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New Christmas Books for the Feast of St. Nicholas

Nov 21, 2015 | , , , , | 0 Comments


Every year on December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas, our children wake up to find new slippers (or sometimes as new pair of shoes for winter) filled with treats and chocolate gold coins (last year the bags from Trader Joe’s worked perfectly so I picked up seven more bags last week), along with a new Christmas picture book to add to our ever growing collection.


This year, while I was creating the labels for our Advent Book Basket, I made some little Saint Nicholas labels as well. You can download them from my Dropbox (Black Text or Green Text) if you’d like to use them too.



Here is the list of books my husband and I choose to give our children this year, in addition to Saint Nicholas & the Nine Gold Coins which is in this year’s Advent Book Basket:





For Captain:



‘Round Christmastime, things are a little different on the Emerald Isle. Instead of logs thrown onto the fire, we find turf blazing bright. Instead of cold eggnog spiced just right, the mother and father are enjoying their stout. You’ll find no Donner or Cupid or Blitzen, but Ould Neddy the donkey and his small cart. Father Christmas with his Irish eyes twinkling ushers in his seven elves, and thus begins the wondrous Irish Night Before Christmas. This humorous tale, in the same vein as the famous Cajun Night Before Christmas, is the Irish version of Father Christmas’s yearly visit. Told in delightful brogue, it will have everyone wishing “Nollaig sona agut!” (Merry Christmas to you!)


The Angelus chimed
While into their beds
Climbed eleven “T’ank Gods” 
to rest wee sleepy heads. 

*”T’ank Gods” – children


I know that our all-things-Irish loving oldest son will get a kick out of this book! I found myself laughing as well.  😉


For Ranger: 



“Mark Vogl has given us much more than a parody of the classic Christmas poem. He has infused his version with the spirit of the Confederate soldier, who gladly makes yet another sacrifice for the good of his country. Stephanie Ford’s illustrations are stunning in their authenticity and beauty.” —Charles H. Hayes, author of Civil War Limericks”




For Twinkle Toes: 



“It is Christmas Eve. An abandoned gray cat shivers alone in the cold, snowy forest. Not far away in a warm and cozy farmhouse, Jason anxiously asks his brother Nate if Santa Claus will be able to come in such bad weather. But soon the bitter wind stops howling and the sound of sleigh bells rings clearly through the woods. Neither the cat nor the boys know it, but a small Christmas miracle is about to occur…. Tasha Tudor’s radiant illustrations illuminate this story, perfectly expressing the loving spirit that shines through the simple text. Efner Tudor Holmes skillfully combines down-to-earth reality with just a hint of seasonal magic.”



For Chiquita:



“Originally published over twenty years ago, and out of print since 1998, Sleeping Bear Press is proud to bring this beloved Christmas tale to a whole new audience. Moving and nostalgic, and brought to life by glowing watercolor paintings, it reveals the joy of a very special present and the love that a father and daughter share.”



For Snuggles: 



“It’s Christmas Eve 722, and Kristoph, a young orphan boy, is accompanying the missionary priest Boniface through the German countryside. They are hurrying to reach the next village by nightfall when they come upon a group of people in the forest worshiping an oak tree and preparing to sacrifice the son of the village chieftain. To prove that the oak is powerless and that there is only One True God, Boniface miraculously fells the giant tree with a single ax stroke. In its place stands an evergreen. Calling it “the tree of the Christ Child,” he instructs the men to mend their lives and take the tree home where it will shelter “loving gifts and lights of kindness.” Now rescued, the son of the village chieftain invites Boniface and Kristoph to share Christmas with his family …around another evergreen that Kristoph cuts down for their own celebration.”




For Rose: 



“An old owl tells the Christmas story to the community of birds as he has done so many times before, but when he tells of the special message from the Baby Jesus, a little bird questions why they no longer sing the message. “People no longer listen,” is the sad realization. The birds decide to share the message once more, but this time to the children of the world. And what unfolds is surely a Christmas wonder.”



The book ends with the message:
“Let there be peace.
Peace on Earth!”

Originally I had planned to give her Katy’s Christmas Gift, until I realized we already had it under the old title of  The Christmas Bird.  I don’t like this one as much, but it’s a simple, sweet story that any little bird lovers will enjoy.  Bird Bingo is a favorite game around here, so I think my little ones will especially enjoy the illustrations of all the different birds in this book.


For Bud: 



“It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Little Blue Truck is spreading cheer by delivering Christmas trees to his animal friends. Can you help count each green tree from one to five and back again? Don’t forget to save one for Blue! Beep! Beep!

With the gentle rhythm and signature illustration style that made Little Blue Truck a household name, Blue’s new adventure is full of holiday warmth. Sturdy cardstock pages, a compact and child-friendly text, and flashing colored Christmas lights on the final page come together in a novelty gift book that’s sure to be the favorite treat of the season.”





With a forester for a daddy, I think our little Bud with love this new addition to his Little Blue Truck collection.




.: Giveaway :. 

This year I have a copy of the hardcover edition of The Twelve Days of Christmas to give away to one of my visitors!


Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For additional Christmas book suggestions you can find some of our lists in the archives: 


{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: Rose’s First Lost Tooth

Nov 20, 2015 | , , , | 12 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life with Like Mother, Like Daughter. ~

{real} Last Sunday, while I was wrapping Christmas books for Advent, I heard Rose crying. I ran out of my bedroom to the hallway to find two of her brothers trying to comfort her and reassure her that losing a tooth really isn’t such a horrible thing… The look on Snuggles face! He is such a loving big brother! 
{happy} That tooth has been close to falling out for months now, and was even closer Sunday night hanging on by a thread, but she was very happy when she was able to prop it back up… She did not want to lose that first tooth!
{pretty} Today, on the traditional feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, our little Rose lost her first tooth! I’m surprised it hung on for so long – she has been carefully eating her food all week, cutting everything into tiny pieces – but it finally fell out this afternoon! She was so relieved that it wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought it might be.
My baby girl is growing up!
{funny} My dad was working in the area and happened to stop by just after it fell out! After she showed her grandpa her tooth, he asked if she had ever heard the story One Morning in Maine, a story he always read to my siblings and I when we were growing up. She hadn’t so I pulled it off the shelf. Watching him read it to her was so special!
Hmmm… I wonder if that story has anything to do with her losing that tooth for a second time this evening…
She is really hoping we find it soon! 🙂 We seem to be losing everything this week!


Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Pray for Us!

Nov 18, 2015 | , | 13 Comments

I have searched and searched but I just can’t seem to find the copy of Roses in the Snow that our little “Rose” received for her birthday last December, just after it was released. I was really looking forward to reading it again this week… Perhaps we will find it by the traditional feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary on November 19th! (You can find a few pictures along with the link to how to pronounce some of the Hungarian words here.)  
Instead I grabbed Saints for Girls: A First Book for Little Catholic Girls off the bookshelf, opened it to Saint Elizabeth, and read the short story provided about this beautiful saint to my little ones. The not-so-little girls are planning to read the story about St. Elizabeth of Hungary from Sixty Saints for Girls later tonight. Happy feast of St. Elizabeth! 

Dear Saint Elizabeth, you were always poor in spirit, most generous toward the poor, faithful to your husband, and fully consecrated to your Divine Bridegroom. Grant your help to widows and keep them faithful to their heavenly Lord. Teach them how to cope with their loss and to make use of their time in the service of God. Amen.

Christmas Mosaic :: A Review & Featured Book List

Nov 17, 2015 | , , | 12 Comments

Like Catholic Mosaic: Living the Liturgical Year With Children, author Cay Gibson’s Christmas Mosaic, An Illustrated Book Study for Advent and Christmas is so much more than just a book list! It was an invaluable resource for me when I was building our family’s collection of Christmas books and, in the meantime, trying to sift through all the books at our local library and decide which ones were worth bringing home to read to our children.

In addition to the included book list “as endless as the possibilities for Christmas tree decoration” (over 200 suggestions!), Christmas Mosaic also provides study guides for 30 picture books about Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany! Vocabulary Words, Discussion Questions, and Copy Work are provided for each of the featured selections. On the “Parent’s Help Page” for each title you will find observations, discussion answers, and enrichment activity suggestions. The appendix in the back has a number of crafts, recipes, and coloring pages which may be reproduced by the original purchaser for your family or classroom.

I purchased my copy of Christmas Mosaic when the first (spiral bound) edition was published in 2007 and still return to it every Advent for ideas and inspiration. I am sure I will continue to do so for years to come.



ADVENT WEEK ONE
Theme: Advent/ Decoration/ Preparation Stories

ADVENT WEEK TWO
Theme: Giving/St. Nicholas/Santa Claus

A Small Miracle tells a beautiful story using only illustrations. My children love that their Dad will make up his own story each time he “reads” this book to them! I feel bad that I didn’t include it in our books to unwrap this year! 

ADVENT WEEK THREE
Theme: Family

ADVENT WEEK FOUR
Theme: The Nativity/Epiphany/Angels

The Christmas Bird by Bernadette Watts has been reprinted as Katy’s Christmas Gift!
I had no idea when I posted about the deal last week… No wonder the author/illustrator’s name sounded familiar. It’s one of my favorites! I wish I would have bought more copies while it was priced so low. It is definitely worth adding to your collection, or at least checking out from the library.

*Books in our family’s Advent & Christmas Collection

Our 2013 Advent Book Basket was almost completely filled with the featured selections from Christmas Mosaic. You can view additional pictures of these books here.

Note: Remember, this list is only of the “Featured Selections”. There are so many other wonderful books mentioned in the complete Christmas Mosaic book list, as well as reflections, poetry selections, and even a section on “Celebrating December Birthdays” which I need to go reread now that we have two birthdays in December!

Our 2015 Advent Book Basket and Printable Labels {and a Christmas Mosaic Giveaway!}

Nov 15, 2015 | , , , , | 0 Comments

Last year I had trouble finding the usual purple and pink wrapping paper at our local stores and ended up wrapping our Advent books, for our annual Christmas countdown, in simple (and easy to find!) brown paper, adding labels I created for each day. I loved how they turned out and decided to do the same this year, updating the labels and using purple and pink ribbon instead of the white.

If you’d like to use my little labels too, you can download my Advent Book Basket Labels for 2015 over at Dropbox.
In the past I have filled our basket with Christmas Mosaic titles and our children’s 35 Favorite Christmas Picture Books…  (Years ago, when we didn’t have enough Christmas themed picture books to wrap one for each day, I would check some out from the library just before Advent, using Christmas Mosaic as a guide.) This year I decided to go through our Advent & Christmas book collection and pull out 26 of MY FAVORITES to wrap up this year!  
Our basket also includes one NEW purchase this year! I usually won’t pay full price for a book, but I made an exception for this (expensive but gorgeous!) picture book, since we love the author’s other book about St. George (pictures from the feast of St. George here).  I’m looking forward to reading Saint Nicholas & the Nine Gold Coins on the feast of St. Nicholas this year! 

Saint Nicholas & the Nine Gold Coins by Jim Forest
As always, we’ll unwrap and read one book each night during Advent, following our family rosary. The rest of the books will be placed in additional baskets for the kids to read whenever they’d like during the Advent and Christmas season.  They will also each receive a new Christmas picture book on the feast of St. Nicholas. I’ll be back with that list (and another giveaway!) soon!
Here are the 26 picture books that I am wrapping up for our 2015 Advent Book Basket:
November 29 – 1st Sunday of Advent: The Nativity
November 30 – St. Andrew: The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey* 
December 4: The Nutcracker
December 6 – 2nd Sunday of Advent / St. Nicholas: Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins (NEW) 
December 7 : The First Christmas Stocking (OOP)*
December 8 – Immaculate Conception: Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing
December 10 – Our Lady of Loreto: The Donkey’s Dream (OOP)
December 11 – Our Lady Queen of the Angels: Christmas in the Trenches
December 12 – Our Lady of Guadalupe: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Pop-Up Book)
December 13 – 3rd Sunday of Advent/Gaudete Sunday / Santa Lucia Day: Lucia, Saint of Light
December 15 – Rose’s Birthday: Angela and the Baby Jesus (OOP)
December 16: The Christmas Bell (OOP) 
December 17 – O Sapientia: The Gift of the Magi
December 18 – O Adonai: Saint Francis Celebrates Christmas
December 19 – O Radix Jesse – Bud’s Birthday: Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree
December 20 – 4th Sunday of Advent / O Clavis David: Bethlehem (Catholic Edition)
December 21 – O Oriens: The Miracle of Saint Nicholas
December 22 – O Rex Gentium: The Christmas Bird (reprinted as Katy’s Christmas Gift!)  
December 23 – O Emmanual: The Last Straw
December 24 – Vigil of Christmas: The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Tasha Tudor
* = Study Guide Available in Christmas Mosaic
Bonus: December 25th – Christmas Day: A Child’s Story of the Nativity (OOP), Such a beautiful book! 

.: Christmas Mosaic Giveaway :. 
It’s time for another giveaway sponsored by author Cay Gibson!
 One of my visitors here at Shower of Roses will receive an autographed copy of 
Christmas Mosaic, An Illustrated Book Study for Advent and Christmas

Our family’s collection of picture books is not included, but you will also recieve a copy of Cay’s new planner: The Seasonal Beehive (winter edition)! Be sure to watch Cajan Cottage Press on Facebook and Etsy for the release of the spring edition.

For More Details About Christmas Mosaic:
Christmas Mosaic :: A Review & Featured Book List


For additional Christmas book suggestions you can find some of our lists in the archives: 







Recent Talk on the Liturgy from our Archbishop

Nov 15, 2015 | , , | 2 Comments

I’ll be back soon with this year’s Advent Book Basket and Printable Labels. In the meantime, I wanted to share the recent talk on the liturgy that was given by our Archbishop. It’s long and I haven’t had the time to listen to the whole thing yet, but from what I hear (my husband has already listened to all of it) it is great!

From Instagram – Nov. 8th
Speaking of the liturgy, once every two months, if we can find a priest willing to travel to our parish, we are blessed with a Mass offered in the Extraordinary Form. Our November Mass was last weekend! (Our recent All Souls Mass was Novus Ordo, celebrated Ad Orientum.)  Our older boys did an excellent job serving, my husband’s choir sounded beautiful, and the Church was full! We are so grateful to our pastor and to all the priests who have been offering this for us the past couple years. 
Our friend Marc, who filmed and edited the above video, sent us a few more pictures of ours boys serving! Thank you, Marc! 

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.” 
– St. Gianna Beretta Molla

Bargain Priced Books :: Katy’s Christmas Gift

Nov 10, 2015 | , , , | 1 Comment

I’m always on the lookout for great deals on books and wanted to share one I found on Katy’s Christmas Gift. I haven’t seen this book in person (I added it to my “possible Christmas books to buy” list when it was published last year) and it doesn’t have any reviews on Amazon yet, but for $2.82 (84% off and Free Shipping with with Amazon Prime) I’m willing to take a chance. It sounds sweet:  

Katy sets out in the snow to visit the new baby born in the innkeeper’s stable. She is bringing gifts: a loaf of bread, her cat Sasha and, most importantly, her favourite toy — a wooden bird whistle. But Sasha doesn’t want to play in the cold snow, and the animals of the forest eat the bread. Soon Katy’s carefully chosen gifts are gone — except the most special one of all. As the snow gets deeper and she gets colder, Katy wonders whether she’ll ever have the chance to give her gift to the baby? Katy’s Christmas Gift is a heart-warming and original version of the Christmas story for young children. Bernadette Watt’s lively illustrations are full of colour, light, joy and festive feeling.


Amazon prices change frequently so I’m sharing the link now, in case any of you are interested.
For additional Christmas book suggestions you can find some of our lists in the archives: 






“How do you do all that you do?”

Nov 8, 2015 | , , | 39 Comments

Earlier today I shared a link over on Facebook to the Martinmas Lanterns we made a couple years ago. Shortly afterwards I received a comment that made me stop and wonder how many others feel this way when they visit my blog(s), although I’m sure that long time visitors here at Shower of Roses (and over at Catholic Cuisine too) have observed that our family has had various seasons of activity when it comes to celebrating the feasts and seasons of the liturgical year. You can read my response below.

“I have the same questions as anonymous above. I was actually thinking right before I read their comment that I may have to stop reading this blog because it makes me feel so inadequate. I’m a Catholic homeschooling mom that can barely keep up with laundry let alone celebrate nearly every Saints’ feast day with special food and a craft. I suppose my children know the Hail Mary. I’ll have to be content with that for now.”

If it makes you feel any better, my dryer (and a number of other things) broke last week due to a power surge and we have clothing piling up and hang drying all over the house (shower rods, door jams, near the fireplace, and anywhere else I can find) as I try to keep up with the necessities while we wait for the repair man to fit us in… Combined with our daughter having a bad poison oak outbreak all over her face/neck/arms, it’s been a really hard week around here…

In the past I have joked with a friend that sometimes I will look through my archives here and also think “How does she do it?!” 😉

This year, with two highschoolers, a kindergartner, and three other children in between to home educate (plus an eager pre-schooler!), not to mention hockey season and high school robotics, it’s definitely turning into one of the (much!) harder seasons for fitting in the “extras” while trying to maintain my health at the same time. There is so much more I need to keep up with now and I just don’t have the same amount of extra time or energy that I had in the past.

Our family definitely goes through different seasons – sometimes we place more emphasis on doing extra little things to celebrate the saints and seasons, and other times it just isn’t possible. Other than pulling out these lanterns (since they are already made) from a couple years ago (and donating the extra winter clothes I’ve been sorting) I don’t have big plans for Martinmas this year. If it’s not raining we might light another fire outside before bedtime (we live out of town and have a fire pit) to use up some of the leftover marshmallows from our All Hallows’ Eve party.

Martinmas Bonfire 2014

Focusing on the sacraments and teaching our children to pray is the most important. Celebrating the feasts with food and crafts is fun (and something that I really enjoy), but it is not at all necessary for our salvation.

The year we made these lanterns and invited friends over to celebrate with us I was “trading” math tutoring for teaching my friend’s children about the saints… I was spending extra time on feast day celebrations that year, but I had extra help with math. I blogged a little about that here. (Of course knowing I had them coming encouraged me to do more than I probably would have done otherwise.)

There are certain feast days that we do try to celebrate every year (Michaelmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Santa Lucia Day, etc), espeically those of our children’s patron saints. Sometimes it is something very simple (at least it seems simple to me since I’ve been doing it for so many years – like baking a boxed cake mix in a heart shape pan for the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria) and other times it will end up being much more elaborate (like for the canonization of St. Therese’s parents – something I was very excited to watch and celebrate and only happens once).

We started these little family traditions very small and one at a time. They have grown over the years along with our family. Incorporating the saints feast days into our family life/meals is something that now comes pretty naturally for me. Please don’t feel inadequate if it is something that you just can’t do with your own family. I really hope that my visitors here at Shower of Roses can look at my posts as just possibilities and ideas, and not feel like these are things you should be doing with your own families.

Hang in there and may God bless you and your family!

“You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” ~ St. Therese

Seven Quick {Out} Takes

Nov 6, 2015 | , , , , , , | 13 Comments

I have seven quick takes to share with you all this morning, seven photos I took right after those precious pictures of Blessed Mother Teresa and Saint John Paul II last week.  Rose wanted me to take a few more, but her little brother was done…

I guess she finally decided… “If you can’t beat him, join him.”

And that was the end of our little photo shoot!


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
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?

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