The Seven Sacraments for Children Coloring Pages

The Catholic faith is rich with prayers, devotions, traditions, sacramentals and many other elements that can be used to grow your relationship with God. The seven sacraments are pillars of the Catholic faith and mark extraordinary portions of our life. It is essential to treat these life-altering milestones as such, especially if we expect our children to understand the significance of each sacrament and it's meaning. My goal as a parent is to make sure I have immersed my children in as much of their Catholic faith as possible, in hopes that they will love it as much as I do.

"The Sacraments are the salvation of those who use them rightly, and the damnation of those who misuse them."
- St. Augustine 

How do we accomplish such a huge responsibility? First, we must make sure that we ourselves are well versed in the information that we are teaching to the younger generations. Do you know much about the sacraments?

Here are a few quick basics:

• There are seven sacraments; Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Confirmation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage and Holy Orders.
• These seven sacraments are broken down into several different types; The Sacraments of Initiation, The Sacraments of Healing and the Sacraments of Service.
• The Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation.
• The Sacraments of Healing are Penance and Anointing of the Sick.
• The Sacraments of Service are Marriage and Holy Orders. 

Although I said this was some "basic" information. How basic does this sound to children? Probably not very relatable and not very intriguing to young minds... yet.

Children retain more knowledge if they are able to play and create memories. Most of us were baptized as babies and the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist are given to us early in the elementary years. That is three out of six of the sacraments you are able to receive by the time you are 8/9 years old!

I state three out of six sacraments because you cannot receive Holy Orders and be married as well. There are exceptions, of course, but that is a little much to explain to children in this age group.

Illustrating the importance of these milestones can be difficult and hard to comprehend for young children if you are not able to portray these sacraments in an easy to comprehend state. I was contacted by my friend, Sherry, from Personal Creations about sharing some wonderful and captivating Sacrament Coloring Pages that can assist the teaching of the seven sacraments to children and make them more fun to learn!

Sherry has said...

"I hope these coloring pages give joy to families and teach children the milestones of Christian life. From baptism to marriage, these coloring pages are a delightful way to celebrate the many stages of a spiritual journey with God."

I was thrilled to be able to have a quick lesson with my boys on the Sacraments and share these coloring pages with them. I can honestly say that they both enjoyed it! I have a seven year old and a ten year old. They had requested I join in the coloring fun since we do have nights where we pull out all the art supplies and have "craft nights". 

My youngest son loves games! He had asked me if we could use these pictures to make a game. I told him, "Of course we can!" We created a Matching Sacrament Game by printing two of the coloring pages that summarized all of the sacraments and cutting them out. We now have a Liturgical Game that my son is very proud of because he did all the coloring and cutting and I have a game to play with him that will teach him about the sacraments. Definitely a Win, Win!

My older son is more of a perfectionist and insisted that he make the pages look as life like as possible. He had to use the perfect combination of crayons, markers and colored pencils to get each page looking like a masterpiece.

Having an activity that was intriguing to both my children was such a blessing. They are at those ages where it can be difficult to find something that reaches them at their own levels and yet keeps them on the same task. It turned into a nice family evening.

Advent is just a few short days away. What a great way to anticipate the Christ child's birth by learning more about the seven sacraments with your families. If you are interested in these beautiful Sacrament Coloring pages, please check out the link to Personal Creations here. These wonderful coloring pages will help establish a great love for the sacraments in your children and help explain some of the more difficult aspects of the sacraments in a child's way.

Three Ways To Nurture Your Catholic Faith in Your Children

In this day and age of technology and instant access, there is much to compete with in our children's lives. It can be more than difficult to connect and create strong enough bonds to our faith and family without added distractions. I truly believe that knowledge is power and understanding your obstacles is the best way to create a plan to succeed in any endeavor.

The endeavor that is most important to me right now is helping to cultivate a love for God, family and the Catholic Church in my children. This has been a topic of interest for me for quite awhile actually. I am a cradle Catholic. Born and raised to go to Confession on Saturday afternoon, attend Mass on Sunday mornings and participate in Catechism classes and Youth groups as needed. That was the recipe to create a love for my Catholic faith. I am not knocking this recipe because obviously something went right. I am now thirty years old, still Catholic and attempting to nourish a faith in my own children and family. I am here to share what I have learned through many trials, more errors and things that I still do today.

Find a Parish to call Home

This is probably one of the most important things you can do to establish a real relationship with your children and their faith. A Parish is not just the church you attend on Sundays or other Holy days of Obligation. A Parish is a second family. They will be present for some of the biggest milestones and memories of your family! Baptisms, First Communion, First Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage and even funerals. They will be there when you need help, whether prayers or other types of assistance.

Create relationships with the people sitting with you in the pews and go say hello to your priest. My children have always been enamored by the priests of our parish. They love to give hugs, high-fives and always smile when they see people from our parish around town. My oldest son's teacher is even in attendance at our parish!

Another important aspect of being in a Parish is participation. Sign up to attend bible studies and other Parish hosted events as a family. Allow your children to make friends with kids at Religious Education and youth groups. Embrace what your Parish can offer your family but remember that it is also important to volunteer and give back as well. 

Decorate Your Catholic Home 

As a child, I remember the beautiful gold display that had the Ten Commandments engraved above my dining room table. The nostalgia of childhood rings so strong when you become an adult. Bring your faith into your home and allow it to have a place in your everyday life, not just Sunday worship.

The Liturgical season is full of distinct colors, sounds and beautiful scenes that can be displayed in your home. Add Holy Water Fonts, Crucifixes and display portraits of Our Lady and the Holy Family. I have incorporated a Home Altar that we update with the Liturgical colors, special Saints of the season, candles and rosaries.

The more these special reminders of our Catholic faith become apart of your families everyday life, the harder it will be for your children to go out into the world without them. These additions to your home can also be passed along to your family as they grow. There was a gorgeous statue of Mother Mary that was my Grandmother Mary's that my dad gave to me when I had children. It was something that I was able to bring with me from my childhood and I hope to pass along to my children one day as well.

Create Happy Memories and Traditions

This suggestion is probably the most important. Creating memories that are warm, happy and include our faith will be what our children think about in times of turmoil. The Liturgical year makes this super easy! Celebrate anniversaries of your children's Sacraments and Saint's feast days. Make new traditions with baking special dinners or desserts on certain days. There are several Liturgical seasons to embrace and each month is dedicated to a special devotion too. I include those days on our family calendar so everyone can see it. My children have started to remind me about certain activities or movies we are suppose to watch on certain feast days now! We incorporate special blessings and prayers. Create candles, crafts and so much more. Make the Catholic faith come to life.

If you need some ideas for ways to incorporate faith into your everyday activities, check out some of my ideas under the Liturgical Celebrations tab. Let your creativity free! You will be creating memories for yourself and your children! The positive association between happiness, love and faith will be something that your family can tangibly look back on as they grow older and venture into the world. My favorite thing about my faith is that we Catholics know how to celebrate! We do have many traditional ways you can incorporate but do not let that interfere with trying out some new family traditions that will be passed on to your children's children.

Interested in more ideas to keep your children Catholic? Checkout this month's CWBN Blog Hop with several articles written on this very intriguing and important topic. Several of my friend's from Everyday Ediths are contributing to this Blog Hop as well.

The Lenten Season and the Five Senses

If you read my previous post on Ash Wednesday then you already know that I am feeling behind on my Lenten preparations. Today is the First Sunday of Lent and I have challenged myself to get my home and plans solidified by the end of the day. I am feeling pretty confident that I will have everything accomplished but I am trying not to count my chickens before they hatch too. It is time to dive into the Lenten Season head first and be engulfed by the beautiful simplicity and meaningful moments that can come from fully participating.

First things first. How do you create an atmosphere for Lent? With Decorations? Music? Changing up your Family Meal Plans? I dapple in each of these areas since I like to immerse my family in the season and I have a sensory child that enjoys and understands the concepts more with his environment being overtaken with sights, sounds, touches, scents and tastes. What could be better than finding a way to entice your senses while on your journey to a closer relationship to God. After all, he created us with these senses, he surely wants us to use them!

SIGHT

Let's start with the sense of sight. The breathtaking colors of Violet and Purple and the rustic accents of branches, thorns and wilderness really make Lent come to life. Simplicity is key. So far I have adorned our fireplace mantle with a DIY board I created of the Stations of the Cross and flame-less votive candles. The twinkling flames against our Stations as they each go out one by one as we pray the Stations on Fridays, create a nice prayerful ambiance. I also have plain branches in a vase that is tied with a violet ribbon on our dining room table and a beautiful picture that represents Lent to my family on display. I also tied a grapevine wreath with the same purple ribbon as the vase on our front door. Our home altar has been cleaned and looks very simple with a purple cover, crown of thorns, sacrifice bean jar, our operation rice bowl and a beautiful purple rosary I won in a giveaway hosted by Mrs. Andy Anchored by Faith. This is one of the areas I just completed today and I am feeling quite proud of the Lenten feel that is in my home.

SOUND

Sounds are a little more difficult for me to chose during this season. When I think of a prayerful place, I think of quite, which is not something you will find in our crazy little home. So to embrace both Lent and the crazy that is happening in my home at all times, I thought some nice background music would be good or some nice calm prayers. My children and I are huge fans of Holy Heroes line of audio CDs. They offer the Stations of the Cross, the Rosary and Glory Stories about the Saints! and I was also given a great review about Music for Children's Liturgy of the Word by Christopher Walker that I purchased to add to our collection. I would love to hear what you consider a "sound of the season" for Lent.

TOUCH

The most difficult sense for me to decide on is always Touch. To satisfy the sense of touch, I have collected a nice amount of coloring pages. Once again, I have to mention Holy Heroes. They offer a FREE Lenten Adventure that send you coloring pages, word searches, cross words and much more that is relevant to the season of Lent. I also would like you to check out Life, Love and Sacred Art for some great coloring pages. In addition to coloring, there are some great crafts to have readily available. Burying the "ALLELUIA" is one of my children's absolute favorite crafts. We will also be creating a Resurrection Garden that you start during Lent so it is in bloom for Easter. Making Sacrifice Beads, Rosaries and Lenten Trees are also some fun and simple crafts you could do as a family.

Books are another touch that would be great to dive into during Lent. Devotionals and stories that explain the Lenten season and some of the feast days we celebrate during the 40 days. I was struggling with a Lenten devotional I wanted to focus on since I had already read a Walk in Her Sandals, I knew I would reread that during Holy Week but I was stumped about what to do the rest of the season. I decided I would read Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation and Resisting Happiness both written by Matthew Kelly. I am excited about these National Best-Sellers because there are questions in each section that allow me to ponder what I have read and how it relates to me so I can write in my prayer journal.

TASTE

When I think of tastes, the first thing that comes to mind is food and drink! The whole premise of the Lenten season is simplicity so simple meals, snacks and drinks are what I consider to captivate my family's sense of taste. I love baking pretzels and special meatless meals each Friday. The Crock pot is my lifeline during the incredibly busy season of Lent so it makes my home smell delicious and gets our taste-buds ready for our tasty meals. Here is a short list of Lenten recipe ideas below:

Shrimp Pasta

Shrimp Tacos

Tuna Sandwich

Vegetable Soups

Simple Salads

Spaghetti Squash and Marinara

Fruit Salad

Three Bean Salad

Homemade Pretzels

Macaroni and Cheese

Breakfast Bread

What are some of your go-to recipes? Do you prefer to cook out or go out? Are you active in the Knights of Columbus Spaghetti Dinners and Fish Frys? We are going to a Knights of Columbus Fish Fry this upcoming Friday!

Scents

What other scents do you think of for the Lenten Season? I think there could be an argument for incense and essential oils as an important aspect of your Lenten experience as well. Frankincense is a great option. Maybe purchase some candles made by monks or nun to keep in your home during seasons on extra prayer!

Let's also not forget the smells of Spring Cleaning! We use organic products in my home called Legacy of Clean and they smell amazing!

Still need more ideas to tingle your senses? Check out the CWBN Blog Hop! So many wonderful ideas and suggestions to bring the full season of Lent to your families with sacrifice, prayers and alms-giving.

It is important to remember that Lent is what you make it. You can make it simple or as complicated as you like and just like anything else in life, you will get out of it what you put into it.

Happy Lent and God Bless!

Ash Wednesday: A Story You Won't Forget

I am struggling with this Lenten season already: I have not started a devotional yet, I have not set out our Lenten decor and I am feeling a little unmotivated. I feel like these are the very same reasons I need to get my butt in gear and finalize my late preparations and immerse myself in this blessed season as soon as possible and so this is the reason behind this post. I wanted to refocus on what is truly important and share all about my awesome experience this past Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday is the official kick off day of the Lenten season and for Catholics means a day of fasting and abstinence (no eating meat). It is Day 1 in your Lenten sacrifice, additional prayers and alms-giving. Honestly, I have a deep love of Lent. It is always an enlightening experience and I feel that I make great strides in my vocation as a wife, mother and friend while growing closer in my relationship to God. 

Well, this Ash Wednesday was a little different and I can promise you that I will never forget it.

I have two children, Little Man (age 9) and Goalie (age 6). Little Man is old enough to receive Communion and often Altar Serves on a regular basis in our parish. Goalie on the other hand is too young to really participate in the Mass besides as a parishioner and he is often saddened that he cannot receive Communion or help as an Altar boy yet. In addition to Goalie's sadness about just getting to sit with mommy, he is developmentally delayed and undergoing autism testing (they are pretty sure he has Aspergers). I am sharing this background so you can truly understand my experience this past Wednesday.

Little Man was Altar Serving at the Ash Wednesday Mass we attended in the evening and Goalie and I were sitting in the front pew, as we always do, so we can see Little Man in action and Goalie can be close enough to the Choir to feel as if he is a part of it. Mass was going great! No real outbursts from Goalie and Little Man was doing an amazing job attending to his duties.

The ashes were blessed and we were in line to receive them on our foreheads. I can't even begin to describe Goalie's excitement to receive his ashes. He had made it seem like it would be the highlight of his life! We were blessed with our ashes and returned to our pew. 

Then it happened....

Goalie is holding his hands in front of him like he is fighting the urge to grab his face with both his hands and his face is contorted like he is in pain!

I ask him, "Are you Okay?" "What's wrong?"

He begins to shake his little hands and points at his head while exclaiming "My head is on fire!"

I was completely taken by surprise by this answer and obviously his head was not on fire but I think I sat there for a minute of two starring at my child while he was having a complete sensory meltdown. When I finally understood what was happening, I calmly explained that the ashes maybe felt strange but I assured Goalie he was not on fire and he was okay. This conversation about Goalie's head being on fire went on until right before the Consecration of the Eucharist. The poor little guy couldn't move past the idea that his forehead was on fire so in my desperation to make him feel better and screaming "My head is on fire!",  I allowed him to rub his ashes off. 

Looking back on this story now, it is actually quite funny, I mean it is the kind of story people joke about happening but I got to live it. 

If you think that's the end of my story you would be wrong, here's the icing on the cake.

After Goalie had calmed himself, I realized that I heard the bell ringing that is normally rung when the Eucharist is being blessed. But the Eucharist was not being held up by the priest yet. I looked up toward the Altar Servers to see Little Man ringing the bells like there is no tomorrow and he is just grinning from ear to ear. It was his first time getting the honor of ringing the bells and he obviously was excited and also had no clue what he was doing. One of the other servers was trying to get his attention to stop, but their efforts were in vain.

Between Little Man ringing the bells throughout the entire Consecration and Goalie's head "being on fire". It was quite the eventful Mass to say the least. 

 As promised I guaranteed you a story you would not forget! I can promise you that although this was the most hilarious Ash Wednesday, it was also one of the most special. Goalie was able to receive ashes for the first time (even though it was short lived) and Little Man had his first experience with more responsibility as an Altar Server and was extremely enthusiastic. We all made a memory we would never forget and found ourselves closer to God, that's what it is all about anyway right? The picture above is our #ashtag we shared in honor of Ash Wednesday.

Now, I want to hear from my readers! How is your start to Lent going? Are you feeling like me, behind and unorganized? Or have you already dove into this amazing season with two feet and feeling the blessings that come with a meaningful Lenten season? Have you had any experiences like me with burning heads and an excited Altar boy?

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday:

Gracious God, today begins a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love.

Amen.

Rocking Motherhood Challenge

Motherhood is crazy roller-coaster that is unique and amazing everyday, even with its moments of anxiety from the crazy momentum and scary turns that you never saw coming. I consider motherhood the biggest blessing to ever been given to me. I look back at my life and cringe with some of the crazy and nonsensical things I have done. Becoming a mom was the the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me. I have two beautiful little boys that know how to make the me the happiest woman on Earth but can also push me to the edge of insanity with a moments notice. Although there are times when I honestly have no clue what I am doing, I know that I am rocking motherhood in my own special little way. I have embraced the roller coaster ride and am excited to see what lies around the bend.

I was tagged by Hannah over at Lovely Little Lives to participate in the 10 Ways I'm Rocking Motherhood Challenge. Thank you Hannah for giving me the opportunity to look at motherhood through a positive perspective. You can check out her post in the link above and you can continue reading to see how I am rocking motherhood below:

I am a fighter.

 

Through my past ten years as a mommy I have had to battle many demons that I never imagined. I fought my way out of an abusive marriage. It took four long years but we all survived. I have fought with back pain for longer than I can remember. I fight depression and anxiety everyday. No matter what happens, I will continue to fight. My God is larger than anything that can come against me and my family and I want my children to know this from my example. I also want them to know that I am always in their corner just waiting for when they need me.

I am Patient. 

Little man is almost ten years old now, extremely intelligent and likes to act older than his age. Goalie is developmentally delayed and struggles with emotions, socializing and education. They are opposites in so many ways and sometimes it is hard to parent children that are so different. God has blessed me with a great deal of patience (most days) and I think that it helps me to be a better mom and wife. 

I cook home-made dinners almost every night. 

I really enjoy having a hot dinner ready for my family because it is one way that I like to show I care. It is also fun to make new recipes and have my boys help me cook. Creating healthy habits is important and the family time that comes with a hot dinner together doesn't get much better. There are some nights that I would rather pick up some takeout but it would create a completely different atmosphere in my home. These dinners are anticipated and loved by the entire family. 

I will NEVER allow my boys to quit. 

Dedication is an important character trait that I hope my children grasp with both hands. We discuss every extracurricular activity and sport prior to us registering or joining because there is always the understanding that we will be making a commitment that will not be broken. Cub Scouts, Soccer, Football, Boys on the Run and 100 Mile Club. These are all activities that my kids participate and they know they are expected to be a reliable team player. They will show up to practices and games and they will always be good sports, whether they win or lose. I am proud to say that they both have received awards for being a "Christ-like" player.

I am crafty. 

I have thrown together turkey shifts and ugly sweaters. I have crafted saint costumes from curtains, pillow cases and eyeliner. I am proud to say that last minute projects are one of those things I happen to excel.Taking the time and effort to make crafts and personalized items makes my boys feel special and I love to do it. I enjoy doing arts and crafts with the boys, in fact, we have coloring nights all the time! We pick out a movie, make some snacks and pull out all the crayons, colored pencils, markers and paper. We push play and it's a coloring-fest for the next few hours.

I am organized, at least I try to be organized. 

I utilize a planner, Cozi and bullet journal. With all the craziness that life throws at us schedule wise, I make it happen. Everyone knows the plan for the day each day and upcoming plans for the week. 

I am teaching them to be good Catholics.

This is the most important thing that I can do for my children. Dressing them in their Sunday Best every Sunday for Mass, teaching them the Commandments, Beatitudes, Acts of Mercy and following the Golden Rule. These are things that I am teaching them in their everyday life through examples and correcting them when they stray off the path of righteousness. 

I am a volunteer.

I volunteer to help at school functions, at our church, Cub Scouts and the kids' extracurricular activities. I want my children to have me by their sides and able to be a full participant in their achievements. This can sometimes be difficult since I work but I try my best and offer up the difficult times up to God.

Tag- You're it!

I am challenging these bloggers to join me in the #RockingMotherhood Challenge! Check them out!

Alicia from Sweeping Up Joy

Ginny from Not So Formulaic

Anni from Beautiful, Camouflaged Mess of a Life

Allison from Reconciled to You

My Sunday Best: Parish Faith Night Edition

It is so amazing to be back! Our computer gave out a couple weeks ago and my cousin came to the rescue. Now to catch up with some great posts because it always happens that you are inspired while unable to share right?

Today is the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time and also a Parish Faith Night for our Church. Parish Faith Night is a special event that we host to help share information, fun crafts and fellowship. This particular Parish Faith Night was all about Saints and Feast Days. I was really excited that we were able to attend Parish Faith Night because we missed Mass this morning. My youngest son has been having an extremely difficult time with his emotional outbursts this week and this morning was rough to say the least. We have routines for everything to help our transitions and nothing seemed to keep Goalie in a calm disposition. We had a small talk after he completed Tiny Turtle. We came to the agreement that the wiggles and nervous feelings he was having this morning were very hard to control so we would not attend Mass but we would attend Parish Faith Night. It is sometimes very difficult to make choices like this because it does change our routine but it is better than keeping Goalie in his downward spiral of emotions he finds himself at times. He is formally diagnosed with ADHD but he is currently undergoing testing for an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) because his school and behavioral therapist both have noted concerns that he may have Aspergers, which is a high functioning Autistic diagnosis.

In case you haven't heard of Tiny Turtle before, it is a new anger management skill we have been practicing for Goalie. If you are interested in trying out "Tiny Turtle"check out these simple steps:

First, form an imaginary turtle shell by curling into a little ball.
Second, take at least three deep breaths.
Third, say "I can do it, I can calm down" until you feel better and then you can emerge from your tiny turtle shell and move forward with your activity.

After a rough morning, I am happy to say that we really turned around the day and Parish Faith Night was a success! Our night was centered around the Saints and the Feast Days. To kick things off we started with an enormous pot luck dinner to start our fellowship. We had an abundance of many food, dessert and drinks. After everyone had eaten, we began a discussion with the children about Saints: What makes a Saint a Saint? Who can become a Saint? Who decides who is a Saint? Name some Saints and Feast Days. You know the saying "Kids say the darnedest things?" Well tonight was no different! So many laughs and great memories.

After the discussion we went into our Saint Parade! Here are my two little Saints below: Saint Dominic and Saint Joseph!

In addition to all of our fun events we also incorporated some printables for the families present to work on together. Check out Catholic Icing has an amazing Family Litany of Saints Worksheet that we discussed and there were also All Saints coloring pages. You can check out my Pinterest page if you are looking for some great Catholic coloring pages.

I think that my most favorite part of the evening was being able to sing The Litany of Saints with my two little saints and just be in the moment of peace and fellowship with my parish. I am so glad that the evening was a success and I am looking forward to the next Parish Faith Night in March!

Now that the night is over, I am enjoying a glass of wine with my husband! I am linking this post to My Sunday Best

God Bless!

#WorthRevisit: Baptism Anniversary

This month is extra special for me because January 29th is the anniversary of my boys receiving the Sacrament of Baptism together. I wanted to share how we celebrated in the past and I would love to hear about your family traditions and other special ways to make this day amazing for my boys! 

It's also funny to see that in Florida we had two snow days ever and it just so happens to coincide with this anniversary. What makes this even funnier is we are in Colorado now and we are getting hit with a snow storm tonight! Crazy Coincidence? Here's my #WorthRevisit with Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb:

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Little Man and Squishy's Baptism Anniversary!

January 29th is Little Man and Squishy's Baptism Anniversary!

We of course had to celebrate! The day my kids were baptized was one of the happiest moments of my life.

I was disappointed it took so long to get Little Man this special Sacrament but its so nice that Little Man can remember his special day just like me. It became a blessing in disguise. Father John did an amazing job explaining what was happening during the baptism to Little Man. He asked him questions and told him he was old enough to respond. There is nothing sweeter than hearing your child's sweet little voice say "Yes, I believe God!"

The picture to the left is Father John lighting Little Man and Squishy's baptism candles for the first time. I keep their candles in the boxes until their special day comes around. I take them out and display them all day and we light them for the beginning of our dinner. The boys always want me to keep them lit but I would like the candles to last for a long time.

January 29th was the second snow day that we endured and as I'm sure you guessed, changed our celebration slightly. All the roads were closed because they were iced over and we do not have salt trucks around here to help out so we were all battling cabin fever. I would have loved to have bought some picture frames and pulled out some shells to glue to the outside of the frame to display pictures from the baptism. Instead we looked at pictures on Facebook. Thank God we were blessed with power during our winter storm so we were able to access the Internet and our family.



For dinner I made ricotta stuffed shells covered in a spinach mushroom alfredo sauce and covered with Italian cheese. I loved the symbolism with the shells. Their are small shells carved into the baptism candles too. I also had leftover spinach dip from a get together we had earlier in the week that needed to be eaten as well. It was delicious!! Everyone in our home loves the everything Italian loaf as a side too. For all the super special celebrations we have sparkling juice! Little Man and Squishy love drinking from their wine glasses  plastic flutes. They are so cute tapping their glasses together to "cheers"!



For dessert we made white cupcakes for the cleanness that is restored with the waters our of baptism and blue vanilla frosting to symbolize the water used to baptize us in God's name. We topped the cupcakes with blue sugar crystals because what is a celebration without sprinkles?!

Are there traditions to celebrate baptisms? I would love to hear your traditions or suggestions too!

#WorthRevisit: Getting in the Holiday Spirit

A lot has changed over the past few years and man oh man has this family learned some hard lessons about being humble, frugal and appreciating what you have. The true meanings of Advent and Christmas are about love, family and sacrifice. This holiday season has been amazing and I still have much to share about all of our experiences since I have been on a small hiatus. I promise to bombard you with recipes, ideas, crafts and pictures in the upcoming weeks! For my #WorthRevisit post with Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb, I thought I would share about one of the most difficult Christmas seasons we had as a family. I was a single parent, completely broke, I was working three jobs that took so much of my time. We were blessed with giving friends and family and we would never be able to fully give enough thanks to the ones that were there for us while we struggled to find happiness in the struggle. I am beyond grateful for the time I have been given back to enjoy my children and husband and that God always provides.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Sorry I have not been blogging much lately but thank you for the kind emails asking how myself and my children are doing. Your prayers have touched our hearts! I am finally getting settled into a new routine with my kids. I am hoping to incorporate blogging more but since it has been such a long time here is a summary of our Advent and Christmas preparations and celebrations.

God truly provides. My kids and I have been blessed with my friends and family members coming to aid us during our greatest life change. At times it's hard to imagine what plan God has for us but I am beginning to see that his plans are more amazing than anything I could plan for myself and my family. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue down our new path.

Since I have not been blogging consistently there is so much I would like to share so I will apologize in advance because the rest of this is going to look like a mini scrapbook with random thoughts and pictures. I will try to keep everything short and sweet :)

Picking the Perfect Christmas Tree
We decided to purchase a real tree this year and the kids were so excited running through the forest or trees on display. It was a beautiful night and the smell of the Christmas trees and wreaths was amazing. I hope one day I can take the kids to actually cut down a Christmas Tree. 

Decorating the Tree
We were going to wait to decorate our beautiful tree but the boys were so excited after buying ornaments and lights that we couldn't say no. I think putting our gorgeous Star on the top was their favorite part of the entire experience.

Feast of Saint Nicholas

I absolutely love reading Jessica from Shower of Roses blog on all her traditions with her family. I wanted to write letters to the boys from Saint Nick but I had been working extra shifts due to the seasonal rush this time of year and starting a second job.

This year Saint Nicholas brought the boys some Christmas books, The Legend of the Candy Cane and A Christmas Prayer. There was also chocolate coins and candy canes with Christmas socks filled with several real gold $1 coins.

Squishy's Holiday Program

Squishy had the cutest holiday program at his daycare for the children ages 3 and under.

His class sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Although none of the children really sang, it was more the parents in the audience since the children were overwhelmed. Squishy was sitting next to a little boy wearing a Rudolph nose and stared at the blinking light on the little boys face until half way though the song he decided to poke the poor kid on the nose. It was hilarious! I will always remember this production and I am so excited to see Squishy participate in more programs like this soon.

Baking Gingerbread Cookies
Decorating cookies has always been a favorite activity for Little Man during the holidays. This time Squishy was able to participate but he chose to eat the cookie decorations instead of decorating his cookies.

I am hoping to post about Christmas Day soon... I have until Candlemas though right? In addition to the activities above we also decorated gingerbread houses and went for a walk through Christmas Reflections. I tried my best to incorporate our normal traditions but this Christmas was a very simple one due to lack of time and money. I think it actually made it one of the most meaningful Christmases we have shared as a family. I also have some ideas about celebrating The Baptism of the Lord this upcoming Sunday I would like to share along with a review of The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their friends and families!

God Bless!

Catholic Faith Formation

Welcome to the weekly link-up recently turned Blog-Hop Just Enough Info or just, JEI for short. This lovely Blog-Hop is hosted by The Zelie Group and we would love for you to join us! This week we are discussing Religious Education! Let's get started with this week's questions:

Do your children attend your parish’s religious education program? 

Yes! My children do attend our Parish Religious Education Program. They have been in attendance since they were in Kindergarten. My oldest is now an Altar Sever and both of my boys are participating in the Children's Christmas Choir this year. We are blessed with an active parish and they are hosting Parish Faith Nights ever couple of months to increase family participation in the Religious Education Program. 

I do believe that Faith Formation has to be part of the home atmosphere as well. My boys seem to grasp more faith concepts that we have incorporated into our family time and traditions than the concepts that they learn about without being able to put their faith into action. 

Do you or have you ever taught religious education?

Yes I have! And I am currently teaching my 4th graders Religious Education Class. I have taught for several years and have always enjoyed it. When I was in high school, my best friend even taught a preschool class with me! I really enjoy being a Catechist and hope that I am able to continue to volunteer and help in my parish. I also love when I see my students outside of class and they are excited to see me!

What is your favorite religious education resource for kids?

For the classroom, I would have to say that I rely on my Catechist book a lot but I take a look at Pinterest and Holy Heroes too! I am always looking for great resources so I can't wait to hear about everyone else's ideas on this subject!

At home, I am utilizing the Holy Heroes Advent Adventure for the children while we celebrate the Advent season. In addition to that we are creating a Jesse Tree Garland and much more... If you are still in need of ways to get your Advent on track check out my Advent Series. It contains links to many resources, crafts, books and movies!

I have also been blessed with a gift of the Little Catholic Box and I just won a FREE box from the Mass Box! I'll share more on these lovely gifts later!

You have all week to answer this week's questions that are all about Religious Education:

1. Do your children attend your parish’s religious education program? 

2. Do you or have you ever taught religious education? 

3. What is your favorite religious education resource for kids?

The Zelie Group has some fun questions coming up in the next few weeks so make sure to follow us on Facebook and we would love to hear what you are interested in! What are you looking to learn about? Do you have questions about the Faith? Questions about the Liturgical Year? We want to help and learn and grow with you and your families!

Also stop by the new Page I created on my blog for new information concerning The Zelie Group. It is a work in progress but it has a good start!

God Bless!

Feast of Saint Nicholas: Stockings, Candy Canes and So Much More!

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December 6th is the feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra but the fun begins the night before when you pull out your shoes in hopes that Saint Nicholas will fill them with treats and goodies. I normally have the children put out their church shoes but they had already put out a pair of Crocs and Running Sneakers before I had the chance to ask! I think that may be because Buddy the Elf gave the boys a heads up this morning.

The boys found our Elf on the Shelf named Buddy, hiding in a stocking with a note. The note reads: 

Today is the Eve of the Feast of Saint Nicholas. Remember to put out a pair of shoes tonight and maybe you'll get some goodies. Remember to keep up with your Advent sacrifices. Behave for your parents. Love Buddy

If you utilize the Elf on the Shelf, it can be used to draw attention to the liturgical aspects of the Advent season. Interested in ideas? Checkout #BuddyKongElfAdventures  where I'll be sharing Buddy's Liturgical Adventures this Advent season.

It is tradition in our home that the boy's old shoes will be replaced with new or some slippers will appear. This year the shoes remained the same but the boys each received a new book, a chocolate Saint Nick, chocolate coins, candy canes and oranges (not pictured). The oranges were actually brought home by my husband because I COMPLETELY FORGOT to pick some up on my way home yesterday! OOPS! Either way, daddy came to the rescue! Another neat fact is that all of these gifts and goodies came from the Dollar Tree so it was inexpensive but super memorable.

It just so happens that this feast day fell during the school week so there was no problem with the boys staying up too late from excitement but we did have a blast watching Saint Nicholas: The Boy Who Became Santa and Veggie Tales Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving together. We also read The Legend of the Candy Cane before bed because it is traditional to bless candy canes on the feast of Saint Nicholas. 

This morning the boys woke up bright and early! They actually got into their treats and cutting up their oranges for school before I had a chance to snap any pictures. They are getting to quick for me lately. They devoured their oatmeal and we dropped the boys off at school since the weather is going a little crazy around here. We are suppose to be hit with a pretty big snow storm tonight so we will see. 

After school we were able to do our Candy Cane Blessing! It had been on the kids' minds all day and they shared their excitement with teachers and fellow students. As you can see from the picture above we had tons of candy canes to bless. Have you ever done a candy cane blessing? If not, I highly suggest checking out the Saint Nicholas Center: Candy Cane Blessing! We have used it several times and the whole family loves it.

Something you may not know about one of the most famous saints of all time is not only is he the patron saint of children, especially young boys, but is also a patron for travelers and brewers! You read that right! Brewers! That means the adults in the house can raise a glass to Saint Nicholas tonight too. There is a legend about Saint Nicholas that ties him to beer. The story says that 3 church scholars, who stopped for lodging at an inn, were killed by the innkeeper for their money. Saint Nicholas disguised himself and invoked God's help to resurrect the church scholars. This is how he became a protector over travelers and brewers. In honor of this amazing story we enjoyed some Beer Bratwurst with Onions and Peppers for dinner.

Now that we are stuffed! The boys decorated the Christmas Tree with our blessed candy canes and I am about to make the boys some hot chocolate while I enjoy a Blue Moon: Cappuccino Oatmeal Stout! A nice root beer float would be a fun way to celebrate tonight but it is too cold for ice cream here!

I hope your family enjoyed the feast of Saint Nicholas as much as mine did! I would love to hear about your traditions and see your beautiful pictures!

Children's Prayer to Saint Nicholas:

God Our Father we pray,

That through the intercession of St. Nicholas,You will protect our children.Keep them safe from harm,And help them grow,And become worthy of Your sight.

To keep their Faith in You,

And to keep alive their joy,

In Your creation.

Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Give them strength,

Amen.

St. Nicholas, pray for us!