Wordless Wednesday

Young Hunters Day

Saturday morning all 8 of the kids were up bright and early, ready to go to the annual Young Hunters Day in our county!

Young Hunters Day is a free fun filled day (from 9:00 to 1:00), sponsored the local Hunters Association, for children ages 2-16. The children could participate in archery and shotgun shooting, fishing, pelt identification, and tomahawk throwing, with safety emphasized of course. Every child present could win one of the many raffle prizes and a yummy BBQ lunch was provided as well!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

~ Archery Shooting ~

~ The Hot Air Balloon ~

We waited too long, and it got too hot, to have a short ride in the Hot Air Balloon, plus the only person that was willing to go up with me was Branch and I wasn't sure her mom would approve... We did get to watch them take it down though! And isn't it the perfect colors for Pentecost weekend!! ;)

~ Fishing ~

~ My Very Full Stroller ~

~ In the Grass ~




~ Pelt Identification ~

~ The Raffle ~

Every child's name is entered into the Raffle. How it works is they begin with a Raffle for 3 Grand Prizes and then continue drawing names until every child has had the opportunity to choose a prize from a room filled with prizes!

I found it pretty funny that our little Twinkle Toes won one of the Grand Prizes, a Crosman Air Rifle ... It is almost bigger than she is!

Branch choose a small inflatable swimming pool; Blossom choose a combination gift including a magna doodle, bubbles, and a couple kites; Chiquita picked out a little charm bracelet kit; Captain choose a target to use with his beebee gun; Rascal choose a camouflaged backpack; Snuggles got so excited and pointed to the "BALLS!!!"; and it looks like I forgot to take a picture of Bud with his new set of water guns!

~ The Group Photo ~

By the time it was over, we were all ready to go home and cool off! We picked up some more popsicles, as well as a couple take-n-bake pizza's to simplify dinner, and headed home to fill up the swimming pool before the Treehouse kids had to go home. I am pretty sure we all slept well that night, at least I know I did! ;)

8 Children ages 8 and Under...

...plus one on the way = one very tired momma!!

I'm pretty sure my body tricked me into thinking I had the flu Sunday night beginning at 12:00am so that I could spend the next 36 hours in bed or the bathroom?? Bleh!! Since none of my children have gotten sick yet, I am still not sure it was actually the flu?! Anyhow, I am well rested now, and feeling much better!!

Enough about me... Back to this weekend!! Friday afternoon, after we attended Mass and Benediction, followed by lunch with Father, we had the privileged of watching the three little Treehouse Kids while their parents went off to this beautiful destination to celebrate their 10th anniversary! We all had SO MUCH FUN!!

Friday night we headed to the boys Baseball game. We had front row seats to watch Captain and Rascal's game!

The boys played well, though it was a close game and the Ranger's beat us in the last inning: 19 to 17.

Captain running to second base...

Safe!

Rascal running to second base...

Safe!

Since it was SO hot outside, I told the girls we would have popsicles as soon as we got back home! (Plus I had promised one particular little girl a pink popsicle to make her feel a bit better about being left at our house! ;) I'm so awful!!)

The game didn't end till after 8, so by the time everyone had eaten their popcicles, gotten in their pj's, brushed their teeth, said prayers, and headed to bed it was LATE! I think it was nearly 11 before the girls stopped giggling and fell asleep! This was the first sleepover we have ever had with friends, and my children LOVED it!

Well, I have to get back to my disastrous house... One day in bed, with five little ones running around, and it looks like it was hit by a tornado! I'll be back soon to share a few pictures from Saturday. See you then!

Catholic New Media Awards

Voting has begun for the 2009 Catholic New Media Awards!!  

I was so surprised and excited to see that Shower of Roses was nominated for the following categories:

• People’s Choice Blog 
• Best Blog by a Woman
• Best Written Blog
• Most Spiritual Blog
• Most Informative Blog
• Most Entertaining Blog 

And Catholic Cuisine was also nominated for:

• Best Group Blog 
  

Thank you to those of you who nominated both Shower of Roses and Catholic Cuisine!  What an honor to be included amongst the amazing list of nominees including some of my personal favorites:  In the Heart of My Home, What Does the Prayer Really Say, Audio Sancto, Faith and Family Live!, Under Her Starry Mantle, O Night Divine, Tales from the Bonny Blue House, American Papist: Not Your Average Catholic, Faith Filled Days, and Building Cathedrals!

Please consider registering and voting for us!

Celebrating Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church!

"Pentecost Sunday is the second greatest Feast of the liturgical year -- the first being Easter -- and takes place 50 days (7 weeks) after Easter (the earliest possible date for this Feast is 10 May). This day celebrates the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples and Our Lady and, in a sense, the reversal of the story of the Tower of Babel in that the the Apostles were given the gift of tongues by which they could preach and be understood by anyone in any language -- a demonstration of the Church's true catholicity." Source

Here are a few pictures of what we did at home today, after attending Mass:

~ White Donuts after Mass on "Whitsunday," another name for Pentecost ~

~ Completed our Garden of the Good Shepherd Calendar~

~ A Twelve-Fruit Salad for with Dinner~

Our 12 Fruit Salad (in honor of the 12 fruits of the Holy Ghost) included: Strawberries, Blueberries, Red Grapes, Green Grapes, Kiwi, Pineapple, Mandarin Oranges, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Peaches, and Apples.

It was SO delicious!

~ A Symbolic Cake for Pentecost ~

Our cake is a white cake with white frosting since Pentecost is also known as Whitsunday.

The large candle in center represents Christ our Light, who promised to send the Holy Ghost, and the 12 smaller white candles represent the 12 Apostle and the tongues of fire.

The 7 red hearts represent the 7 gifts of the Holy Ghost:

Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord

We made them from strawberries this year since one of the girls seems to be allergic to red food coloring. However, I should have let them dry out a little since the juices ran down the sides of the cake! Oops!

The 12 strawberries, placed around the cake, represent the 12 fruits of the Holy Ghost:

Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Benignity, Goodness, Longanimity, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Continency, and Chastity.

After we light the candles we sing Happy Birthday to the Church...

...then the children blow out the candles with a "mighty wind!"

After dinner (which was nothing special, unless you are a pregnant momma craving Albacore Tuna Melts!) the children colored some pictures of the Apostles on Pentecost. The day ended with an amazing thunderstorm (preceded by some more "mighty winds!") while we prayed the rosary on this last day of May, the month of Our Lady!

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thy Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with Thee, and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God, and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Thy true disciples and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit. Amen.


I hope you all had a very blessed Pentecost Sunday!