Cranberry, Pumpkin, and Apple Pie Thanksgiving

We’ve been enjoying ourselves in the kitchen these past couple of days.  Buck, Honeybee and I started off by reading Cranberry Thanksgiving and P is for Pilgrim.

First we baked these cute little Turkey Sugar Cookies.

We even had a little “unschooling” lesson on measurements, placing them 2” apart on the cookie sheet. 

Next we started on Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread.  You can find this recipe in the back of Cranberry Thanksgiving. 

Buck enjoyed sifting the dry ingredients.

Honeybee stirred in the Craisins.  We went with these instead of using both raisins and cranberries.  We also doubled the butter…It is Thanksgiving!!

This bread turned out wonderful!!  No wonder Mr. Hoarce was trying to steal the recipe  

We are definitely adding this to our traditional menu.

~

Snuggle Bug made her traditional Pumpkin Pies ~

(We make two pies from this recipe)

and The House Cat sliced lots of apples to make her daddy’s favorite Apple Pies.

(We use prepared crusts)

Both of these turned out so yummy!

~

Granny and Papa came in last night and we enjoyed hanging out watching I Love Lucy re-runs. This morning we cooked a feast.

Granny seasoned up the turkey breast – Cajun style.

She actually picked up the dressing from Piggly Wiggly on her way.  I have to admit it was delicious!  She is a great cook but, likes their cornbread dressing more than her own.

By the way she makes the most delicious fruit salad.

Here’s the recipe ~

4 lg Oranges or 6 sm., remove all pulp then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar depending on the sweetness of the oranges. 

Add ~

2 Bananas, sliced

1 Can of Mandarin oranges, drained

1 Can (Oregon) Thompson grapes, drained

1 Can  Pineapple tidbits, drained

1 jar Maraschino cherries, drained

8 oz. carton Sour Cream

Mix all together and refrigerate.

~

Snuggle Bug did a beautiful job setting the table.

And here’s the result of all that hard work ~

Yummy!!

Dear Lord we are so thankful for ALL of the Many Blessings you continue to bestow upon us.

All Saints Day 2011 ~ pt. 2

Today we celebrate all those who have made it to heaven, which of course is our ultimate goal.  Inspired by this theme, I came up with this game.

Score the Ultimate Goal ~

We made halos out of sparkly pipe cleaners and did our best to score the goal of heaven.

Buck helped to make our ~ Knock Out Sin Game

He made these little signs for the punching bag showing things we should try to stop doing.

We also blew up lots of balloons and played

St. Sebastian's Volleyball.

We hit them back and forth to one another and talked about how we are here to help pick each other up when we are down.  And of course how the Saints in Heaven are always ready to pray for us.

I loved our Saints Bingo game ~

Jessica created these using pics from one of our favorite Saint books. 

Thanks so much for sharing these Jessica!

The House Cat was the winner.

We also carved our Saint O' Lanterns today.

Buck and Snuggle Bug chose

St. James's cross

and

Honeybee and The Housecat carved

St. Clare's Monstrance

Snuggle Bug and I made Caramel Apples for dessert

Yum!  I can't wait for supper!

I loved hearing Honeybee singing ~

I'm growing with the Saints

To be the best that I can be.

I'm growing with the Saints,

Won't you grow along with me?

Hope you had a wonderful day too!

All Ye Saints of God ~ Pray For Us!



Our Saint Andrew’s Day Celebration

We had a great time yesterday celebrating Saint Andrew.  This is a special day in our home.  My honey choose Saint Andrew as his Confirmation patron saint.  He said he did so because he loved Saint Andrew’s zeal for the Lord.  He chose to follow Jesus and was strong in doing so.  I pray for God to continue to strengthen my honey through the intercession of Saint Andrew.

The kids and I had fun making St. Andrew Scones.

 We marked each scone with an X in rememberance of him dying on an X shaped cross.

They enjoyed playing with the extra dough while the scones baked. Then we had a nice tea partyI asked my honey what he wanted for his special supper….  My fisherman is a country boy! We ended our day with a short clip from Jesus of Nazareth.  (Including of course St. Andrew)  We also lit our Advent wreath, sang our Advent songs, opened a door on our Advent calendar, and prayed together before turning in.  It was a wonderful end to a great day!

My Advent Daybook

For today ~ Monday November 30, 2009 ~ Happy New Year Everyone! What a wonderful way to begin our preparations for the birth of Our Savior. A new liturgical year - a fresh start- preparing our homes and our hearts!

Outside my window ~ Rain. It isn't dampening our spirits though!

Around the house ~ Snuggle Bug set up our beautiful Advent wreath with purple and pink candles standing tall ready to welcome the King. The entertainment stand is freshly dusted (and cleared away of the junk it attracts.) Now you can actually see the liturgical candle burning brightly! Our new Advent calendar is waiting for us to begin peeking in it's doors tonight. Yes, we were planning on starting yesterday but, God had other plans for us :)

Last night ~ A call from my hubby's oldest brother. He's passing through town with his two sons. Would we come and visit with them at their sister's home here in town? You bet! You just can't let that opportunity pass you by. Even if it is passed the little one's bed time and Honeybee is still coughing :/

One (or some) of my favorite things ~ Excitement in the air. Spontaneity. Laughter!

I'm working on ~ Our Christmas list. I'm really leaning towards doing most of my shopping on Amazon this year. It just seems soooo much easier. Easier on the body and on the nerves :) I'm also getting ready for a run to the library. Time to drop off Thanksgiving books and pick up the Advent ones :)

I'm hearing ~ Snuggle Bug, Buck and Honeybee singing The Advent Wreath Song. No doubt they are sitting around it upstairs :) The dryer is running. Do I hear The House Cat shuffling around upstairs after a late night?

First week of Advent ~ Read aloud a story from The Jesse Tree each day. This is a book about Our Lord's family tree. Fling Wide the Doors Advent Calendar, prayers, and Advent songs each evening before bed.

~In the Advent basket ~ Cobweb Christmas, the tradition of tinsel on the tree. The Cobweb Curtain. The Christmas Cobwebs. Christmas Is..... by Jan Brett. B is for Bethlehem. Christmas in the Stable. S is for Star. When it Snowed that Night. All For The Newborn Baby. Apple Tree Christmas. The Attic Christmas. Christmas Tapestry. The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Treasury. Christmas With Victoria (2002).

Looking forward to ~ Celebrating my birthday this week with my family. The music of the season. I'm especially enjoying The House Cat bringing her guitar into atrium and sharing Advent songs with all of us. She'll come for our Advent celebration next Sunday morning.

Feast Days This Week ~ Monday Nov.30 ~ Saint Andrew. Plans: Print these fish for Buck and Honeybee to color. Explain why the fish is used as a Christian Symbol.

The fish is a symbol of the Christian faith because the letters of the Greek
word for fish, "ichthys" form an acronym for the Greek phrase, "Jesus Christ,
Son of God, Savior". Early Christians, during the time of persecutions when it
was not safe to be a known as a Christian, drew a fish in the ground in order to
secretly identify themselves to other believers. Even today one sees this fish
symbol, often containing the Greek letters spelling "fish", on religious
articles and even on bumper stickers.

Maybe make Saint Andrew Scones for snack time. Watch the part of Jesus of Nazareth that has Saint Andrew on it. Here are some other links for your Saint Andrew Day Celebration.

Other Saints we celebrate this week: Saint Edmund Campion, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint John Damascene and on Sunday Saint Nicholas. I hope to share more plans for these celebrations later.

~ My Picture Thought ~

This is how my mom's pecan pie looked when we arrived for Thanksgiving dinner. My dad can never wait until Thursday for his first piece of pecan pie :)

I pray for God to richly bless you and your families as we begin our Advent season. Love, Lori

Visit Peggy for more daybook inspiration!

My Thanksgiving Week Daybook Entry

For Today ~ Monday, November 23, 2009

Outside my window ~ The sky is grey and the ground is covered with a beautiful blanket of colorful leaves. Only a few pretty red leaves are left hanging onto the top of our Sugar Maple in the front yard.


I am hoping ~ To get outside with the kids and collect some of these beautiful leaves before they are all gone. I have this wonderful book checked out from the library. I hope to be able to do a little something from it. It's very informative. It tells you how to clean and prepare the leaves you bring in. I also read an article on decorating your home with them. It said to press them in a book and display in small glass beakers and vases. Very Beautiful :)

I am hearing ~ More stuffy nose sniffles and coughs :( We all just finished a round of antibiotics for strep throat and sinus infections. I sure was hoping that would get us through the end of the year.

I am praying for ~ The House Cat's nerve conduction study to go well tomorrow. I'm hoping it will give us the answers to why her arm is still bothering her after all this time. I'm also keeping a dear friend and her family in my prayers as she takes care of her aged father who was just diagnosed with pneumonia and 4th stage lung cancer.

I am thinking of ~ My time spent in our Good Shepherd Atrium yesterday. I just love working with little children. Seeing the wonder in their eyes as they listen to a lesson on The Land of Israel or The Annunciation is just so enduring. I tried to be a good girl and sit in a chair for my lessons... At one point I found myself down on a mat with a child helping them to paste the symbols on the land of Israel map. A sweet brown eyed 4 year old placed her hand on my shoulder and said, "Mrs. Lori, You're not supposed to be on the floor!" :) Too cute!

The House Cat came in and shared Advent songs with us at the end of class. I am so glad she's able to play her guitar again. The 3 year olds enjoyed learning these new songs and the 4 and 5 year olds picked right up on them from last year. I think their favorite was the Advent Wreath Song....Sitting with my brothers, sitting with my sisters, sitting by the advent wreath. Waiting with my brothers, waiting with my sisters, waiting by the advent wreath. Why are we waiting boys? Why are we waiting girls? Who are we waiting for? Stand up and sing. HE is the KING! He is the Lord of Lords! That's who we're waiting for, that's who we're waiting for!

Preparing for Thanksgiving ~ We are enjoying Reading ~Cranberry Thanksgiving, P is for Pilgrim, One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, and Watching Mouse on the Mayflower, An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving,and William Bradford and The First Thanksgiving.


I'm also making our Thanksgiving shopping list. I'll share more on that later :) We will celebrate with my parent's this year. I'm so thankful to have them so close now.

I am planning on perusing Enchanted Learning's Site for activities for Buck and Honeybee. Last year we had fun with this.

Living the Liturgical Year ~ Today we celebrate St. Clement and Bl. Miguel Pro. We read a wonderful poem on Miguel Pro this morning from Cloud of Witnesses II. Once Upon a Time Saints had a great story on St. Clement, the second bishop of Rome. Tomorrow we remember St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions. Wednesday, it's Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Thursday - St. John Berchmans. Saturday we celebrate Saint Catherine Laboure. This will be a great day for a craft on The Miraculous Medal!

Then on Sunday ADVENT begins!

One of my favorite things ~ Music. All kinds. As long as God likes the message :) Right now I'm listening to I'd Need A Savior by Among the Thirsty.

I actually Enjoy ~ Clothing my family. Yes, that includes doing the laundry! I'm so thankful to be back in action there!

May God Bless You and Your Family This Week :) Love, Lori

Visit Peggy for more daybook fun!

Copywork by Snuggle Bug

We are praying for all of our deceased loved ones this month. May God bless us all with His peace and grace.

What a Celebration!

We had an awesome ALL Saints Day! This year our homeschool group wasn't able to meet for our annual party so we had our own at home. Dad and I were so impressed with the kids work on their costumes and games. We enjoyed The Bountiful Bakery ran by St.Anne(Honeybee), St. Andrew's Fishing by St. Andrew(Buck), Armor Yourself With God by St. Joan of Arc(Snuggle Bug) and St. Cecilia's Angel Craft Corner By St. Cecilia(The House Cat). We had WAY too much food, but were happy to take and share at church this morning:) Hope you had a blessed day as well.



Thanks Eileen on Him for sharing the inspiration to surprise the kids with decorations. Seeing their faces light up was such a gift.












We had quite a feast!

Holy Ghost Cookies and Heavenly Haystacks


Saintly Subs and Sides


ALL YOU SAINTS OF HEAVEN - PRAY FOR US!