Saint Frances of Rome

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Frances of Rome. 

 There is a wonderful story about her in Around the Year - Once Upon a Time Saints.

Moms ~ I highly recommend reading this story.

  It's full of inspiration!!

Saint Frances of Rome ~

Pray For Us

Honeybee's Reasoning ~

Mom asks kids, "Should we continue watching Jesus of Nazareth tonight or a couple of eposides of I Love Lucy?"

We all vote and it is a tie.

Honeybee speaks up in her dramatic tone...

"Mom, I Love Jesus, but I Love Lucy is funnier!"

I guess she is right....

Saint Medard ~ Pray For Us!

As we brace ourselves for more storms today, we are praying to Saint Medard, who is the Patron Saint Against Bad Weather. 

Born into French nobility, Saint Médard was a pius and excellent student. Ordained at 33, Saint Médard became a missionary bishop, and using his personal wealth, Saint Médard established a scholarship fund in the sixth century, Rosiere, which is still celebrated today.

While still a youth, Saint Médard gave one of his father's finest horses to a peasant who had lost his. Immediately afterward, rain started to downpour, and while everyone else was drenched, an eagle spread its wings over Saint Médard, and Saint Médard remained dry.

Saint Médard's feast day is June 8  (taken from Cultural Catholic)

Dear Lord, please have mercy on us all and spare us from harm.

Jesus, we TRUST in YOU!

A First Reconciliation Lapbook ~

Buck and Honeybee received their First Reconciliations recently.  We made these lapbooks and added some of the things we studied as we prepared. 

First, we glued 2 manila folders back to back.  I picked out two whose tabs matched up. 

The House Cat made the cover page for us with Microsoft Clip Art.  She's so much better at that than I am.  What would take me an hour - takes her 5 min. 

As you open the folder, you find the sheet they made as we studied the Ten Commandments.  That Resource Site had this activity which we used for this page. 

They cut out the commandments and put them in order.

On the opposite page we made these little flaps that contain the questions for a gentle examination of conscience for children based on each commandment.  We cut and glued each one accordingly.

The first folder ~

Flip over the folder page and you have a the steps for a good confession.

 On the last page they wrote in the three things that happen to you after you make a good confession.

The second folder ~

They were both so excited to receive their First Reconciliations! 

Now they ask to go every week.

And a child shall lead them!

How to get rid of those pesky highlighted words ~

Have you noticed that some of the words in your online reading are highlighted?  Is this bothering you as much as it was me???  If you hover over them and you see the words text-enhance appear, I have good news....

You can remove this!!!!  I just figured out how!!!

For IE 7 here's what you do:

1. Select the Tools option
2. Manage Add ons
3. Toolbars and Extentions
4. Look for Yontoo, LLC and disable!

I'm so glad to be rid of those highlighted links that want to lead me to places I don't want to go!! 

It also fixed the problem of my text being really slow to appear while typing a blog post.

Anyway, I'm happy with this Lenten cleaning....  Now I'm off to prune roses :)

A Lenten Litany ~

Let my fasting turn me to the needs of others,

and not my own hungers.

Have Mercy, O Lord.

Let my charity be a sign of your generosity,

not an occasion for sinful pride.

Have Mercy, O Lord.

Let my prayer make me a witness to your grace,

leading me to acts of justice.

Have Mercy, O Lord.

Let my sufferings make me one with Christ,

who suffered for our salvation.

Have Mercy, O Lord.

Let my good deeds not be merely for show,

but for helping your kingdom come.

Have Mercy, O Lord.

Let my broken relationships be healed in reconciliation,

leading me beyond my isolation.

Have Mercy, O Lord.

Let my very life be consecrated to your will,

as this Lent leads to Easter's new life.

Have Mercy, O Lord.

Have Mercy, O Lord!

Let my every thought, word, and deed

during these Lenten days

be a sign of my love for you,

and of your love for the world.

Amen.

What's Lent All About?

Something to ponder today ~

Lent is far less about giving some­thing up and far more about mak­ing ourselves more available to God. If all we do is avoid eating sweets or watching too much television — without taking the opportunity to seek out the Lord more deeply—we will have missed the primary pur­pose of this holy season.

So when you draw up your Lenten plan today, be sure to include increased time for prayer and Confession. Make it a point to fast not only from certain kinds of food but also from things like mood­iness, anger, and a sharp tongue. This can be a season of deep trans­formation for all of us if we make a plan to draw near to God. (taken from The Word Among Us Meditations)

Turning out the Lights during Lent ~

A good friend sent this article my way today and I am definitely inspired to give this a try.  I'm thinking Friday evening would be the perfect time!

We're getting ready for Lent over here.  How about you?

Sweet 13 ~

Snuggle Bug is officialy a teenager.

I kept thinking sweet 13 over and over.  Yes, I know the phrase is "Sweet 16" but, our girl is so precious I just couldn't help it!

She and I made her cake this morning.  It turned out so pretty!

  She also received a big surprise from her NaeNae!

We are so thankful for our sweet gift from above!

I to MM ~ He Gets It!

Last night I read this book to Buck. 

 It amazed me how quickly he picked up on counting with Roman Numerals.

A great math picture book!

A Wonderful Article ~

Have you read Jennifer's new article in Mater et Magistra entitled Joyfully Staying the Course, A Plan to Refocus and Refresh in the winter months?  If not, you should and it's never been easier to do so!  Just click on over and you can enjoy the article after signing up to receive their new digital magazine!  Definitely worth the $15 a year subscription!

Valentine's Day Crafts ~

Homemade Valentines 2012 ~

This year we made simple Valentine Bookmarks to share with our homeschool group after First Friday Mass.  The House Cat made the bookmarks and Buck and Honeybee taped heart shaped suckers to the back.

The House Cat made these little bookmarks to share.

In years past we enjoyed making these heart crafts ~

Beatitude Hearts

Love Is

Have a blessed day!

An Old French Prayer for Friends ~

Blessed Mother of those whose names you can read in my heart, watch over them with every care.  Make their way easy and their labors fruitful.  Dry their tears if they weep; sanctify their joys; raise their courage if they weaken; restore their hope if they lose heart, their health if they be ill, truth if they err, and repentance if they fall.  Amen.

(taken from A Little Way of Homeschooling)

A Blessed Woman's Daybook ~

Outside My Window ~

The temperature is 75 degrees.  Not at all what you'd expect for January - even here in the south. 

I'm hoping ~

We won't have more tornadoes tomorrow.

I'm thankful for ~

God keeping us safe early Monday morning.  The F3 tornado came within 1/2 a mile from our home!  Pretty scary!!!  Poor Buck gets so frightened during these storms.  I know God was hearing his little prayers~

Praying for ~

The families who lost loved ones on Monday.  Also for many, many special intentions.

From the kitchen ~

Hot tea, tissues and chicken noodle soup....  Yep, we are passing around a nasty cold :( 

Living for God ~

Buck and Honeybee are preparing to receive their first  Reconciliations on Saturday.  Please keep them in your prayers.  They will receive First Holy Communion in May. 

Snuggle Bug is preparing to receive The Sacrament of Confirmation also in May.  I am planning on making this lapbook with her as we prepare.

It is an exciting time for all of us.  Our babies are growing up.  We are so very blessed to have one another and our beautiful faith to keep us going strong on this journey!

Novena to St. John Bosco begins Today

Visit Pray More Novenas to be notified  reminded by email each day.

A Considered Childhood ~

Elizabeth Foss, author of Real Learning and In the Heart of My Home has this wonderful statement on her blog.  Once I read it I knew she had said it all...

Thanks Elizabeth!

A Considered Childhood

As much as I am able, every day. I will ensure that my child will:

Live the Liturgy
Experience loveliness
Breathe deeply: Fresh air and Exercise
Serve others
Listen to, Contemplate and Exchange Ideas
Develop Expressive Skills
Practice Logical Reasoning. Math.
Receive Focused Attention and Affection.

IXL Math

I've just signed the kids up to practice their math skills at IXL.  I came across it on another blog.  Anyway, my kids are enjoying it and are happy "to do" their math.  You may want to check it out :)

An observation on Exploring Creation's A&P Science Book

Snuggle Bug is studying Exploring Creation with Human and Anatomy and Physiology this year.  For the most part she really enjoys this book.  It is colorful, well-written, and very informative.  It is written from a Christian perspective, but not Catholic.  At times this bugs her.  For instance: 

• Chapter 7 begins with a section on the author's beliefs... "The Bible tells us, 'For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'"  She then asks, "Have you received God's free gift?  If not, you can right now through prayer.  Tell God that you believe Jesus died on the Cross to pay for all your sins.  Ask God to forgive you for "missing the mark." Then place all your trust in Christ and receive his forgiveness.  If you have done this God says you have passed from spiritual death into spiritual life.  You are now a new creation in Christ all because of the blood of Jesus!" 
• In the Notebooking  Journal lesson 7 questions they ask: What does a person have to do to be forgiven for their sins once and for all and receive life everlasting? The person must believe that Jesus died on the cross for his/her sin and accept the forgiveness that comes from Jesus' blood. 

Of course we as Catholics believe that Jesus died on the cross for our salvation, but we do not believe in "Once Saved, Always Saved."  Amy Welborn has a great chapter in Prove It, Church on this.  She says, "The easiest way to see the difference between the Catholic and evangelical viewpoints on salvation is this: Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians see salvation as a moment.  Catholics understand salvation as a process."  She cites 2 Corinthians 2:15 and 13:5, Philippians 2:12, and 2 Timothy 2: 11-13.

SB's Notebooking Page.  The 3rd section is her response to this section.

us all eternal life.  

(these words were cut off)

  Of course, you could just overlook these sections and use the book for just the A&P. 

 I just wanted to give you a heads up.

Is there ever going to be a Catholic Science program like the Exploring Creation? 

 If there is one you know about, please share!!!

2011 National Champions!

What a perfect game this was!  That is if you are a BAMA fan!

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!

  That makes 14 National Championships!!

Time to buy a new shirt.

We also set a couple of records...

1. Coach Saban is the first coach to win three Nat'l Championships.

2.  This is the 1st SHUT-OUT ever in BCS history.

AL 21 - LSU 0

Yea, Alabama!  Drown 'em, Tide!
Every Bama man's behind you-
hit your stride!
Go teach the TIGERS to behave!
Send the Yellow Jackets to a watery grave!
And if a man starts to weaken,
That's a shame!
For Bama's pluck and grit have writ
Her name in Crimson Flame!
Fight on, fight on, fight on, men!
Remember the Rose Bowl - 
We'll win then!
So roll on to vict'ry,
hit your stride!
You're Dixie's football pride!
Crimson Tide, Roll Tide, Roll Tide!


(The House Cat, Snuggle Bug, Buck and Honeybee all know the Alabama fight song by heart.  We all sing it after every Bama touchdown and field goal.)

Inside the Earth Study

We have been studying Earth Science lately. Not that I planned to, of course :) It's all part of this new land of "Unschooling."  It all began when Buck found this book

in the basket.  Some of you may know that he has not been like my girls who are always reading something.  Anyway, this was one of those books he asked me to read again and again.   And we did.  (By the way, I found this book in Maureen Whitman's For The Love of Literature.  I use this book for strewing good books about.)

How cool was it when this book

was on our history reading list? 

I found these pages on Enchanted Learning and ordered other books and DVDs from the library.  You can see which ones below.

Then we put these into a lapbook to keep for future reference. 

Honeybee drew this while Buck and I were working on the lapbook.  I'd say she had the idea of what was going on.  Notice the frowns ;)

We also worked an experiment in.  I had everything together and asked Dad if he'd perform the experiment for us.  He was happy to and I was happy he did.  (He's more 'science-minded' than I :)

First he added the baking soda (the base).

Then some dish detergent,

a little water,

and some vinegar (the acid) which had been mixed with red food coloring.

When the vinegar reacts with the baking soda, carbon dioxide gas is formed and the bubbles push the "lava" out of the volcano.  

Note:  I wasn't sure how messy this would be.  It wasn't too messy after all.  This pan held all of the lava flow.

Afterwards, Dad had a good discussion on chemical reactions with the rest of us.  After all, his dad is a chemical engineer! 

Sugary, Wintry Houses ~

We finally got around to making our Christmas houses today.

 The kids had a blast and I had fun listening to them laugh. 

The House Cat's ~

Alpine Cottage

Looks so cozy

Snuggle Bug's ~

  Log Cabin

Reminds me of the great visit we had with one of their uncles last week. 

 He's about to have a log cabin built.

Buck's ~

Cathedral 

(Buck and I had fun making this church.

I added the IHS for the Feast of the Holy Name)

Honeybee's ~

Christmas Convent

There's a sister kneeling in the center of the church

surrounded by little orange slices chairs.

A fun activity for all involved!

A Thought Provoking Quote ~

"Anything we put forward either interests them (our children) or doesn't.  If it's uninteresting, it's not going to be learned, really.  Somewhere  out there, there is a text, or approach, or idea, that can make that information interesting or worthwhile.  And we'd prefer to find that, rather than try to force some unwanted information on a child - because our fundamental objective is to keep alive their love of learning, and desire to learn, and to help them learn to find information they want."  taken from The Unschooling Handbook.

On the second night of the new year ~

I'm enjoying ~

A beautiful fire ablaze in the fireplace.  It's super cold outside.  We are all extremely blessed to have such a cozy dwelling!  My honey had the kids out helping collect the wood he cut down over the past few days.  We are so thankful to be living here!

Listening to ~

The House Cat reading tonight's book aloud to us.  What a pleasant voice she has.  I love seeing Buck and Honeybee snuggled up beside her.  She and Snuggle Bug both read aloud so beautifully.

Back to school ~

Well, not really....  we never actually stopped.

We are continuing to live a life of learning.  HC & SB are going to incorporate a little more "desk time" into the days we are here all day and don't have company.  (Wordly Wise, Science)   I'm looking into Teaching Textbooks and IXL for Math.  They both enjoy creative writing and spend lots of time on it.  I am proud of their work and the accomplishment of being published in the latest edition of The Homeschool Literary Quarterly.

Goals for January ~

Exercise

Eat More Fruits and Veggies

First Friday Mass

Look into starting a Blue Knights group for Buck

Little Flowers for Honeybee

Set a date for a Winter Tea for the big girls

Make time for Science Experiments with Buck

First Reconciliation for Buck and Honeybee

Most of all I pray to be open to Our Lord's Will in our lives.

I hope your year is off to a wonderful start!

A Beautiful Examination of Conscience

I wanted to share this beautiful meditation from today's The Word Among Us reflection.  These are always well done and this one is no exception.

This is an adaption of the examination of conscience that St. Ignatius Loyola recommended for daily use. This simple, five-part prayer helps reveal where God has worked in your life, as well as where you’ve fallen short. And having stud­ied these divine “footprints,” you’ll see more clearly where to walk in the future.

1. Begin by thanking God for his blessings, great and small. Let your mind recall events and experiences from the past year, and express your gratitude. “Bless his name,” as to­day’s psalm says (Psalm 96:2).

2. Ask for the grace to know your-self—especially to know your sins and be rid of them. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see what should be brought to light and to know how greatly God cherishes you.

3. Now review the year in more detail, month by month. (If you kept a journal or marked events on a cal­endar, these could help jog your memory.) Consider the highs and lows, the victories and defeats. Ask: Where did I experience God’s presence and accept his invitation? Where did I turn away? Where could I have been more loving? More open? Where did I respond to the Spirit?

4. If you turned up some faults and failings (and who doesn’t!), ask God’s forgiveness. Plan to go to con­fession and, if need be, to make things right with anyone you’ve wronged.

5. Now it’s time for resolutions! Enlightened by your backward look, you can move forward to set good goals for 2012. Do it with confi­dence, for the God who poured out his grace in the past is with you to make this a year of grace upon grace.

“Lord, how can I thank you for your goodness to me? What return can I make for your love?”

The Twelve Days of Christmas Lapbook ~

The kids and I pulled out this lapbook  after we read The Twelve Days of Christmas.    I guess I never got around to sharing it last year. It was a good review for the whole family.  I ended up also pulling this off the shelf.

 I think I got the templates here although I'm not positive. 

*** Notice that I changed the third day to the Three Theological Virtues***