Back-to-School Blessings

by | Sep 9, 2013 | Crater Lake, Field Trips, Home Education, National Parks | 10 comments

Panoramic Picture of Crater Lake taken from the Observation Station with my iPhone

The first week of our 2013-2014 school year may not have included our usual “back-to-school traditions,” (perhaps we will get to those this week) but it sure was nice to spend Tuesday-Sunday with dear friends who happened to be visiting from the midwest!

We may not have celebrated Our Blessed Mother’s birthday this past weekend with our usual birthday cake, but we did visit the breathtakingly beautiful Crater Lake (the cleanest and bluest lake in the world) and pray the rosary for peace!

With a little planning ahead last Saturday and Monday (Labor Day), after hearing that our friends might be visiting, our older children got a jump start on their studies and they were still able to write their first papers for the year and checked nearly all the little boxes on last week’s checklists!  It might not have looked anything exactly like I usually would have planned, but it ended up being the perfect start to our school year!

Today we have been enjoying some much needed downtime and tomorrow will be our “official” first day of school for the new school year, even though the children are really learning all the time… One of the many benefits of homeschooling!


What a blessing it is to be able to home educate our children!  
I hope your school year is off to a wonderful and blessed start as well.
Prayer to Our Lady for Homeschooling Parents


Blessed Mother, as you so humbly and graciously accepted God’s will to bear and raise His only son, and to guide him in wisdom and virtue, help me in the instruction and education of my children. Pray to your Heavenly Son to grant me the grace and strength to assist in their learning, overcoming tiredness and discouragement. Assist me in the management of my home, so that I may be able to keep order and peace, despite the challenges of schooling within it. Intercede for me, imploring Our Heavenly Father to bestow upon me wisdom, not for my own sake, but so that I may form my children’s minds and hearts, so that they may grow into strong adults, helping to shape the world for His glory, and ultimately inheriting the kingdom of heaven. Call upon your heavenly angels to stand by my side, with their great intelligence, to help me understand that which I am instructing, and assist my children in learning of same. We humbly ask this through your beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

10 Comments

  1. Marie

    That lake is AMAZING! Thanks for sharing your photos and the prayer – I love it!!!

    Reply
  2. Sue

    Those photos are incredible – unreal! Sounds like a wonderful start to the school year!

    Reply
  3. Tiny Actions

    Wow! My brother was just through that way on his move back to the midwest and I can't believe how amazing that view is! Hope you have a blessed school year!

    Reply
  4. Kim

    Those pictures are GORGEOUS!! Happy schooling!

    Reply
  5. Christine

    beautiful beautiful beautiful!!!

    Reply
  6. Krista

    How old is the lake? What a nice way to "rock" in the new school year! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Tina

    Went there about 6 years ago with some good friends in Medford. Sure is pretty.

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    Wow – Jessica, what kind of camera do you use – the pictures are amazing. And I am in need of a camera.

    Reply
  9. Jessica Gordon

    Thank you! The first picture was taken with my iPhone 5. The rest were taken with my Canon 60D.

    Reply
  10. Jessica Gordon

    According to the National Park Service, the volcano Mount Mazama erupted about 7,700 years ago creating the crater. It took about 700 years to fill with water. Their are no inlets or outlets and it the water all comes from snow and rain. It is 1943 feet deep making it the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world!

    Reply

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Prayer of Mothers

Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.


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Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

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