On the Feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Blessed Kateri by Rascal (age 8)

A Child's Prayer to Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri, loving child of God and Lily of the Mohawks, I thank God for the many graces He gave you. Help me to be more like you in my love for God and for people.  Give me a great love for the Holy Eucharist and the Mother of Jesus. Make me ready to make sacrifices for Jesus that I may save my soul and be happy with you in heaven.  Kateri, I love you. Always be my friend.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us.

Wordless Wednesday . . .

. . . because I just can't seem to find the time to finish any of my other posts at the moment, and I'm starting to miss blogging! 

P.S. Can you all please say a prayer for me Captain tomorrow?  He will be taking his first ever State required test and is a little nervous! 

Summer with the Saints :: Blessed Junipero Serra

Yesterday we went to my friend Marci's for our second Summer with the Saints this year.  At the last minute Marci's son ended up heading out of town early and her other children were visiting Grandma, so it was just my kids.   They still had a great time and it was nice to get out of our construction zone for awhile and enjoy Marci's peaceful back yard!

Here are a few pictures from our morning:

~ Making Holy Cards ~

~ Craft Time ~

~ Play Time ~

I so need to purchase a tree swing for our family.  I started looking at a few online and am thinking about maybe this ladybug tree swing or a daisy disk.   Do any of you have a favorite to recommend? 

~ Snack Time ~

Fig Newtons since the Black Mission Fig was named after the mission fathers who planted the fruit as they made their way north along the California coast.

The children also listened to the story Song of the Swallows.  I also just ordered a copy of The Mission Bell, which is out of print and also by Leo Politi, to read to them as well! 

Blessed Junipero Serra, pray for us!

A Special Sale at Catholic Artworks

I had a phone call from the owner of Catholic Artworks this morning.   For the next three days, they would like to offer an additional special to all of my visitors here at Shower of Roses!

In addition to their usual 50% discount, on all their CD prices for Homeschoolers, they are offering an additional 10% off in addition to a free "Saint Therese - God Bless Our Little Ways Kit" (from the Look & Learn Catholic Visuals line) with each order!

Now is a perfect time to place an order and try out one (or more!) of their CD's if you haven't already.

*They aren't able to add discount codes with Paypal, so the additional 10% off would be a cashback/refund after they process your order.  You might want to just add a little note at the checkout saying that you are visiting from Shower of Roses and would like the extra 10% off and free St. Therese Kit.  Thank you Catholic Artworks!

My Daybook :: July 7, 2010

Outside my window... we have been seeing a momma turkey with all her little babies!  They are so cute when they are little. . .  Then they grow up!

I am listening to... the contractors hammering away while my children amazingly sleep through it all. (It is currently 6:30 am.)   I am so amazed at all the progress that they have been making.  The old exterior wall came down yesterday and I am pretty sure the interior framing will be completed today!

This is looking from new dining room towards the new kitchen.   I am very thankful for that big black sheet of plastic keeping the dust out of the rest of our home! 

I am sure once the walls are up, and all the cabinets are added, it will be a little smaller, but right now it feels HUGE!! 

And here is a picture looking the other direction towards our dining and family room area.  I love that it is going to be so nice and open! 

I am thinking... about all the decisions we still need to make.  We've decided to go with Tile floors in the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms, with Hardwood in the dining and living rooms.  However, we still have not decided on the colors/styles yet.  I also need to choose paint colors. . .

I am thankful... for the new associate priest in our area!   (I posted one of his homilies on Father's Day.)  We got to meet him at a 4th of July BBQ.  He was ordained in our diocese a year ago, but did spend the past 5 years studying in Rome.  We really enjoyed visiting with him and hope to have him over for dinner a BBQ, soon!

I am hoping and praying... that we will not be without a kitchen for more than 6-8 weeks, as predicted by the contractor.  It is going to be a crazy summer.

From the kitchen...  Hummmm...  This is a hard one.  Currently I do dishes in the bathtub, keep all the food out in our detached garage (which isn't sealed very well and has already been raided by animals a couple times) and we cook and eat on the front porch/deck or the back patio.   It has been interesting to say the least.

From the learning rooms... My children are LOVING Summer Bingo!  Our oldest three all earned Blackout's last week and are already off to a great start this week.  It has been a little harder for Chiquita but I made her card a but easier this week.

Living the Liturgical Year at Home... I just posted the compilation of recipes for the month of July over at Catholic Cuisine.

I am creating... practice sheets for Captain.  He didn't do as well as I would have hoped in some areas of the practice test for his state required testing, which is scheduled for next week.   We will be studying up on test taking skills as well as subjects, predicates, punctuation, etc. a little bit each day.

I am wearing... Teething Bling for my sweet teething baby!

I am reading... The Christian Mother: the Education of Her Children and Her Prayer a little bit each night.

On my iTouch... a new case, so hopefully it won't break the next time I drop it in a parking lot! ;)

Our little Rose... is really getting around!  In fact just this last week, she started pulling herself up to a standing position in her crib.  Why, oh why, is she so determined to grow up SO FAST?!?!

Noticing that... I've had so little time for blogging and responding to emails since our remodel began.  I kept thinking things would slow down a little bit, and am now realizing that they probably won't.  At least not for awhile!

Around the house... I keep finding staples and nails everywhere.  I wonder how long it will be before my "Swagger Wagon" ends up with a flat tire! I even added a couple squares on the girls Bingo cards this week for picking up nails.  :)

On keeping home... I love this idea for a "Cup Station." Shelly even made one for my children and so far it is working great.  Thank you Shelly!

One of my favorite things... our little red grill!!   It was a gift from my Aunt & Uncle awhile back, along with the griddle accessory, and can't believe we've been waiting for a camping trip to use it.  

Isn't it beautiful?!?!   I just ordered a stove grate, which should arrive tomorrow, and I am actually enjoying life with out a kitchen.  At least some of the time!  ;)

A look at our week:

Monday: Work around the yard
Tuesday: Play Date with Friends
Wednesday: Meet with Cabinet Maker

Thursday Morning: Summer with the Saints (possibly?)

Thursday: 3 on 3 Hockey Game for the Boys

Friday : Mass & Benediction

A Picture thought I am sharing:

A few more pictures taken at my niece's Baptism!

My Dad with his youngest two Granddaughters

Celebrating the Fourth of July

We are headed to our friends home this evening, just like last year, for their annual 4th of July Party!   Last year the girls made Patriotic Cupcakes and Red, White & Blueberry Skewers to take and share.  This year, since we are currently without a kitchen, we were only asked to bring drinks.  Whew!

Nevertheless, Twinkle Toes still wanted to make a special treat for with lunch.  She decided to make and decorate Mini White Chocolate Pudding Pies.   They were quick, simple, and (with just a little bit of searching) we were able to find everything we needed in our boxes "cupboards."

Happy Independence Day! 

Summer Bingo

Between summer starting late around here (we were still using our heater a couple weeks ago!)  and our home remodel, I hadn't thought much about what we were going to do for summer this year. . .  However, now that summer has finally arrived my children are begging to be able to start earning tickets once again.

Although The Ticket to Summer has worked well for us in the past, there were a couple things that I didn't love. . .  For some reason my children always seemed to choose the same activities (usually the quickest and easiest ones) to do over and over to earn their tickets.  I ended up changing the rules so that they could only do each activity a limited number of times this week (for tickets)...  That worked okay, but I still thought it would be fun to change things up this summer.  So, inspired once again by my cousin who found the idea here, this year we will be playing SUMMER BINGO!!!

I adapted the template provided and filled it in with our own "tasks."   (If you'd like, you can download our template here, though you may have to modify the margins on your computer since it is a word document.   Here is also a blank template pdf in case you would like to just write in the activities.)  

I'm sure we will be adding more ideas throughout the summer, but here is the list of "tasks" we've come up with to get us started:

Indoor Games:

Build something with Legos or Playmobil
Play Battleship
Play Memory
Play Mancala
Play any board game with a sibling
Play on the GeoSafari Laptop
Put together a GeoPuzzle
Build something with blocks
Play Wii Active Outdoor Challenge for 1/2 hour
Play Wii Fit for 1/2 hour


Outside Fun:

Make up some kind of water game
Make up a scavenger hunt
Make an obstacle course in the yard and have a race
Play outside for one hour
Lay outside on a blanket and play “I Spy”
Play card games outside on a blanket
Draw with Sidewalk Chalk
Jump Rope
Make lunch and take it outside to eat
Play Soccer or Catch
Take photos of nature
Get a blanket and watch the clouds


Correspondence and Writing:

Call and say hello to Grandpa & Grandma
Write a thank you note or letter and mail it
Copy a poem and mail it to someone
Write in your journal about something you did recently
Add an entry to your Timeline Book
Write a short report (or narration) on a book you read
Complete a State-by-State Notebook Page


"Extra" Chores:

Clean out your sink
Clean out the beackseat of the car
Mop the hall floor
Vacuum the Bedrooms
Sweep the Deck
Check for Mail
Straighten the shoes by the front door
Straighten your dresser drawers

Clean out under your bed

Organize your bedroom

Wash a car

Dust for 20 minutes (ask mom)

Help a Parent Wildcard (parent chooses)

Reading, Math & Art:

Read for 30 minutes to a younger sibling or parent
Read for 1 hour on the couch on the deck
Read for 30 minutes outside on a blanket
Read for 30 minutes in a blanket fort
Listen to an audio book
Complete one lesson of Spelling (with Mom)

Play Math Shark for 30 Minutes
Complete one Math Lesson
Play a Math Game

Color or Illustrate a Picture
Make something out of Modeling Wax
Put on a puppet show
Play dress up
Sketch something from outside
Paint outside

Rascal reading The 4th of July Story to younger siblings 

I modified the rules and prize options for our family: 

(You can download my word document here.)

*Our boys already have plans to combine their tickets to work towards earning this game!

I ended up just making the Bingo Cards (printing them on yellow card stock for stability) and not making the cute little booklets that my cousin made for her children last year.  Simple is about all I can pull off this summer!  My children don't mind.  In fact, they are very excited about the plan for this summer and I am excited that and they have to do a number of *different* activities in order to earn a ticket!    So far it is going great and I just love that I am no longer hearing "I'm bored."  (I'm starting to wonder if I spoiled my children with the fun Alphabet Path activities this past year!! lol!)

So, how are you planning on keeping your children occupied this summer?