New Shining Light Dolls {and a Giveaway!}
We need to add these to our collection too! Some of them will probably end up in the boys’ slippers from St. Nicholas (like other dolls from the collection have in the past) and in this year’s Christmas stockings. Our boys will be thrilled and good old St. Nicholas won’t be quite so lonely in the little boys’ bedroom… or left out in the cold all by himself! 😉
To celebrate their release, Shining Light Dolls has generously offered to give away a set of all FOUR NEW DOLLS to TWO of my visitors here at Shower of Roses!
This giveaway will be open through October 15, 2015. I will contact and announce the winners in this post on October 16th. Be sure to check out the whole collection over at Amazon! You can also visit the Shining Light Dolls website and follow them for updates over at Facebook and Instagram.
New Additions to Our October Book Basket
I love October! Our smoke filled skies have cleared and we have been enjoying the beautiful weather while celebrating our anniversary and some of our favorite fall feasts. We are starting to make plans for our annual All Hallows’ Eve party and discussing costume ideas for this year. I also just ordered some more black boxes for next month’s Oro Pro Nobis Candy Boxes.
I was sent a review copy of this book from the author this past month. I am excited to add it to our family’s collection and include it in our October Book Basket!
In addition to the captivating illustrations, the book teaches children about the four evangelists (perfect for October’s feast of St. Luke!) and the nine different types of angels (feast of the Holy Guardian Angels). It also emphasizes one God, Noah’s Ark, the Holy Family, the wounds Our Lord received on the Holy Cross, the Days of Creation, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Our Father prayer, and the Ten Commandments. The back of the book also includes definitions and a list of scriptural references for each number from the The Holy Bible: Douay-Rheims Version.
Gloria Series Children’s Story Books Exquisite 30 page hardcover books filled with Fratelli Bonella artwork from Italy 5″ x 6″
I love all the books in the Gloria Series. Perfect for little hands to hold, they are so sweet, precious, and inspiring!
The Rosary for Little Catholics
by Francis McGrade
(reprint of the original 1952 edition)
This beautiful book about the Rosary teaches little ones about the Holy Rosary, the actual prayers included in the Rosary, and Our Lady’s apparitions to Saint Dominic and the three children at Fatima. It also includes short meditations for the original fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.
Speaking of the Holy Rosary…
I’m can’t wait to see a copy of the brand new:
I’m curious to see a copy of Ignatius Press’s new Let’s Pray the Rosary. We also still love using our Large Rosary Flip Book during our family rosary.
I mentioned in my Commemorating the Canonization of Junípero Serra post that I wanted to purchase a copy of Junípero Serra: Founder of the California Missions. I was so excited that a copy showed up in our mailbox before my pre-order had even shipped! It was a gift from my mother-in-law, who happens to run a little book store at her parish. We are reading it this month in addition to finishing our chapter book/ read-aloud about this newly canonized saint.
On the Traditional Feast of Saint Thérèse
This Brown Scapular of the Carmelites with an image of “The Little Flower” was hand embroidered by Andrea at Stella Marigold Art. Originally I had her make it for our little “Rose” – and I will probably still save it to give to her when she is older, especially since I already have a beautiful rose covered scapular – but I would sure love to keep it for myself! It is so gorgeous!
Sweet Sixteen
Today is our 16th Wedding Anniversary! If you’d like, you can see some of our wedding photos in this post from last year.
I actually took most of these pictures last October 2nd as well, but I never had a chance to post them here on the blog… I had just finished praying the St. Therese novena (October 2nd is the eve of her traditional feast day) for a very special and specific family intention, and was wondering if dear St. Therese would send me a rose. Of course it couldn’t just be any rose – all the roses here on the blog and anniversary roses from my husband wouldn’t count, especially since he knew I was praying the novena – so I wasn’t sure how she’d find a way, but she always does!
I couldn’t believe it when I pulled this book out of the box in my closest, opened up the page to “Our Fifteenth Year” and then noticed the roses. Apparently the flower associated with 15th anniversary is the rose! It was just a little sign, but it reassured me that she would be interceding for our family once again.
Anyway, it’s hard to believe that another year has passed already! I thought it would be fun to finally share these pictures of Our Wedding Anniversary Memory Book and a little glimpse at our family’s past fifteen (now sixteen!) years. This beautiful book was a bridal shower gift from my Aunt Bridget and I have always loved pulling it out each year on our anniversary.
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| Our First Year – September 2000, In DC for my SIL’s wedding |
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| Our Second Year – October 2001, Jet Boat Ride for our Anniversary |
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| Our Third Year – Thanksgiving 2002 |
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| Our Fourth Year – Christmas 2003 |
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| Our Fifth Year – Easter 2004 |
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| Our Sixth Year – Christmas 2005 |
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| Our Seventh Year – Easter 2007 |
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| Our Eighth Year – October 2007 |
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| Our Ninth Year – December 2008 |
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| Our Tenth Year – My brothers wedding, summer of 2009 |
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| Our Eleventh Year – Visiting my husband’s parents, November 2010 |
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| Our Twelfth Year – October 2, 2011 and Christmas 2011 |
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| Our Thirteenth Year – Easter 2012 |
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| Our Fourteenth Year – Thanksgiving 2013 |
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| Our Fifteenth Year – December 2014 |
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| Grand Teton National Park – 4th of July, 2015 |
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| Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park – July 2015 After eight days on the road… someone is letting off a little steam! 😉 |
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| On our way to hike to Inspiration Point in the Grand Tetons… looking just a little bit older than we did back in 1999! I’m looking forward to many more wonderful years with this loving husband of mine. |
A Morning Prayer Written by Saint Thérèse
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| Saint Thérèse of Lisieux – Original Art by Audrey Eclectic Prints available at Etsy or enter the Audrey Eclectic giveaway! |
Free Printable St. Thérèse Worksheets
Here are the links to the St. Thérèse activity/worksheets I created a number of years ago:
- A St. Thérèse Crossword
- The Story of St. Thérèse (Fill in the Blanks)
- Quote from St. Thérèse on her Deathbed (Pick the correct letter)
- St. Thérèse of Lisieux Word Search
You can find many more “Ideas for Celebrating the Feast of St. Thérèse” here or by scrolling through the “St. Thérèse” label in the archives here at Shower of Roses or over at Catholic Cuisine.
St. Jerome and the Lion
Every once in a while our history studies line up perfectly with the liturgical year. Our core text readings for today (with my youngest students) happened to be “Christians Writers Defend the Church” (Founders of Freedom, Unit Four Chapter III) which includes a section about Saint Jerome, whose feast is celebrated today. I love it when that happens!
I pulled out a couple awesome coloring books (The Fathers of the Church and The Legend of Saint Jerome and the Lion are both currently OOP), as well as a picture book about St. Jerome, for story time, discussion questions using Catholic Mosaic, and narration.
Celebrating Michaelmas
Art Angel Gallery {Sponsored Giveaway}
Art Angel Gallery jewelry designs are born of a love for art and faith. Owner and designer Raphael Fitzgerald holds an M.A. in Art History and specializes in vintage holy card jewelry.
Raphael has generously offered to give away the following handmade bracelets and pendant necklace to my visitors here at Shower of Roses, as we prepare to celebrate the feast days (New: October 1st and Traditional: October 3rd) of a saint who is very dear to my heart.
Pope Francis Visits the Home
Knowing how Pope Francis likes to mingle with the crowds, the kids decided to insert another stop into his American visit. In his surprise fashion, Pope Francis made an impromptu detour to our home.
They readied the place for him by building a cathedral with their Nesting Blocks, Blessing Blocks, and Tiny Saints. The Popemobile led the assembly to the front doors of their little church.
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