Our Cast of Saints ~ 2008

Our Little Saints

This was one of the few photos I was able to get of Snuggles.
He was dressed as St. Anthony.

Saint Patrick

Patron of Ireland

Saint John Berchmans
Patron of Altar Boys

Saint Therese of Lisieux
The Little Flower

(This photo was taken in front of a beautiful "Heavenly Backdrop" that Marci put together for photos!! This was just one of her many awesome additions to this years party!)

Saint Clare of Assisi

One more... Just because...

The Group Photo

(Even more children arrived after this photo was taken.
Including adults, we had over 100 people in attendance this year!)

Another Saint-O-Lantern

Well, I mentioned on Friday that Captain was carving his Saint-O-Lantern. Since then I haven't had any time to post pictures. We have been very busy doing so many fun things, and I am tired!! So, real quick, here are a few pictures of his Saint-O-Lantern. I'll be back soon with pictures from our All Saints' Party. It was awesome!

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ~ Have mercy on us!

Making Cookies

Captain really wanted to make the Holy Ghost Cookies that were suggested during the Hallowed Days Fair at Catholic Cuisine. So, he set to work making them to take to our All Hallows' Eve Party.

Congratulations to the Foss Family...

...and welcome to the world little Sarah Anne! 

Deo Gratias!!

Please join us in praying...

... for Elizabeth Foss and her baby girl. Elizabeth is currently in labor, and her due date is not for another 5 weeks. Please pray for a safe delivery!!

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Ascension-O-Lantern

I don't think I have mentioned it, but my hubby has been gone all week, and won't be home till tonight. It has made for a challenging week, not to mention the fact that I am once again without a washing machine...

Last Sunday, before he left, he and Rascal worked on carving Rascal's pumpkin. Rascal was determined to carve "The Ascension" which proved to be rather challenging...

Anyway, Rascal did a great job. I kind of think it looks like an Angel... But either way, it turned out pretty good, don't you think?

Captain is working on his right now. He is carving "The Sacred Heart of Jesus!" I probably won't have time to post before we leave for out All Saints' Party... But I promise I will soon! :)

I hope you all have a very blessed All Hallows' Eve!!

Learning to Sew

Remember that picture I posted of my new sewing machine? Well, thank you ALL for your suggestions, but I must admit, Erica's had the most appeal! So, on Wednesday I put the machine back in the box, loaded up the car, and headed north to the home of my new BFF ;) to learn how to sew!!!!

What a fun day!!! I am sure we overstayed our welcome-- we didn't leave till about 9:30pm, with an hour to drive to get home! -- but we all had a WONDERFUL time!!

Not only did Erica teach me a few basics of sewing and guide me through making a super cute twirly skirt, she also had a day full of fun and activities planned for the kids!

In addition to playing with her kids she had cute little mummy hotdogs, carrot sticks and hot turkey sandwiches with bones imprinted on the top for lunch. For an afternoon snack the kids got to make pretzels, marshmallow mummies and fun drinks (I can't remember the name) that weren't actually drinks and so when the kids tried to drink them, nothing came out of the straw! So fun!

After dinner they all got to participate in a science experiment using the sense of taste. What a great excuse for pulling out a big jar of Jelly Belly's!!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the twirly skirt:

I picked out the fabric on the left last month, and choose plain old white for the trim, but when Erica showed me the cute fabric on the right that she had some leftovers of, and I asked Twinkle Toes which she liked, she of course choose the flower print. It actually turned out really cute!

So what do you think? My lines are all horribly crooked, and I have a renewed appreciation for the awesome deals I can find at Gymboree... But, I think it turned out cute, and it was lots of fun to make, even if it did take all day! Also, it is a little bit big on Twinkle Toes, but I think it will fit her perfectly next summer, it's too cold to wear it now anyway.

Thank you Erica!!!

Pictures from the Pumpkin Patch

Watch "Come What May" Tonight!!!

Click HERE to watch the FREE 3-DAY Screening available from Oct 27-29th. As soon as I can get all my kiddos to bed, I'll be watching it myself. I've heard it is WONDERFUL and I just love Victoria Emmons!!!

Enjoy!

Money well spent...

This past weekend I ran across the following picture as I was looking through a box of childhood photos. I was so excited to find it once again! This photo was taken 17 years ago at our Home School groups All Saints Party! My mom was pregnant with the twins at the time, so there were "only" 8 of us children! ;) I remember this year well, and being so excited when my mother (who never really did much sewing) splurged (considering we were quite poor at the time) and hired a friend of hers to make us All Saints Costumes. We spent days pouring through the Picture Book of Saints trying to decide which saint we would choose. We were THRILLED!!!

Back Row (Left to Right):

Me as St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Jennifer as St. Catherine of Laboure, Sean as St. George, Jamie as St. Lucy, Paul as St. Isadore the Farmer

Front Row (Left to Right):

Brian as St. Patrick, Scott as St. Anthony of Padua (Anthony is his middle name, and was the original Saint for this costume though it has been used as St. Francis since) and Julianna as St. Nicholas (I don't know -- maybe mom wanted to use it for Scott the next year, or maybe Julianna threw a temper tantrum.. ;)

Contest Winners: Regina figured out who it was, and named all of us first, I'm impressed! And Jamie had the most correct answers on the saints we are dressed as! I'll be mailing you both a package of M&M's! Those costumes of ours have been used over and over for years. In fact, here is another picture I found that was taken in 1997. The babies in the last picture are now the big kids in this one and it includes the four that were not yet born: (It sometimes seems that my parents have multiple families ;)

Back Row: Mary as St. Catherine Laboure, Scott as St. George, Julianna as St. Elizabeth of Hungary, JoAnn as St. Lucy

Front Row: Kevin as St. Isadore the Farmer and David as St. Francis

And even still, nearly 20 years later, most of these costumes (or parts of them) are still being used. This year Captain will be using the green cloak for his St. Patrick costume, and Snuggles will be dressing as St. Anthony. Yes, well made and well loved costumes will last forever, and this is just one of the reasons that I see nothing wrong with spending hard earned money on great hand-made saint costumes.