Week 30

by | Oct 26, 2011 | , | 16 Comments

By now God may have topped me
with one lovely head of hair.
I am His beautiful creation.
When I’m born, you’ll want to stare!
~ The Miracle of Me

I didn’t plan on crying at either of my appointments yesterday afternoon… The first appointment was just my routine 2 week check-up, followed by a “Fun 3D” ultrasound – and it sure did make me smile (through even more tears) to get another peek at our little guy (and see his little foot touching his forehead)!

However, at my first appointment, my amazing and wonderful midwife surprised my by saying that she had a confession to make. Apparently her and her husband will be going out of the country for Christmas this year to visit family (as they should!) and will be gone from around the 20th-28th of December. I am not actually due until January 1st (originally Dec 25, but then changed due to my ultrasound), but in the past I have averaged around 7-10 days early, which is right around Christmas.

My midwife has really spoiled me in the past, delivering our children (all 6 of them!) whether she has been on call or not, and I haven’t even met the other midwifes in her office. I don’t know why, but for some reason I have already been extra nervous about delivering this baby, and now I am even more so… I keep telling myself that everything will be okay, and will work out as it is suppose to, with or without those that I am use to having (Hubby still hasn’t been released from his training beginning Jan 1) at the delivery.   Right?!?

Our Precious New Goddaughter

by | Oct 24, 2011 | , | 4 Comments

Lord, surround this child with goodness,
lead her in Your light each day;

Help her walk the path You’ve chosen,
guide her steps along the way.

Teach her, Lord, to trust your wisdom
with a faith forever new;

Keep her from all harm, and bless her;
with Your grace and gladness, too.

 It was such a blessing to be able to attend the beautiful baptism and spend some time with Charlotte and her wonderful family.   I am sure going to miss them all when I fly home tonight… Hopefully it won’t be too long before Cupcake gets to meet her Godfather and the rest of my family!
You can visit Charlotte’s blog to see a few more pictures!

My Daybook :: October 18, 2011

by | Oct 19, 2011 | , , | 11 Comments

Outside my window… I keep spotting two cats.  Did I mention that we have cats now?   Somehow I was convinced (or rather ambushed) by a neighbor, Hubby, and 6 begging children, to adopt the two eight month old kitties. They were recently abandoned, when the family across the street moved out of town. Since they “arrived” on Columbus Day, and since they kids had all been studying New World Explorers, they finally decided to name the cats Ferdinand and Isabella.  

The girls with Ferdinand

Isabella (the hunter!)
This picture was taken right after she killed a snake and laid it across the entry to the garden…  Now if she could just get the gophers that have been digging through our garden! 

I am thinking… that it is SO. MUCH. EASIER. to pack for one than it is to pack for seven!   It wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as I thought it was going to be, and I am all ready to fly to Texas tomorrow morning – if a 6:00 am flight can actually be considered “morning.”

I am thankful… that I finally will get to meet Charlotte and her family.  I am so excited!

From the kitchen… yummy treats from our field trip to Harry and David!

Learning all the time… I took a break from Little Saints this week, to focus on getting some extra school work done with the older kids, and we will continue our “Fall” theme next week when I get home.   In the meantime, Snuggles is still loving All About Reading’s Pre-Reading Program.   This morning, after his lesson on the letter D and some more work on rhyming words, he got to complete another letter from “My First Book of Letters.”  The older kids have all moved on to their second unit of History and are now studying the Colonial Times.   History has definitely been everyone’s favorite subject this year, and Writing With Ease the least favorite (at least for the boys – the girls have been pretty happy with everything).

Living the Liturgical Year at Home… I have started making plans for our All Hallows’ Eve / All Saints Party, and our children have been trying to decide which saint they will dress as this year.   Snuggles has decided to be St. George and was so excited when his dragon arrived this past week!

I am creating… a few new games for our All Saints Party, including a Saint Bingo Game.   I will have to share it with you all when I get back from Texas.

I am wearing… old clothes.   All my nice clothes (that actually fit) are sitting in a suitcase next to the front door!

I am reading… nothing at the moment, but I did pick up a book from the library to read on the plane.

Noticing that… as much as I am looking forward to a vacation, I am really going to miss my family.   All day today the kids have been counting the hours until my plane leaves with sad faces, and giving me extra hugs constantly.  I am so blessed!

Towards personal care… I never did get around to making an appointment to get my hair cut, but I have until December to use my gift certificate, so I still have time.  I can’t believe that it has been since February!  I am so bad at making time for these sorts of things. . .

I am listening… to Chiquita singing “Work while you work, Play while you play, This is the way To be happy each day.  All that you do, Do with your might, Things done by half, Are never done right!”  It is the latest poem she has been memorizing in her First Language Lessons, and she has been practicing it so much I think the whole family has it memorized!

Around the house… the laundry is all caught up, lesson plans have been created for the rest of this week and next, and their is food in the pantry.  I don’t know why I am worrying so much, I am sure Hubby will be just fine and my mom has even offered to come over and help a couple days!

I am praying… for a safe flight, and that I don’t have a panic attack.  It has been 11 years since I was on a plane last, and I am just a little bit nervous.  🙂

One of my favorite things… playing board games with my kids!  

A few plans for this week:

  • School… School…. School… 
  • Hockey practice for the boys
  • Tutor on Wednesday morning
  • Early morning flight to Texas on Thursday
  • Finally “meet” Charlotte and her family!
  • Cupcake’s Baptism on Saturday
  • Spend the night with my sister on Saturday night
  • and attend Mass at the Cistercian Abbey on Sunday! 

A Picture thought I am sharing:


Behind the Scenes at Harry and David

by | Oct 18, 2011 | | 4 Comments

This past Friday, our four oldest children and I had the opportunity to take a tour to see behind the scenes at Harry and David Factory and Kitchens!  We met up with some friends at the Country Village Store, where we loaded onto buses and watched a short video while passing by the 200 acres of fruit orchards on our way to our tour.

When the tour guide asked what Harry and David is the most famous for, Captain eagerly answered "CANDY!"  However, even though they do make amazingly creamy chocolate truffles, malt balls, and "Moose Munch" (one of my kids favorite treats!), they are the most famous for their mail-order sales and shipment of the delicious Royal Riviera Pears, which they first started shipping in 1934!

Our first stop was to see the pears being sorted and boxed.

From there we headed over to see the various Gift Towers & Boxes being assembled.   

I thought this "tower taper" was the neatest thing, as it quickly taped the tower of sweet treats together, so another assembly line worker could hand tie a ribbon around the package. 

The lady pictured on the top right (and her sister) are the fastest basked packers with the company.  They average 45 seconds to pack a basket!  We timed her, and from start to finish she had packed a basket in 41 seconds. If only I could pack that fast! lol! 

Next we got back on the bus and then headed to the kitchens to watch Moose Munch being made, 50 lbs. at a time and up to 800 lbs. every hour!   My kids were all very excited, and it totally cracked me up when Rascal said,

 "Ohhh!! The GPS inside my head is leading me towards the Popcorn and Carmel!!!"  

These modern day children...  When I was growing up, I always referred to it as my nose!  😉

The tour ended with a little box of treats for everyone, including cookies and chocolates, and then we headed back to the Country Village for even more delicious samples of Moose Munch, fruits, jams, salsas, and coffee/teas!

The kids were also able to color a picture in exchange for an apple of their choice from the produce section.  My girls both opted for a Pink Pearl, and the boys just searched for the biggest apple they could find!  

We ended the morning with a little shopping and came home with a couple bags of seasonal flavored Moose Munch, a big bag of pears and some delicious relishes (that are so great mixes with cream cheese and served with chips).   It was such a fun day! 

Little Flowers Girls’ Club ~ The Gift of Understanding

by | Oct 18, 2011 | , | 6 Comments

This past Thursday we had our 2nd Little Flowers Girls’ Club meeting for Wreath IV.   We ended up having a small group of girls, due to a bit of miscommunication on the meeting date (I had rescheduled to this coming Thursday, and then needed to move it back, scheduling it around an upcoming trip), but even though it was small and we missed the other girls, we still had a wonderful meeting. 

In addition to baking cupcakes, and all the other last minute preparations for the meeting, I somehow managed to find the time to iron on all of the girls’ patches that they have earned over the few years,  in addition to the crown patch that their gemstones will be attached to this year, to their new (slightly larger) sashes!  They were outgrowing the small sashes that I originally purchased for them, and so I purchased these lovely deluxe sashes for this year.

As I was working on this “little” project, it made me realize just how much we have accomplished in the past few years of Little Flowers!  I still need to go back and secure/sew them to the sash, since the iron-on fabric that I used doesn’t seem to be holding too well, but at least it is a start and the girls were so excited!


Bonus picture of my latest favorite Little Flowers Apron, though I do have the beautiful new “Living the Little Way” design on my ever growing “wish list!”  Aren’t the Catholic Aprons great?! 

Here are some more pictures and highlights from this month’s meeting:

~ Coloring Pages ~

St. Catherine of Alexandria from Catholic Artworks Faith Keepers CD
(If any one knows of any other sources for St. Catherine of Alexandria Coloring Pages, please let me know!) 

by Twinkle Toes and Chiquita

Father Damien of Molokai from Waltzing Matilda
 (Sent home to be used as an alternative for one of the member’s guide assignment for the younger girls, instead of watching the movie Damien)

by Twinkle Toes and Chiquita

~ Wreath IV Lap Book ~

We had a short lesson on the gift of Understanding and St. Catherine of Alexandria, and then continued our lesson by reviewing our Lap Book mini-books from last month, and adding some for the gift of Understanding.

The girls had all completed the mini-books for their “Favorite Quote from the Book of Wisdom”  (I posted the ones my girls choose here), St. Teresa of Avila, and Malcolm Muggeridge.   They all enjoyed sharing what they wrote in the mini-books with each other, and then adding them to their lap books.

We then continued with the mini-books for this meeting. Here is an overview of what was completed (*some are taken home to complete):

So far I have been very happy with this new addition this year, and the girls seem to like it as well!

Additional Resources:
~ Notebook Pages ~

For the notebook pages, I used the motto for understanding,  various quotes on understanding, an image of St. Catherine, a definition on the gift of Understanding from My Catholic Faith, a prayer to St. Catherine, and acrylic gemstones and sequins in emerald green. You can download my document here.

Here is a picture of the sample page I created:

Here are a few of the girls completed notebook pages:

~ Craft ~

Since the Member’s Guide lists the symbol for this meeting as being “Water,” I decided to have the girls make Holy Water Fonts.

We also made them “Heart” shape, recalling an old custom that originated in France, that on St. Catherine’s Day, heart-shaped cakes are given to young women who have reached the age of twenty-five and are still single.  Not that any of the girls need to worry about that! 😉

Directions can be found here:  St. Catherine of Alexandria Holy Water Fonts
~ Snack Time ~

Saintly Symbols Cupcakes :: St. Catherine of Alexandria

Pumpkin Cupcakes baked in Heart Shaped Silicone Cups, topped with Cream Cheese Frosting, sprinkles, and a Candy Crown – a symbol of St. Catherine of Alexandria. 

Last month, when I was making a trial cupcake for each month, I used pink/red sprinkles and a brown chocolate crown.   For our actual meeting I used gold sprinkles and a yellow/gold candy crown.  I’m not sure which one I like better. . . 

~ Group Photo ~ 

Be sure to check the Shower of Roses Little Flowers Girls’ Club link-up during the next few weeks, as all of the girls that are “joining” our group online/at home share pictures from their second meetings for this year!  

Grant me the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth.

St. Catherine of Alexandria, 
pray for us! 

Shower of Roses Little Flowers Girls’ Club Link-up :: 2011-2012

by | Oct 18, 2011 | | 1 Comment

You can read the details for the Shower of Roses Online Little Flowers Girls’ Club here, and you can also find the registration details here.  Anyone is free to join us at anytime, but I can no longer accept any additional pen-pal requests from here forward.

Note:  You can easily find all of my own plans and meetings on my Little Flowers Page!

To Participate:

1. Create a post about your Little Flowers Meeting and/or follow up assignments that are completed before the next meeting.
2. Using the linky below, enter the exact link to your post to the corresponding linky below based on which meeting it was that you completed (i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc).
3. Add a link your post, referring back to this post so that others can find the link-up as well! (Please feel free to include the Shower of Roses Little Flowers Girls’ Club Button if you’d like!)
4. Be sure to visit the links and see what everyone else in our group has to share!
5. This link-up will remain open until June 2012.

Preparing for Little Flowers

by | Oct 14, 2011 | , , , | 2 Comments

Yesterday afternoon, as I was baking more cupcakes for our 2nd Little Flowers Meeting, the girls were preparing as well.   They looked so cute sitting at the counter searching through the bible for their “Favorite Quote from the Book of Wisdom” to be added to their Wreath IV Lap Books.

“Wisdom rescued from troubles 
those who served her.” ~ Wisdom 10:9

“Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds 
before they wither.” ~ Wisdom 2:8

The first was chosen by Chiquita, and the second by Twinkle Toes.

The Lap Books have been a wonderful addition this year!   I will be back sometime soon with pictures from our meeting, and a link-up, but today we are headed to town for a field trip today, and then to the pumpkin patch sometime this weekend, so it may be a day or two.  

I am also still working on finalizing the pen-pal lists for our Online Groups.   I never imagined that I would have so much interest (over 80 children have signed up!!) so it is taking me a little longer than I thought it would to sort through all the emails and make the assignments.  Thank you all for your patience! 

New World Explorers :: A Pueblo Diorama

by | Oct 12, 2011 | | 2 Comments

One of the boys’ assignments for Unit 1-New World Explorers, of their American History course this year, was to create a Pueblo Diorama.   They used the printable card stock pueblo from our Time Travelers Series New World Explorers Cd (also available from Rainbow Resource), which is the same wonderful resource we have been using to create our New World Explorers Lap Book.    
While Captain worked on coloring and assembling the actual pueblo…

… Rascal worked on painting the diorama!

Together they did such a great job, and had a wonderful time in the process! 

This week we are wrapping up Unit 1 and will be having an Exploration Celebration this afternoon!   I love that it is falling on October 12th… The date that Columbus discovered the New World!  

Little Saints Pre-School :: Colors/Guardian Angels

by | Oct 11, 2011 | | 11 Comments

Continuing on with the Little Saints Pre-School Program, last week Snuggles completed his study of Guardian Angels and Colors!  We have been having so much fun adapting the plans and adding fun foods and additional books and educational toys to the suggestions.   Here are a few highlights from the week:

.: Storytime :.

*Some of the books suggested in the LS Book list, the rest are additions from the favorites on our bookshelves. 

Color Zoo Board Book
The Mixed-Up Chameleon*
Planting a Rainbow*
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?*
Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business*

Pascual and the Kitchen Angels

 I also pulled out our Catholic Childrens Treasure Box Set to start reading to Snuggles and Rose.   They are really enjoying “A Story About an Angel!”  My older kids loved re-hearing this story, and were telling Snuggles all about “Wupsy and Sunny!” 

Note:  As I mentioned in the comments of my last Little Saints Pre-School post, almost all of the books we have been using are from our own bookshelves, starting with some that are suggested in the Little Saints list, and then adding other favorite books we own that tie in nicely with the theme.  Remember that I have been collecting children’s picture books for many years now!  🙂

.: Learning Games :.

Jonathan’s Angel Wings
 Using Story #1 from the Appendix, Captain read Snuggles the story of Jonathan and Little Christian, while Snuggles enjoyed changing Jonathan’s Angel Wings to the correct colors when indicated. 
It is so nice having my older children excited to help with Little Saints this time!  I don’t think I could do it without their help…  Especially all the read alouds, as I near the end of my pregnancy! 

Color Bear Twins
.: Art Projects :.

The Little Saints Program suggests an Angel of God craft, Tissue Paper Color Prints, and Fruit Baskets…   I wasn’t feeling well enough to pull together the supplies for the crafts at the time, but I did pull out a couple Angel themed coloring books for Snuggles to begin, along with a new box of color crayons:

.: Snacks for my “Little Saints” :.

Colors of the Rainbow Fruit Plates

Colorful Flower Eggs
My mother-in-law sent me the recipe for these eggs, and I happened to be at the grocery store picking up fruit when I checked my email.  I immediately added some peppers to my cart!  
Flower Eggs
1 dash Cooking Oil Spray (I used coconut oil)
1 whole Large Bell Pepper
4 whole Large Eggs
1 pinch Salt And Pepper, to taste

Heat a non-stick skillet to medium low heat. Lightly spray skillet with cooking oil spray.

Cut bell pepper into 4 1/2 inch thick slices (you can use one bell pepper or different colors of bell peppers to give a variety of colors).  Place pepper rings in the skillet.

Crack one egg into each pepper ring. Cover and cook for a few minutes, until egg yolks are to desired firmness. If you like your yolks firm, it helps to break the yolk right after cracking into pepper rings. Season to taste.
When Snuggles walked into the kitchen and peeked onto the counter, to see what I had made for breakfast, he said, “OH NO!!  I don’t want any of that RAINBOW STUFF!”
He ended up being very pleased with the Bird’s Nests I made for him and Rose at the last second, and the rest of the kids LOVED the Flower Eggs and Fruit Plates.

Colors of the Rainbow Snack Tray
Red Tomatoes, Orange Carrots, Yellow Peppers, Green Broccoli, Purple Grapes and White Cheese Sticks for my picky little Snuggles, served in this Silicone Flower Mold
.: Other Fun Additions :.
Sorting Teddy Bear Counters by Color…

…and playing with the Rainbow Stacking Toy! 

Signing Time Volume 6: My Favorite Things DVD
which includes the song “Colors of the Rainbow”

This week we have moved on to “Fall is Here!” and will be taking a trip to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend!

Chocolate Caliente on Columbus Day

by | Oct 11, 2011 | , | 5 Comments

Over the years it has become our family tradition to head outside just before bedtime on Columbus day to do a little stargazing while drinking some homemade Spanish Hot Chocolate.

“The Spanish are known to be locos for chocolate, since they “discovered” it in the New World 500 years ago. As in centuries past, today the Spanish drink rich hot chocolate for breakfast, so thick that you can stand a churro in it! If the only hot cocoa you’ve ever had is the kind made with powdered envelopes of mix and hot water, you won’t recognize this incredibly rich and flavorful drink. In fact, once you try the Spanish version of hot chocolate, you might be hooked!”  ~ About.com

Our recipe isn’t quite that thick, but it is still amazingly delicious:

Chocolate Caliente
Spanish Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
6 ounces baking chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the cornstarch, whisk to dissolve. Heat the milk on medium heat just until it boils, then remove from heat. Add the chocolate immediately and begin stirring until the chocolate is completely melted.

Note: If the milk cools off too fast, place the pan back on the stove on low heat to melt the chocolate.

Add the sugar into the chocolate milk mixture and stir until thoroughly dissolved. Taste the hot chocolate for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary.

Note: Another option is to use milk chocolate instead of the baking chocolate and sugar. It is delicious both ways!

Place the pan back on the stove on medium low heat, stirring slowly, but constantly. As soon as you see it thicken, remove the pan from the heat so the cornstarch will not thin. Ladle immediately into cups and serve piping hot.

Happy Columbus Day! 

Week 30

Week 30

by | Oct 26, 2011 | , | 16 Comments

By now God may have topped mewith one lovely head of hair.I am His beautiful creation.When I'm born, you'll want to stare!~ The Miracle of MeI didn't plan on crying at either of my appointments yesterday afternoon... The first appointment was just my routine 2 week...

Our Precious New Goddaughter

Our Precious New Goddaughter

by | Oct 24, 2011 | , | 4 Comments

Lord, surround this child with goodness,lead her in Your light each day;Help her walk the path You've chosen,guide her steps along the way.Teach her, Lord, to trust your wisdomwith a faith forever new;Keep her from all harm, and bless her;with Your grace and gladness,...

My Daybook :: October 18, 2011

My Daybook :: October 18, 2011

by | Oct 19, 2011 | , , | 11 Comments

Outside my window... I keep spotting two cats.  Did I mention that we have cats now?   Somehow I was convinced (or rather ambushed) by a neighbor, Hubby, and 6 begging children, to adopt the two eight month old kitties. They were recently abandoned,...

Behind the Scenes at Harry and David

Behind the Scenes at Harry and David

by | Oct 18, 2011 | | 4 Comments

This past Friday, our four oldest children and I had the opportunity to take a tour to see behind the scenes at Harry and David Factory and Kitchens!  We met up with some friends at the Country Village Store, where we loaded onto buses and watched a short video while...

New World Explorers :: A Pueblo Diorama

New World Explorers :: A Pueblo Diorama

by | Oct 12, 2011 | | 2 Comments

One of the boys' assignments for Unit 1-New World Explorers, of their American History course this year, was to create a Pueblo Diorama.   They used the printable card stock pueblo from our Time Travelers Series New World Explorers Cd (also available...

Chocolate Caliente on Columbus Day

Chocolate Caliente on Columbus Day

by | Oct 11, 2011 | , | 5 Comments

Over the years it has become our family tradition to head outside just before bedtime on Columbus day to do a little stargazing while drinking some homemade Spanish Hot Chocolate."The Spanish are known to be locos for chocolate, since they “discovered” it in the New...

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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