Busy with Blessings

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Renew today!

Have you renewed your subscription to Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher) yet? Or do you not already subscribe to this AWESOME Catholic homeschooling magazine? If not, todays the day to do so. Margot is sending off the summer issue to the printer TONIGHT. So go ahead and click over and renew or get yourself a subscription. You won't be sorry!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Got yours yet?

I ordered mine last night with planners for the kids too! I can't wait for it to come in! We've only been on summer break about a month and I'm ready to get going again!

Monday, July 26, 2010

A Great day to call your grandmother!

After reading to Buck and Honeybee about Saint Anne in
Once Upon a Time Saints

this morning and reading the book that Hoenybee just had to hear

before we watched Mass on Ewtn, I decided to call and talk with my grandmother while I fixed up a big batch of Ramen noodles for lunch :)

I'm so blessed to have known all of my grandparents even a set of great-grandparents! May we all remember to turn to good Saint Anne, our heavenly grandmother, with our prayers and petitions. We can ask her to pray for our decesed grandmothers today too!

Have a blessed day!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

A Blessed Woman's Daybook

I'm pondering ~ How things change. You think you know exactly what God's plan is for you and then you are reminded how easy it is to get carried away and want to make your own plans. We have come to the realization that God wants us to stay where we are. So, no move for us now. We are peaceful with it and are trusting in God's will for us.

I'm thankful for ~ My husband and children. I am so abundantly blessed!

Honey for my soul ~ A five year old that wakes up and chooses to snuggle up on the couch with her big sister and watch Don Bosco. It such a wonderful movie and I love to see my son learning such love and devotion through this awesome saint!

Around the house ~ We are doing lots of rearranging and will be painting soon. I think this will be a welcome change for us all and hope to be finished for the new school year.

Serving God ~ I'm excited about the call to ~~teach~~ serve the 7th grade PSR class this fall with my honey. We've hoped to be able to serve our Lord together in this way for a while now. May we all grow closer to God in the sharing of our beautiful faith!

I'm praying for ~ peace and trust in God's will - for those I love.

Friday, June 25, 2010

I joined the club!

Which club?

and I LOVE it!

(my honey's still trying to adjust ;)

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Happenings on the farm ~ Vol.I

So much of our time is spent at the farm these days. I thought it would be fun to post on some of our ~Happenings on the farm ~

We have baby barn swallows!

We think there are 4 chicks there. It is so exiciting watching mama and daddy bird feed them!

60 mph winds knocked down 3 of the Bradford Pears lining the drive :(

It was a team effort clearing the drive.

We figured these trees had been planted about 15 years ago. Looks like a great research topic!

Fun find ~ Blackberries!

Here's Snuggle Bug picking blackberries with my mom aka NaeNae.

Snuggle Bug's becoming quite the cook. She made the most delicious blackberry cobbler!

Here's the recipe - quick and easy!

Pour a stick of melted butter into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Combine 2 cups sugar, 2 cups self rising flour, and 2 cups of milk in large bowl. Pour over butter and sprinkle with 3 cups of blackberries.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Enjoy!

Buck and Honeybee having fun cooling off in the pool.

I still can't believe we will be living here in a couple of months!

Tomorrow morning we are meeting surveyors for an Elevation Certificate. There are so many things that go into preparing land for a new home....

I know it will be worth it all in the end!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Celebrating the Two Hearts

Saturday we went to celebrate the baptism of a precious new gift from above given to dear friends of ours. I had offered to bring some snacks to share. Being that we were celebrating the feasts of The Sacred Heart of Jesus and The Immaculate Heart of Mary, I checked out Catholic Cuisine for ideas. I was thrilled to find these awesome and easy ideas!

For the first tray, I hand shaped a block of cream cheese into a heart and placed on a small plate. I then added salsa and broken pretzels to form the crown of thorns. Next, I added shredded cheese for the flame coming out at the top. I put the small plate onto a larger one and surrounded it with tortilla chips. (Using the two plates keeps the chips from getting soggy.)

For the Immaculate Heart, I also hand molded a cream cheese heart. I put some pretty little artificial flowers across the center and placed a sword ~~plastic~~ ~~toothpicks~~ through the side. Ritz crackers surrounded this also in the form of a heart.

I think these both were a special addition to a beautiful day! Thanks again ladies for sharing your creativity with us all!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Honeybee's turn

Another package ready to send to Locks of Love. Honeybee LOVES to brush her hair now :) No more running and hiding from the mean mom with the tangle ripper!

Now we are 3 for 3 ~ all three girls have donated 10 inches of their hair to this worthy cause. We are so proud of all of them!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Next year's Curriculum

It's that exciting time of the year again! Lots of new books are coming in the mail. The kids are all excited to see what's in the box. This is definitely one of the highlights of the year. The next couple of months will be busy with our move. Once we are all settled, I'm sure the kids will be anxious to dig into the knowledge that awaits their discovery!

I've listed the books we've chosen starting with The House Cat (HC) 9th grade, Snuggle Bug(SB) 6th grade, Buck(B) 1st grade, and Honeybee (HB) Kindergarten.

Feel free to peruse if you'd like :) Oh, and if you click on a link and purchase the book - I get a small percent of the sale. So thank you in advance :)

~Religion~

HC
Baltimore Catechism No. 3 (Saint Benedict Press Classics)

Following Christ: Book 6 (Faith and Life Series)

B&HB

Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism: The Truths of Our Catholic Faith Clearly Explained and Illustrated : With Bible Readings, Study Helps and Mass Prayers (St. Joseph Catecisms)

Angel Food For Boys & Girls - 4 Volume Set (Angel Food for Boys & Girls, 1-4)

Note: I'll be using this wonderful spreadsheet so graciously shared by Jenninfer over at Wildflowers and Marbles to link the last two items together for Buck and Honeybee.

~History~

Connecting With History (RC History)

Volume 1 ~ A Guide to Salvation History Old Testament and Ancient Cultures

I'm really excited to start this program! The core books are listed below. We'll also be reading some great books from Bethlehem Books along the way.

HC

Bible History: A Textbook of the Old and New Testaments for Catholic Schools

Bible History Workbook
Oxford First Ancient History (Rebuilding the Past)

SB
Bible for Young Catholics (More for Kids)
Ancient World: Internet Linked (World History)

B&HB

New Catholic Picture Bible/No. 435/22