On the Traditional Feast of Saint Jane

"If we patiently accept through love all that God allows to happen, then we will begin to taste even here on earth something of the delights the saints experience in heaven. But for this we must serve God willingly and lovingly, seeking to obey the Divine Will rather than to follow our own inclinations and desires. For the perfection of love demands that we desire for ourselves only whatever God wills. Let us implore the good God unceasingly to grant us this grace!" - St. Jane Frances de Chantal

(God's plan is so much better than our own... He knew we needed her!) 

DEAREST Patron, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, 

in baptism I received thy name and was put under thy special care. Oh, teach me to be like thee! Help me to avoid sin and to practice virtue. Be always at my side to guide me and protect me, and bring me safe to Heaven, that I may be ever happy with thee in the presence of God.

(She is such a sweetie! I'm hoping to add her birth and baptism pictures to the blog soon.)

Small Things With Great Love

"St. Teresa gave her life to the poorest of the poor,

She brought the love of Christ to the easy to ignore, 

Chugga, chugga, choo, choo!

She heard the call while on the train,

the Missionaries of Charity would help to ease their pain."

- Saints on the Go

Chai Cupcakes • Saints on the Go • Mother Teresa Shining Light Doll

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Missionaries of Charity Doll Habit from The Little Habit

My girls are amazing! While I slept from 2:00-6:30 pm yesterday (I finally got some of that extra sleep I'd been praying for... I just couldn’t keep my eyes open following the two shots the doctor gave me to stop an allergic reaction to a wasp sting/bite that caused my face to swell... Ouch! Thankfully my 18 year old was around to drive me to and from town and then take his sister to the orthodontist.) my girls baked and decorated Chai Cupcakes for Mother Teresa’s feast day!

You can find all sorts of additional ideas in honor of Mother Teresa in the archives. 

St. Teresa of Calcutta, Pray for us!

My Little Doll Baby :: Four Weeks

Our little baby is four weeks old today! We just got back home from having her weight checked again. On the way to town I told our oldest daughter that I was pretty sure the baby had gained at least a half pound these past two weeks and that she probably weighs really close to what she (and our second daughter) weighed at birth (7 lbs 4 oz).  I was right on... Grace weighed in at 7 lbs 3.7 oz!

I'll be taking her back in a couple weeks for another weight check. Her doctor is happy to see that she is growing, even though it's not as quickly as he'd like and she has dropped from the 8th to 5th percentile. She is still wearing her older sister's preemie sized clothing. The girls all got a kick out of me taking a picture of her next to one of their dolls (dressed up as St. Rose) since she is practically the same size! ♥

DEAREST Patron, St. Rose, in baptism I received thy name and was put under thy special care. Oh, teach me to be like thee! Help me to avoid sin and to practice virtue. Be always at my side to guide me and protect me, and bring me safe to Heaven, that I may be ever happy with thee in the presence of God. 

Dolls from Heaven {Review & Coupon Code}

I have had this beautiful doll, from Dolls from Heaven, tucked away in my closet since last spring... I've been dying to give her to our little Rose, and I almost did on the recent feast of St. Therese, but decided to continue saving her for either a birthday or Christmas gift this upcoming December.  In the meantime, I've been meaning to share some photos with you all, along with a coupon code from Dolls from Heaven, one of my current sponsors here at Shower of Roses. 

Our girls already have quite the collection of American Girl dolls and I have refused to purchase any more... They also have beautiful Little Habits and Saint Costumes for their dolls as well. Nevertheless, this lovely St. Therese doll (made and sold by a Catholic company!) will be such a fun and inspiring addition to their collection!

Since I'll be giving her as a gift later this year, I didn't take her completely out of the box, but she seems very similar to the girls' other dolls in both size and quality.  She even comes with a book!

In addition to the Therese Doll and Book, Therese's Sunday Best and Therese's Accessories are also available. You can purchase everything together with a $5 discount here.

Therese's "Sunday Best" outfit is gorgeous! It comes with a Blue long- sleeved dress with cream ruffles, white stockings, cream boots, and a cream hair-bow.

The smell of roses as I opened Therese's Accessories, coming from the brown rosary, was a wonderful surprise! The accessories also come with a Carmelite mantle (cape) and a picture of Therese's Holy Face of Jesus and the Infant Jesus.

In addition to their St. Therese doll, Dolls from Heaven has recently released St. Joan of Arc too. She showed up on my porch a couple days ago and now I can check two gifts off of my Christmas shopping list for this year! sssshhhhhhh.... ;)

Right now you can save 10% OFF THE ENTIRE STORE 

with coupon code: SHOWEROFROSES

(valid through October 31, 2016)

Molly McIntire :: An American Girl Birthday Party

I'm determined to eventually catch up on all the past birthday posts that haven't made it onto the blog yet... With the 4th of July coming up tomorrow, I thought it'd be the perfect time to finish up this post and finally share Twinkle Toes' 12th birthday party from last August. We celebrated with another American Girl theme, this one inspired by Molly McIntire!

(Note: I purchased Molly & Emily along with some of their accessories when they were put on sale and discontinued a few years ago, saving them to give to the girls for Christmas and birthdays. I don't love all the changes that have been taking place at American Girl and I'm not purchasing anything new from them anymore, but I DO love the new Dolls from Heaven and I'm really excited to see what they have planned next. I have this stashed away to give a certain little girl later this year.)  

We reused the banner I made for Ranger's 12th Birthday Filled with Surprises!
You can download my document there if you'd like to make one too.

The older boys helped hang streamers and decorate the night before, while I baked and decorated the cake. Her birthday started with birthday hugs, discovering her cake and gifts in the kitchen, and sweet Instagram posts from her friends!

After Mass Sean and I took her out for a birthday cocoa and then out to lunch, just the three of us! 

Later in the day she got to FaceTime with her best friend in Nebraska and then meet up my parents, who gave her some pretty stationary, a notebook, journal, and manicure set for her birthday!

.: Meet Molly - 1944 :.

growing up on the home front in America during World War Two

.: Miss Victory Star Treats :.

...photobombed... 

I also mixed up something red, white, and blue (and AIP approved!) for myself, to enjoy as a special treat on top of some greens. I picked up some more strawberries, blueberries and flaked coconut so I can make this again tomorrow for the 4th of July! 

.: Molly's Cherry Coke :.

In Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, the girls go to an ice cream parlor and are disappointed that they are out of ice cream, but they decide to get cherry coke instead.

  

.: Hurray for the U.S.A.! :.

.: Camp Gowonagin S'mores :.

S'mores Maker (Christmas gift from Grandpa & Grandma G) 

.: Birthday Gifts :.

In addition to Molly's Party Dress and Birthday Set (overpriced now that they have been discontinued), the birthday girl also received a set of gel pens (Costco), a pink scientific calculator set (also from Costco, and needed for the new school year), Tiny Stitches, a pink rain jacket (REI Clearance for $6!), the LEGO Toy & Grocery Shop (currently 25% off!), and a beautiful original painting of her patron saint from Audrey Eclectic (you can find reprints here).

Tiny Stitches Craft Kit (55% off right now!) 

Gel Pens (similar to these) and LEGO Toy & Grocery Store

.: Molly's All American Chocolate Cake :. 

"My very favorite birthday thing, I mean what I myself like the best, is a big layer cake. It's not a birthday without a cake. And Mrs. Gilford has even saved enough of our cocoa ration for chocolate frosting this year. I know you'll like it." 

~ Happy Birthday, Molly!

I decided to try and make a replica of Molly's little (toy) birthday cake. 

It didn't turn out perfect but the birthday girl loved her cake! 

"Anyway," said Molly, "everyone mostly just eats the ice cream and cake at a birthday party."

~ Happy Birthday, Molly! 

 Happy 12th Birthday Twinkle Toes!