem to reveal that this young man did indeed have a religious calling. I have been so touched by this family and their story that I am dedicating the Year for Priests Faith Folder in memory of Ryan Barrett and am donating 50% of all proceeds from its sale to the charities chosen by his family. Please visit the Year for Priests Faith Folder page for more information. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Please pray for the Barrett family as they grieve the loss of their son, celebrate his life and discover God’s plan for their family.
Mary Ellen, Ryan’s mother, said that “at the funeral Mass the Bishop who confirmed Ryan asked us all to ask Ryan in heaven to intercede on behalf of vocations. Bishop Libasci said that we should wait for miracles from our “little priest”.”
My boys are looking forward to starting this Lapbook even more now, since they were so deeply saddened by Ryan’s death, even though they had never met him.
So, what are you waiting for, head on over to Faith Folders for Catholics to place your order.
(The lapbook is only $7.99, for regular family use!)
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is said to be.
~ By Rascal ~
The boys are loving making their State-by-State Scrapbooks!
Our next stop is New Jersey
Small Successes :: September 10, 2009
I have ALL of my Little Flowers Wreath II Notebook Pages planned, printed, and READY TO GO for this year, which began with our first meeting earlier today! (The notebook pages are not part if the program, but the girls in my group really enjoyed making them this past year and they are creating such a nice keepsake.)
I also have the schedule finalized (including my little baby break scheduled in!), additional crafts purchased, the prize box stocked, Member’s Guides and Patches purchased (well in advance this year. lol!), snacks assigned for each meeting, and 3 new girls who joined our group! All I have left to do is finalize my lesson plans and look for a few more Saint Coloring Pages. (Has anyone seen a Blessed Margaret Pole, St. Angela Merici, St. Teresa Benedicta, Bl. Mary of the Incarnation, and St. Elizabeth Anne Seton.)
I am so excited that I won’t have that much more to do before each meeting, so as not to disrupt our school days!!!
Speaking of Little Flowers, our first meeting today went wonderfully and I am sure it is going to be another great year! I also realized that no matter how much I plan ahead (see #1), it is impossible to get it ALL done on time. 😉
Nevertheless, I was able to pull off the meeting/talk, 2 crafts, AND snacks (I assigned myself this month to get it over with!) even if I was still getting ready when the first girls arrived (30 minutes early!) and ended up needing to safety pin Chiquita’s last two petals from Wreath 1 to her sash since I ran out of time to sew them on… I did finish sewing the petals of Wreath 1 onto Twinkle Toes’ sash though!
(I have more girls than last year, and more stuff to get done during the meeting, so it was harder to take pictures this year (compared to last year), but I will try and post a few soon.)
I have been plugging away at the Alphabet Path and we will finish our FORTH WEEK of School tomorrow! The time is just FLYING!! The girls just LOVE the Alphabet Path and I am so grateful to Elizabeth for her generosity in sharing this program with us all! Here are some Highlights from our “A” Week, “B” Week, and “C” Week. The boys are also right on schedule with all of their activities, though I haven’t had much time to post what they’ve been up to… Hopefully I can post some pictures of their Pennsylvania Scrapbook Pages next.
Coconut Ice Cream ~ Dairy and Sugar Free!
I mentioned in the Highlights From “C” Week that we made some more Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Yummmmmm!!!
Last year, after finding out that I am intolerant to just about everything dairy and becoming hooked on Coconut Bliss Ice Cream (which is expensive, but SO good!!) I decided to try and figure out how to make it at home. I purchased an Ice Cream Maker
I really need to get better about sticking with my food guidelines since I feel so much better when I avoid the things I shouldn’t be eating {sigh} but recipes like this sure make it a lot easier! 😉
Anyhow, I have had a few emails asking for the recipe, so here you go:
Coconut Ice Cream
non-dairy, naturally sweetened
- 2 cans (15-16 oz) unsweetened coconut milk, chilled(not light)
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup raw agave syrup (depending on how sweet you like your ice cream)
- 2 teaspoons coconut extract
- optional add-ins: shaved and unsweetened dark chocolate; toasted, unsweetened coconut; finely chopped nuts; small brownie chunks; a multitude of other possibilities
Combine all ingredients (except add-ins) in blender. Blend thoroughly. Chill in the freezer to make sure it is all quite cold.
Add to ice cream maker, following manufacturer’s directions for churning. Add the add-ins during the last few minutes of churning.
For soft serve ice cream, eat immediately. For harder ice cream, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for several hours to a day, depending on degree of hardness desired.
Variation: For Chocolate Ice Cream, substitute coconut extract with vanilla extract and add 2/3 cup cocoa powder (whisked into a small amount of the coconut milk).
(The next time I make it I’ll try and remember to take a picture to add to this post…)
Prayer of an Expecting Mother
FYI
I’ve been working on updating my sidebars this week and wanted to let you all know that I just added links to some of my old posts, with plans/ideas for some of the upcoming feast days in September and October to the right sidebar. I can hardly believe that All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints’ Day are just next MONTH!! I’ve been so distracted with getting ready for Christmas that I haven’t even thought about this year’s All Saints’ Party… I guess I better ask my children who they are planning on dressing as this year!
Highlights from “C” Week
Big “C” and little “c” out of Modeling Wax
We also formed letters using HWT wooden pieces, practiced writing “C,”
and did another Hidden Letter Worksheet. (We ended up having the flu during the beginning of this week, so I didn’t get quite as many pictures as before.)
~ Columbine Fairy Coloring Pages ~
From this Coloring Book
We didn’t read that many books this week, but the ones we did we really enjoyed. In fact, we read them all outside on the front porch sofa since the weather was so beautiful. The books we read were:
Crinkleroots Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats
Princess by the Pond Coloring Page
~ C is for Canoes ~
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!Joseph Interpreting the Dreams of His Fellow Prisoners ~
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,
Lots of delicious Chai Tea! (Particularly for me, and not that I ever need a reason!)
and then made some Coconut Milk Ice Cream with our Ice Cream Maker, which was both sugar and dairy free! The girls also made St. Gregory’s Cherries (a Cherry Crisp!) to Celebrate the feast of St. Gregory and the arrival home of their daddy!
Twinkle Toes’ new Calico Critters
We’re already on our third day of “D” week and having just as much fun as usual! I am so glad it has worked out this year to finally follow the Alphabet Path with my girls!!
Happy Feast of the Nativity of Mary!
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