A Family Novena before First Communion Day ~

Many of us are preparing children to receive First Holy Communion.  I came across this wonderful novena for families to pray together leading up to that special day.  This is such an exciting time!  I pray you will be blessed by it.

Ninth Day Before

Parents: Jesus, you love (name) very much. You saved (him, her) from sin and death by dying on the cross and rising. Through baptism (he, she) became God's child. In nine days you will come to (name) in communion. Fill (him, her) with thanksgiving for this great gift. Let our prayers help prepare (him, her) to receive you.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

Eighth Day Before

Parents: Jesus, you died for our sins. We remember this in the Eucharist. In eight days (name) will receive the sacred bread and wine of communion. This is your body and blood that you gave for us. Keep (name) free from sin and full of grace.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

Seventh Day Before

Parents: Jesus, by your death and rising you won everlasting life for us. In seven days (name) will receive you, the risen Lord, in communion. Let (name) always live so that someday (he, she) may be happy with you forever in heaven.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

Sixth Day Before

Parents: Jesus, in the Eucharist, you nourish the divine life we received in baptism. In six days, (name) will receive you for the first time in holy communion. Help (him, her) grow in love of you so that (he, she) lives as a true child of God.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

Fifth Day Before

Parents: Jesus, in communion you come closer to us than anyone can ever be. As our food and drink you become one with us. In five days, (name) will welcome you in (his, her) heart. May (he, she) come to love you more and more each day.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

Fourth Day Before

Parents: Jesus, you want all your followers to be united in love. Through the Eucharist you bind us all together in friendship and love. In four days, (name) will be more closely joined to the church through holy communion. Give (him, her) the grace to be an active member of the church.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

Third Day Before

Parents: Jesus, (name) was intitiated into your church at baptism. (He, She) is looking forward to further initiation through the Eucharist. In three days (name) will receive the sacrament of initiation. Make (him, her) a good Catholic Christian, full of faith and love.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

Second Day Before

Parents: Jesus, in the Eucharist you make us more like you. In two days you will come to (name) in communion. Enable (him, her) to be the person of kindness, compassion, wisdom and courage that you were. Increase (his, her) faith, hope and love.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

The Day Before

Parents: Jesus, tomorrow will be a great day of joy. (Name) will receive you in holy communion for the first time. (He, She) will know how much you love us. Bless (name) and make (him, her) a strong, loving Christian. May (name) always long to receive you in the Blessed Sacrament. May (he, she) always appreciate all you have done for us.

Child: Jesus, help me prepare my heart for you.

~ Taken from Whispers of the Soul from "The Gift of Holy Communion" prayers. .

Passion Pita Pizzas ~

Our Good Friday Meal ~

First we took a pita and discussed how the stripes remind us of Our Lord's scourged body and that by His stripes we are healed.
We are also thankful that He gives His body to us in the Holy Eucharist to streghten us along our journey.

We brushed the pita bread with olive oil for He was arrested in the Garden of Olives.
(I bake these at 425 for about 5-8 min to get them crispy)

Next we spread the pizza sauce to represent the blood He shed for us and for all so that sins may be forgiven.

The white cheese and mushrooms were added to represent purity from sin.

We added green bellpepper in the shape of a cross to represent life. 

Black Olives were added for His 5 Wounds.

Onions were added last to represent tears shed.

I sprinkled a little more cheese on the top and baked them for about 10 min., keeping an eye on them so they didn't burn.

They are very symbolic and yummy!

Lord by Your Cross and Resurrection You have set us free, You are The Savior of the World!

A Day in the Life ~

Many people are curious as to what our days as homeschoolers/unschoolers look like.  No two are exactly alike and I like that! 

Here's some of what's keeping us busy today.

:Woke up early for Mass. Everyone was sleepy after a late night celebrating Snuggle Bug's Christian B'day with dear friends. 

:Mass and Miraculous Medal Novena.  Buck is so cute!  He loves holding the chapel door open for Father or just anyone and this morning he handed out the novena books as people arrived for Mass.  He's learning to be a good servant! 

:HC had a driving lesson on the way home.

:Breakfast for mom.  Snacks for the kids.  Ordered lots of books from  A Picture Perfect Childhood from the library for the rest of April.  Noticed today is the anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride.  HC read aloud Longfellow's poem from The Harp and Laurel Wreath and we discussed one if by land and two if by sea.

:HC went upstairs to work on Grammar (180 Daily Teaching Lessons) and Wordly Wise).  SB stayed in the kitchen working on another short story.

:Buck grabbed cardboard on his way upstairs and got started making iphones - I think.
(got frustrated due to the late night...  another talk on self control :)

:Googled "Unschooling Record Keeping" and found this site.
The big girls and I made daily log sheets from her example.  In a "perfect world"  we wouldn't have to keep records....

:Heard Buck and Honeybee playing Reader Rabbit computer game.  (Math, Science)

:SB came down and told me how proud she was of herself for figuring out a math problem on volume in her Life of Fred Pre Alg w/Biology book.

:The kids are in and out of the music room playing piano and guitar getting ready for a talent show at church on Sunday.

:Buck and HB watched Curious George and Martha Speaks.  (Science, Vocabulary)They are educational!!

:Big girls spent some quiet time in their room reading history books.  SB started Fingal's Quest today and says it's good. 

:Printed off more sheets to do with SB for Confirmation lapbook and for B&HB's First Holy Communion.  Both are only a couple of weeks away!  We are using Faith Folders for Catholics and loving them!

Buck and Honeybee are listening to this CD again!  They must really like it :)


:Laundry, dishes, cooking....

:Practice for Talent show tonight.

And whatever else God sees fit to throw our way!

~ May all we do today be pleasing to You and in accordance with Your will! Amen

Celebrating the Easter Triduum 2012 ~

The Holy Triduum is the longest liturgy in the year.  We begin with the sign of the cross on Holy Thursday and close with the sign of the cross at the end of the Easter Vigil.  It is truly a blessed liturgy leading up to the holiest day of the year!

We were blessed to stay healthy and make it to church each day!

Holy Thursday ~

Today we celebrated The Institution of the Holy Priesthood and the
Mass of the Lord's Supper.

Before we headed out to Mass we had our

Christian Seder.  This is something we all look forward to each year.  I've heard mixed reviews of having a seder.  For us it is a holy experience to see how Our Lord fulfilled the old prophesies.
Each child had a question to ask.  We look at our unleavened bread and remember that by His stripes we are healed.  We talk about Jesus being the Lamb of God and how the Israelites marked their doorpost with the blood of a lamb and were saved from death.  We taste bitter herbs and think of how bitter our sins are.  We dip them in salt water to remember tears wept.  Then we dip the herbs into applesauce and thank God for the sweetness of hope in Christ.

This year we had Angel Food Cake with Cool Whip and talked of the sweetness of Eternal Life and the purity required to get there.  We also discuss the shape of the cake and how it being round reminds us that there is no end to God!

After Mass and the little ones were tucked in, we watched The Passion of the Christ with House Cat and Snuggle Bug before bed. 

What a moving way to prepare for Good Friday!

Good Friday ~

On their own, Buck and Honeybee made these scenes with playdough and Playmobil.

The Scourging at the pillar ~

Our Lord's Crucifixion.

Jesus is placed in the tomb.

Once again they made this craft from the Seton Art1 book.  (I have the original pages filed in my Liturgical Notebook and make copies for them each year.)

Our Lord dies on the cross and is placed in the tomb.

At 3:00 we began praying our Divine Mercy Novena.

Afterwards we went and prayed Stations of the Cross at our parish.

Then we came home and made Passion Pita Pizzas.  (I hope to post those soon.)

Pita ~ Our Lord's Body

Olive Oil ~ Brushed on to remind us of his burial

Sauce ~ His Blood Shed for us

White Cheese ~ Purity

Onion ~ Tears Wept over His Death

Bellpepper ~ New Life

We were all so thankful for food in our tummies after a day of fasting. 

Back to church for Commeration of the Lord's Passion. 
~ The girls sang the most beautiful song with the choir called "My Savior, My Friend."  It was so moving! The refrain says, "On the wood of the cross hung my Savior, my Friend.  Now I come, here I adore and give praise to my Lord without end."

Family Read Aloud ~ Amon's Adventure

We started reading this last year and got busy and didn't finish it.  This year we picked up at Palm Sunday and finished on Easter.  It was wonderful!

Holy Saturday ~

Candy Crosses ~

Easter Eggs ~

Paschal Candle ~

Beautifully painted by The House Cat. 

The five cloves represent His wounds.

We pray ~ 

By His Holy and Glorious Wounds May Christ Our Lord Guard us and Keep us!

My mom came and went to the Easter Vigil Mass with us.  The girls sang with the choir again.  It was a beautiful evening! 

We were so glad to have NaeNae there with us!

Easter Sunday ~

He is Risen!

For breakfast we had Friendship Bread with a precious little butter lamb given by a dear, sweet friend.

Everyone was happy with their Easter Baskets!

Filled with journals, pens, bubbles, playdough...

(notice the bag over the cast :) 

Surprises for Mom and Dad ~

The girls were so sweet to surprise us with these!

Then we were off to have Easter Lunch and Easter Egg Hunt at NaeNae's - made these pics with mama's camera.  Hope to post those soon!

Later that afternoon we came home and finished watching Jesus of Nazareth. 

Thank you Jesus for ALL YOU did for us!

Reviewing with The Jesus Tree ~

Yesterday I hung up our Jesus Tree.  In years past we have started this with the beginning of Lent.  That didn't happen this year.  So I had the idea of using it for  a Holy Week  "review!"  Buck, Honeybee and I discussed all of the symbols using the

New Catholic Picture Bible.  I told them the page number, they looked it up, and read aloud the title and the caption under the picture.  They then took turns hanging up the symbols through Palm Sunday.  Aside from hearing them in the daily Mass readings, a lot of these stories are fresh in their minds from watching Jesus of Nazareth our favorite Lenten family movie.

I hope you have a very blessed week!

Preparing for Holy Week 2012 ~

As Holy Week approaches I find myself listening for His guidance.  I haven't felt the need to shop for Easter Basket items...not yet anyway :)  or to plan activities or crafts.  Maybe it's because Buck has a broken arm and Honeybee has a cold/fever virus.  I'm just letting each day unfold and praying for His grace to lead me - strengthen me.

I was blessed to have quiet time with Our Lord last night while HC & SB attended choir practice.  It was wonderful to kneel in the dark chapel with only the sanctuary lamp aglow.  It took a while to clear my mind of all of the noise and just be.  Be in His Presence.  I quietly prayed the rosary focusing on the sorrowful mysteries.  On what He suffered for me, and asked for strength in my minor sufferings and for those whose sufferings are great. 

The big girls are excited about singing with the choir for The Triduum.  HC will even cantor on Holy Thursday!  What a blessing! 

I've added links for Holy Week to my sidebar including music we love by Danielle Rose.  You can visit her site to read about her.  She is such a gifted artist who is a wonderful example of a faithful servant! 

You can also check out some of the activities we have done in years past if you like.

May He bless you with His peace as you prepare to travel through this Holy Week .

No Fun For Buck :(

Buck had a little accident at the park yesterday :(

We'd been there a total of FIVE minutes when he lost his grip on the monkey bars and caught his full weight on his wrist.  OUCH!

Needless to say, it's fractured. 

He's not to happy about it, but he's hanging in there and trying his best to offer it up for Noah.

Honeybee's St. Joseph Art ~

This morning as I was flipping through my Liturgical Year Binder looking for a coloring picture of St. Joseph for Buck to color, I came across this craft I had filed from my Seton Art 1 book.  Honeybee and I decided we would give it a try.  It's a  pretty stained glass picture of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church. 

She colored, cut out and glued St. Joseph and Jesus to black construction paper.  I showed her how to cut out the inside circles and we taped small pieces of colored tissue paper behind the openings.  She then happily taped it to the window.

Beautiful!

Tonight we are going to celebrate St. Joseph with Mass and a St. Joseph's Altar.  I'm planning on making St. Joseph's Sawdust to take to share.  It should be lots of fun!

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 :)