Captain America's Shield :: An Avenger Themed Birthday Cake {Dye-Free}

After making a Thor's Hammer for Ranger's Thor Birthday Party earlier this year, I knew I had to make a Captain America Birthday Cake for Captain's 16th birthday! After looking through various ideas (and being inspired by one of Charlotte's recent cakes!) I decided to make an M&M's version (the M&M's Archery Cake I made last year was easy and turned out great!) but this time I wanted to use Little Secrets Chocolates instead with "NO ARTIFICIAL ANYTHING."

Supplies: 

• 2 - 9" round cakes
• White Frosting
• Red, Blue & White Little Secrets Chocolates

To get started decorating I lightly pressed a star cookie cutter into the center of the cake and then did the same thing with a round cereal bowl, to use the marks as guides for the candy. I filled in the star with white candies, inserting one side of each candy into the frosting, surrounded the star with a circle of blue candy, then created three rings - two red and one white - to finish the shield. 

It wasn't as quick as the Captain American Berry Cheesecake, but still pretty quick and easy, and apparently "really impressive!" according to one of the boys' friends who came into the kitchen to get a drink of water when I was just about finished! 

I purchased the candy locally at Natural Grocers. Little Secrets are also available from Amazon. I didn't have enough of the white peppermint candies in the cupboard and they are currently out-of-stock at my local store (the red & white peppermint might be a seasonal flavor?) so I filled in the star with white M&M's, found on clearance from the 4th of July. 

Next time I use Little Secrets to decorate a cake I need to make sure and decorate it the same day as the birthday party. I made this one the night before, while the boys were enjoying a Captain America Movie Night with their friends, and when I took it out of the fridge for the party the next evening it looked like it had been in deep freeze with Steve... 

You can find the rest of Captain's 16th birthday pictures here: 

Captain America Movie Night & Birthday Golf 

and here:  

Marvel's Avengers :: Captain America Birthday Party

Captain America Movie Night & Birthday Golf

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life with Like Mother, Like Daughter. ~

{pretty}

Wednesday night: "{very} Last minute plans for a movie night with friends {who leave for vacation in the morning} on the eve of our oldest son's 16th {!!!} birthday. I'm baking a cake to decorate for tomorrow night, but decided to quickly decorate one more for tonight as well! Let the party begin!!!"

It only took about 5 minutes to decorate! I used a star cookie cutter as a guide when placing the berries and ended up just leaving it on the cake until I replaced it with the candles just before serving.

{happy}

I made the boys some "Captain America" inspired popcorn for the pre-birthday Movie Night - the boys were determined to watch both Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier before one of the boys needed to go home at midnight! Thankfully Captain America: Civil War hasn't been released yet! ;) 

Twinkle Toes, who happens to be allergic to Red 40, was so happy that I made a special batch for her using Milk Chocolate Little Secrets. I discovered these last Christmas and she was so excited when she found some RED & white peppermint "M&M's" in her stocking! I used these for his birthday cake too, which I'll post about soon.

Captain America Chocolate Popcorn 

• Popcorn, popped
• Red & Blue Milk Chocolate Little Secrets (or Red, White & Blue M&M's) 
• Mini Marshmallows
• Melted Chocolate

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and cover with popcorn. Sprinkle chocolate candy and marshmallows over popcorn. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Let set until chocolate hardens. Serve.

{funny}

In between the two movies the boys took a break for birthday cake! Captain was only able to blow out 15 of the candles... The kids all teased him that he had to wait until his actual birthday to be able to blow out all 16!

{real}

Thursday afternoon: Sean was able to get off work early today so that we could take the birthday boy (and Ranger) golfing! My first time... ⛳️ 😬😂😂

I had some AMAZING shots! My favorite was the one that landed over in the trees, IN A HOLE (but not the right hole) and under a stick! :/  I also managed to land behind a building and roll into the water. It was so awesome! I managed to score a 72, which isn't really that bad, at least not when you are playing 18. We played 9. Even the squirrels were terrified. It was so much fun!

After golfing we headed back home to get ready for all the extended family who were coming over for pizza and cake. I'll be back with the rest of the pictures soon. Happy 16th birthday, Captain!

A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis {Book Review & Giveaway}

Happy feast of St. Camillus de Lellis! In honor of today's feast, author Susan Peek has generously offered to send one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses a copy of the second volume in her series
God's Forgotten Friends: Lives of Little-known Saints: A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis.

Yesterday afternoon I pulled my son's copy of A Soldier Surrenders (we actually own the out of print 2007 edition published by Ignatius Press) off his bookshelf to skim through before posting the giveaway. Here is an excerpt from the introduction written by the author's husband Jeff Peek which caught my eye:

"If you, while skimming these words, are casually standing in your local bookstore browsing for a good book to read, but you feel you are already well advanced on the road to sanctity, this book is probably not for you. No, this book is a story for the rest of us, the common herd - we folk who, when entering the confessional, still find we have some actual sins to confess. Saint Camillus is for us. He is our champion. He could be aptly described as the unofficial patron of strugglers." 

Well, that would be me. I read through the rest of the introduction, then the first chapter, and then wasn't able to put the book down. I'm looking forward to finishing it this week today. It is excellent! I have always loved reading historical novels about the saints. The books by author Louis de Wohl were some of my favorites as a young adult and Susan's books are just as intriguing and inspiring!


At last . . . a saint for strugglers! Soldiering, gambling, brawling, drinking. As a young man, Saint Camillus excelled at them all. Add to that his fiery temper and innate knack for getting in trouble, and Camillus de Lellis seems the last person who could ever achieve holiness! But God had plans for the stubborn young soldier, whether Camillus liked it or not . . . 

"This novel for adult and young adult readers will introduce them to a great saint - a physical giant who had to contend with many personal struggles, much weakness, and repeated failures before he could become a moral giant. The story of Camillus de Lellis' conversion will leave no reader unmoved, and those that feel hopeless about themselves will find new hope, a hero, and a friend in Christ."

- Michael O'Brien Bestselling Catholic Author

Back in print by popular demand, this fast-paced and inspiring story of the wayward soldier-of-fortune who became an intrepid Soldier of Christ will appeal even to those who don't normally like to read!


In addition to A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis, recommend for ages 15 and up, Susan Peek has also written Saint Magnus,The Last Viking, the first volume in her series God's Forgotten Friends: Lives of Little-known Saints, which was awarded the Catholic Writers’ Guild Seal of Approval in June 2015, and Crusader King: A Novel of Baldwin IV and the Crusades, which made it onto the list of the Top 50 Most Popular Homeschooling Books in 2013.

Susan is also the author of several children's books including Animals of God Volume 1, Animals of God Volume 2, and Small for the Glory of God: Saint John the Dwarf, the first book in her new series God's Forgotten Friends: Little-known Saints for Children.

You can visit Susan Peek's website for more information and to sign up for her newsletter.

Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter Box below:

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Glorious St Camillus, turn your merciful eyes upon those who suffer and those who care for them. Grant to the sick Christian resignation and trust in the goodness and power of God. Make those who take care of the sick be generous and lovingly dedicated. Help me to understand the mystery of suffering as a means of redemption and the way to God. May your protection comfort the sick and their families and encourage them to live together in love. Bless those who dedicate themselves to the infirm. And may the good God grant peace and hope to all. Amen.

St Camillus de Lellis, pray for us!

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Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Whosover dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire. 

Scapular promise given to St. Simon Stock, July 16, 1251

I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free. 

Sabbatine Priviledge given to Pope John XXII, 1322

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel! This feast day has always been one of our family's favorites and Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patron we choose for our homeschool, many years ago, when we first started homeschooling our children. One of these years I would love to bake and decorate another scapular cake (you can see our first one back in 2008 here and our second scapular cake back in 2009) but this year I kept it simple since the three oldest were gone with their dad all morning (their golf team was hosting a tournament/fundraiser) and I wanted to spend some time baking something I could enjoy too. We are about to pray our family rosary, but first here are some pictures from various times throughout the day: 

.:  Picture Books :. 

I had to do some searching, but I finally found one of our copies of Garment of Grace. I love this little book. I started reading it aloud to our four youngest and pretty soon everyone was listening! (The older three were home by this time.) This book contains some incredible true stories about miracles that have happened to those wearing the brown scapular. 

"Look, Mom! This saint is in the little book you gave me!" 

(I brought him home a new little saints book from the conference last weekend.) 

Rereading some of those amazing stories on his own, despite all the distractions! ;) 

Note: Our children have all been invested in the brown scapular as babies, but they don't usually start wearing them until they are about 6 or 7 years old. My husband has found that knotting the boys' scapulars (as you can see in the picture above) makes them last so much longer, since that way the knots take the brunt of any "rough and tumble" abuse. ;) 

You can read a little more about the Brown Scapular in the archives here. 

.: Coloring Pages :. 

There are many free coloring pages available online (including the lovely Our Lady of Mount Carmel coloring pages over at St. John the Baptist Religious Ed, which my boys choose to color) but my personal favorite is this one from StellaMarigoldArt over at Etsy. 

(Note: We also have some gorgeous scapulars from StellaMarigoldArt, and MaryDevotions too!) 

.: Catholic Cuisine :. 

I just shared these Easy No-Bake Brown Scapular Treats over at Catholic Cuisine which were inspired by one of my brown scapulars.

I also made some {AIP approved!!!} treats for myself:

{sugar-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free}

Brownies with Salted Honey Caramel Sauce! 

Oh yeah! I think I have found my new favorite feast day treat. These will be perfect for other Carmelite saints, including the feast of St. Therese! 

Although I'm not sure I'll be able to wait until October to make them again...  

{I will try and share the recipes over at Catholic Cuisine soon!}

Update: You can find the recipes here. 

Even some of the dolls joined today's feast day celebration!

"Wear the Scapular devoutly and perseveringly. It is My garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of Me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life." 

~ Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Celebrating the Saints :: Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin

Today is the very first time we celebrate the feast of Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin as canonized saints! Our family has had two jam-packed days, since I arrived back home from my wonderful trip to Colorado late Sunday night, with driver's ed classes for our oldest each day, quite a few hours catching up at the office, heading back to the airport to pick up my delayed/damaged luggage, a birthday party for the five oldest to attend yesterday afternoon, braces (day 1 of phase 2) for our oldest daughter this morning, and golf practice for the older boys this evening. Despite all the time in the car or at the office, I managed to pull together a quick and simple, yet still beautiful celebration for today's special feast.

.: Story Time :. 

Our nine year read the story of "A Little Girl Named Therese" to his younger siblings from Catholic Children's Treasure Box Book 1.

You can find additional book suggestions for today's feast day here or here. 

.: Arts & Crafts :. 

I printed out five copies of this beautiful (free!) Sts. Louis & Zelie Martin Coloring Page from my friend Aleesa's blog, Life, Love, & Sacred Art. We handed out copies of these coloring pages at the workshop I offered last weekend, at the Rocky Mountain Catholic Home Educators Conference, to go along with the supplies for everyone to make Rose Filled Lace Sachets and take home to have on hand for today's feast. 

I also pulled out a darling new Blessing Block of St. Zélie Martin which I had been saving for today. 

 .: Catholic Cuisine :. 

I had hoped to make another French Vanilla Cake and Cupcakes in Honor of the Watchmaker and Lace Maker, but we are currently out of eggs and I really didn't have any extra time to bake anyway, so I decided to just twist open some Oreo cookies that happened to (miraculously) still be in the pantry, turn them into watch faces with some melted chocolate, and serve them on "lace" doilies. 

You can find my post over at Catholic Cuisine here: 

A Simple Treat for the Feast of Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin

.: Prayer :. 

"My God, I offer you my heart; take it, if You like, in such a way that no one else might possess it but You alone, my dear Jesus." 

~ St. Zelie Martin's daily offering with her children

Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin, Ora Pro Nobis!