Little Saints Pre-School :: Alphabet Fun

by | Oct 10, 2011 | | 11 Comments

Snuggles finished up his “Alphabet Fun” the week before last, but I am just now having a chance to finish up the post.   He has since finished up last week’s “Color” study, and I will try and post pictures sometime soon…  We had a super fun breakfast (which he wasn’t too thrilled about at first) that I have been dying to share with you all.  

Oh, and Happy Columbus Day!! Tonight we will be enjoying our annual Stargazing and Spanish Hot Cocoa, and on Wednesday (October 12th – the date Columbus actually arrived in America) we will wrap up our Unit 1 History Study with an “Exploration Celebration!”

Here are some highlights from our Alphabet Fun: 

I was so excited when this book, which I had ordered from Sacred Heart Books and Gifts for only a few dollars, arrived at the end of our Alphabet Study.   Especially when I saw that the Nursery Rhymes were based on the Alphabet!

It starts at the Annunciation, and continues through the alphabet with a short, 8-line rhyme for every letter with a picture on every page.

I was curious how they were going to tie in the letter “X” and loved that they used it for the ten commandments! 
.: Learning Games :.

Alphabet Cereal Match
Snuggles loved forming his name out of cereal! 

Pudding Play
 

Upper and Lower
I purchased this great Upper and Lower puzzle years ago, and it has been a great puzzle!   I can’t seem to find it available anywhere to link to, but I did see a seperate Upper and Laura Puzzle now made by Lauri:

.: Art Projects :.

On the Coconut Tree
This is always a favorite craft with my little ones.   Snuggles loved it just as much as his older siblings did when they were his age. 
.: Snacks for my “Little Saints” :.

ABC Coconut Tree Snack
For one of the snacks, I modified an idea I have used in the past for both T Week and Week 5 of the Garden Parties, the Coconut Tree!

Alpha-Bits

Alpha-Bits Cereal is always a treat in our home. . . 

Alphabet Soup

I planned on making our own Alphabet Soup, with some Alphabet Pasta that I purchased, but I never did get round to it.   As an alternative, I picked up this can of “BernieO’s,”not sure if Snuggles would eat it, and not noticing that it only had the letter “O,” but it was actually a hit and he ate a whole bowl.   I am hoping to make our own Alphabet Soup soon… 

Alphabet Snack Tray
One afternoon I made an “Alphabet Muffin Tin” for our afternoon snacktime!   It was challenging to come up with items for all of the letters, but we did our best and had so much fun in the process! 
Here is what we had:  A=Apple Juice, B=Broccoli, C= Carrots, D=Dip, E=Egg (hard boiled), F=Fruit-by-the-Foot, G=Graham Crackers, H=Hershey’s, I=Ice, J=Jerky, K=Kisses, L=Legos, M=Mini Marshmallows, N=Nuts, O=Olives, P=Peaches, Q=Quesadilla, R=Raisins, S=Snap Peas, T=Tomatoes, U=Unleavened Bread, V=Vanilla Pudding, W=Whoppers, X,Y, Z=XYZ Crackers! 

.: Other Fun Additions :.

Plan Play ABC Cards

These are so great!

Missionary Saints :: St. Peter the Apostle

by | Oct 8, 2011 | , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Mt. 16: 16

Over the past four years, our boys have completed Years One and Two of the Blue Knights Boys’ Club twice, first in a group that was led by all of the dads on a rotating basis, and then with another group that was led by a mom.  This year our boys will finally be moving onto Year Three here at home with their Dad & I!

They are very excited, and even more so, with the knowledge that they have a new “online” group, and will each be assigned a new pen pal within the group to write on a monthly basis!  (Thanks to everyone that has sent in the registration for this Online Group!  I will be emailing you all soon with a list of all the members and pen-pal assignments.  I am also in the process of setting up the private Facebook group for this Online Club!  Thank you all for your patience!)

The third year of the Blue Knights Boys’ Club is based on Missionary Saints.  I already posted our schedule and link-up dates, and you can also see that I’ve moved the meetings around to coincide with feast days we already celebrate.   I had to simplify this as much as possible… I am already not able to keep up with everything I would like to do with my children! 😉

Anyhow, our first Meeting was based on St. Peter!  Here is an overview of what we have been doing in honor of this great Missionary Saint:

~ Coloring Pages ~ 

St. Peter Coloring Pages in Member’s Guides
Jesus Gives Peter the Keys from Catholic Moms Helper

~ Craft/Activity ~

The Leader’s Guide suggests making a Fishing Pole using 3′ dowels, string, duct tape, markers and 3×5 cards with various words written on them like grace, truth, goodness, virtue, etc.

However, instead of making the craft the boys actually went fishing with their Dad and my youngest brother, their Uncle David. They had so much fun, and they got to spend some special time with their Dad.  My boys do enough crafts, and I hope to incorporate more physical activities for their Blue Knights projects when the weather and our schedule allow.  (For example:  Next month is Saint Paul.  Instead of just crafting a walking stick, I am hoping that they can go on a hike with their dad instead!)

As another activity in honor of St. Peter, I planned a back-to-school field trip with a few other families, to go back to Crater Lake!  It was a gorgeous day, and the lake looked even bluer than the last time we were there in August!

Isn’t it truly amazing!

The boys were very excited to spend the afternoon with their friends at the lake, and also earn a Junior Ranger patch for attending a couple of the classes and a talk on the lake! 
~ Game ~

Fishing for Men

The Leader’s Guide suggests playing a Fishing For Men, which we played this last summer during some of our Saintly Summer Fun.  (You can see pictures here: Saintly Summer Fun :: Saints Peter and Paul) It has been raining here this week though, so I opted to create a Fishing for Men (Go Fish!) game based on all of the Missionary Saints that the boys will be studying this year!

Here are the cards/documents I created:

(with cover card and directions)

I printed out 4 of each page and plan to eventually laminate the cards for extra durability.  The boys enjoyed their new game! 

~ Snack ~

St. Peter Cupcakes

For a Blue Knights themed snack, we choose the St. Peter Cupcakes that I had come up with this past summer.   The boys had been wanting to try out their idea of making the boats out of caramels instead of the orange candy slices we used last time.  They also wanted to color the sails/shields for the boats, using the color yellow/gold for the keys and red for the sail, representing the fact that St. Peter was a martyr.   I loved that they decided this on their own, with out any prompting or encouragement from their mom! 😉

They had so much fun flattening the caramels with a fondant roller and then molding them into the shapes of boats!

~ Additional Resources ~

Here are a few additional book suggestions on St. Peter from my boys’ bookshelves:

~ Assignments and Prizes ~ 

Between now and the next meeting the boys will be working on the 10 assignments listed in their Member’s guides.   I dug out an old “treasure chest” I have had since I was younger, took all my little keepsakes out of it and plan to stock it with prizes for the boys to choose from at our next “meeting” based on how many of the assignments they complete.  I have been doing something similar with the my Little Flowers Girls’ Club since we started and it is always great motivation!

Note:  For those that are joining us each month and would like to share pictures from your own first meetings, here is the link-up post for this month! 

Saint Peter the Apostle, Pray for us! 

Shower of Roses Blue Knights Boys’ Club Link-up :: 2011-2012

by | Oct 8, 2011 | | 3 Comments

Here you will find all the 2011-2012 link-ups for the Shower of Roses online Blue Knights Boys’ Club!

To Participate:

1. Create a post about your Blue Knights 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 Blue Knights Boys’ 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 linky will remain open until June 2012.

State-by-State Baking :: A New Jersey and Georgia Inspired Lunch

by | Oct 7, 2011 | , | 2 Comments

Last week the girls studied the 3rd and 4th states to join the Union, New Jersey and Georgia!  Throughout the week we read G is for Garden State: A New Jersey Alphabet and P is for Peach: A Georgia Alphabet a couple times each, and the girls worked on completing their Notebook Pages. 

New Jersey and Georgia Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes

New Jersey and Georgia Notebooking Pages
by Chiquita

After their pages were complete, it was time to decide on a recipe for this state. I thought for sure they were going to choose something made with peaches for Georgia, but apparently they had their fill of peaches a few weeks ago… Instead they decided to make a New Jersey and Georgia themed lunch on Sunday, after Mass, as an anniversary gift to their Daddy and Momma!  I love my girls!!

For New Jersey, they choose the recipe from The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States, Italian Submarine Sandwiches:

“Italian subs include tasty italian meats, such as prosciutto (a spicy ham) and salami, and Italian cheese, such as provolone and mozzarella.  Submarine sandwiches (sandwiches served on long Italian rolls) go by different names, depending on which part of the country you are in.  For example, in Pennsylvania they are called hoagies, in New York they are called heroes, and in Massachusetts they are called grinders.  No matter what you call them, they make a great lunch!” 

Italian Submarine Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1/4 head iceberg lettuce
1 large tomato
1 small onion
4 individual submarine (long) rolls
4 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons vinegar
6 ounces sliced prosciutto or ham
6 ounces sliced salami
6 ounces sliced provolone or mozzarella

Steps:

1. Wash the lettuce and tomato and pat dry.
2. On the cutting board, slice the lettuce and tomato
3. Remove the papery skin from the onion.  Cut the onion in half.   Lay each half flat on the cutting board and cut into 1/4-inch slices.   (Have mom help with this step!)
4. Split the rolls in half horizontally.
5. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar inside each roll.
6. Keeping each roll open, place a few slices of prosciutto, salami, and cheese on both sides.
7. Layer lettuce, tomatoes, and onions on top of the meat and cheese.
8. Using a knife to push the vegetables into the sandwich, close the rolls.  Cut each roll in half and serve. 

For Georgia they asked if we could get Coca-Cola to go along with the sandwiches.  I never purchase Coca-Cola, so these little sodas were such a treat:
“World of Coca-Cola begins with W, 
a drink for all kin folk.
In 1886, the formula was invented, 
“Things go better with Coke.”

This week they are working on the 6th state, the state of Conneticut and have been reading N Is For Nutmeg: A Connecticut Alphabet.   
Resources we used for this State Study:

P is for Peach Teacher’s Guide (pdf)

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: New Jersey
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Georgia

Francis Woke Up Early…

by | Oct 6, 2011 | , | 11 Comments

… and we are celebrating the feast of St. Francis a couple days late!

The past few days were pretty rough… You know it’s bad when your husband wakes you up in the middle of the night, offering you pain medicine, since you are crying in your sleep.   I found out on Tuesday that, in addition to some varicose vein issues, I do/did have an infection as well, which was causing a great deal of the pain.  Last night I was finally able to get a little sleep and I am starting to feel much better!  Thanks be to God, and thank goodness for antibiotics and baby belly bands!  I don’t know how much more I could have taken.

Now that I am feeling so much better, my kids asked if we could still complete our plans for the Feast of St. Francis, which was this past Tuesday, October 4th. I usually avoid celebrating feast days early or late, but in this case I thought it would be perfectly justified.   So, I pulled out the new picture book I had ordered,  the coloring pages I had printed, and quickly made up a plate of Wolf Paw Cookies for our afternoon read aloud and snack.

Our new book about St. Francis, titled Francis Woke Up Early, was just released.  Since it was written by the same author as a couple of our other favorite books, The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith and Take It to the Queen: A Tale of Hope, I didn’t hesitate to add it to our ever growing collection of books on St. Francis.  Sure enough, we all enjoyed this new book very much, and my children loved that, unlike our other books about St. Francis, this one is focused on his childhood, and is the tale of a possible, though imaginary, outing Francis took early one morning.

While I read the story, everyone worked on the coloring page of their choice, other than Rascal, who wanted to come up with his own illustration.  

Coloring Pages:
St. Francis from Waltzing Matilda
St. Francis from CHC
St. Francis (with room for Copywork) CHC
St. Francis from St. John the Baptist Religious Ed


Now it is “quiet time” and I am off to try and take a short little nap with Rose.  Before I go, could I ask you all to say a little prayer for the health and recovery of our dear little Godson, who was admitted into the hospital yesterday?
 Thank you!
St. Francis of Assisi, 
Pray for us!

My Daybook :: On the Traditional Feast of St. Thérèse

by | Oct 4, 2011 | , , | 9 Comments

*I started this Daybook post this morning and worked on it a few minutes here and there throughout the day.

Outside my window… it is a rainy day.  Perfect for curling up on the couches with blankets and books!

I am thinking… about baby names.  We really don’t even have a list started for this little guy.  Of course we had a name picked out for a girl, but naming boys has always been so hard for us!

I am thankful… for the sweet woman that was standing next to me in the video section at the grocery store last night, as my husband and I were trying to choose a movie after our dinner date.  She totally made my day when she turned to me and said “You have the perfect pregnant tummy!”

From the kitchen… For breakfast this morning I got up extra early and made my Mom and Grandma’s simple “crepe” recipe to serve, along with maple syrup and strawberry roses, for this traditional feast of St. Therese!  I was even able to get the first couple off the grill quick enough so that Hubby could have some before having to leave for work… They are one of his favorites!

Learning all the time… Only two more weeks and the four oldest will be finished with the first of six “units” for the year!   They have really been enjoying their study of the Early American Explorers, with the addition of the Kaya books for the girls.   Yesterday the girls made and served lunch, as their State-by-State Baking project (though it didn’t include any actual baking this week) for New Jersey and Georgia and Snuggles LOVED his Little Saints Alphabet Fun!  I’ve been too busy posting about Little Flowers and Feast Days, but perhaps I will find the time to post a few pictures soon.

Living the Liturgical Year at Home… The past few days have been filled with celebrations!  St. Therese, the Holy Guardian Angels, and our Anniversary.  Tomorrow is the feast of St. Francis and then later this week we will celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.   I was asked to bring treats for after Mass next Sunday, so I am leaning towards the cupcake rosary.   We’ll see.

I am creating… a list for tomorrow.  I have my monthly OB check-up in the afternoon, and plan to stay in town afterwards to run errands and maybe pick up some groceries.

I am (or rather have been) wearing… this long sleeve maternity t-shirt.  I originally just bought it in Evergreen, but when they went on sale for buy-one-get-one 50% off, I went back for the White and Ruby Red.   It is so comfortable!  I have a dress to return, so I may just exchange it for a couple more, maybe the Black and Eggplant (perfect for Advent!), or maybe this 3/4 sleeve shirt in Antique Mauve that I almost bought the last time I was at the mall.  I know I only have a few months left, but I’m bigger than ever all my old maternity clothes must have shrunk!

Speaking of maternity clothes, if any of you are looking for some comfy skirts, I have also been wearing this one and this brown one and love them!

I am reading… tons of emails, and all the lovely comments over at Catholic Cuisine.  If you haven’t entered the giveaway for the gorgeous St. Therese Apron, click on over and leave a comment!

Pondering these words… from the 2nd reading at Mass yesterday:

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, 
with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding 
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Noticing that… I probably should book a hair cut appointment soon, since my gift certificate will expire in a couple months.   I am trying to decide what I would like to have done, and I am just not sure…

Towards personal care… The Babybelly Band seems to be helping, but I still haven’t been sleeping much lately.  For some reason lying down has been the most painful, and I am not able to stay in bed for more than a 4-5 hours at night.  I am really hoping that my midwife has some great advice for me tomorrow!

I am listening… to my boys investigating and discussing “Biomes” as they work on their Zoology 1 Notebooking Journals.

Around the house… we have been spotting all sorts of wildlife.

Our kids went crazy last night when they saw this guy walking past our dining room sliding door.   I posted a picture on Facebook asking if anyone was missing a ram, and my sister Julianna had me cracking up with her comment:

“Hahaha this made my day. But how random….or should I say ramdom 😛“

And here is a picture of this morning’s excitement.  The kids were still all reading on the couch, when these two bucks started fighting right outside the window!  
This picture is a little blurry, since I was on the other side of the glass when I snapped it…

Next we had this little one, outside the window as well.   Twinkle Toes said,“Wow!  All the animals are coming out with this Water Weather!”  lol!

I am hoping… that I never again find a baby lizard in my bedroom!   Actually the kids spotted him first, and with that discovery, I have officially had enough “excitement” for today!

I am praying… for a safe, natural, delivery and healthy baby.

One of my favorite things…  Don’t you just love this PlanToys Plan Preschool Alphabet A-Z?!? Snuggles has been having so much fun with it!  I think I might have to save and get him the Number Set as well. Maybe for when we get to “Number Fun” with Little Saints!

A few plans for the rest of the week:

  • Monthly check-up with my Midwife
  • Tutor for 4 hours on Wednesday
  • First Friday Mass
  • Bring treats to Mass next Sunday

A Picture thought I am sharing:

Taken yesterday, on our 12th Anniversary ~ October 2, 2011

Celebrating the Feast of St. Therese

by | Oct 3, 2011 | , , , | 13 Comments

“My mission-to make God loved-will begin after my death.
I will spend my heaven doing good on earth.
I will send a shower of roses.”

Saturday afternoon, in honor of St. Therese, we had a “Shower of Roses” Tea Party.  It was just the children and I, since my husband was working on a fire engine for the day, and I actually nearly skipped doing anything special (other than letting the kids work on some of the printables I had created) since I had a low grade fever on Friday and still wasn’t feeling completely back to normal – thinking we would just wait until today, her traditional feast to celebrate.

However, dear St. Therese must have come to my rescue once again… I started feeling a little better that afternoon, and decided to try and pull together a simple little tea party.  After a quick trip to our local market (to try and find some eclairs, ingredients to make our own eclairs, or maybe some cream puffs) everything just fell into place, and our “Shower of Roses” Tea Party turned out much lovelier than I had imagined!

~ On the Menu ~

St. Therese of Lisieux Tea
Cream and Sugar Cubes

Heavenly Rose Garden Tea Sandwiches
Fruit and Veggie Platter

“The Story of a Soul” Cookies
Saintly Symbols Cupcakes :: St. Therese of Lisieux
Rose Petal Scones
French Vanilla Rolled Wafers
Éclairs
St. Therese of Lisieux Tea

 I pulled out my St. Therese Tea from Sancti-Teas, a couple precious statues, and my rose tea pots to get started!  I purchased the tea awhile back, and use it for special occasions only, so I still have plenty.  I also made a decaffeinated Red Rose tea that my children like as well. 

Heavenly Rose Garden Tea Sandwiches
I then started working on some Tea Sandwiches.   I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to make, but wanted to try to come up with a Rose themed sandwich and ended up with these “Heavenly Rose Garden Tea Sandwiches!”  They turned out so pretty and were not only delicious, but healthy as well!   The perfect alternative to all the sweets, especially for this pregnant momma who has been gaining weight a little quicker than I would like! 

I then went on to make some more Rose Tea Sandwiches, using Turkey Roses and Snap Pea Leaves – some with the Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese that I had used for the first tea sandwiches, and some with plain cream cheese for my younger children. 

“The Story of a Soul” Cookies

These “Story of a Soul” cookies were a last minute addition, when I happened to see a package of Rose Colored (Strawberry) Bar Cookies on an end cap at the market.   I put a little icing on the top of each (left over from my Little Flowers Meeting) in addition to a small mini candy rose, after deciding that it would take forever to write on them all with my Easy Writer Food Decorators.   

Saintly Symbol Cupcakes :: St. Therese, the Little Flower

I haven’t posted about them all yet, but this is another one of the “Saintly Symbol Cupcakes” that I came up with for Wreath IV of Little Flowers, in honor of St. Therese, decorating the cupcakes with gold sprinkles, mini candy roses, and a chocolate cross.

Rose Petal Scones

I had recently run across this recipe for Rose Petal Drop Scones and considered making them, but honestly didn’t feel up to baking, nor was I able to find Rose Water, or edible Roses for that matter.  Instead I purchased a little package of freshly baked Orange Cranberry Scones (the cranberry’s at least look somewhat like Rose Petals!) from the bakery, and placed them on one of my daughters Rose Tea Platters.

French Vanilla Rolled Wafers

Since St. Therese was French, these French Vanilla Rolled Wafers from the cupboard were a great addition to our tea. 

Éclairs
Of course, our tea had to include Éclairs, St. Therese’s favorite treat, and I was happy to find four at the bakery.  (In the past we have made our own, but our local market doesn’t carry the ladyfingers.)  We already had plenty of treats to choose from, so each of my children split them, just one half each, which was plenty. 

While I prepared the tea, the children rounded up some of our books about St. Therese, in addition to a few of our St. Therese dolls to display on the hutch.   Afterwards they each choose a book to read during quite time and throughout the coming week.
I scattered rose shaped and pink tea lights over the table, which was covered with a light pink tablecloth and then our Angels and Roses lace tablecloth, while the boys set out our China and tea spoons.  
Then it was finally time to say another little prayer to St. Therese and enjoy our tea!  

Oh!  I took a picture of my little Teapot Tea Infuser to share with you all!  I purchased this awhile back at a little local tea shop, and rarely use it, since most of the time I opt for tea that comes in tea bags, but isn’t it so cute?!?  

Rose absolutely loved that we let her have a china cup for the tea party… 
… and it was so cute watching her pretend to give her doll tea from her spoon. 

Everyone had such a great time, especially our little one, who just couldn’t stay awake for the whole party! 

St. Therese, the little flower,
please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden
and send it to me with a message of love; 
ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore 
and tell Him I will love Him each day more and more.

St. Therese, the Little Flower, 
Pray for us!

Wedding Memories on our 12th Anniversary!

by | Oct 2, 2011 | , | 11 Comments

*I am reposting this from 2008, with a few updates.   This was such a fun Meme!  

Awhile back I saw this Marriage Meme on someone’s blog and I thought it would be fun to do for our Anniversary this year. Here are my answers:

1. Where/How did you meet? We first met at a youth group meeting I attended while home for Christmas break from Christendom College. He was there helping out that night. We were reintroduced by my parents the following summer.

2. How long have you known each other? almost 14 years

3. How long after you met did you start dating? We went on our first (official) date one year later, on January 31st, Super Bowl Sunday. My parents did invite him out with us, a couple weeks prior, for my 21st birthday.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged? Not long, it was only three months! 🙂 After we had been dating 2 months, I prayed a novena to St. Therese to send me a rose if he was the man I was suppose to marry, since I had a feeling he was. On March 17th, the last day of my nine day novena, I opened my apartment door to find a single red rose sitting on my doorstep from hubby. It was the very first time he had given me flowers and he had no idea about my novena!

5. How long was your engagement? Not quite six months.  We were engaged on April 24th and married on October 2nd.

6. Did you have a bridal shower? My friend Trina drove 11 hours to give me a wonderful bridal shower!

7. What was your favorite Bridal Shower gift? This is an easy one!! My Aunt Bridget gave me Our Wedding Anniversary Memory Book, which we pull out every year and just LOVE! I love it so much that a few years back I bought a Christmas Memories Book as well. Thank you again Auntie B!

8. How long have you been married? It has been 12 years today! Happy Anniversary my love!

9. How old were you when you got married? I was 21 and hubby was 26.

10. What is your anniversary? We had hoped to marry on either October 1st or October 3rd (the new or traditional feast of St. Therese) but our parish only allowed weddings on Saturdays at the time, so we were married right in between on October 2nd, the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels.

11. Where was your wedding? Inside a beautiful Roman Catholic Church.

12. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? I think he teared up. ; )

13. How many people came to your wedding? Approx 350

14. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?

The flowers were a gift from a friend of mine. I wasn’t picky at all, except when it came to my bouquet. I had seen a picture in a Martha Stewart magazine and asked the florist to recreate it… It was perfect!

15. Describe your wedding dress. I am going to skip this one, since I think I have posted enough pictures for you to see it… It did have a nice long train which you can’t see in the pictures, and I loved all the bead work on the front. For some reason it doesn’t look as pretty in the photos.

16. How many people were in your wedding party? Best man, maid of honor, five bridesmaids, five groomsmen, ring bearer and three flower girls. (I also had two more of my brothers serve the Mass, and Hubby’s oldest brother did the readings — he was in the seminary at the time and could not be a groomsman– we did our best to have all (15) of our siblings in the wedding. My two youngest brothers were the only ones not in the wedding party… They were in the picture though!) I could have kept going too… I had a few friends that I really wish I could have had as bridesmaids as well.

Three of my little sisters were the most adorable flowers girls!

17. Are you still friends with them all? Yes, although we have not stayed in touch (other than Christmas Cards) with 2 of the groomsman, and one of my bridesmaids — we did attend her wedding last October though! In fact, one of the groomsman ended up marring my younger sister/maid of honor. The photographer even ended up positioning them next to each other for pictures! (They are just to the right of me in the above picture.)

*Since I first wrote that in 2008, we have started seeing one of those 2 groomsman a little more often, and he and his sweet wife are our little Rose’s Godparents!  

18. Are your wedding bands engraved? No, but they were blessed again this past summer by our best man, who is now a priest!

*I now have a gorgeous updated wedding set that was a gift from my husband on our 10th Anniversary. 

19. What did you dance your first dance to? I could Not Ask For More by Edwin McCain.



We came straight from the church — after photos — to find a maze of people blowing bubbles–the DJ’s idea, and a surprise to us!– leading to the dance floor for our first dance! We thought, with so many guests if we got the dancing started, it would give everyone something to do as they all waited to eat! It was perfect!

20. What kind of cake did you serve? Each tier was a different kind: Chocolate, Marble, White with Strawberry filling, White with Chocolate filling. We went with a simple design and extra sheet cakes to help keep it affordable, but it was SOOO YUMMY!

21. What did you serve for your meal? The Catholic Daughters catered, and I really can’t remember exactly what was served… Isn’t that awful!

22. Most special moment of your wedding day? The moment when the priest said “I now pronounce you Man and Wife.”

23. Any funny moments? I loved seeing my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and grandfather doing the hokey pokey.

 Awww!   I sure miss my Grandpa!  :'(

Everyone also laughed at this same bil’s toast… It was a quote from a movie my hubby and his brothers love. It went something like “Marriage. This responsibility is like a big rock that weighs a ton!! It bends them, and it twists them until finally it buries them under the ground. And there’s nobody says they have to do this. They do it because they love, and because they want to. I have never had this kind of courage.” Or something like that… You had to be there, it was pretty funny!

24. Any big disasters? Well… About a month before the wedding, my soon-to-be hubby was sent on a 21 day fire assignment. Right before he left he asked me to take the Marriage license to the priest. Well, what I needed to do was take it to the courthouse and have it validated and then take it to the priest… I didn’t realize that, and no one caught the mistake. When we arrived home from our honeymoon we had a message from Father asking us to call him. He said that we were validly married in the church and the eyes of God, but that the state wouldn’t recognize the marriage. We headed down to the courthouse and sure enough, they would not recognize our wedding ceremony as legally binding. I couldn’t believe it. We then had to validate a new marriage license and then “wait 3 days” in which time hubby had been dispatched on another 21 day assignment to another fire. During that time I visited him on the fire and since it was close to Reno, we joked about heading there to “get married”… After the assignment was over we renewed our vows with a couple witnesses once again. So, although today is the anniversary of our marriage, our legal anniversary is not until sometime in November. I bet that will be confusing to some descendant of ours trying to peace together their family tree many years from now!

25. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? It was perfect, but there are two things I would change… Although I loved my dress, I wish that I would have chosen one with sleeves.  I also wish I would have asked my favorite auntie to be a bridesmaid.  An official marriage license would have been nice too! 😉

*I also wish we would have purchased more of the pictures… I contacted our photographer this past year to ask about purchasing more, or buying the negatives, and he no longer has them.  They had said they would contact us before getting rid of them, but they never did… 

26. Do you have a favorite wedding gift? Yes, lots of favorites, actually! One that stands out particularly in my mind is the beautiful Pieta statue carved by Santini that was a gift from one of our groomsmen… (The groomsman that, shortly after the wedding, started dating and then married my sis!) It is absolutely beautiful.

*You can see a picture of it at the bottom of this post.  

27. Where did you go on your honeymoon? We went on a cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

28. How long were you gone? Just over a week.

29. Greatest challenge as a couple? Finding time to talk to each other, just the two of us… (As well as finding babysitters!)

30. Greatest strength as a couple? Our Catholic Faith.

I so enjoyed being reminded of all these wonderful memories through doing this meme! Have a great day, I will see you all sometime tomorrow.

Happy Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels!

Happy Nameday…

by | Oct 2, 2011 | , | 2 Comments

… to our little “Rose!”
We celebrated with a lovely “Shower of Roses” tea party this afternoon, and will continue our celebration on Monday (the traditional feast of St. Therese) with a special breakfast and dinner. 
I will be back later with some pictures, but in the meantime you can click over to Catholic Cuisine to see the “Heavenly Rose Garden Tea Sandwiches” we enjoyed today!

Printable Activity Sheets in honor of St. Thérèse

by | Oct 1, 2011 | , | 2 Comments

Since the printable activities for St. Thérèse that I had linked to in the past are no longer available, I spent a little time last night creating some of our own.  I uploaded them to share, if any of you are looking for any additional activities to celebrate this dear saint’s feast day(s) with your children!


You can find all sorts of other ideas for celebrating this feast in the archives! 


Happy Feast of St. Thérèse! 
Little Saints Pre-School :: Alphabet Fun

Little Saints Pre-School :: Alphabet Fun

by | Oct 10, 2011 | | 11 Comments

Snuggles finished up his "Alphabet Fun" the week before last, but I am just now having a chance to finish up the post.   He has since finished up last week's "Color" study, and I will try and post pictures sometime soon...  We had a super fun breakfast...

Francis Woke Up Early…

Francis Woke Up Early…

by | Oct 6, 2011 | , | 11 Comments

... and we are celebrating the feast of St. Francis a couple days late!The past few days were pretty rough... You know it's bad when your husband wakes you up in the middle of the night, offering you pain medicine, since you are crying in your sleep.   I found...

Wedding Memories on our 12th Anniversary!

Wedding Memories on our 12th Anniversary!

by | Oct 2, 2011 | , | 11 Comments

*I am reposting this from 2008, with a few updates.   This was such a fun Meme!  Awhile back I saw this Marriage Meme on someone's blog and I thought it would be fun to do for our Anniversary this year. Here are my answers:1. Where/How did you meet? We first...

Happy Nameday…

Happy Nameday…

by | Oct 2, 2011 | , | 2 Comments

... to our little "Rose!"We celebrated with a lovely "Shower of Roses" tea party this afternoon, and will continue our celebration on Monday (the traditional feast of St. Therese) with a special breakfast and dinner. I will be back later with some pictures, but...

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.

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?

looking-back

  • ▼2026 (3)
  • ►2025 (31)
  • ►2024 (41)
  • ►2023 (30)
  • ►2022 (48)
  • ►2021 (48)
  • ►2020 (57)
  • ►2019 (61)
  • ►2018 (90)
  • ►2017 (128)
  • ►2016 (148)
  • ►2015 (172)
  • ►2014 (227)
  • ►2013 (238)
  • ►2012 (308)
  • ►2011 (297)
  • ►2010 (313)
  • ►2009 (486)
  • ►2008 (564)
  • ►2007 (148)

Posts About:

Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

Shower of Roses Easter Gift Guides



All Saints Party Printables

All original photographs and written material are ©2007-2025 Shower of Roses. I'd love for you to link back to me, but please do not copy or take content from this blog without permission. Click here for my Copyright Terms & Conditions. Thank you for visiting!