Happy Easter

Wishing you all a Blessed and Joyous Easter Season! 

After spending most of Holy Saturday preparing for an unexpected road trip and trying to quickly finish up our tax returns, we somehow managed to fill all the Easter baskets, get an hour and a half of sleep, and finally get a family picture of all ten of us while at my parents home for brunch after the early morning Easter Sunday Mass! We are currently on the road, but when we get home again I'll try and share a few more pictures from Easter. I'm so glad that Easter is a season!

Good Friday

Picture Books on the drive to Church 🙏🏻  Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb

O my dying Jesus, I kiss devoutly the cross on which Thou didst die for love of me. I have merited by my sins to die a miserable death, but Thy death is my hope. Ah, by the merits of Thy death, give me grace to die, embracing Thy feet and burning with love for Thee. I commit my soul into Thy hands. I love Thee with my whole heart; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always, and then do with me what Thou wilt. - Jesus, Make Me Worthy

Good Friday Stations of the Cross ❤️ {I had to take her out a couple times, but she did love watching Father from the back of the church}

Good Friday 2018 🙏🏻💙 #afterstations #distractedmama #shessocutethough

Hot Cross Buns from a Local Bakery 

One last picture that I have to share from yesterday of our tiny baby girl 💙 

Could I ask you all to pray for one more special intention?
My mother-in-law is back in the hospital for the second time this month and has received last rites with apostolic blessing. Would you please offer a prayer for her? We are currently trying to figure out our options for getting down there to see her as soon as possible.

Update: She is recovering and home again. Deo Gratias! 

Holy Thursday Lenten Dinner

We missed our annual Lenten Dinners the last two years, due to a road trip over Holy Week/Easter the year before last and then trying to survive Hyperemesis Gravidarum last year, and honestly I came very close to skipping it all together again this year. This has been a difficult lent (the whole past year feels a bit like one long lent...) and I just haven't had the energy to do much extra at home on a regular basis. However, when it was time to start making dinner tonight, the girls and I decided to try and pull it together. I'm so glad we did! We had to make a few substitutions, but over all it came together nicely and ended up being mostly AIP/Paleo too. We took a few pictures while we were preparing everything, but completely forgot to take a family picture after everyone else was back from Mass. 

~ Palm on the Road ~

Baked Hearts of Palm
I sliced up a jar of Hearts of Palm from Trader Joes, dipped them in a gelatin "egg" substitute, and then in some Cassava flour, before baking at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Yum! 

"And many spread their garments on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields." Mk. 11:8

~ Costly Oil ~

I love love love my oils from Bozzano Olive Ranch. I get a shipment every few months. 

"And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her." Mk. 14:9

~ Thirty Pieces of Silver ~

Finally found shiny Silver Chocolate Coins this year! I actually picked them up just after Christmas on clearance. 70% Dark Chocolate Coins from Divine. Not all the kids are fans of Dark Chocolate... Specifically a certain 6 year old, but he loved using the wrappers to create armor for himself! 

Sacred Art Series - The Holy Gospels of St. Luke and St. John

"Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, 'What will you give me if I deliver him to you?' And they paid him thirty pieces of silver." Mt. 25: 14-15

~ Unleavened Bread ~

This year's "Unleavened Bread" was my pizza crust recipe from The Healing Kitchen.  It's definitely one of my AIP favorites and I make it at least once a week, but it's usually covered with toppings! 

"And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, his disciples said to Him, 'Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?'" Mk. 14:12

~ The Mount of Olives ~

This year's Mount of Olives was a couple cans of Black Olives.

"And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." Mk. 14:26

~ The Cock Crows Twice ~

Teriyaki Chicken (AIP/Paleo) also from The Healing Kitchen. We didn't have enough Coconut Aminos so the sauce was thinner than usual, but still yummy.  

"And Jesus said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.'" Mk. 14:30

~ Gethsemane Figs ~

Mmmm... Instead of Fig Newtons, one of the girls made a batch of the Lemon-Ginger Energy Balls from The Healing Kitchen since they are made with Figs. I usually keep a container of these in the fridge for on-the-go snacks. So good! 

"And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I pray.'" Mk. 14:32

~ Sleepy Apostles ~ 

Sleepytime Tea after dinner

"And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep?  Could you not watch one hour?" Mk. 14:37

~ Judas' Kiss ~

Skipped the Hershey's Kisses this year... Didn't have them and couldn't think up a substitute, but we read the bible versus just the same. 

"And when he came, he went up to him at once, and said, 'Master!' And he kissed him." Mk. 14:45

~ The Clouds of Heaven ~

I think the children preferred the whipped cream we've had in the past, but the Riced Cauliflower was really good and went perfectly with our Teriyaki Chicken :) 

"And Jesus said, 'I am; and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.'" Mk. 14:62

~ Peter's Tears ~

Salted Almonds for Peter's Tears

"And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, 'Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.' And he broke down and wept." Mk. 14:72

During dinner we read through the corresponding passages in the Gospel of Mark. 

I used the little card stock signs from the last time we had this dinner - Palm Sunday 2015

For more past Lent and Easter posts:
The Lenten Season In Our Catholic Home
Easter - Pentecost :: From the Archives

Wishing you all a Blessed Triduum!

National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day 2018

Isn't this the cutest little onesie?! I can't wait to try it on our baby girl next month. 

On April 20, 2018, witness to the dignity of ALL human beings by wearing a pro-life T-shirt. Share photos using #NPLTD18.

We are ready! Our children will all receive the office 2018 NPLTD shirts in this year's Easter Baskets.

(The cute little lamb will be tucked in our baby's basket too!) 

To help us all get in the spirit of NPLTD, American Life League is hosting a special contest. Click over to NPLTDay.com to enter!

The Easter Book & Religion In Life Curriculum Teacher's Manuals {Giveaway}

The Easter Book by Rev. Francis X. Weiser

Available from St. Augustine Academy Press and Amazon

I love my out-of-print copy of The Easter Book by Father Weiser and am so happy to see that it has just been reprinted by St. Augustine Academy Press!

"If you enjoyed learning about holiday traditions in The Christmas Book, you are sure to love its sequel, The Easter Book. Father Weiser has here applied his winning formula to an explanation of the fasts and feasts of the Lenten and Easter seasons with equally fascinating results."

Chapters Include: Introduction/The First Easter, Man and Nature, Farewell to Alleluia, Pre-Lent and Carnival, Sackcloth and Ashes, The Great Fast, Customs of Lent, Passiontide, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, The Feast of Feasts, Easter Sunday, Easter Hymns and Music, Easter Symbols and Foods, and The Easter Season. 

* * * 

Another BRAND NEW release from St. Augustine Academy Press is the Religion in Life Curriculum to go along with The Highway to Heaven series which I've blogged about in the past here. At this point we only own a copy of Practical Problems in Religion, but I am looking forward to adding the rest of these books to our home library.

"Developed in the 1930s by the Marquette Institute of Catechetical Research, the Religion in Life Curriculum is more than just a Teacher's Manual for use with its accompanying textbook series, The Highway to Heaven. It lays out an entire Religion Curriculum that includes music, art, reading and classroom activities."

Religion in Life Curriculum First Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual
(also available at Amazon here)

Religion in Life Curriculum Second Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual
(also available at Amazon here)

Religion in Life Curriculum Third Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual
(also available at Amazon here)

Religion in Life Curriculum Fourth Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual
(also available at Amazon here)

Religion in Life Curriculum Fifth Grade Teachers Plan Book and Manual
(also available at Amazon here)

A Curriculum in Religion
(also available at Amazon here)

Practical Problems in Religion 

(also available at Amazon here)

Here is a peek at what we are studying this week: The Crucifixion in Highway to God Book 7/8 and my 7th Grader and I are reviewing the answers to the "Problem Questions" found in Practical Problems in Religion.

.: Giveaway :. 

The publisher has generously offered to send a copy of The Easter Book along with the whole set of Religion in Life Curriculum Teacher's Manuals to one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses! 

(Giveaway closes on April 3rd. Winner will be announced in this post on April 4, 2018)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click here to visit St. Augustine Academy Press 

I'm also giving away a couple copies of The Easter Book over on Instagram so make sure and enter over there too! 

Nine Months

Our little ball of fire is nine months old already! We all love her "Most Ardently" even though we have never had such a challenging baby and she still doesn't let me sleep for much more than an hour at a time, for the 4 hours I manage to average each night/day. 

As of her doctor's appointment this week (9 1/2 months) she dropped off the bottom of the chart and is weighing in at just 14 lbs 14.8 oz. We tend to have small children, but I'll be taking her in for another weight check next month just to keep an eye on it and make sure she continues to gain.

#fattenthatbabyup #wemakesmallbabies #iwanttheirmetabolism

When she is not crying, she loves playing peek-a-boo, flipping through the pages of her board books, playing with her stacking blocks, practicing walking (she is up to about six or seven steps), splitting an avocado with me each afternoon, eating just about anything except for baby food (at least when I am feeding her), and of course bath time. Her smiles and giggles are my favorite and absolutely worth the exhaustion and all the sleepless nights. ❤

I Love You Most Adently Onesie • Pride & Prejudice: A BabyLit® Counting Primer

Sense & Sensibility: A BabyLit® Opposites Primer • Jellycat Stuffed Animals

Love is watchful. Sleeping, it does not slumber. Wearied, it is not tired. Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused, but like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle. — Imitation of Christ

Love our Lady. And she will obtain abundant grace to help you conquer in your daily struggle. — St. Josemaria Escriva

Love can accomplish all things. Things that are most impossible become easy where love is at work. — St. Therese

Prayers for the Murphy Family

🎶 Can the human heart refrain from partaking in her pain, In that Mother’s pain untold? 🎶 

On Friday night I posted over on Instagram: 

{We are praying for a special intention tonight 💔 sometimes the crosses given to those dear to us seem so heavy. I would be grateful if, in your charity, you would offer a prayer too} 

#thirdstation #jesusfallsthefirsttime #fourthstation #jesusmeetshisafflictedmother #fifthstation #simonhelpsjesuscarryhiscross #jesusitrustinyou #motherofsorrows #oropronobis

 Today I shared an update and wanted to post here on the blog too: 

Thank you for praying for the special intention I mentioned on Friday night. At that time I had no idea just how heavy the cross was going to be for my brother Brian and his family, and how scary and heart wrenching for all of us. 💔

This past Saturday, Brian and his wife Meagan were at the hospital preparing to deliver and say goodbye to their sweet baby girl, she was due to arrive next month but her precious heart stopped beating... Her sweet smiling face had already captured all of our hearts and she will be missed dearly. Millie Frances was born asleep Sunday morning. It was such an honor and blessing to be there when she arrived, hold her tiny little body, and kiss her beautiful forehead.🌹 

 

Meanwhile their three year old daughter, my niece Evie, was really sick too due to the flu combined with her bleeding disorder that left her with a nose bleed that just would not stop. My sister Mary and I called her doctor’s office and Brian left the hospital to meet Evie and I there Saturday afternoon. (At this point it had been bleeding for 24 hours.) The doctor sent her home following her labs, but by the middle of the night it had gotten even scarier and Mom (who had taken over watching the girls for the night) called Brian to come back and take her to the ER. Sunday morning, just after Evie had been given her first transfusion, stabilized, and admitted to the Pediatric NICU, I messaged my brother to hurry back to labor and delivery, Millie was about to be born. Evie had another scary day on Monday and needed another transfusion, but as of yesterday she is much better and is finally HOME! Thanks be to God! ❤️ 

Please, please, pray for healing, comfort, and peace for my brother Brian and his family. 

They have been through so much. 🙏🏻

Another New Addition to Our March Book Basket {Runaway Bunny Edition}

I can't believe that our little baby is going to be 9 months old the day after tomorrow... 

Her first year is flying by! She's been crawling for a few months now, and I've been told that she was standing on her own the day before yesterday without holding on to anything and tried taking a step, but so far she isn't walking. She can sure climb though! 

A Few Links:

Runaway Bunny Board Book
(Not new... It's a well loved book from our collection, but the kids pulled it out to match her outfit.) 

Runaway Bunny Onesie 

(Today through Mar 8th, they are having a buy one get one free over at Out of Print!)

Grimm's Extra Large Pastel Rainbow

(We love all the Grimm's Wooden Blocks. This rainbow, along with the Ostheimer Unicorn, was a Christmas gift for our 8 year old. I'd love to eventually add the small pastel rainbow to our collection.) 

Last Year's New Additions to Our March Book Basket

Feasts & Seasons: Our March Book Basket

(I am running behind on updating our baskets and book carts!) 

You can find all our book lists here.