There has been so much going on in my neck of the woods lately that I'm just now slowing down enough to think about Lent. I'm so ready for this season! I have a longing to turn my focus inward. Dan and I got up early this morning (4:45am) to say our novena to St. Joseph and to pray the rosary. We then had a few minutes to drink our first cup of coffee and TALK without interruptions!
I was also able to do some blog reading (something I haven't had much time to do lately.....which is why I have over 700 posts unread in Google Reader!). In my reading this morning, I came across a wonderful post by Tiffany from Family at the Foot of the Cross. She has come up with a terrific way to countdown the days of Lent! This was very creative and I'm seriously thinking of doing this!
I had a 7 Quick Takes post in the works, but in a moment of "need more coffee" delirium, I clicked the wrong thing and it's gone! I'm not sure I have the energy to retype it.
On deck for the weekend....all three kids have dentist appointments tomorrow (Sat) at 8:00am! There should be some law about doctor/dentist appointments for that early in the morning...on a weekend (and no, I did NOT schedule these, my wonderful husband did)!
See you soon!
Showing posts with label liturgical year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label liturgical year. Show all posts
Friday, March 4, 2011
Monday, December 6, 2010
Happy St. Nicholas Day!!!
We're playing hooky from school today and celebrating the day! What are your plans?
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Family Traditions
I come from a very large Catholic, Italian family. My childhood memories of the Christmas holidays are full of special family rituals and traditions. For instance, most of our holiday meals were celebrated at my Nanie and Papa's house and as is the Italian custom, it was always fish on Christmas Eve, usually Dungeness Crab! Another tradition I remember was being allowed to open one present just before Midnight Mass because it was usually something special to wear to mass! When Christmas morning finally came, my sister and I would run upstairs at lightning speed to find what Santa had left! None of Santa's presents were ever wrapped! His toys were already opened, set up, batteries inserted and turned on just waiting for their new owners to take possession!
I am trying to instill some of these same traditions in my children while at the same time, coming up with some of our own. For the purposes of keeping a record here on my blog so that my children will be able to refer to them even after I'm gone, I'd like to share with you some of our "Widener Family Traditions":
The Where and When: Since none of my family live here in Florida, our holidays are pretty laid back. There is never a fight over which set of grandparents will get to spend time with the kids! We always have Christmas Eve dinner at Dan's parents house. As a tribute to my heritage, Dan's mom usually includes a crab casserole so that I can still feel connected to my childhood past. She is so kind and generous to do that for me. Unfortunately, you can't get Dungeness Crab here in Florida, so she makes it with Blue Crab which is native to where they are from...Virginia. Christmas Day is spent here at home with just myself, Dan and the kids. Occasionally, we will invite friends from Church to join us for dinner, but the morning is our own family time.
Books & Movies: I love Christmas books! I mean, seriously, I might need an intervention! I keep book baskets in the living room all year long. I periodically change out the books so that the kids don't get bored and I'm always adding new ones to the collection. Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, I switch out the Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving books and trade them for our holiday ones. It makes me so happy to see these old friends that have been hiding all year long. This year, we're starting a NEW TRADITION that I found over at The Idea Room. I picked 23 Christmas books (some new, some old) and wrapped them. Each night, the kids (taking turns!) get to pick a book for us to read out loud. The best part is that there is much anticipation as to what book it is! They spend a good bit of time trying to guess as to what book they've chosen. On Christmas Eve, we will read the Christmas Story from the Bible (Luke).
December 6, St. Nicholas Day: Our kids leave their shoes out on December 5th! St. Nicholas always brings them some chocolate coins, new Christmas pajamas and a holy card, rosary or other religious sacramental! We also make Dutch Spice Cookies and deliver them to friends. If you are looking for ways to celebrate St. Nicholas Day, please visit The St. Nicholas Center! You will find everything you need!
The Elf on the Shelf: This is a tradition that we just started this year! If you don't know what it's about, here is a great place to start. We bought our elf on sale at BooksaMillion and we named him Clive! Clive will have a very busy job here at the Widener Household! Santa's in for an earful!
Even with all of these traditions, the most important thing for me....is family. Christmas is about gathering with family and friends, spending time with each other and anticipating together the Savior's birth! For truly, He did change the world! His birth changed everything! The Christmas tree in the corner of my living room is a reminder of another tree that will figure prominently later on in the life of Jesus....the one He was nailed to.
While some of these traditions are held to EVERY year, others come and go based on finances, time and energy. I try very hard not to become overwhelmed with "doing" too much. I'd rather just "be". The older I get, the faster the time goes and I want to enjoy the season instead of spending the whole time so busy that I wonder where December went.
As you journey through the season, stop, think, pray, take a breath, slow down....and enjoy!!
I am trying to instill some of these same traditions in my children while at the same time, coming up with some of our own. For the purposes of keeping a record here on my blog so that my children will be able to refer to them even after I'm gone, I'd like to share with you some of our "Widener Family Traditions":
The Where and When: Since none of my family live here in Florida, our holidays are pretty laid back. There is never a fight over which set of grandparents will get to spend time with the kids! We always have Christmas Eve dinner at Dan's parents house. As a tribute to my heritage, Dan's mom usually includes a crab casserole so that I can still feel connected to my childhood past. She is so kind and generous to do that for me. Unfortunately, you can't get Dungeness Crab here in Florida, so she makes it with Blue Crab which is native to where they are from...Virginia. Christmas Day is spent here at home with just myself, Dan and the kids. Occasionally, we will invite friends from Church to join us for dinner, but the morning is our own family time.
The Decorations: As far as I'm concerned, the Christmas Tree is a must! It just isn't Christmas without a tree. Some years we get it the day after Thanksgiving and other years we've not put it up until the week before Christmas. It all depends on what our financial situation looks like. Have you noticed that CHRISTMAS TREES ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE!! But they are oh so worth it! Our tree is full of hand made ornaments and mementos of our travels. Each year I buy a personalized ornament from the Christmas made in the South craft show.
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| Widener Christmas Tree 2009 |
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| 2008 Ornament |
Advent: When God blessed us with children that had an obsession with fire, we had to make a drastic change in our Advent Wreath, so, we went with a fabric one for the last several years. Trust me, this was much safer! This year, we are going back to real candles! Wish us luck! In addition to the wreath, we also enjoy several countdown calendars! This way there is no fighting over who got to open the window last because each of them have their own!
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| Fabric Advent Wreath 2009 |
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| Advent Wreath 2010 |
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| Amelia's Advent Calendar 2010 |
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| Olivia's homemade countdown craft 2010 |
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| Amelia's countdown craft 2010 |
Books & Movies: I love Christmas books! I mean, seriously, I might need an intervention! I keep book baskets in the living room all year long. I periodically change out the books so that the kids don't get bored and I'm always adding new ones to the collection. Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, I switch out the Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving books and trade them for our holiday ones. It makes me so happy to see these old friends that have been hiding all year long. This year, we're starting a NEW TRADITION that I found over at The Idea Room. I picked 23 Christmas books (some new, some old) and wrapped them. Each night, the kids (taking turns!) get to pick a book for us to read out loud. The best part is that there is much anticipation as to what book it is! They spend a good bit of time trying to guess as to what book they've chosen. On Christmas Eve, we will read the Christmas Story from the Bible (Luke).
I also keep our holiday movies hidden until Thanksgiving, then I bring them out so they are readily available. We usually watch ALL of them, at least once during the season. Some of our favorites are:
It's a Wonderful Life
The Bishop's Wife
The Bells of St. Mary's
One Magic Christmas
Elf
Christmas With the Kranks
The Santa Claus
Rudolph
Frosty
The Grinch
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
The Polar Express
And many, many more!
***Some of these are not necessarily "child friendly"***
December 6, St. Nicholas Day: Our kids leave their shoes out on December 5th! St. Nicholas always brings them some chocolate coins, new Christmas pajamas and a holy card, rosary or other religious sacramental! We also make Dutch Spice Cookies and deliver them to friends. If you are looking for ways to celebrate St. Nicholas Day, please visit The St. Nicholas Center! You will find everything you need!
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| St. Nicholas Day 2008 |
The Elf on the Shelf: This is a tradition that we just started this year! If you don't know what it's about, here is a great place to start. We bought our elf on sale at BooksaMillion and we named him Clive! Clive will have a very busy job here at the Widener Household! Santa's in for an earful!
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| Clive 2010 |
While some of these traditions are held to EVERY year, others come and go based on finances, time and energy. I try very hard not to become overwhelmed with "doing" too much. I'd rather just "be". The older I get, the faster the time goes and I want to enjoy the season instead of spending the whole time so busy that I wonder where December went.
As you journey through the season, stop, think, pray, take a breath, slow down....and enjoy!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
May Crowning
I can't believe that we are half way through the month of May! It seems as though the last few months have flown by and I can hardly recall what we've done! Thank goodness for this blog! I can at least click through my last several months worth of posts and see that we were, in fact, quite busy!
We didn't have (or at least not yet) a May Crowning "celebration", but we did manage to make a few things for our Blessed Mother statue that I wanted to share with you.
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| Just a few simple beads and some wire! |
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| I know they should actually be made of flowers, but I thought this looked more like a crown. |
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| Isn't she beautiful! (yes..I realize she has no thumbs....but this statue has been through a lot!) |
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| I found some blue flowers at the craft store that I thought would make a nice wreath. |
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| I used some of the floral foam and just cut the stems off and stuck them in. |
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| I think it looks pretty good! |
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| Nothing is glued on, so I hope it all stays put! |
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Easter Bonnet Craft
Amelia had to make an Easter bonnet for a class project. There were very little to no instructions for this. I've been thinking about this on and off for about 2 weeks, trying to figure out how to make one. Then, I remembered something I had seen in this magazine a few years back! I had most of the supplies on hand that I needed to put it together. Here are the pictures of the process.....
Once the pieces were cut and glued together...all that needed to be done was to decorate it. We used paint, artificial flowers, crepe paper and stickers and ribbon.
I think they turned out rather cute, don't you?
Once the pieces were cut and glued together...all that needed to be done was to decorate it. We used paint, artificial flowers, crepe paper and stickers and ribbon.
I think they turned out rather cute, don't you?Friday, March 12, 2010
On Sale!!
I just bought these two activity books on sale at one of my local Catholic Bookstores! I'm so excited! For those of you who have them (and use them), I'd love to hear about your personal experiences!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Today is the feastday of the first native born American to be canonized...St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Elizabeth suffered much in her life but relied heavily on the Blessed Mother and the Eucharist for strength and guidance. She was only in her mid 40's when she died.
Prayer in Honor of St. Elizabeth Seton
Lord God, you blessed Elizabeth Ann Seton with gifts of grace as wife and mother, educator and foundress, so that she might spend her life in service to your people.
Through her example and prayers, may we,
whose Faith Community is dedicated in her honor, learn to express our love for you in our love for all your children.
We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer in Honor of St. Elizabeth Seton
Lord God, you blessed Elizabeth Ann Seton with gifts of grace as wife and mother, educator and foundress, so that she might spend her life in service to your people.
Through her example and prayers, may we,
whose Faith Community is dedicated in her honor, learn to express our love for you in our love for all your children.
We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Busy Week!
I love the last week of school before Christmas vacation starts!! Don't you?? There is always a ton of activity. This Friday, all three of the kids have class parties. Usually, I do a small gift for each child in their classes...almost always home made. Last year, I bought a couple of ornament making kits thinking that this could be something I could accomplish while recovering from chemo and resting! WRONG!! Once I took them out of the package, I realized that I had bitten off more than I could chew! Thankfully, my wonderful friend Kathy (who does marvelous bead work) came for a visit earlier this year! She agreed to take the kits back home with her (California) and put them together in her spare time! I received a package in the mail a few weeks later with all of the ornaments beautifully put together! I can never thank you enough, Kathy! There are three designs here.....snowflakes, crosses and "joy" hangers!
As I was getting ready to wrap them....I decided I should count them...just to make sure we had enough! Good thing I did....we were short by 4! I needed 48 and only had 44. So I we took a side trip down to Hobby Lobby after school today. It was "slim pickins" as far as Christmas crafts go. I was able to find these cute candy canes that you can make out of buttons! Since I only needed 4, I figured I could handle this. I should have taken a picture of them before I wrapped them...but here is what the package looked like! To top it all off...all of the Christmas crafts were 50% off! I only paid $4 for this kit (and it makes 12)!
I'm still in the process of getting these done! I've taken care of Nathan and Amelia's classes. I'll finish off Olivia's tomorrow. I added a Christmas pencil and put them in decorative bags (very cheap at Walmart)! Now I just have to figure out how to get 48 of these bags in my car and to each of their classes on Friday! This should be interesting.
At the beginning of the year, Amelia's kindergarten teacher asks the parents to sign up to read to her class in the mornings. I've read to her class the last two Wednesdays and I read again tomorrow! The first week, I read this book....last week, I read this book and brought in some candy canes for the class! Tomorrow, we will read this book....
This is a great book! For a treat, I wanted to make Christmas Tree cookies....but, baking sugar cookies and using the cookie cutters...well it's just not my thing! Besides....these days, I want all my cookies to look like Amanda's! In light of my inadequacies.....I decided to buy the cookies (thank you Publix)! They had some "ok" looking tree cookies. I wrapped them each individually in a cellophane wrapper and used a Christmas sticker to fasten it.
I put them in another bag for safety reasons (I don't want them turning to crumbs) and tied it with ribbon.
Tomorrow night I will get busy trying to bake some of the REALLY EASY Cranberry Tarts for all of my co workers.....and do my best to get the Christmas cards out!!
As I was getting ready to wrap them....I decided I should count them...just to make sure we had enough! Good thing I did....we were short by 4! I needed 48 and only had 44. So I we took a side trip down to Hobby Lobby after school today. It was "slim pickins" as far as Christmas crafts go. I was able to find these cute candy canes that you can make out of buttons! Since I only needed 4, I figured I could handle this. I should have taken a picture of them before I wrapped them...but here is what the package looked like! To top it all off...all of the Christmas crafts were 50% off! I only paid $4 for this kit (and it makes 12)!
I'm still in the process of getting these done! I've taken care of Nathan and Amelia's classes. I'll finish off Olivia's tomorrow. I added a Christmas pencil and put them in decorative bags (very cheap at Walmart)! Now I just have to figure out how to get 48 of these bags in my car and to each of their classes on Friday! This should be interesting.
At the beginning of the year, Amelia's kindergarten teacher asks the parents to sign up to read to her class in the mornings. I've read to her class the last two Wednesdays and I read again tomorrow! The first week, I read this book....last week, I read this book and brought in some candy canes for the class! Tomorrow, we will read this book....This is a great book! For a treat, I wanted to make Christmas Tree cookies....but, baking sugar cookies and using the cookie cutters...well it's just not my thing! Besides....these days, I want all my cookies to look like Amanda's! In light of my inadequacies.....I decided to buy the cookies (thank you Publix)! They had some "ok" looking tree cookies. I wrapped them each individually in a cellophane wrapper and used a Christmas sticker to fasten it.
I put them in another bag for safety reasons (I don't want them turning to crumbs) and tied it with ribbon.
Tomorrow night I will get busy trying to bake some of the REALLY EASY Cranberry Tarts for all of my co workers.....and do my best to get the Christmas cards out!!Advent is moving along at a pretty good clip! How are you celebrating?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Preparing for the season!
I realize that I will probably be scolded by some of you for starting the Christmas/Advent discussion before Thanksgiving! If I were to be brutally honest right now, I would tell you that I've been listening to Christmas music both at home and at work for several weeks now. It's a weakness of mine. As far as I'm concerned...we could skip right through from December 26 to September 20 every year. I love the sounds, smells and wonderment of late fall and early winter. I think also, this time of year brings up for me the most wonderful memories of my childhood. Sometimes the responsibilities and worries of adulthood can be a total drag!
As a result of my over zealousness, I want to share with you some really fun places to visit. If you find any of these sites helpful to you.....I'm so glad! If you have a place that you visit regularly during this holiday season, please feel free to share them in the comments here and then I will add updates to this post with links! It is my hope that these places bring as much joy to you as they do to me! Enjoy!
1. Our house can't have a holiday season without remembering our dear St. Nicholas. We love St. Nicholas in our house and he stays on my mind all through the year as he is the patron Saint of children! The older my kids get, I try to focus on St. Nicholas' Day as the day for receiving gifts and Christmas as the day we give to others as Christ did for us! We are working slowly towards that goal...and eventually, we will get there. In the meantime, if you have never visited the St. Nicholas Center, you are in for a treat. You will find recipes, prayer cards, cookie cutters, books, movies, banners and tons of other things you can use to celebrate this wonderful saint. Here is how we celebrated this feast day last year! Enjoy!
2. Another wonderful place to visit during this season is O Night Divine! Here you will find Advent/Christmas feast day celebrations, prayers, novenas, music, books, online shopping and tons of other resources! You will never get bored clicking through this site. Please bookmark it and keep it in your electronic library!
3. From the O Night Divine site, I ran across the No Panic Advent Series from Karen Edminsten! This is the real thing! She has done a terrific job of giving you fun yet simple activities to get ready for the season. She has a "favorite advent book" section that I love! You can't miss these great ideas!
4. If it's food and/or menus you are looking for.....I'm going to give you a few suggestions of places to visit.....first up is Foodgawker! Warning: this site is full of scrumptious, delectable photos and I wouldn't visit here unless you have already eaten! There are endless food blogs represented here and I'm sure that with just a smidgen of effort, you can find the exact recipe you are looking for! Incidentally, while drooling over the food photos, you can also find a link to another site called Craftgawker! Enjoy them both!
5. Another great food site is Catholic Cuisine! All of the wonderful women that contribute to this site with their recipes and ideas, wanted a place for the world to be able to celebrate the feasts and the season of the liturgical year! There are many resources on this site as well. I have tried several of these recipes and I was not disappointed.
6. One more cooking/food site that I have found is Mennonite Girls Can Cook! Again, this is a place filled with ideas, photos and resources. They also do giveaways and contests! I am so grateful for woman who are willing to share their ideas with others.
****If you have any ideas or sites of your own, please leave me a message and I'll be happy to post a link to it in an update for this post. In the meantime, enjoy your preparation for our coming Savior!*****
As a result of my over zealousness, I want to share with you some really fun places to visit. If you find any of these sites helpful to you.....I'm so glad! If you have a place that you visit regularly during this holiday season, please feel free to share them in the comments here and then I will add updates to this post with links! It is my hope that these places bring as much joy to you as they do to me! Enjoy!
1. Our house can't have a holiday season without remembering our dear St. Nicholas. We love St. Nicholas in our house and he stays on my mind all through the year as he is the patron Saint of children! The older my kids get, I try to focus on St. Nicholas' Day as the day for receiving gifts and Christmas as the day we give to others as Christ did for us! We are working slowly towards that goal...and eventually, we will get there. In the meantime, if you have never visited the St. Nicholas Center, you are in for a treat. You will find recipes, prayer cards, cookie cutters, books, movies, banners and tons of other things you can use to celebrate this wonderful saint. Here is how we celebrated this feast day last year! Enjoy!
2. Another wonderful place to visit during this season is O Night Divine! Here you will find Advent/Christmas feast day celebrations, prayers, novenas, music, books, online shopping and tons of other resources! You will never get bored clicking through this site. Please bookmark it and keep it in your electronic library!
3. From the O Night Divine site, I ran across the No Panic Advent Series from Karen Edminsten! This is the real thing! She has done a terrific job of giving you fun yet simple activities to get ready for the season. She has a "favorite advent book" section that I love! You can't miss these great ideas!
4. If it's food and/or menus you are looking for.....I'm going to give you a few suggestions of places to visit.....first up is Foodgawker! Warning: this site is full of scrumptious, delectable photos and I wouldn't visit here unless you have already eaten! There are endless food blogs represented here and I'm sure that with just a smidgen of effort, you can find the exact recipe you are looking for! Incidentally, while drooling over the food photos, you can also find a link to another site called Craftgawker! Enjoy them both!
5. Another great food site is Catholic Cuisine! All of the wonderful women that contribute to this site with their recipes and ideas, wanted a place for the world to be able to celebrate the feasts and the season of the liturgical year! There are many resources on this site as well. I have tried several of these recipes and I was not disappointed.
6. One more cooking/food site that I have found is Mennonite Girls Can Cook! Again, this is a place filled with ideas, photos and resources. They also do giveaways and contests! I am so grateful for woman who are willing to share their ideas with others.
****If you have any ideas or sites of your own, please leave me a message and I'll be happy to post a link to it in an update for this post. In the meantime, enjoy your preparation for our coming Savior!*****
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Our Fall....so far!
Let me be clear.....we have NOT had much fall weather so I am loosely calling this "Our Fall"! Still, I thought I would share some of what has been going on in our house!
One other great part of this Thanksgiving Tree kit is that it came with pre-made leaves! Boy am I lazy this year!
This was my first try at carving a pumpkin with a stencil. This was great fun, but I ended up with a blister on my finger!
Amelia was Belle!
Olivia was a fairy princess......of some kind!
And Nathan was dear old Harry Potter!
Dan decided it was time to get rid of the little kiddy swings and build a real swing set in the back yard. He did a really good job. I don't have pictures of the finished project as of yet, but here's a shot of Nathan helping his dad. Like father, like son.
Here is the newest member of our family (no, not Olivia). Our Dodge Caravan is pretty much at the end of the road. It has become unreliable...especially driving the kids around. Dan has been looking around for a truck for awhile now and although it doesn't do really great on gas....it will be a big help when Dan does the roof this winter (once the weather actually cools down).
Olivia seemed particularly fond of the new truck. By the way, it has a back seat that fits the three kids (and car seats) really well!
Coming home from running errands one day, Dan and I found this little guy trying to cross the street. We stopped and helped him along....although I can tell you that this Snapping Turtle did NOT want any help!
Doesn't he look prehistoric?
This little critter also decided to pay us a visit recently! What you can't see is the HUGE lizard that was waiting for him. I don't really know who won this battle....but about an hour later, there was no sign of the praying mantis.....but the lizard was licking his lips!
First of all, I wanted to share about Amelia's progress in school! She is doing so well! In her Kindergarten, they have what is called the "Lollipop Club". Each month, they must meet a certain goal. When they meet that goal...they get a lollipop! The first month was color words, the second was number words (1-10) and for this month, it's the first set of 16 Dolch words. Today is November 3rd and Amelia has already made her goal for this month! I keep the words on flash cards and I try to display them somewhere so she can see them often! I am so proud of my little girl!!
I did my November saint/special day calendar (you can find the post about last months calendar here). It turned out ok. There were lots of great Saints to choose from for this month, but I tried to stick to one or two per week. Because tonight was a soccer practice night...and the fact that Dan has class....we didn't do much for St. Martin de Porres. This month, we will focus on praying for all of our deceased relatives and for all of the souls in Purgatory.
Last month, the goal for the kids was to learn the St. Michael the Archangel prayer, by heart! Since we still haven't exactly mastered this yet...I will keep the prayer posted so we can read it daily.
This is our 2009 Thanksgiving Tree (the 2008 tree can be found here). I decided to buy our tree this year, courtesy of Oriental Trading Company (and for only $8.99). I know that this took half of the fun out of it for the kids....but I just didn't feel like cleaning up little pieces of cut construction paper off of the floor for the next 2 months. Besides, now we can really concentrate on our gratitude! (Like craft time with the kids......)!
One other great part of this Thanksgiving Tree kit is that it came with pre-made leaves! Boy am I lazy this year!
This was my first try at carving a pumpkin with a stencil. This was great fun, but I ended up with a blister on my finger!
This one was a lot easier....and a lot more traditional!
Here was our crew of pumpkins (and kids)!
Amelia was Belle!Olivia was a fairy princess......of some kind!
And Nathan was dear old Harry Potter!
Dan decided it was time to get rid of the little kiddy swings and build a real swing set in the back yard. He did a really good job. I don't have pictures of the finished project as of yet, but here's a shot of Nathan helping his dad. Like father, like son.Here is the newest member of our family (no, not Olivia). Our Dodge Caravan is pretty much at the end of the road. It has become unreliable...especially driving the kids around. Dan has been looking around for a truck for awhile now and although it doesn't do really great on gas....it will be a big help when Dan does the roof this winter (once the weather actually cools down).
Olivia seemed particularly fond of the new truck. By the way, it has a back seat that fits the three kids (and car seats) really well!
We also celebrated Olivia's 4th birthday! I can't believe she is 4 years old! I've said this before, but I think God should fashion children with "Pause" buttons....so you could slow them down just a bit every now and then to enjoy a particular stage a little longer!
Coming home from running errands one day, Dan and I found this little guy trying to cross the street. We stopped and helped him along....although I can tell you that this Snapping Turtle did NOT want any help!
Doesn't he look prehistoric?
This little critter also decided to pay us a visit recently! What you can't see is the HUGE lizard that was waiting for him. I don't really know who won this battle....but about an hour later, there was no sign of the praying mantis.....but the lizard was licking his lips!
And lastly...Nathan has really been into creating Star Wars vehicles with his Legos. The other night....he fell asleep (in his clothes) with his latest creation in his hand. Isn't he cute?
So, that's what has been going on at my house...what about yours?
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