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by Jessica | Dec 29, 2022

A Joyous Easter Tea

Apr 20, 2009 | Easter, Liturgical, Liturgical Teas, Teatime | 7 Comments

I am once again amazed with the beautiful Tea’s Alice has put together to share. We tried yet another one after Mass this morning, for our Garden of the Good Shepherd activity for today, and it was wonderful!

Here is what was included in this “Joyous Easter Tea” menu:

~ Stone Scones ~

I bought mini Apple Cinnamon scones from one of our local bakeries…
They were SO yummy!

“Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” John 20:1-3

~ Linen Cloth and Napkin ~

I set the table with our white angel table cloth. Since today is also Divine Mercy Sunday, I used my red runner. When we read the passage for this offering, we passed out napkins, since we never did have a chance to fold them like candlesticks…

“Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.” John 20: 6-7.

~ Two Angels ~

Jam and Whipped Cream for with the Scones.

Instead of Raspberry Jam we used Marionberry, our favorite!

“[S]he saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.” John 20: 12.

~ The Gardener ~

My children were THRILLED to find the strawberries under the spinach!!

“Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” John 20: 15-16

~ Peace be with You ~

My children weren’t too crazy about these cream cheese and olive/pimento sandwiches, but hubby and I really enjoyed them!

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” John 20:19

~ Receive the Holy Spirit ~

I didn’t have much time to work on these, since my children were all getting hungry, and they didn’t turn out near as cute as Alice’s. But they were all eaten in a couple of seconds just the same!

“When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20: 22-23

~ The Twin ~

Unlike the other sandwich, my children LOVED this one made with cream cheese and Black Forrest Ham on a French Baguette.

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.” John 20: 24

~ Thomas’ Thumbprint Cookies ~

I knew that I wouldn’t have time to bake, so I picked up a package of Pepperidge Farms Verona cookies.

“Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” John 20:27

~ Many Signs and Wonders ~

We are actually starting to run low on Easter candy this year since I didn’t really buy all that much! I poured the 2 bags I had saved for cookies into the bowl, and we will just use whatever is leftover for our Easter Candy Cookies.

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.” John 20: 30

Alice’s teas are just too much fun!!! Once again, if you’d like the Bible readings, recipes and shopping list, visit Cottage Blessings!

Wolf Paw Cookies

Apr 20, 2009 | Feast Day Plans, Garden of the Good Shepherd, Kids in the Kitchen, St. Francis of Assisi | 3 Comments

The Wolf Paw Cookies we made for yesterday’s Garden of the Good Shepherd activity were a hit with my children (Especially my boys!), and they were sooooo easy to make.

All you need is:

1 package Voortman’s Iced Almonette Cookies
Chocolate Almond Bark or Chocolate Chips, melted for dipping
White Chocolate Chips (or white frosting) to use for claws

Dip one side of each cookie into melted chocolate. Add 4 or 5 white chocolate chips for the claws. (Wolfs have 4 claws on the back paws and 5 on the front.) Let cool.

(You may want to place the cookies onto wax or parchment paper to cool, so they don’t stick to your serving platter.)

Before I let my children eat their cookies, we read the bible verse for the day and the story about St. Francis and the Wolf found in Legends of Saints and Beasts by Ann Marie Jauss. (You can read another version online here.) This would be such a fun snack to add to our activities for the feast of St. Francis, which is celebrated on Oct 4th.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and flieth: and the wolf catcheth, and scattereth the sheep: and the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know mine, and mine know me. As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep.” ~ John 10: 11-15

Crazy 8s

Apr 19, 2009 | Meme's | 9 Comments

Aubrey over at Laughing All the Way tagged me for this meme… I’ve been putting it off like all the other meme’s I’ve been tagged for (sorry everyone!) but I had a few minutes this afternoon, and thought I’d try it since it looked like fun!

8 Things I am looking forward to:
1. Attending the Northwest Family Conference in a couple weeks!!!
2. Staying with one of my bestest friends (who moved to Seattle last year) while I am in Washington.
3. Meeting Meredith, Heather and Angela while in Seattle.
4. Our Little Flowers’ Tea Party in May.
5. My brother’s wedding in June.
6. Attending a Catholic Summer Family Camp in June.
7. Celebrating our 10th Anniversary in October.
8. Strawberry Shortcake for dessert tonight, in honor of Divine Mercy Sunday.

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Missed being able to watch my boys 4th baseball game since the battery was dead in my van, and hubby (being Asst Coach) couldn’t leave the game to come and jump start it for me.
2. Cleaned my kitchen and made Wolf Paw Cookies while the boys were at their game.
3. Congratulated my boys on their “Undefeated” status!
4. Did a marathon shopping trip by MYSELF from 1:00pm to 8:30pm. It’s amazing just how many stores it is possible to go to when you don’t have 5 little children in tow. I went to the Mall, Target, Toys R Us, Walmart, Lowe’s, Old Navy, Michael’s, Freddy’s, Costco, and Food 4 Less. I came home exhausted, but it felt so nice to get so many things checked off my “to-do” list!
5. Redeemed my Gymbucks at Gymboree, and got this adorable skirt for Twinkle Toes.
6. Ordered a “Muddy Mount Ashland” from my favorite Coffee Drive-Thru.
7. Purchased all the supplies I need for this weeks Garden of the Good Shepherd activities and for Chiquita’s birthday.
8. Ate Chinese food for dinner, which made me feel super sick. :S

8 Things I wish I could do:
1. Attend daily mass — we keep trying but with the drive and Mass times (we have so few options for daily Mass) it has been very difficult.
2. Meet all of the dear friends I have made through blogging.
3. Fly to Virginia to visit my sister, especially after she delivers my newest niece in July.
4. Be better about sticking to an exercise routine.
5. Keep up with everything I “would like to do” when it comes to homeschooling.
6. Go to Rome and Ireland with my husband.
7. Go on a family trip to visit all of the California Missions.
8. Have the patience to learn how to knit and/or crochet.

8 Shows I Watch
Well — I thought about skipping this section altogether, since I don’t really watch any shows. Although we do own a TV, Hubby and I have never had reception. However, I have seen a few TV shows, so I’ll list them here…

1. Little House on the Prairie (I own all the DVD’s)
2. 24 (We watched this on DVD from a recommendation of a friend, and I think we have seen 6 seasons.)
3. The Office (I’ve only watched a few episodes on Netflix)
4. The Apprentice (My neighbor recorded season 4 for us since my sister competed. We then rented the other seasons out of curiosity.)
5. Band of Brothers (Hubby has this on DVD. I usually don’t like “war movies” but this was pretty good!)
6. Bugs Bunny (Does that count??)
7. OH! I also loved the mini-series Wives and Daughters
8. That’s all I can think of…. What do you watch????

8 People I tag: only if you have time and want to!
1. Eileen
2. Jamie
3. Ruth
4. Kimberly
5. Christy (private blog)
7. Erin
8.+JMJ+

I hope you are all having a Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday!

Garden of the Good Shepherd ~ Week 2

Apr 17, 2009 | Garden of the Good Shepherd | 1 Comment

I’ve been working on our plans for this coming week, to use with The Garden of the Good Shepherd. I thought I would share them now, for those of you that have been joining us, in case you’d like to use any of our ideas. (You can also find last years posts linked in my right sidebar through the Easter Season, or filed under Garden of the Good Shepherd.)

Charlotte has already posted some great ideas for Week 2. This week I will be using some of her ideas, as well as adding some of my own. I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed by crafts lately, not so much the crafts themselves, just all the stuff… And since I have to cook/bake each day anyways, I am trying to make most of our activities food related. This has been a hit with my children, since they gave up candy and dessert (excluding birthdays and special feasts) for Lent! So, most of our plans have to do with either food or picture books, at least for now. This is a perfect week for that, since the theme for week two is:

“Welcome to the Lord’s Table“

8. The Table : Read Genesis 43:26-34

Teach my children how to properly set the table and make candlestick napkins.
Read some excerpts from the Chapter 3: “Table Manners,” in Everyday Graces. (I love the poem below, from Everyday Graces, for remembering how to set the table!)
Since we so enjoyed our Lenten Teas, we will have a Joyous Easter Tea.

Hey Diddle Diddle

by Elizabeth Santorum

Hey Diddle Diddle, the plate’s in the middle,

Now on the right goes the spoon,

The napkin is left, beside the fork,

Keep going you’re going to eat soon.

Hey Diddle Diddle, the plate’s in the middle,

The knife is left of the spoon,

The glass is above it, now you’ve got it right,

You’re going to eat lunch by noon.

9. The Chairs: Read Genesis 18:1-8

The purpose of this symbol is to recall the hospitality and good manners that Abraham and Sara offered the three strangers. We will talk about hospitality and make arrangements to offer our home and food to a friend later this week.
Read a few excerpts from Everyday Graces about manners and Manners Can Be Fun. We will also read God’s Wisdom for Little Girls and Little Boys.
We’ve been planning to purchase a new chair for our front porch and possibly a table and chairs for our patio. We keep putting it off each year, but this year we have budgeted it from our tax refund! I have my eyes on one of these two chairs from Target.

10. The Bread : Read Ruth 2:8-14

Any bread recipe would work wonderful for today.
We may try making Monkey Bread or Cinnamon Sugar Bread.
My children really enjoyed making Resurrection Rolls during Holy Week, and really wanted to make them again. This would be a perfect time, and they will be thrilled!

11. The Wine : Read Isaiah 55:1-2

Serve sparkling grape juice with dinner in fancy glasses (Wine for the grownups)
Read the story of Christ’s miracle with the water and the wine
Read The Grapes of Math: Mind-stretching Math Riddles
Paint our own bunch of grapes. (These were Charlotte’s ideas, and I just might be able to pull off this craft! It sounds simple enough.)

12. The Milk : Read Deuteronomy 26:8-10

Make Homemade Ice Cream in our Ice Cream Maker.
Make Easter candy milkshakes using this recipe and possibly our homemade Ice Cream!
Read the following milk themed books: The Milk Makers by Gail Gibbons, Milk: From Cow to Carton by Aliki, and It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw.
Watch Signing Time and practice signing milk with our little guy.
Watch Reading Rainbow: Farm Life.

13. The Pot of Honey : Read Mark 1:4-6

Buy some local honey at the Farmer’s Market.
Make a Sweet Beehive Cake and/or Cookies.
Read The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons, Honey in a Hive by Anne Rockwell, and The Life and Times of the Honeybee by Charles Micucci.
When we traveled to California last month, I picked up some Honey Toasted Sunflower Seeds at Granzella’s with this day in mind.
Make Honey Tarts. The following recipe if from the Little Saints Pre-School Program.

Making Honey Tarts

1. Have child divide a biscuit in half with a butter knife.
2. Have her pound each half flat, spread one half with butter and pour a dollop of honey on. Lay the other half on top and crimp the edges together.
3. Lay on a baking sheet. Bake as directed on the package wrapper.
4. Have child help set the table especially for Daddy and other family members and enjoy the Honey Tarts together.

14. The Fruit : Read Song of Songs 4:16

Read some books about fruit: A Fruit Is a Suitcase for Seeds, Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z, Fruit, and From Flower to Fruit.
Magically slice a banana. (My boys will LOVE this! Thanks Charlotte!)
Read How Do Apples Grow? and have an apple taste test.
Make Pampered Chef’s Dessert Fruit Pizza. Yummmmm!!

Dessert Fruit Pizza

1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened

1/3 cup sugar

4 cups assorted fresh fruit such as strawberries, bananas, kiwi, blueberries, etc

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place dough on round baking stone and cook 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool. For topping, combine cream cheese and sugar and spread over cookie dough, then start placing on the fruit.

I’ve ordered a few of the books from our library, and made my shopping list. It looks like we are going to have lots of fun next week!

Since a couple of you have mentioned that you are trying to re-create this at home using felt (I had grand plans to do this myself, since my children would love to play with the felt pieces in addition to the sticker calendar, and even started making the symbols. However, I probably won’t finish it until next year…), I’ve taken a couple pictures of the sticker sheet and the opened book for you to see. My plan was to make my felt version larger — more along the size of our Jesus Tree — since it would be so hard to make some of the tiny stickers without increasing the size. Hope the pictures help!

Also, it appears that Amazon has sold out of these for this year, but the publisher, Liturgy Training Publications, still has some available for only $3.00 each!! This is how I purchased the 10 copies I ordered! 😉 If you place an order, you might want to order the Lenten Ark for next year, since it is on clearance too. I haven’t seen it in person, but it looks really neat! The shipping is rather high, but it is still much less than the actual retail cost, and if you order multiple copies, it’s a great deal!

Shower of Photos 2009 :: Day 16

Apr 17, 2009 | Baseball, Shower of Photos | 4 Comments

This evening my boys had their 3rd game of the season. They are doing great and having so much fun. Here are a few pictures from today’s game:

Rascal’s turn at bat.

Rascal is the farthest from the camera and Captain is the closest.

Hubby is also in the background.

Captain was ready and waiting for the ball!

Captain got the ball and tagged out one of the Indians.

“Mom, I just tagged two guys out!!!!”

I liked this photo with our beautiful mountains in the background.

Captain is on 3rd base, about to make it home.

Somebody else really wanted to play too!

Pope Benedict’s Coat of Arms Cupcakes

Apr 17, 2009 | Cake Decorating, Happy Birthday | 5 Comments

Early this afternoon, I was trying to think of an easy treat to make my children today in honor of our beloved Holy Father’s birthday. At first I thought I’d make something along the lines of Margaret’s “Popecakes,” but then I thought how easy it would be just to print out his Coat of Arms and make cupcake picks!

Ideally I would have liked to bake either White or Red Velvet Cupcakes, but I was sticking to what I had in the cupboard, so Chocolate Fudge it was.

For the frosting I made a Cream Cheese frosting (1 pkg cream cheese, 1/4 cup softened butter, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla) and added some yellow food coloring to make it “gold.”

I used this image (re-sized to 1 3/4″) and printed 12 per page leaving room to fold the paper over the toothpick and glue together. I then trimmed the edges.

They were very simple to make, and despite not having white or red cake mix, I thought they turned out pretty cute!

Happy Birthday, Holy Father!!

Hunting for Eggs on Easter Sunday

Apr 16, 2009 | Easter, Pictures | 7 Comments

Easter morning, Easter morning, Easter morning dawning fine
Have to find the Easter eggs now, I’ve already picked up nine.

Fill the basket, fill the basket, fill the basket every time
Candy eggs and jelly beans are tucked behind each growing pine.

Bend and scramble, bend and scramble, bend and scramble, reach and climb.
Find each hidden Easter treat now, pick them up and they’ll be mine.

See them glow and see them glisten, see them glow and see them shine.
Join me with my Easter candy and together we will dine.

Happy Easter!

Nerf Ball or Easter Egg??

Apr 16, 2009 | Easter | 3 Comments

I am working on uploading a few pictures from our Easter Egg hunt, but thought I’d share this one with you in the meantime… I thought that was a pretty clever spot to hide an egg! (Hubby hid all the eggs, and the Easter egg is in the middle between 2 green Nerf balls.) Rascal was the one to notice the oval shape and find the egg.

Happy Birthday, Holy Father!

Apr 16, 2009 | Happy Birthday | 0 Comments

Today is the 82nd birthday of our beloved Pope Benedict XVI!

Here is what we did last year to celebrate… Today we will read Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told By a Cat, say extra prayers for our Holy Father, have Popecakes for a snack, and eat German Brats at the boys Baseball Game. Yum!!

Today is also my parents 32nd Anniversary!! Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!

Book Review: Olivia and the Little Way

Apr 15, 2009 | Books, Little Flowers, Roses from St. Therese | 7 Comments

I just had the privilege of reading, for review, a lovely book titled Olivia and the Little Way by Nancy Carabio Belanger. It is a beautiful story, and even though it is written for children ages 8-13, I found it very engaging… Once I started reading, I had a hard time putting it down!

This story is about a ten-year-old girl, Olivia Thomas, who is having a hard time fitting in with the kids at her new school, St. Michael’s. Her devout grandmother (who reminded me so much of my own grandmother who passed away when I was 13), introduces Olivia to St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her “Little Way.”

Throughout the book, Olivia develops a special devotion to St. Thérèse, who is constantly inspiring her towards holiness, and ends up becoming her best friend, despite the fact that St. Thérèse is taking so long to send Olivia a rose! (I found that so interesting since I had recently blogged about the same thing, “Love’s Delay.“)

I love how the author begins each chapter with beautiful quotes from St. Thérèse, and has woven so much information about this great saint into Olivia and the Little Way. She does an excellent job of encouraging readers, both young and old, to grow in holiness through Olivia’s example. At times I felt as though St. Therese was speaking directly to me through some of Olivia’s trials…

While reading this book, I was particularly inspired to learn more about the St. Thérèse Chaplet. (Why was I not surprised when, just after finishing the book, I logged into Google Reader, and the first unread post I clicked on directed me to Kimberlee’s new items, at Bead’s of Mercy, where I found a beautiful “Shower of Roses” St. Thérèse Chaplet.)

As soon as my children are just a bit older, I’ll be reading this book to them. I also think it would be great to read and discuss, a chapter at a time, at our Little Flower Meetings! (Nancy was kind enough to include discussion questions with the copy she sent me!!!)

If you’d like, you can visit the website and read a few excerpts of Olivia and the Little Way. You can also order a copy directly from Nancy, on the website, as well as from many online sources including: Amazon, Sacred Heart Books and Gifts, and the Catholic Company.

O Little Thérèse of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love. O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God today to grant the favors I now place with confidence in your hands …(Mention specific requests)… St. Thérèse, help me to always believe as you did, in God’s great love for me, so that I might imitate your “Little Way” each day. Amen.

St. Thérèse ~ Pray for Us!

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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.

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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.