{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: Instagram Recap
Well, I’m a little too late to join the link up, but here is my post anyway!
A Ranger’s Apprentice Birthday Party
This past Saturday Ranger turned thirteen! It’s so hard to believe that we now have two teens in our home and we are only eighteen short months away from three teens… Unfortunately I just can’t seem to find the pause button on their childhood and they are going to grow up whether I like it or not. I’m not ready for this!!! 😉
Everyone, including Ranger, loved the cakes when they woke up and discovered them in the morning. Along with the cake I had a coffee/hot cocoa bar with fruit and pastries set up for breakfast, since all Rangers drink coffee.
Other than the cake(s) and themed food for the day, I didn’t have time to plan any games or decorations. He didn’t mind, what he really wanted was for the whole family (including mom!) to come and watch their hockey games, so that is what we did (even my parents and one of my sisters showed up to watch!) and the boys won their games! ❤
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| I used this recipe. They didn’t last long! |
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| These were so easy to make using the same technique from our Lone Ranger Campfire Cake for making the flames. |
“Later that afternoon, after all the noise and celebrations had died down, Will sat alone on the tiny verandah of Halt’s small cottage. In his hand he held a small bronze amulet, shaped like an oak lac, with a steel chain threaded through a ring at the top. “It’s our symbol,” his teacher had explained as he handed it to him after the events at the castle. “The Rangers’ equivalent of a coat of arms.””
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| Oak Leaves Candy Mold and Peanut Butter Candy Melts |
“Bronze is the apprentice color,” Halt told him. When you finish your learning, you’ll receive a silver oak leaf like this one. We all wear them in the Ranger Corps, either silver or bronze.”
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| Organic Carrots of Many Colors and Baby Potatoes |
*All quotes are from Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 1, The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Ranger’s Apprentice Archery Target Cake
This past weekend we celebrated our “Ranger’s”13th birthday! Our boys love all the books written by Australian author John Flanagan and we thought it would be fun to celebrate with a Ranger’s Apprentice themed party this year.
Supplies:
- 2 – 9″ Round Cakes
- Buttercream Frosting (or white frosting of your choice)
- 11 KitKat Candy Bars, Full Size
- Yellow, Red and Blue M&M’s
- Bamboo Skewer, Duct Tape & Scissors (for arrow)
Directions:
Prepare and bake cakes according to directions. Cool.
To make the top of the cake nice and flat I trimmed the rounded tops off each cake. I placed the first cake on the center of the platter and then turned the second cake over, placing it bottom side up and centering it on the trimmed top of the first cake. Cover the cake with frosting. Since it was going to be covered with candy, I didn’t worry about any crumbs in the frosting.
Celebrating the Saints :: St. Brigid of Ireland
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| Saint Brigid found in Saints: Lives and Illuminations |
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| Have I ever mentioned how much I love Saints for Girls and Saints for Boys? 😉 |
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| by Rose, who just turned 5 |
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| I asked if he could hold his picture so I could take a picture! This is what I got… I love him so much! |
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| Can you tell which one the boys made? #seahawks #patriots #beavers |
St. Brigid of Kildare was well known for her hospitality and generosity inspiring the standard used in the Irish Rule of Hospitality. May we always follow St. Brigid’s example and receive the Christ in the stranger’s guise.
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| Saige was baptized “Brigid” and given a miniature St. Brigid cross as well as Caroline’s Calf, Garnet |
St. Brigid is the patron saint for numerous things including cattle and dairy work. She was said to be the best mead and ale maker in all of Ireland, as well as an excellent cook. One way to celebrate this Abbess from Kildare is to enjoy a steaming bowl of Irish Beef stew… made with Ireland’s own Guinness Draught!
Some of us have been fighting a stomach bug this past week, so I decided to save the stew for next weekend (it ties in perfectly to our birthday theme for Ranger!) and I served Chicken Soup (straight from the pantry! lol) instead. As Mary pointed out, St. Brigid is also the patron of those who raise chickens. Perfect!
I wasn’t sure if they would turn out, but they actually did and the kids loved them! I’ll have to post the directions over at Catholic Cuisine sometime before her feast day next year.
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| Ranger’s LEGO contribution to the decorations for the feast of St. Brigid! |
Sponsor Love: Quarterly Update & Current Specials
I am excited to introduce you to a few new sponsors this quarter. Be sure to keep these great businesses in mind when preparing your homes for Lent and making plans for Easter!
I am also working on two giveaways for this quarter, the first will be included with this year’s Baskets of Books for Easter (similar to last year’s post) and the second will be Easter Basket Stuffers and Gift Ideas with a “basketful” of giveaways from my generous sponsors!
Please welcome my new sponsors by visiting their websites:
Easter at Ephesus
Easter at Ephesus is the latest release from De Montfort Music and AimHigher Recordings, the same people who recently released Christmas in Harvard Square!
The other CDs in the series (Advent at Ephesus, Lent at Ephesus, and Angles and Saints at Ephesus) are favorites in our home and I am looking forward to adding Easter at Ephesus to our collection this year!
Pre-order your copy of Easter at Ephesus over at Amazon.com today!
St. Augustine Academy Press
Last year our children received some books published by St. Augustine Academy Press for Easter and Christmas, and I’m definitely planning on including a few more titles in this year’s Easter baskets! Our latest addition was the amazing new publication by Lisa Bergman, Treasure and Tradition: The Ultimate Guide to the Latin Mass. You can read my husband’s review here.
Audrey EclecticI first ran across Audrey Eclectic last fall and have been admiring Heather’s art ever since. I recently placed an order for one of her original paintings and it is simply gorgeous! In addition to the originals, prints and postcards are also available. I’ve been thinking the postcards would make perfect Easter Basket stuffers for little girls and I have this particular set in mind for one of mine!
Harvey House Publishing {Sponsored Giveaway}
In honor of today’s feast of St. John Bosco, one of author Nancy Carabio Belangers favorite saints, Harvey House Publishing has offered to send TWO of my visitors here at Shower of Roses an autographed copy of The Gate!
For smart-aleck Josh, being a Christian in the eighth grade is completely irrelevant, especially with the temptations that middle school can bring. For him, life is all about playing video games, getting money, and causing trouble. He doesn’t need anybody and he makes his own rules. When his teacher assigns a pen-pal project, Josh meets Pie, a spunky senior citizen with a love of his Catholic faith, Saint John Bosco, and the New York Yankees. But much to Josh’s surprise, Pie creates his own project for Josh, and Josh realizes that God has a plan—even for him.
In this inspiring novel that radiates the dignity of the priesthood and the discovery of God’s calling for each of us, Josh is shocked to find himself fighting hard on a spiritual battlefield, but often for the wrong side. As the friendship with his new mentor deepens, Josh learns that God has more in store for him than he could have ever imagined.
I’ve included the Amazon link above so you can read additional reviews, but The Gate can be ordered directly from Harvey House Publishing with optional inscriptions from the author at no additional charge and FREE standard shipping. Click here to place an order!
New Additions to Our February Book Basket
I’ve been working on filling our book basket with books for February. I love choosing one or two saint books each month to add to our family’s ever growing collection. Here are our new additions for this February:
A Story of Saint Blaise
by Brother Franklin Cullen, C.S.C. (In the Footsteps of the Saints)
Exact reprint of 1958 Dujarie Press printing. This story of Saint Blaise is set in the year 316, during a great persecution of Christians. Always having a strong desire to help others, Saint Blaise became a doctor, then a priest, and later the Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia. Saint Blaise is credited with many miracles, including one where he cured a little boy who was choking on a fishbone. Today, many people attend Mass on February 3rd to receive the Blessing of Saint Blaise on their throats. Reading this story can encourage us to follow in the footsteps of Saint Blaise, whose kindness and love for others enabled him to be a channel of God’s grace to those who asked for his assistance.
Saint Bakhita of Sudan
by Virginia Helen Richards (Comicolor Saints)
also available directly from Pauline
Comicolor Saints are ideal for those who want more than a coloring book. In Saint Bakhita of Sudan, children find themselves drawn into the story of this African woman who was captured as a slave as a young girl. She was sold in the slave trade until she was taken to Italy and became the servant of Mrs. Michieli. She experienced kindness for the first time since she had been stolen from her family. She went to school with the Canossian sisters and eventually became a Catholic and a Canossian sister herself. Children will learn the value of each person, the virtue of hope and the promise of God’s care for us, and the beauty of forgiveness. This coloring book also features cut-out trading cards, activities, and games.
I’m also planning to start reading Their Hearts Are His Garden to my littlest ones this February. We’ve had this beautiful book in our collection since our oldest was a baby. It starts with a sweet little story about God’s Love (Part I: Basic) and even includes a short story about St. Valentine (Part IV: The Saints). We will read the first few parts during the month of February and then continue Part V: The Liturgical Year throughout the year. We have the OOP version from The Neumann Press (and TAN is currently sold out), but it you can find a copy it is definitely worth adding to your own collection!
Their Hearts are His Garden: Stories for Children
A beautiful garden full of stories that children will love, but best of all, stories that will remain forever in their hearts. It is a perfect teaching aid for children from ages 3-8. Separated into five parts—Part I: Basics, Part II: The Way of Virtue, Part III: Mother and Father, Part IV: The Saints, Part V: The Church Year—and with fifty-nine stories or subjects such as Baptism, Birthdays, Patron Saints, God’s Love, The Cross, Heaven, Angels and Guardians, Prayer, Praying, Truth, St. Valentine, The Rosary, Christmas, Easter, etc. In the book’s Introduction we read “. . . It is the problem and the privilege of the religious teacher, whether at home or in the classroom, to foster and sustain in the child habits of thinking and acting as a child of God. . . . Desirable habits in the natural order should be launched under pleasurable circumstances.” Be assured this book qualifies over and over. (Imprimatur 1940).
{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: iPhone Photos
Anne of Green Gables Chocolates {Free Printable}
Supplies:
- 1 bag of Hershey’s Nuggets (I purchased the 18 oz “Family Bag” of Milk Chocolate with Toffee & Almond, wrapped in gold)
- 1-2 sheets of Green Card Stock cut into 2.25″ x 1.5″ cards
- 1/8″ Ribbon or Yarn cut in 2 1/2″ to 3″ lengths
- Scissors and Glue Stick
- Free Printable
Assemble:
- Glue about 1/2″ of the ribbon to the middle of your green paper rectangle.
- Add additional glue to the paper and center the wrapped chocolates on the paper, side by side, over the ribbon.
- Cut out the printed text (from printable or create your own) and fold in half. Cover the back with glue and attach it to the top of the chocolates, sticking the folded center down the middle of the two chocolates, creating the appearance of an open book.
- Take the ribbon and put a little glue in the center of the side facing you. Bring the ribbon over the two pieces of chocolate and place it right down the middle of the open pages. You might need to press the ribbon down gently (with your finger or a paperclip) so it will stick. Let dry completely.
Books for Girls :: A Closer Look at the Bookshelf
Book Review :: Treasure and Tradition: The Ultimate Guide to the Latin Mass
Last month I shared a link to the brand new Treasure and Tradition: The Ultimate Guide to the Latin Mass from St. Augustine Academy Press in my Preparing for Christmas :: Seven Fun Finds for Advent post. My husband and I were each given a review copy before it was released and, since he is much more familiar and knowledgeable about the Traditional Latin Mass (and also such a gifted writer and better able to do this beautiful book justice!), I asked him if he would write the review to share here at Shower of Roses. Thank you, Sean!
Treasure and Tradition: The Ultimate Guide to the Latin Mass by Lisa Bergman
St. Augustine Academy Press, 2014
How do you put to words the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist? How does one explain the source and summit of the Christian life, the most holy and sublime of mysteries? How can anybody describe the liturgical expression that the Universal Church has officially promulgated in the Traditional Latin Mass, now commonly referred to as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite?
No words can adequately explain the sublime mystery of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Lisa Bergman’s book Treasure and Tradition attains to man’s ability to put to words an explanation of the Sacred Liturgical Form of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Three words come to mind about the Latin Mass upon exploring it from using this Guide: Illumination, Appreciation, and Admiration.
Illumination. Treasure and Tradition acts as a beacon of light. By definition a beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. Indeed, it must be repeated that the mass is the source and summit of the Christian life. Synthesizing Sacred Scripture, catechetical publications, historical and encyclopedic background, Bergman presents an illuminating and thoroughly researched resource for anyone old enough to read who would benefit to learn about the Roman Catholic Mass. In the book, the left hand pages are devoted to explanations of particular mass parts while the prayers that accompany those parts are included on the right side in both Latin and English. Bergman’s ability to incorporate images of sacred art and architecture reinforces the reader’s appreciation for the Church’s longstanding record of producing the most glorious artistic masterpieces in God’s honor. The images accompany explanations of the parts of the mass. Save for the short Bibliography and Devotionals sections, each and every page contains an illustration of some kind. Practically all of them are in full color. In the Guide, the reader will learn what is referred to as the Ordinaries and Propers of the Mass. The reader will discover, with clarity and conciseness, the different forms of celebrating the Latin Mass, the Ecclesiastical Year, historical background of the mass, its sacrificial nature, and much, much more. The presentation and format is particularly well suited for teens, though adults without question will find the material in this guide exceptional. Children and youth would likewise benefit, as the author walks the reader from the very basic understanding of worship to the most intricate detail. The book truly is a guide – a beacon of light drawing interest to the Mystery of the Eucharist. Like the mass itself, the guide is suitable for illuminating the widest possible reading audience on any level, including newcomers to the mass, non-Catholics, children, the poor, the advanced, and the indifferent.
Appreciation. The Latin Mass, on its own merit, evokes sentiments of gratitude and reverence. Treasure and Tradition dispels the apprehensions that an individual experiencing timidity or those harboring outright hostility may have towards this liturgical expression approved by the Church. Those witnessing a Latin Mass for the first time may first be struck by the silence and orderliness before them in both the sanctuary and the congregation. These characteristics are mere outcomes of a deeper affection: an endearing closeness to our Lord where the congregant both speaks to God from his heart and ardently listens to his tender promptings within him in the silence of the liturgy. The author explains the silence, the chants, and the order and reverence that this mass of the ages embodies. This recalls the third discovered attribute of admiration.
Admiration. Through this book, the reader, whether a non-Catholic, newcomer to the Latin Mass, or experienced devotee will identify and realize a newfound recognition of the mass of the ages. The descriptions included in the Guide that explain the rituals and ceremonies prescribed in the mass reveal that the Church operates by the action of the Holy Spirit. The prayers, rituals and ceremonies weave an intricate thread, tying together the reality of Christ fulfilling the old covenant with the new. The reader, regardless of their denomination or spirituality will gain the understanding that the sacrificial aspect of the mass, both the priest’s and ours, is not only very important, but necessary in our worship of the Almighty.
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