Thursday, November 18, 2010

Daily Prayer Rhythm and Materials

I try to begin my day with the Magnificat.  It is a wonderful little book that has morning prayers, the daily Mass readings, evening prayers and much more.  I pick up a copy at our local Catholic bookstore. 
 Then I look for a coloring/activity sheet that follows with the message of the day and include the link in the tab at the top of my blog.

Next I use this amazing resource to see who's the saint of the day.  The list starts with Jan 1 and lists various resources you can use to read about the saint of the day. 

If you read this and you are the hard working person who compiled this list, please let me know so I can give you the praise you deserve! 

Some of the books included on the list are ~
Our Sunday Visitor's Treasury of Catholic Stories    

New Picture Book of Saints: Illustrated Lives of the Saints for Young and Old, Saint Joseph Edition

Saints and Feast Days: Lives of the Saints

Cooking With the Saints

The "Times" Book of Saints

The Book Of Saints And Heroes

Saints Who Raise the Dead: True Stories of 400 Resurrection Miracles

Saints In Verse

Saints: Lives and Illuminations

Lives and Legends of the Saints: With Paintings from the Great Art Museums of the World

Coloring-Book-Mother-of-God


I also organized a list of stories by month of the saints from the Once Upon a Time Saint stories series.  We also include this story in our daily rhythm.  Feel free to print and use it if you'd like :)

Once upon a Time Saints

Around the Year Once upon a Time Saints

More Once upon a Time Saints

Sometimes I check out Faith Filled Days to see if there is a coloring sheet of the Saint for that day, a craft idea, or a recipe we might want to try. This is a great resource! Filled with lots of ideas for living the liturgical year.

 I also check out the Catholic Mosaic booklist for the day/month, to see if I need to order something from the library. You can also find this link on my sidebar :)

Other times, I take out our St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism and corresponding Angel Food for Boys and Girls book. Jennifer over at Wildflowers and Marbles has put together a wonderful lesson plan that links these two resources together beautifully! The stories in the Angel Food series really help the religion lessons "come to life" for the little ones. Thanks Jenn for sharing this!

You can also create a copy work sheet using Writing Wizard also found on my side bar.


 We also try to watch the Liturgy of the Word on EWTN (channel 370 if you have Direct TV).   This is aired at 7:00am , 11:00am, 6:00 pm, and 11:00pm.
Lately we've been watching at 6:00pm so that dad can watch with us.  During the homily, I let Buck and Honeybee color the picture I've found correponding to the daily Mass reading, the saint of the day or trace "something they heard" during the readings.

Waltzing Matilda generously shares her wonderful saint drawings to print and color. Thanks so much, Charlotte!


Prayers For Each Day
(These are prayers I pray sometime during the day)

Prayer For Our Husbands
O Good St. Joseph, Patron of Fathers and workers, please come to the aid of my husband. Assist him in his daily efforts to provide for our family, and help him to find his work interesting and fulfilling. Also, help him to be a holy husband and father; may he imitate thy patience and gentleness, yet be unafraid to lead our family on the straight and narrow path that will bring us all to heaven. As breadwinner and head of our family, he does not have an easy job, as thou dost well know, St. Joseph, from thy own life time as provider and head of the Holy Family. Pray for and assist my husband, dear St. Joseph, that his courage and perseverance may not fail and that the trials and hardships which he encounters in this life will only serve to strengthen his love for his family and his devotion to our Lord. Amen.
(Taken from Your Vocation of Love. Agnes Penny)


Parent's Prayer for Our Children
O Good God, we thank You, that You have given us children, made them heirs of heaven by Holy Baptism, and entrusted their training to us. Fill us with a sense of our responsibility; assist us in the care of their health, but especially on the preservation of their innocence and purity of heart. Grant that we may teach them early on to know and serve You, and to love You with their whole heart. May You in Your generosity, see fit to grant to at least one of our children the grace of a vocation in religion. Grant that we ourselves may carefully avoid all that we must forbid them, and may faithfully practice all that we should teach them. Help us to further at home by example the work of the priest and religious. Give us the spirit of sacrifice to study with our children. Never allow us to grow soft nor to make life too easy for our sons and daughters. Help us teach them the eternal value of self discipline. We commend them, O God to Your paternal care, to the motherly protection of the Virgin Mary, and to the guardianship of Your holy angels. Bless our efforts, O heavenly Father, and let our children advance in wisdom and age and grace before You and everyone. Amen.
(Taken from The Mother Love prayerbook)


Daily Prayer For The Children

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin and Sorrowful Mother, commend our beloved children to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Who refuses nothing to His Mother.

Holy Guardian Angels ~  pray for them.
Saint Joseph, Powerful Patron  ~ pray for them.
Saint John, beloved disciple of the heart of Jesus ~ pray for them.
Saint Augustine ~ pray for them.
Saint Anthony ~ pray for them.
Saint Aloysius ~ pray for them.
Saint Anne, Mother of Mary ~ pray for them.
Saint Elizabeth ~ pray for them.
Saint Monica ~ pray for them.

In the evenings we have family prayer time.
This varies depending on where we are in the liturgical season.


We also love watching movies about the Saints and movies that inspire us to be what God has created us to be. 

Our days are far from perfect.  But, we are trying :)  When we fail,  we remember that tomorrow is a new day ~ fresh with no mistakes in it!

God Bless you.  Please pray for us!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Today is my honey's birthday.  

 The kids started off the day painting a banner for him.



Then we wrapped his presents and made cards.

Next, it was time to make his cake  dessert,
Lemon Lush.
The crust was made first. (1 stick of margarine, 1 cup self rising flour, 1/2 cup chopped pecans.  Mix, press into 9x13 pan, and bake at 400 degrees for 15 min.  Once that has cooled, you're ready for step 2)

Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar,
1 cup of Cool Whip, and an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese (room temp).  Spread over layer one.

Next, mix together 2 pkgs of Jello Instant Lemon Pudding Mix with 2 cups milk and layer over cream cheese layer.
Smooth that out and add a top layer of Cool Whip.
Chill and enjoy.

We love you!  Thanks for working so hard to take care of us!
May God Bless you Richly throughout the upcoming year.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Thursday, November 11, 2010

HSLDA Special Offer


Do you homeschool?  If so, do you belong to Home School Legal Defense
If not, now's the time to join.  In this day and age, we need the added security of legal protection!  HSDLA has got a great special going on up until Nov.22, 2010.  Buy one year and get the next free!  That's a savings of $115. 

I just wanted to pass this along to those of you who may be thinking of joining.  The peace of mind is definitely worth the cost!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Secretariat



My mama took the kids and I to see Secretariat last Friday.  It is an AWESOME movie!  We can't wait for it to come out on DVD!  This was a treat for Snuggle Bug especially - being that she's the primary horse lover in the family.
It was so nice to have a movie come to the theater that the whole family could go and enjoy.  ( We were careful to wait for the previews to finish before we took our seats.  You just never know what might pop up on the screen..ugh...)

There were a couple of rocky scenes for us personally.  The movie opens with her mother's death and her father dies during the movie.  The hospital scene with her dad was like a knife in the heart to me :(   

All in all, we had a great time and Buck and Honeybee enjoyed their first time at the "picture show" as my daddy called it.  He too would have loved this movie

Monday, November 8, 2010

"Mommy, I Want to be an Archaeologist!"

I just finished reading this book to Buck and Honeybee as part of our Unit 3: Egypt and Exodus history study.  I had planned on just reading the first chapter as suggested by the study guide.  To my delight, Buck said, "No, mom, don't stop.  This is so interesting!"  That made me feel so good - coming from my little man who normally doesn't want to sit still through a story :)
Honeybee, who normally snuggles up for as long as you will read to her was unusually wanting to stop???  No way  - I thought!  I'm taking full advantage of this moment with Buck! 

Once we finished the book, they were soooo cute running downstairs to tell their big sisters all about it!  Honeybee ran back upstairs telling me "Mommy, I want to be an archaeologist when I grow up!"  Now, they are waiting for Snuggle Bug to hide buried treasure in the backyard for them to discover.  Don't you just love to see your kids inspired?

Friday, November 5, 2010

Connecting with History ~ Unit One Presentation

Snuggle Bug, Buck and Honeybee presented their "Days of Creation" poster.

The little ones had fun helping SB find pictures for each day.  (these have been travelling around with us for a while - so please overlook the wear and tear :)

my personal favorite

The House Cat's poster showed the link between "The Creation Story" and the beginning of St. John's Gospel.




We are all pleased with this history study.  I really like the way it is laid out.  With everything else going on right now, it is so helpful to have this guide to keep me on track!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A Brand New Day ~ Daybook Entry

For Today ~ It is a brand new day.

I'm praying for ~ my sweet mama whose heart is broken. 

I'm thankful for ~ all of your prayers.

I'm looking at ~ a picture on my mama's desk of her and daddy.  It's a sweet picture I took last fall.

I'm hearing ~ the water filter running in the turtle's tank.  My daddy found this little turtle in a warehouse where he worked years ago.  Some of the other guys where throwing it around and he rescued it and took it home.  Pete has been with us ever since.

From mama's kitchen ~ French Toast sticks, coffee, and warmed up apple juice.  It's finally cool here this morning!

Fall fun ~ Mama picked up a small pumpkin for the House Cat.  It's painted as an Alabama football player.  I wish I had my camera here.  I'd definitely include a pic if I did :)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Rest in Peace, Daddy.

I love you and

I'll miss you.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Praying and Trusting

My sweet daddy is home after a 10 day stay at the VA hospital.  Hospice comes today to help my sweet mama take care of him.  The CAT Scan showed pancreatic cancer that had spread to the esophagus.  There is no treatment for this.  God is in control.  Please pray for us all to have peace, strength, grace, and healing in our Lord's will.  Also, please keep Noah and his family in your prayers.  The word cancer is no longer something bad that happens to other people.  We are living it!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

The 54 Day Rosary Novena Begins Today!

I'm so thankful a friend sent this to me!  We've received some heartbreaking news.  My daddy has been diagnosed with cancer.  We don't know the extent of it yet but, it doesn't look good. 

The timing of this novena is no doubt providential for me and my family.  If you'd like me to email you a printable copy, let me know. 

Please pray for us all.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Please Pray

for this precious family.


O Saint Peregrine, you who have been called "The Wonder-Worker" because of the numerous miracles which you have obtained from God for those who have had recourse to you, who for so many years bore in your own flesh this cancerous disease that destroys the very fiber of our being, and who had recourse to the source of all grace when the power of man could do no more: you who were favored with the vision of Jesus coming down from His Cross to heal your affliction, ask of God and Our Lady the cure of Noah whom we entrust to you.  Aided in this way by your powerful intercession, we shall sing praise to God for His great goodness and mercy. Amen.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Painting of St. Lawrence

The kids and I just finished watching Mass on EWTN.  This has become our new morning prayer time.  I did LOVE going to daily Mass but, it was just wearing me out.  I guess I'm just not made to get up, get everyone dressed, and leave the house every morning.  We do miss receiving Jesus in Holy Communion.  However, we are extremely  blessed through the Liturgy
of the Word and the priest's homilies, which are always incredible!  Today there was a visiting priest who spoke about St. Lawrence, the saint of the day.  His homily was very interesting!  If you can catch a replay of the Mass sometime today, I highly recommend it.  He spoke about 3 of Blessed Fra Angelico's paintings depicting Saint Lawrence's love of God and the needy.  May we all serve God as cheerfully and faithfully as Saint Lawrence did!
God Bless you and your families!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Painting 101

We are busy, busy, busy with projects around the house.  Today all of the kids had their own wall to practice their painting skills. 

Honeybee is the lucky recipient of this updated room.  It's turning out so pretty! 

Praying the Rosary keeps us close to Jesus