Celebrating the Saints :: St. Agnes of Rome

by | Jan 22, 2014 | , , | 10 Comments

January 21st is the memorial of St. Agnes of Rome and Our Lady of Altagracia! 

.: STORY TIME :.

Saint Agnes by M.R. Berardi

Additional Stories can be found in the following books:
St. Agnes (Saints and Angels) by Claire Llewellyn
Saint Agnes (Saints for Girls – also available from TAN/Neumann Press) by Father Gales
Beautiful Saint Agnes in The Golden Legend of Young Saints

(study guide in Catholic Mosaic and coloring page in Fenestrae Fidei)
.: COLORING PAGES :. 

 
Did you happen to notice anything missing from that picture of Snuggles?  
He lost his first tooth late last night! 

.: SNACK TIME :. 
(St. Agnes Cookies)
We saved these cookies for after dinner. 
.: PRAYER :. 

O glorious St. Agnes, you served God in humility and confidence on earth and are now in the enjoyment of His beatific Vision in heaven because you persevered till death and gained the crown of eternal life. Remember now the dangers that surround me in the vale of tears, and intercede for me in my needs and troubles. 
Amen.

 St. Agnes, Ora Pro Nobis! 

My Daybook :: January 20, 2014

by | Jan 20, 2014 | , , , , , | 17 Comments

Outside my window…
the fog has cleared and the sun is shining!  I’m hoping to get outside this afternoon and go for a walk… perhaps down by the river!

I am thinking…
about our current curriculum as the second quarter of our school year comes to an end this week… For the most part it is going well, but there are a few things I haven’t been able to fit into our schedule and I plan to make a few little changes for the second half of our year.

I am thankful… 
that the Carson 5 Shelf Espresso Bookcases at Target are finally on sale!  The current sale price + $5 off $50 coupon code + 5% Target card discount + 2.5% Ebates Rebate = YAY!!!! I am finally going to have somewhere to put all those books that are currently stacked in my closet!

Learning all the time…

I’m so excited about this new book recently published by Magnificat/Ignatius!  I love it!!!  I have been considering saving it to put in someone’s Easter basket this year, but I don’t know if I can wait that long before sharing it with the children.  It is a perfect addition to our Papal Unit Study – which we ended way too quickly following the election of Pope Francis and the arrival of Easter last spring.  With the upcoming canonizations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II on April 27th, I think I’m going to pick up where we left off and continue our Papal Unit Study with this great book!  (It’s also perfect for the upcoming feast of The Chair of St. Peter on February 22nd!) 

From the Archives:

And speaking of new books about the pope, has anyone seen Jorge from Argentina: The Story of Pope Francis for Children or Pope Francis: I Believe in Mercy by Regina Doman?  I’d love to include one about in Snuggles’ Easter basket this year about “his Pope” but after reading the reviews these seem like they are written for older children. Maybe I should just save this copy of Our Holy Father, the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present to give him after all… 

Celebrating the liturgical year…
tomorrow is the feast of St. Agnes and Our Lady of Altagracia!  After lunch I will read a story about her life while the children color a picture (or illustrate their own to add to their timelines) and then enjoy a little snack.  Charlotte has a lovely coloring page for St. Agnes and Catholic Playground has a couple beautiful options.

From the kitchen… 
Over the weekend we enjoyed homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza!  Olive Oil Pizza Dough (made with the recipe in my copy of The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day) topped BBQ Sauce, BBQ Chicken (I cooked Chicken Thighs in the crock pot with BBQ sauce), bacon, red onion, and mozzarella, transferred to the baking stone in the 500 degree oven with my super peel and baked in just 5 minutes.  Yummmmmmmm!

I am working on… 
renewing ads and scheduling some giveaways for the next quarter – February through April.  I’m so grateful for the support of my new sponsors and all my wonderful visitors here at Shower of Roses!

I am creating…
a meal plan for this week.   I haven’t grocery shopped (other than having my husband pick up some milk and fresh produce) since before Christmas!  At first it was out of necessity, since I was so sick the first two weeks of January, but now I’m wondering how long I can continue to come up with meals with what has been hiding in the back of the pantry and freezer. 😉  I just used up the last of our ground beef and still have a number of packages of steak and roasts to use up before the next 1/2 of grass-fed beef (which I ordered during the summer) arrives at the end of this month.  I wonder if Sean would be willing to grill them on Wednesday or Thursday…

I’ve been loving my Mama’s Notebook for jotting down meal plans and the books we’ve been reading aloud each week.

I am going…
to be staying home as much as possible this month!  There are just way too many viruses going around in our area at the moment and I’d love to avoid a repeat of the beginning of this month. I’m actually really enjoying the quite days at home, afternoon read-alouds with the kids, and the return to our weekly routine.

I am hoping…
to add the finishing touches to my Catholic Digest submission for April. It’s due today. You can subscribe to the Quiet Moments here if you don’t already subscribe to the magazine.  As inspiring as it is reading through the bible, prayer books, and saint quotes, choosing a quote for every day of the year on an ongoing basis is getting to be quite the challenge.  I sure enjoy it though!

I am praying…
for Charlotte’s sister-in-law, Kari, and for my college friend Shalon who delivered baby #7 three weeks ago and is currently recovering from a heart attack she suffered a couple days ago, most likely from post-partum complications.  Will you please offer a prayer for these young women too?

I am reading…
The Catholic Girls Guide by Father Lasance! I have been wanting a copy ever since I started the Little Flowers group for my girls.  I was so excited when a dear woman from church stopped by last week with some Catholic art, dvd’s and more for our family which included the 1946 edition of this book! 

The Catholic Girls Guide by Father Lasance and St. Therese rosary from Gail Giron Designs

Pondering these words…
and remembering all priests in our prayers.

The Priest Our Lord doth send
To teach to us His love;
To be our kind and trusted friend, 
Our guide to heaven above.

I am listening… 
to Bud singing “ALLL-lu-YAHHHHHH!” (like he did in this video) and he ended it with a quick version of his “giggle, giggle.”  Love this little boy so much!

Around the house…
the boys and I turned on Christmas music and spent some time taking down the tree on Saturday afternoon and packing up all the ornaments until next December!  It was surprisingly light (aka: way too dry!) and it was nice to be able to take care of this “chore” so my husband wouldn’t have to do it after work. He has been working the last two Saturdays – long days with lots of overtime!

 

From Instagram: Our family ornaments from Christmas 2002 & 2004
One of my favorite things…  
The Aroma Cordless Water Kettle, one of the gifts my husband gave me for my birthday, immediately became a new favorite of mine!  LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Now I won’t burn our house down (or ruin any more pots) after forgetting that I turned water on to boil. . .  and it is so FAST!

I’m also loving my recent TAZO tea purchases…  calm chamomile, wild sweet orange, rest at nighttime, and focus in the morning.  They are all so good! 

This week’s plans…

  • Math Tutors (at home) on Tuesday and Thursday
  • Orthodontist Appointment on Wednesday

A little peek at my day…
If you follow me on Instagram you might have already seen most of these pictures from last night. Snuggles fell asleep on the couch just before dinner:

 
 

Photos 1 and 2: Someone told him to come eat dinner and he made it from one end of the couch to the other!  Photos 3 and 4: That “someone” keeps trying to wake him up but finally gave up and started mimicking him instead!
After all that sleep, Snuggles and I enjoyed some special one-on-one time late last night! 

Building the Great Cathedrals

by | Jan 19, 2014 | , , | 11 Comments

On December 29th, the feast of St. Thomas Becket, our dinner conversation about the saint and our Cathedral Window Cookies for dessert led to a family movie night following dinner thanks to a recent recommendation I had received from Julie and KC in the comment box!   Building the Great Cathedrals by Nova is available on DVD, or you can watch it for free at PBS, You Tube (embed below), or on Amazon Prime (which is how we watched the program).  It was excellent!

Of course, afterwards I had to pull out a 500 piece “Churches & Cathedrals” puzzle which I purchased a while back at an outlet store for just a few dollars. It only took us the rest of the evening to put it together! 

Since then the older boys have been discussing ways to build a Cathedral out of their legos (and wishing they had a few more Council of Elrond sets for the arches!) and Snuggles asked us to read his copy of A Knight’s City: With Amazing Pop-Ups and an Interactive Tour of Life in a Medieval City. I need to remember to re-watch this video the next time we are studying the Middle Ages! 

{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: 36th Birthday Edition

by | Jan 18, 2014 | , , , | 6 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}

I know I already posted pictures of the pretty cake my family blessed me with on my birthday this past Thursday, but I have a few more pictures to share! 
These beautiful flowers (along with gifts, chocolates and hand-printed cards!) mysteriously appeared on the table Thursday afternoon.  The children were all giggly and secretive about it and it took me forever to squeeze it out of them that their daddy had come home and quickly arranged them in the vase on his lunch break before hurrying back to the office!  I didn’t even know he had been home. . . So sweet! 
{happy}
I was also surprised by my little brother Scott who showed up at the front door with lunch!  He had bought a Pesto Chicken Wrap for us to share and also delivered a card from my parents with a gift certificate for a one hour massage!  My mom, with twelve children of her own, sure knows the perfect gift for a busy mother of many! 
{funny}
And I’m still laughing over the card that a certain oldest son of ours made for me. . . 
(shared with permission from him – he still struggles with Auditory Processing/Dyslexia)
That’s what I get for teasing my little brother – who was born the day before my 18th birthday and just turned 18 this week – to “enjoy being 18 while it lasts… 18×2=36, which rounds up to 40, which rounds up to 50, which rounds up to old!”   
“Wow” is right!  I told him he can save this card to give me again in 20 years! 😉 
And according to Chiquita, it was my “26th Birthday!”  
They have quite the range of ages on the cards. . .  At least it was correct on the cake! 
{real}
I may not have my own baby record book (like my husband does) but how many can say they have their very own ceramic Newspaper Delivery Boy figurine announcing their arrival!   This little guy was hand-painted by a neighbor of my parents way back in 1978.  My children got a kick out of seeing him for the first time this year along with a few of my birth and baptism photos! 

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.

Made with Love :: Another Birthday Cake for Mom!

by | Jan 17, 2014 | , , | 29 Comments

This evening, after Math and Science lessons with the tutor, the children borrowed the camera and kicked me out of the kitchen so they could decorate another birthday cake for me, just like they did last year!  It was a full day for them so I baked the chocolate cake, whipped up some chocolate cream cheese frosting, and then had fun molding some fondant with my gorgeous new St. Cecilia mold (which my husband gave me for Christmas!!!) before they took over and did the rest.  I thought they did a beautiful job! I sure love this little family of mine! 

Celebrating the Saints :: St. Felix of Nola

by | Jan 15, 2014 | , , | 7 Comments

Prior to the publication of Saint Felix and the Spider our family hadn’t ever learned much (if anything) about Saint Felix of Nola.  Our six year old received this excellent picture book in his stack of books on Christmas!  While I was working on filling our book basket for January I was delighted to discover that the memorial of St. Felix was coming up on January 14th and decided to find a way to celebrate it with our new book, a special snack, and an activity.  
.: STORY TIME :. 
by Dessi Jackson and illustrated by Lydia Grace Kadar-Kallen
“Inspired by the life of Saint Felix, this fanciful tale tells of how the course of one man’s life is changed by one of God’s tiniest wonders.  A little love and friendship can grow big hearts even in the smallest creatures. This story is about a spider and a man and their journey to a lifelong friendship.” 
After completing Saint Felix and the Spider I continued reading from Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Preaching Beggars, one on our current read aloud books, while the children continued to paint. 
.: ACTIVITY – WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS :. 
Inspired by the beautiful illustrations I pulled out our various sets of watercolors and watercolor paper for the children to create their own paintings while I read the book aloud. 
  by Captain (age 13) with Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils and sharpener

by Rascal (age 11) – painted with Prang’s 16 Classic Colors 
by Twinkle Toes (age 10) – painted with Prang’s 16 Classic Colors 

by Chiquita (age 8) painted with Melissa & Doug Take-Along Watercolor Paint Set

by Snuggles (age 6) painted with Crayola Washable Watercolors

by Rose (age 3) painted with Crayola Washable Watercolors
.: SNACK TIME :. 
These delicious sweet and salty Spider Web Snacks were easy to make and so much fun. 
Rose wasn’t quite sure she wanted to eat a “spider”. . . 
.: PRAYER :. 

Quaesumus, Domine, salutaribus repleti mysteriis: ut beati Felicis Martyris tui, cuius solemnia celebramus, orationibus adiuvemur. Per Dominum nostrum, Iesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.

 We beseech Thee, O Lord, that we, who have been fed with these Mysteries of our salvation, may be aided by the prayers of blessed Felix Thy Martyr, whose festival we celebrate. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

Saint Felix, Pray for us! 

Bargain Priced Books for Spring

by | Jan 13, 2014 | , , , | 6 Comments

I know it is only January, but I have been thinking ahead about gifts for an upcoming baby shower and to include in Easter baskets.  I spent a little time this afternoon looking through books and thought I’d share a few of the book bargains I ran across online.  I was actually able to order four bargain priced board books (two for my little ones and two to include in the baby shower gift – all 60% off) for only $10.76!

by Lois Ehlert 

This educational and enjoyable book helps children understand how to plant bulbs, seeds, and seedlings, and nurture their growth. Lois Ehlert’s bold collage illustrations include six pages of staggered width, presenting all the flowers of each color of the rainbow.


by Jane Werner Watson


A beloved Little Golden Book is now available in our recently launched Golden Baby board book line. In this counting book, the youngest readers will enjoy following an adorable duckling as he explores the farm.

I also ordered Flaptastic: Colors (look inside here) and Curious George’s 1 to 10 and Back Again (look inside here).  

Jan Brett’s The Easter Egg (hardcover) is also 60% off! We’ve borrowed this book from the library multiple times in the past (even though it isn’t a religious story) and the illustrations are beautiful. This year we will add it to our family’s Easter Book Collection!

by Jan Brett

Jan Brett’s lovable bunny hero, Hoppi, and her remarkable Easter Rabbit will enchant readers as they pore over illustrations filled with dazzling eggs made by Flora Bunny, Aunt Sassyfrass and others.

And just in case you haven’t heard, the Kindle version of Small Steps for Catholic Moms is currently only $4.39! I have the first edition in paperback, which is usually on my nightstand, but at that price I’ve been considering the kindle edition for easy access in my iPad’s Kindle app as well.

Well, it’s time for our two youngest to take their naps while I read aloud to the rest of the children. Today we are reading another chapter from St. Thomas Aquinas and the Preaching Beggars (from our January Book Basket), the first couple chapters of The Golden Goblet (for our Ancient History studies), and tonight we will move on to the third chapter of Peter Pan.   I hope your week is off to a great start! 

In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. . .

by | Jan 12, 2014 | , , , , | 11 Comments

. . . until our little “priest” finally exclaimed “Girls!  Could you please stop! My hands hurt!“

I wonder if St. Francis Xavier’s hands hurt after baptizing (according to one of his letters) the “ten thousand Indians with his own hand in one month?”

Christmas Day :: December 25, 2013

by | Jan 11, 2014 | , , | 13 Comments

A Saint has told us that one day at Mass he saw Jesus Christ with His hands full of gifts, looking for souls to whom He might give them. ~ St. John Vianney

We began our Christmas morning praying the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary together as a family. 
Then, after digging through their stockings, the children all asked is if we could exchange Christkindl gifts first, before opening their gifts from their dad and I!  
Everyone was so curious to find out who had who! 🙂 

The Walkie Talkies, Metal Earth Models, Snuggles Toy Swiss Army Knife and Captain’s New Watch were a few favorites found in the stockings this year. 

Like last year we gave each child an allowance (except for Captain who asked if he could use some of the money he was given on his last birthday) to choose a gift for their Christkindl.   Sean ended up having Twinkle Toes and picked out a new puzzle for her, I had purchased a new calendar for Sean to use at work, Captain had spent some of his own savings on a restaurant gift card to give to me, which he had purchased at the local grocery store, so that Sean and I could go out to dinner sometime (so thoughtful!), Rascal had picked out a doll dress for Chiquita, Twinkle Toes gave Captain his wished for Original Perplexus (which he has already mastered – he’s ready for the Epic!), Chiquita picked out a lego set to give to Rascal, Snuggles gave Bud a block set (like this one),  Rose gave Snuggles the Rookie Perplexus (we were able to find these locally at 50% off!), and Bud helped me wrap a pink tutu (made by a friend of mine) for him to give Rose.  
I did list the gifts we planned to give our children in this post, but I will try and include the links here (along with any changes) as well.  Our children were blessed once again this Christmas with many wonderful gifts, in addition to new hats and mittens from my parents and gifts from Sean’s parents on Epiphany! They also helped pack and ship gift packages to a couple struggling families.  The income from my new sponsors here at Shower of Roses, along with the commissions received though all the affiliate links, has been such a blessing!  Thank you to all those bless our family by sponsoring this blog, using the affiliate/sponsor links, or with your prayers.  May God reward you!   
.: Gifts for Captain and Rascal :.
  ages 13 and 11


Rascal received the Mirkwood Elf Army, Mountain Hut (I love this new lego set!), and the Brandenburg Gate.   It didn’t take the boys long at all to have all their new sets assembled!
We had originally planned to surprise them with their own Cassocks and Surplices, but I made a mistake when ordering them (I ordered red instead of black) and didn’t have time to exchange them before Christmas since they were ordered online… Whoops!  Just before Christmas I saw some winter snow boots at Costco, which they really needed, so I picked those up to give them instead. 

*I love that my big boys are so sweet and were more than willing to humor me by wearing the matching reindeer pajamas… I usually just give them the plaid pants with a solid/plain t-shirt, but didn’t have the time to find one this year.  They are probably glad that they will outgrow the Gymboree sizes soon!
.: Gifts for Twinkle Toes and Chiquita :.
ages 10 and 8

Twinkle Toes was given Saige’s Horse and Saddle Set (purchased before they sold out), along with Caroline’s Holiday Gown. 

It is always so much fun to watch Chiquita open her gifts.  I just love her excitement and squeals!  This year she received Josefina’s Bed and Bedding, Kaya’s Animals, and Josefina’s Feast Outfit. 


Twinkle Toes was given a St. Catherine Doll and audio book.


I also enjoyed watching Chiquita flip through the pages St. Mary’s Messenger (we gave her a subscription to St. Mary’s Messenger and a couple Holy Heroes CDs) and seeing her excitement when she discovered the pages featuring one of her past birthday parties! 
.: Gifts for Snuggles :. 
 age 6
My dear friend Erica made Vestments for us to give to Snuggles!  (She was going to try and open an Etsy shop before Christmas, but that new godson of mine arrived a bit earlier than expected with a few complications!  Hopefully this year!)  This little boy just loves playing Mass and he had to try them on immediately.  His excitement continued to increase when he discovered his new St. Michael the Archangel Pillowcase and the Baptism Set!
It didn’t take long for the baptisms to begin! 
Snuggles also received a stack of three lego sets including the Coast Guard Patrol, Small Cottage, and Red Rotors. 

.: Gifts for Rose :.
 age 4
She also received a set of Pink Rosary Roses and a St. Therese Pillowcase. 
.: Gifts for Bud :.
 age 2
Bud was so excited when he opened his (way too many!) gifts from his godparents!  The Signing Time DVDs they sent completed our collection and the Nativity puzzle is simply beautiful! 


… and I had originally been torn on whether to order the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Folding Medieval Castle, since the girls already have the Princess Castle, but Sean talked me into it when it was featured on one of the Amazon Lightning deals.  I’m so glad he did!  It’s nice to have the “boy” version and it has been played with so much already!  In fact, I often see our three youngest playing with the two castles set up together.

We also gave the children each a stack of books.  You can see all of those here:
After Bud opened his castle, my camera card was full so I put it down for the rest of the day and only snapped a couple additional pictures with my cellphone… 

It’s a bit of a drive, but we were very excited to hear that Father Carmelo was asked to offer Mass at the Veteran’s Domiciliary Chapel at 4pm on Christmas Day!  This year, instead of attending the Midnight Mass, we attended Christmas Mass at the Dom and the boys were able to serve for Father once again!

 

After Mass we drove around looking at Christmas lights in a nearby town before coming home for dinner. It was such a wonderful day filled with joy and blessings!

Noah’s Ark – The Invitation :: A 1,000 Piece Puzzle

by | Jan 10, 2014 | , , , , | 2 Comments

I always love when what we are studying for History ties in nicely to the Liturgical Year! This Noah’s Ark puzzle was perfect to complete during Advent to go along with our Jesse Tree readings.

We actually had a pretty slow start with our history studies this fall… We are currently wrapping up Unit Two and I just finished reading Gilgamesh (also available from RC History) aloud to the children. It was the first time we had read this story – the oldest known legend – and they all loved the part that told of a great flood and of one man who survived by building an ark! 

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-24, Twinkle Toes-22, Chiquita-21, Snuggles-18, Rose-16, Bud-14, 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.

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