A Little Saint Patrick Coloring Page.

I spent the weekend mostly sick in bed, reading and doodling to pass the time. I had a stack of picture books that I read to the kids too. I came across our copy of St. Patrick's Day by Gail Gibbons and thought her illustrations of the saint were lovely. I do love and own so many of her books!

So I got my pencil out and made a free-hand copy of St. Patrick from her book. I changed some of the details to make him look more "Catholic" (as in I added crosses to his vestment). The kids love how it came out and I was surprised that it came out so cute as well!

So if you want to print out a copy for yourself or your kids to color, here is the link!

St. Patrick Coloring Page

Marian Artist Trading Card Swap 2011.

I read about this last year and was bummed that I had missed the whole thing. So this year, I've been keeping an eye out for it. It's the Marian Artist Trading Card Swap 2011! Head over to Pondered in My Heart to get all the details.

I have never done this before, but thought it would be so much fun for the kids to participate. You can also read more about it at Jessica's blog, Shower of Roses.

I'll have to keep everyone posted on how it goes for us.

First Holy Communion.

This past Sunday, Isabella received our Holy Lord for the first time!! It was a wonderful day to celebrate and she was happier than ever! Not only that, but she got to mark this special day with two of her good friends as well.

To celebrate the special occasion, my friends and I decided to host a little party at my home. It was a great success with both grown-ups and kids having a wonderful time!!

Sacraments and Feast Days.

Isabella is preparing for her sacraments of reconciliation and communion this year! Although only in 1st grade, she has been working a year ahead in religion since the beginning and I felt that she was completely ready for this! She is also an older 1st grader, with a birthday in January, so she will be the appropriate age when receiving the sacraments.

As with Marco, we'll be doing so much more extra "stuff" this year to make sure she is ready! Besides our regular religion curriculum (Faith and Life 2), we are doing the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism, reading King of the Golden City (for the 2nd time!), making Catholic lapbooks (we purchased all of these), and of course participating in our parish's faith formation and sacramental prep classes. I suppose we'll also throw in even more extras into the mix, but only because we love it!!!

A fun project we did, which didn't really start as a project, was the making of a Mass Journal. During the first sacramental prep class, students were handed a Mass Journal to keep track of all the Masses attended. It contains fill in the blank questions for the kids to fill out...who was the celebrant, what color vestments were worn, what were the first and second readings, etc. It's actually a great way to get kids to pay attention during Mass.





Of course, the journal they passed out was just a bunch of pages stapled together. So Isabella and I decided to make an actual book out of it. We followed the directions on this video. Really simple. No music, no talking...just shows how to make a book!





After making our own book, I made copies of the Mass journal onto pretty paper that Isabella picked out. Each little form was then cut out and then glued to the Mass Journal book we made. Isabella is even working on illustrating the book. It's super cute and I know she will love taking it to Mass more than a bunch of stapled papers. Of course, none of this is necessary. But it was fun!!

Isabella picked a pink cover with yellow paper.

Isabella holding her Mass Journal.

As for celebrating feast days....we worked on some super cute bookmarks this week. An archangel on the front and the prayer to St. Michael on the back! I'm planning on doing this little craft with my 5th grade faith formation class as well.

Fabulous coloring by Marco and Isabella!!

Little Jimmy has enjoyed playing with our bookmarks.

Thinking About Our Goals.

Sunday's reading (Luke 14:25-33) and our priest's (Fr. Michael) homily was such an answer to my prayers! It's amazing how God works through others to let us know that He is listening and that He cares.

Recently, I've been pondering and praying over extra-curricular activities for the kids. With 5 kids to tow around, it's not as easy for me as I would like it to be. Should all the kids be enrolled in an activity? How do I handle different times for different kids? Is keeping the kids from participating hindering them in any way? Should I aim to keep the kids together? These are the main questions I've been asking for the past month.

If you've been following along, you'll know that last year was SUPER busy. Dance classes (2 separate ones), swimming, piano, and a quick stint with soccer was keeping me busy. That was on top of school lessons, co-op, and faith formation. Add all that to having a newborn, hospital visits/stays, and moving....you see where I'm going with this. I was drowning.

It was too much and I was stretched out so thin, that it affected my life in many ways. I was constantly cranky, my house was a mess, I started being late for important functions, my drive for many things was gone, and the worst thing of all is that I feel I failed the kids in their education. So soon after we decided to put our house up for sale and move, I gave up. I took the kids out of swimming and dance. No more team sports and no more unnecessary activities.

And just like that...a GIANT weight was lifted off my shoulders. We could finally enjoy a family dinner again, not just 2 nights out of the week...but every night! No more rushing, no more juggling schedules. It was great! And it's been great since I kept this simple way of life all through summer.

But now, fall is knocking at our door. The kids are asking about swimming and dancing and karate and everything else. What do I do? Do I try it out again? Well this is what I did. I prayed. For wisdom to make the right decisions for my kids and for our family. But I was stuck without an answer. Until now.

Our time is like GOLD. Actually, it's more valuable than gold. How to spend it? We know that our main goal as parents is to educate our children. So at least we know that most of our time will go to that. But what about all the leftover time? That was my dilemma, and thank you Father Michael for making it click for me!!!

In everything we do, God has to be our center. For school, work, and play. He has to come before anything else. As educators of our children, we know that our school days are centered around Our Lord. That is our goal. Having a family that is centered around Christ is also our goal. Growing together, learning from each other, creating bonds, and loving our family are also all goals that are Christ-centered. But that doesn't mean that we can't take the kids to swimming class or to dance class. What it means is that when those extra-curricular activities begin hindering, clouding, or getting in the way of achieving those most important goals...then they should be taken away.

So here is my answer. My time is precious. My family life is precious. I am going to treat every minute with my children and family like a God-given gift (which it is). I know what an overworked schedule looks and feels like. I'm not going back to that. I'm going to enjoy my children and have fun with them. For now, maybe enjoying them and having fun will include swimming or some other sport. Maybe it'll be a year full of fun field trips instead. I haven't made up my mind yet. But I'll never lose focus of my goals again.

And even if the answer is plain at daylight, things were never as clear as they are now. There were countless thoughts and doubts in my mind that were miraculously answered this Sunday. All of which I can't go into; but this one being the main one.

I'd love to know how you other moms and dads out there handle extra-curricular activities with your children. How you make time, how you keep sane!!

Do You Know Pope Benedict XVI?

Love this video!! Please watch it and pass it on.

Creating a Home Altar.

We often (and for the past 4-5 years) have used our piano bench as a teaching spot. Not only does it seat my kids for piano practice, but it has served as a make-shift altar for when they play Mass. In the bench they store an altar cloth, a little missal, and other small necessities used to play Mass. And every time I hear the kids say "OK...I'm going to be the priest today. Let's go play," I start daydreaming about finally having the perfect little altar in our home.

Now that we are mostly settled in our new home, I've decided to just do it!! Visions in my mind abound with the many home altars I've seen, especially those found in Mexico. Since we moved in, I've been using our entry table from our previous home to house some statues, rosaries, and holy water.


As you can barely see, there is a drawer that holds prayer cards, a rosary booklet, and some rosaries. What the table is missing is a little table cloth to coincide with the liturgical season, a bible, and perhaps a candle.

Now when we do our morning rosary and offering, we are usually upstairs in the school room. It's a great start to our school day and the room is sunny, bright, and uplifting. Not only do we do our morning prayers in our school room, but we often read our Bible there before bedtime. So my new goal is to create an altar in our school room.

After searching for images of home altars, I have come to one important conclusion. Home altars vary from home to home and anything from family photos to holy cards can be placed on them. Home altars aren't usually fancy and any table, bookcase, or space will do. It's really what works for your family.

When thinking "What's going to work for us?" I came up with a list of things that I absolutely wanted in our altar prayer space.

1. An interactive space. I wanted something that can be a hands-on area. A place where the kids can feel that they can come to and touch things.
2. I want to be inspired and I want the kids to be inspired. Sometimes looking at something beautiful or hearing beautiful music, inspires us to think about God.
3. A learning space. Some books are usually left unnoticed unless I take them out. Perhaps highlighting a saint's book on the altar or prayer space would encourage a child to ask about it or read it.
4. A showcase. An altar with room to display what the kids are learning about in saint and religious studies, as well as crafts dedicated to our beautiful Catholic faith.
5. Flexibility. I want to be able to switch things around easily.

Not too difficult of a list, is it? Well, after rearranging books, finding appropriate art, and visualizing where things should go...our altar is complete!! Lucky for me that I have lots of pretty frames of Jesus and Our Lady to choose from as well as a number of holy statues; all of which I plan to rotate.

So following is a little "tour" of our new school room Catholic altar, complete with picture by picture descriptions!!

I decided to go with what I had and used two bookcases for our altar. All the books seen here pertain to our Catholic faith, lives of the saints, etc. The area is in a little corner by the window and offers lots of natural light. Also, if you notice that I'm keeping the altar cloths to go in conjunction with the liturgical season...these are just pretty napkins that I was able to get of all the liturgical colors (mine are from Pier 1 Imports).

A picture of what's on top of our home altar.

And a close up.

To the left I decided to hang the kids' rosaries and put a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. I thought this was perfect because it has the three children (Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta) kneeling before her. A great example to any child.

In the center I placed the kids' bible. Behind the Bible there is a makeshift altar upon which our crucifix is and our "Father Nick"is on the side. This is part of the interactive part of our altar in which the kids can change the liturgical colors on the priest paper-doll, as well as on the little white altar. Currently we have green for ordinary time. And it's nothing fancy either. The altar is a small box covered with white paper and the "altar cloth" is actually a piece of construction paper.

On the right side, I hung our St. Michael holy water font. I also have our saints book, "Saints, A Year in Faith and Art." This book features a saint for every day of the year. The glass container is like a prayer jar. Every time we pray together, like the rosary, we take out all the little papers from the glass container. Each paper has an intention for us to pray for. It might be something like an end to abortion, a prayer for a family member or friend, or for any other intentions we come up with. This is an excellent way to teach your children how to pray for others and it keeps us from forgetting someone or something that we meant to pray for. Also notice that the kids have put their cootie catchers there too.

Above it all is a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This particular piece of art was a gift from my mom about 10 years ago. She got it in Mexico and I have always loved it. In the future I plan to rotate with other religious art that I have, perhaps to coordinate with the liturgical year.

I thought I would post a picture of this too. It's the book cases I use for our little home altar. I keep all our children's religious books here. From lives of the saints, to Catholic homeschool resources. It's a place where the kids (or I) can go to get a book and be uplifted.

The top-most shelves are for the sole purpose of the kids. On the left I keep a pretty picture of Our Lady, a candle for the Sacred Heart of Jesus and two books that I pick out for the kids to read to themselves or for me to read aloud. Currently we have "For the Children" and "Once Upon a Time Saints" (laying on the shelf). These books will also be rotated with others.

On the right side, I keep a bin full of rosary books, liturgical vestments for our priest paper-doll, napkins in the liturgical colors to cover our altar, construction paper for the little paper altar, our prayer wheel, and other little things for the kids to play with and do. I will be taking paper activities from our liturgical box to keep this somewhat stocked.

And that concludes the tour of our new school room, home altar. I love it and it works for our family's needs. From being interactive and inspirational, to being a great learning space with flexibility. I'm sure that as time passes, this space will evolve and continue to change along with our needs.

Get Your Little Children to Mass.

This image is from "My Jesus and I" from Our Mission House Publications.

This book has such lovely images that both my children and I love. I was reminded of this particular picture this morning as I was dressing my 2 year old and I was telling him that Mary wants us to get ready to visit with Jesus. I immediately took the book out and showed him!

Little children have such a natural love of Jesus and Mary that we have to continue to nurture and instill that love in them.

Is God Talking to You?

Sometimes I seriously wonder how He does it. How does He, right in the middle of Mass, find a way to talk to me?? With everything going on (the praying, the singing, the reading, the learning), He takes the time to talk with little, old, insignificant me. Not that this happens every Sunday...or maybe it does, but I choose not to listen. But it happens enough that I wonder what I ever did deserve to hear Him speak to my heart.

I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. But attending Mass is a powerful thing (well, of course you all know that!)! And last Sunday, the heavens parted for me and I was like "Duh!" Of course He can talk to me! He talks to all those who are willing to open their hearts! What's funny to me, is that He always says what I need to hear at that moment. Whether I hear it being read from the Bible, or if it's coming through the homily. It's like a big slap in the face (in a good way!)...WHAM!! "Here ya go, Liz! You got questions...I got answers!"

I started getting suspicious when 2-3 times out of the month, it felt like Mass had been rearranged and said specifically for me, my worries, my thoughts, my questions. Seriously. It was too much to go unnoticed. I'm a cry-baby to start with and I tend to get emotional at Mass to begin with...this made it all the more reason for me to bawl like a baby. But this is crying in a good way. "THANK YOU!" How can you ever say that enough to Him?

I'm not usually all about my feelings and emotions on this blog. But I have to get the word out.

LISTEN!!! He is talking to all of us!!! We just need to listen. And perhaps I should take my own advice, for I know that I don't need to wait until Sunday Mass to strike up a conversation with Him. He's available 24/7. My thing is that sometimes...I just go off and talk, talk, talk. Perhaps on Sunday's He's like, "OK...I've listened to you all week long. Now it's my turn and here's what I have to say."

I'm in constant awe.

Missing Our Crafts.

This whole buying and selling a home has recently gotten me in the dumps. Of course, you have all the usual stresses that come with these events...keeping your house spotless for last minute showings, worrying about competition, stressing about your upcoming closing, packing, moving, etc. etc. But what has really sent me overboard is not being able to craft and learn with my kids.

This time of year is a big one with Lent and Easter. It's as big as Christmas time in regards to how much we usually do with crafting! But with all my supplies neatly packed away and the need for our current home to stay completely clean and clutter free, I feel like we are missing out on all our usual fun learning. No completed crafts to hang, no decorations to go on the walls, and no messy supplies spread across the table. I'm in craft withdrawal!!! And as I read about all the neat stuff others are doing, I'm feeling a bit envious.

Luckily, I know that what matters most is that we celebrate this time with our families with sharing what we have in our hearts. Our Lord will not mind if we don't dress our homes with colorful decorations, but he will mind if we don't prepare our hearts for his coming. In all, this has been a difficult lesson for me and not my children. But I suppose the timing is all right. We have gone without the excess in every sense this Lent, and the emptiness that it created was filled with what should always be there....the love of Jesus!!!!

So it's been hard to live with just the basic homeschool books and nothing more. But Easter is on the horizon and things will change. We will be able to celebrate our Lord's resurrection and we will have come away from Lent having learned so much more than we thought when this all started!!

Morning Offering.

As a child, my parents would always tell me to compare myself to the "smart" kids, to aim high, and to not be afraid to ask for help. As I've journeyed through life, it is something I've kept in my mind always. Being all grown-up hasn't stopped me from taking this advice either, especially on matters of faith. I still try to compare myself to the "smart" kids (the saints), I aim high (with heaven as my goal), and I'm never afraid to ask for help (with prayer as direct connection to the One who can help with anything!).

With that, I leave you with a morning offering prayer. If you are "smart," then you probably already know this prayer and say it every day as you wake up or with your family. If you are like me, you still need reminders now and then. ***And by the way...it was a very smart lady who inspired me to do this every morning with my kids before our rosary (Thanks, Ellen!!).

Fatima Morning Offering

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings, all that this day may bring, be they good or bad: for the love of God, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for all the sins committed against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

******************************************
And here is a very cute image I found suitable for kids. You can order the Morning Offering Cards from Little Shepherds of Fatima for a super reasonable $5 for 25.

Playing Mass.

Today was a highly stressful day for me. Things are happening around here so fast lately that I feel like my head is spinning. But in the midst of chaos, my children were able to ground me. How so? By playing a long-time favorite "game"...Mass.

Since Marco was about 2 or 3, I've delighted in playing pretend Mass with him. From dressing a makeshift altar to serving "wine" in a glass, playing Mass was a way for me to introduce the beauty of our faith to the kids. Now, however, I don't need to be as involved as I once was. The kids are able to gather all the supplies needed. Using a blanket as an altar cloth, providing kneelers made out of pillows, and using just the right plate for the Paten. They got it all figured out!!

It's nice to participate and hear "Father Marco" say his homily. Isabella usually brings in the gifts and Anthony always does a "reading." They played Mass so well this morning, that I decided to surprise them with a Miniature Mass kit for Easter. It's a beautiful replica of the real thing and you can find that here.

Who knows...perhaps playing Mass will lead one of them to a vocation as a priest. But at least for a moment today I was able to marvel at how my children looked so wonderfully angelic imitating one of the most wonderful gifts of the Catholic faith. I was also secretly praying that their pressed bread and apple juice, although far from being consecrated bread and wine, was blessed nonetheless.

Celebrating Mardi Gras and Lent.

This year is the first in a looooong time that we have failed to make it to Mass on Ash Wednesday. Having a daughter with a broken arm that hurts, a child with croup, and another with a stomach ache didn't help our situation. So I decided to skip it and tend to my children at home instead.

But we are off to a great start this Lent season, nonetheless! On Tuesday, we celebrated Mardi Gras with some fun crafts that our friends from co-op dropped off. The kids spent much of the afternoon coloring, decorating masks, and making crowns. We then topped off the night with breakfast for dinner...purple, green, and gold pancakes and all!! It was a big treat for everyone!



On Ash Wednesday, we also colored our path to Easter Sunday. You can find this download at Catholic Icing. Each day the kids will be putting a star on the day mark it off. We will also be doing other crafts and activities about every other day to celebrate Lent. These are scheduled into our school days so that I make it a priority to actually do them!



Here are a list of activities to help you do things at home.

• Lent Lapbook (we did this last year and learned a lot!) My link can help with ideas, as I have not created a file for it.
• Sacrifice Beads (we have these made already, but I like to stress their use during this time)
  
• Prayer Jar
• Pretzels
• Way of the Cross (Stations of the Cross) candle craft
• Stations of the Cross coloring book
• Family Chart
• Crown of Thorns
• Sacrifice Jar
• Merciful Cross

I might add to this, so keep checking for updates!

Blog Away!

I just read an article in which Pope Benedict encourages priests to blog. I say "Hurray!" as I do enjoy reading blogs and have a couple of favorites that are done by priests.

Interested in the article? You can find it here.

Interested in finding blogs by Clergy? You can find a list here.

Blogs I like to visit written by priests....

What Does Prayer Really Say?
Homilies and Reflections from Australia
Ignatian Spirituality

"The Calling"

A great video and so inspirational!!

Dia de los Reyes.

Today is the celebration of the Three Kings (Balthazar, Kaspar, and Melchior). Although on our calendar it shows that Epiphany was celebrated on Sunday, the 3rd; today is the traditional day that Epiphany is celebrated in Mexico.

This morning the kids began the celebration by opening gifts left in their shoes by the three kings. Before bed last night, they all placed a shoe by their beds. Typically, this is the day that children in Mexico get their Christmas gifts (not Christmas day like we do here). So for us, the day of the Three Kings only small toys and treats are given. It's always a great day and I'm glad to be holding on to some wonderful Mexican culture!!

Abundant Blessings.

Abundant blessings. That's the only way to describe how things have been going lately. Not that anything has really changed...I still do laundry everyday, change diapers, homeschool the kids, etc. But things seem to be a little different. Things are changing.

Miracles can happen to anyone at any time...not necessarily when we are waiting for them to happen. The difficult thing is recognizing them. And really, what might seem like a miracle to one person, might be something else entirely to someone else. Well, I believe in miracles and I firmly believe that they are happening to me every day.

Taking the time to appreciate all that we have and all that we have to do is difficult. But when we do, it's an eye opener! Even more amazing is when we recognize God is in all these things! Those are miracles. And yes...I am still struggling with prayer and daily life in general. The one thing that is changing is that I'm finally throwing my hands up and saying "God...I need help!" And He helps in the most wonderful ways! Merely a change of attitude is all we need sometimes.

Dh told me recently that sometimes we fail to see the forest. We become so focused on looking at each individual tree that we miss seeing how beautiful the big picture is. Of course, we all have damaged trees and trees that need more attention. But once we take that step back...WOW!

OK...so prayer does help! Giving up your struggles to God does work. And even though not every day is perfect, we are all a work in progress.

I Need Help Praying.

As I went to bed last night and contemplated the day's events, I began my nightly prayer routine. I have been in the practice of sleeping with a rosary tucked into my pillow. It does a good job of reminding me to pray the rosary nightly and I found that it helps to ease my stresses when I reach into my pillow case and feel the rosary in my hand.

Not too long ago, however, my pillow rosary got misplaced and I had yet to tuck another one into the pillow case. It's simply a thing I keep putting off and forgetting. But last night I noticed a pattern; since the "disappearance" of my rosary, I have had a hard time praying. My thoughts have become randomized and I have a hard time focusing on talking to God. Not only that, but my daily spiritual life seems to be in much more disarray. Even praying in the morning with the children is no help.

My days seem so much more difficult, even though the day to day routines haven't changed. Why am I so stressed? Why are all the little things getting to me? Why does my daily routine seem to be getting harder and harder as the day progresses, when in reality it's not? Why am I failing to see God in the little things?

But I've had an epiphany. I've made the realization of what it is that I'm failing to do that is making my life so much more difficult and miserable. I'm letting the days slip by me without allowing God to help me. I'm letting the mundane in my daily life control me. I'm failing to end the day with God, Mary, and all the saints. And I need them. I need all their help and I need all their prayers.

This morning, I replaced my pillow rosary. I began doing my daily reflection. I asked for help. I devoted 20 minutes of my time to our Holy Mother. If my suffering lies in doing 20 loads of laundry, then I will offer up my suffering to God. If my misery for the day is explaining a math problem over and over, then I will offer up my misery to God. If my attitude doesn't express love and patience, then I will pray for help in attaining love and patience.

Because I am not a holy person and because my life revolves around doing daily chores, I've decided that the best people to ask for help are St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Ignatius of Loyola.

All this because I lost my pillow rosary.

Feast Day of St. Therese.

Today is the feast day for St. Therese of Lisieux, or St. Therese of the Little Flower, or St. Therese of the Little Way. Whichever name you decide to call her, she is still one of our favorite saints! If you decide to spend a little time with her and your children, here are a list of places where you can find some great activities to do together!

Sacrifice Beads
St. Therese Coloring Pages
A Collection of Activities related to St. Therese (wonderful site!)

Celebrating the Liturgical Year.

Thanks to our wonderful liturgical wheel calendar, I have come to see that this week is packed full of wonderful feast days!! Being behind in most things lately, I'm glad that this week will not pass me by and I'm sure that there was some divine intervention involved in making me realize that this is a special week.

Tomorrow is the feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Since two of our children have their middle names after archangels (actually three are named after archangels if you count the angel Uriel), it is a day we celebrate year after year! In addition to our regular religion lessons, we'll be coloring pages of the angels and saying some additional prayers. You can find coloring pages over at Waltzing Matilda. We'll also be celebrating this name day by blowing out candles on some cupcakes.

A favorite saint of ours, St. Therese's feast day is on Thursday, October 1st. We'll have fun reading about her; the kids love her story as told through the Catholic Children's Treasure Box. We are also big fans of sacrifice beads (or good deed beads) and they seem to be found all over the house. Adding to our collection, we'll be making more as well.

Two more feast days this week that I haven't planned are:
October 2nd Guardian Angel
October 4th St. Francis of Assisi

I'll make sure to post any ideas as these days approach. Enjoy!!