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.

Pio Prints: Set the World on Fire

I received a workout tank top from Pio Prints in exchange for an honest review of their product. The opinions shared in this post are my own.

As a mommy, I wear a lot of hats. Chef, accountant, secretary, chauffeur and many more. Wearing all these hats can be difficult but is necessary. I am a mommy and taking care of my family is the biggest blessing the Lord has given me. It is easy to get lost in the responsibilities that come with raising a family. Since we are responsible for so much, it is important that we care for ourselves: mind, body and soul. How can we help raise the future if we are not mindful of the present?

Scripture says:

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
1 Timothy 4:8

Working out is a great way to treat yourself right. It keeps your body working properly, helps eliminate stress and you can experience some of those amazing "feel good" endorphins that are released when you work out. I think the BEST part of working out is the clothing! I love wearing clothes that are comfortable and allow me to move. There are many jokes about people who rock their workout clothes all day long but if you have found something that is comfortable and doesn't get in your way while you are setting the world on fire, I say wear it for as long as you like.

Pio Prints clothing materials are extremely soft and do not "cling" to you while you are moving. The material allows air to circulate and fits nicely. I love that I can wear this to run, lift weights or even to my son's football or soccer games so I can keep up with the team on the field and take pictures. It is versatile and high quality. The "Set the World on Fire" tank has already become my most favorite workout shirt. My husband has been warned because I will definitely be placing an order for some more of these tanks soon!

Inspiration comes in many different forms and these shirts are not only motivational to those who are working out but they also help to spread our beautiful Catholic faith. These could make the perfect gift to share with a First Communicant or someone newly Confirmed. How about just getting one for yourself so you can rock one of your favorite saint's quotes? Pio Prints offers different styles, sizes and a large assortment of quotes to chose. Whatever your reason, you should try this wonderful clothing out at least once. 

If you decide to try out this amazing clothing line, I would love to hear about how much you love it too! Share your #PioPrintSelfie with me. Tag @PinotNoirPrayers and @PioPrints on Instagram! It's only fair that I share my #PioPrintSelfie with you too...so here's mine!

God Bless!

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.

Shrove Tuesday: Feast Before You Fast

Today is the last day before we begin our 40 day journey into Lent. Ash Wednesday is tomorrow but before you begin your Lenten walk, make sure to feast on Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday. This day is meant to be the day for you to purge your home of the ingredients you should attempt to stay away from during the Lenten season such as butter, milk, sugar and eggs. You know... the tasty ingredients that make our foods full flavored. It is for this reason that pancakes are super popular on Shrove Tuesday and is sometimes referred to as Pancake Day! I know we have an annual Pancake dinner every Fat Tuesday. I also learned that there is another reason that pancakes are so popular on the day before Lent. They represent the four pillars of the Christian faith. Eggs symbolize creation, flour is the mainstay of the human diet, salt represents wholesomeness and milk is a symbol for purity.

In our home we spend this day enjoying our delicious pancakes and normally a king cake. I was unable to get a king cake this year so we settled on a beautiful cake decorated in a similar fashion. We also prepare for Lent by discussing the things that we will be fasting from during the upcoming 40 days.

I have to admit I am somewhat behind on having I need ready for Lent but I should have everything completed by tomorrow. Check out my post about the Lenten Season to get ideas on how to celebrate this amazing season of Lent with your families.I will be sharing more tomorrow on Ash Wednesday as well.

Do you have traditions for Shrove Tuesday? If so, I would love to hear all about them! What about Lenten activities too?

I hope you and your families were able to feast before fasting begins tomorrow. Honestly, Lent is one of my favorite times of the year. A time to embrace a positive change in faith, love and life. Get ready for an amazing journey and be ready to accept your Lenten adventure. I can't wait to see what is in store for us all.

Prayer for Shrove Tuesday:

Lord, give us grace to inaugurate with holy fasting the defenses of Christian warfare, so that we who are to fight against spiritual wickedness, may be helped and strengthened by self-denial.
Amen

Catholic Style: Planner and Bullet Journal

Have you jumped into the Bullet Journal craze yet? If not, I think you should consider giving it a try. I am a mommy that is responsible for a lot of planning in my household and I am sure many of you can relate whether you are a mom, dad, student or just a busy person.

This post may contain affiliate links that I receive a small commission. It does not change the price for you but it is a small blessing to my family. All opinions are my own.

I am responsible myself for keeping track of my work schedule, which varies since I work in a restaurant, my doctor appointments (I was born with Spina Bifida so they have been pretty frequent lately and can include physical therapy and pain management) and scheduling myself time for myself to enjoy my workouts, hobbies and volunteer commitments. My children are your normal crazy kids that want to be involved in everything: altar serving, football, soccer, Cub Scouts and extra curricular school activities. To make things even more exciting, my youngest son is developmentally delayed and has weekly speech, occupational, behavioral and group therapies. In addition to the craziness I just described, I am also responsible for planning our family meals and running errands because my husband works 60+ hours a week and commutes 90 minutes each way to work. We are also a Catholic family, so that means we set aside time for prayers, devotions, Mass and the Sacraments. Now I am sure that you are probably reading this and thinking that I must be completely crazy to juggle the schedule that I just described but nowadays it is the norm to be extremely busy and feel stretched thin at times

Now, I am not going to convince you that the Bullet Journal is the answer to every families needs but it has certainly made a HUGE difference in mine! Not only has it become essential to my planning routine but it is relaxing and can be a great tool to increase your faith! If you are a little weary, don't be! I will be sharing some of my page layouts and explaining why I have decided to include them in my Bullet Journal. If you are convinced to try this system out, do not feel obligated to include every page layout in your system. The beauty of the bullet journal is that it is something that can be personalized to your unique needs.

I have always been a lover of organization and I have always utilized a planner even before including a Bullet Journal as a supplemental planning tool. To make my system a little easier to understand you first need to know how my planner is put together so I am going to divide this into two sections to make it easier to refer to as a template for your own planning needs.

Schedule Planner:

Some things to consider in your planner and how you need it to be utilized to be the most beneficial to you and your purposes:

1: How do you keep track of your schedule and the schedules of those you are responsible?

2. How detailed do you need your planner?

3. Do you use multiple planners? Print and/or electronic? Both?

I use a planner that has times written down each day and color code the events that are written in the planner. I also make sure to write the corresponding times even though there is spaces between the times to make sure I do not make myself late to something on accident. I do not normally include end times though because as a hospitality worker I know that NOTHING ends on time. You can only estimate which would add additional  planning so start times work best for me.


I also stated that I have recently started utilizing a bullet journal but I also use an online planner called Cozi to have reminders sent to me daily as well. Cozi is a great family app that allows your entire family to access the family schedule through a shared family password. The amazing thing is anyone can add, delete or update an event and you can send a notification so everyone that is attending will be made aware. You also have the option to set reminders before events occur just in case you need to have a warning before you move on through your schedule. There is a place to record your grocery list, find recipes and so much more. I highly suggest checking it out, especially since the basic package is FREE and can be downloaded on to your smart phone! 

Here is my color code system:

Me- Pink

Husband- Light Blue

Kids- Dark Blue

School Event- Orange

Important/ Need to Remember- Red

Church- Liturgical Season Color (Advent/ Lent- Purple, Ordinary Time- Green, etc)

Bill Due Dates- Light Green

Black/Brown: Menu

As I mentioned earlier, I do keep track of Liturgical Calendar events in my planner. It helps me plan our menu and family activities. It is the first thing I write each month when I am getting organized for each new month.

As you can see from this exert from my planner that there is room for me to write "scheduled" events but not much room for writing to-do lists, errands or other important things such as book lists, blog ideas, exercise routines water intake and so much more. What about ways to hold yourself accountable to your prayers? attending Mass? Adoration? Devotions? Fellowship? That is where the Bullet Journal comes in to play.

Bullet Journal:

A Bullet Journal has no defined order. No necessary inclusions. It is completely your creation used in any way that you deem important. For me, creating healthy habits is vitally important.

Habit Tracker: A Habit Tracker is one of my favorite ways to increase my good habit making decisions and have a physical copy of things that I can visually look at, to see my strengths and weaknesses. You could also utilize this to help with Natural Family Planning as well. This habit tracker is a monthly one that I really did like but I decided that things I am unable to do everyday, such as, Confession, Adoration and attending Mass should be included on my weekly spreads since it is something I tend to do weekly versus daily. Praying the Rosary and other daily prayers could easily be included in a Monthly Habit Tracker like the one above.

Reading Challenge: Reading is one of my hobbies and an essential aspect of growing my faith. Included in my Reading Challenge for this year is A Walk in Her Sandals and Rediscover Jesus. Many of the books that I have been pulled to read are devotionals or are inspirational. This Reading Challenge layout is suppose to look like a library and I am coloring in each book as I finish reading them. You could modify this layout to contain the devotionals and bible studies you would like to complete throughout the year.

Rosary Tracker: I'll admit that this tracker I actually found online and just printed it small enough to fit on the inside cover of my bujo. If you follow the link it will take you to a PDF that you could also utilize in the same fashion or you could go ahead and draw a similar copy if you prefer. With this being the 100 year celebration of Fatima, there is no better time to get on your daily family rosaries.

Weekly Layout: My weekly layouts are used to create to-do lists and keep track of when I attend my Sacraments. I keep things simple and try to utilize the same color code I mentioned is in my regular planner so my organization flows more easily but sometimes I have to jot down an errand or idea with whatever writing utensil is readily available.

Adoration Intentions: It is so easy to create a list of intentions to bring with you to Adoration and to know you have a location to jot down a friend or family members special prayer requests. If you ever see my posts asking for your requests, you can guarantee I write them out so that they are with me. I also revisit these requests each time I attend the Sacrament of Adoration. This layout is similar to the ones I've already shared but because several of the intentions I have written on my list are personal for myself and several others I decided not to share.

Obviously, the layouts that can be included in a Bullet Journal are infinite. Anything you dream up can be included in your unique journal. I would also like to point out that my Bullet Journal pages are not works of art. I have seen some absolutely beautiful pages on Pinterest and in Bullet Journal Groups I participate. If you are not artsy, do not allow that to push you away from trying out this great organizational tool. The purpose of these tools is to make yourself more accountable and organized. I would love to see some of the beautiful Catholic style layouts you design in your bullet journals and feel free to share how you use your planners. Are there designs you would like to to create? Just ask and I'll do my best to help find or create something that can help you.

God Bless!

What God has Taught Me in 2016

With the official end of 2016, I can hear the lyrics to one of my favorite songs ringing through the air:

"Five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes; Five hundred twenty-five thousand Moments so dear. Five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes. How do you measure - measure a year? In daylights - in sunsets. In midnights - in cups of coffee. In inches - in miles. In laughter - in strife. In - five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes...How do you measure A year in the life. How about love?"

As the first week of January 2017 comes to a close, I have been contemplating about the lessons that I have learned throughout 2016 during my last five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes on Earth.

{ONE}

There is a Beauty in Suffering

Suffering is something that scares me. Hurting mentally, physically or emotionally is something that I try to avoid at all costs. However, over the past year, I have struggled physically with my Spina Bifida and mentally and emotionally with my depression and anxiety. 

Spina Bifida is the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States. Spina Bifida literally means “split spine.” Spina Bifida occurs when a baby is in the womb and the spinal column does not close all of the way. I was born essentially with a hole in my back and spine and it is extremely painful. Lately my condition has caused muscle spasms up and down my legs and back and I receive shooting pains when I walk, sit or stand. Sometimes it feels like there is no relief. My amazing husband rubs Biofreeze and massages my spasming muscles everyday for me. I am so blessed to have him. 

Depression and Anxiety are two more enemies that I face everyday. I have my good days and bad days just like everyone else but sometimes it is an all out battle just to complete every day activities. I just want to sit in bed and cry or I over think a situation to a point where I no longer have the motivation to try anything new.

It is through this physical, emotional and mental suffering that I have found a closeness to God that I have never known. I honestly use to pity myself and just felt that I deserved to feel this pain because it was a punishment of some sort. I know now that is not the case. I feel God comfort me when I cry out asking for pain relief, for him to ease my overactive mind and to calm the sorrows that I feel like are drowning me. I am only 30 years young and I hope to live a long life. I know that my life is a blessing regardless of the pain and that God is besides me, holding me up so that I can make it to the next area he wants me. I am ready and willing to accept this cross. Jesus laid down his life so that I may have one. Who am I to question him? This is who I am. I have also come to accept the beauty in this relationship and cherish the growth in my faith from it. 

{TWO}

The Best Things in Life Aren't Planned

I am a planner. Planning, making lists, organization all make me feel safe and happy. I have come to the realization that life cannot be put together like a puzzle and that the most amazing parts of my life have happened completely differently than I anticipated. The unknown honestly scares me... but I have come to realize that although this is my life, I am not the driver, God is and his plans for me and more wondrous than anything I could dream up myself.This past year has been FULL of surprises and although at times these surprises seemed bad... they were the best things that could have ever happened to me and my family. If someone would have asked me just a few years ago where I would be in my life now? I would have told you a completely different story than what has happened. I am blessed beyond measure

{THREE}

Be More Appreciative

I have an awful habit of not seeing the amazing blessings right in front of my face. I need to learn to be more receptive of these blessings and acknowledge them. My husband would be one of these blessings. He is understanding, loving and thoughtful. I often forget all that he does for me and my family because I focus on the one time he didn't do the laundry, or the time he left dirty clothes on the floor. Why do I focus on such petty everyday activities? I honestly can't tell you why but I know it is not a good thing to do ever!

Our financial status is something else I need to learn to appreciate more. Yes, we owe a lot of money for legal fees and medical care and many other things but we have a nice warm home with an abundance of food and all the necessities we need to survive. We have what we need and that's all that should matter.

My back pain is something else I should appreciate because I only deal with pain when I could be unable to walk or do many other things for myself. Spina Bifida ended the life of my mom's sister before my mom was ever born.... It is a blessing that I am able to get around and I should focus on that more.

{FOUR}

The Journey is just as Important as the Destination

Goalie has been struggling with many different medical diagnoses: ADHD, SPD, Anxiety and he is being tested for Autism. All of these things make school so extremely difficult for him. Although a specific diagnosis would help with his IEP, therapy costs and many other things, it should not change him. My son is amazing. He is the most compassionate human being, he is so loving and has taught me so much about patience, love and courage. We are discovering so much about each other and our relationship as mommy and son through this journey that I don't care if it ever ends. I don't ever want to change him but sometimes I do wish I could change aspects of the world for him. 

{FIVE}

If All Else Fails; Just Love

Several times throughout this year I have been in a situation where I was at a loss for words and action. I just did not know what the right thing to do was for myself or the other people involved. I found that everything always works out when you choose the option that involves Love. Love can be as simple as a hug or listening ear, even if you don't feel like it. Or it can be a grand gesture of volunteering your time, talent or money for something that does not affect you. It also mean offering forgiveness or something else as difficult. Release yourself from the chains that hate breeds and allow healing and love to enter your soul. This is a lesson that I have had a hard time swallowing over the past few years. I have shared my story several times and although it's not pretty, it has led me to this moment here with my family and I wouldn't change a thing. Love can transform this world if we let it. This is the greatest thing that I have learned this year. 

I have shared these thoughts not for any other reason than to share my wisdom gained. Although these lessons may have been officially "learned" over the course of the past year, I can guarantee you that the Lord has been working on me for quite a longer time than just a year. So please, keep your heart and soul open to hear the advice that he is attempting to teach you and let's make 2017 the best possible year for ourselves and all those that we meet along the way. I am sharing this with Revolution of Love. 

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!

The Best of Pinot Noir and Prayers: 2016 Edition

I am so glad that I decided to start blogging again! I have made so many new friends and I have learned so much about myself, my faith and my family. The following posts I am sharing are the best according to my readers and let me tell you I have some amazing readers! Check out to see if your favorites made the list! If they didn't, I would love to hear what posts you loved. Don't be shy about sharing thoughts about future posts too! 

I just got pulled into the bullet journal craze, I am reorganizing our family budget and taking a look at our extracurriculars so we can focus on what is most important this upcoming New Year. Obviously that means more planning for the Liturgical Year, focusing on my marriage and continuing to date my husband and trying new things! I am already gathering ideas for a new Giveaway too! 

{HONORABLE MENTION}

Seven Ways to Have a Very Catholic Halloween

{TEN}

#WorthRevisit: Saint Zita: The Little Cook

{NINE}

Saint Vincent de Paul: The Blessing of Charity

{EIGHT}

Keeping Christ in Christmas and {GIVEAWAY}

{SEVEN}

Hospitality: Mankind is Divisible into Two Great Classes: Hosts and Guests

{SIX}

Feast of Saint Luke: Patron of Beer

{FIVE}

First Sunday of Advent: Stir It Up Sunday

{FOUR}

Menu Plan Monday: November 21- 27

{THREE}

{SQT}: The Feast of Saint Martin of Tours and Veterans' Day

{TWO}

How to Prepare for a Holy Advent Series: Part 1

How to Prepare for a Holy Advent Series: Part 2

How to Prepare for a Holy Advent Series: Part 3

How to Prepare for a Holy Advent Series: Part 4

{ONE}

Angel Baskets: A Story of Giving in the Midst of Heartbreak

There you have it! My top ten posts and honorable mention for 2016! I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed writing and sharing them. I am sharing this with Revolution of Love.

God Bless!

Our New Beginning in Colorado: 2016 in Pictures

I have read and seen so many negative comments about this past year. It breaks my heart. I truly believe that you have to see the good in the world and when we marinate ourselves in the negativity, it changes our perception on everything. I am refusing to allow the negativity into my house and into my mind. Life is full of ups and downs, happiness and sadness, it is what makes us human and this time on Earth meaningful. This year was amazing for me and my family and I would love to share how and why!

In January.... I met my cousin Sheldon because we so happen to live in the same state now! This was actually a picture taken on New Years of 2016! My kids still try to call him "Uncle Sheldon" all the time and it makes me giggle but this was an amazing milestone for our family! I honestly could not think of a better way to ring in the New Year and I am looking forward to continuing this again this year!

I also became a Nanny to help with my families finances and my kids registered for school here in Colorado for the first time! This is also about the time I started contemplating on bringing back and revamping my blog... at least the first time I mentioned it to my family out-loud.  

In February... everything was CRAZY! We experienced our first Snow Storm and the boys had their first taste of a snow day! There was actually snow non-stop for 3 days! The picture above was from the first day... maybe I should have shared the last day where our car was buried?! LOL

Spring Football for Little Man and Spring Soccer for Goalie also began, although it did not look or feel like spring at all! This was their first experience with sports in Colorado.

We also enjoyed a fun Super Bowl party (again with my amazing cousin, Sheldon) and he was pied in the face MULTIPLE TIMES because of his Super Bowl bets.

I also made the big decision to bring back my blog and renamed it, Pinot Noir and Prayers!

In March... We enjoyed our first Easter in Colorado! Unfortunately, we missed Mass because I was new to the whole "defrosting your vehicle before you can drive it when it's freezing outside" thing. I learned some valuable lessons in cold weather living.

This is also the month we surprised the boys and redid their entire room with Star Wars bedding and decor! They were the happiest little boys in the world!

Our first Easter in Colorado Springs was absolutely amazing and a wonderful way to end March.

In April...  we were able to enjoy the outdoors more and I spent more one on one time with my baby boys. We did a lot of Kids in the Kitchen and Clean Eating too.

This was my final month as a stay-at-home mom. I did Nanny a few times during the week but it was only for a few hours. I volunteered at the school as much as possible and finally got Goalie back on track for his therapies.

In May... we attended our first ever baseball game! It was an awesome experience! Check out Colorado Rockies: Our First Baseball Game for more pictures and fun. 

This was the end of the school year for the boys and the beginning of our first summer vacation in Colorado. I began my new job this month too!

We also enjoyed a Kentucky Derby Party. 

In June... we always celebrate A LOT! We have Little Man and my husband's birthday plus our 2nd Wedding Anniversary and Father's Day all within two weeks! It was Harry's 31st and Little Man's 9th birthday this year and we celebrated them together with a Finding Dory theme and went to watch the movie as a family.

We bought a membership to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and went on several breath taking hikes, including the Seven Falls. 

 In July... Little Man was able to train as an Altar Server at our new parish. In Florida, he had already been serving for a year so he was excited he was able to start in our new church too!

This month was full of Reading, swimming and working out!

In August... we had a 4th grader and a kindergartner! This was the start of the boys first full year at school in Colorado. 

My husband and I made a promise to plan dates to have special time together too.

This was the month I was invited into The Zelie Group and it has been an amazing experience so far!

In September... our family grew! We adopted two more cats, Shadow and Cloudy because we felt that they would be special additions to the family even though they were 10 and 6 at the time of their adoption. We were right! You would never guess they were older because they are just as active as our spunky 2 year old cat, Lemon!

We had our first experience at the Labor Day Lift Off!

We also became a scouting family and joined the Cub Scouts! We have a Lion Scout, which is a pilot program, so we are one of the first! And a Webelow! I'm still new at this so I would love some suggestions on how to help the boys with their badges etc.

We attended my cousin's wedding in Kansas and Little Man was an Altar Server! I also volunteered to be a catechist at the church.

In October... we finished our second seasons of football and soccer! Both boys had an amazing season! They learned so much and made some amazing friends. 

I received my first Little Catholic Box this month as a gift from my dad! 

The boys received their Cub Scout uniforms and attended their first big event as a Scout, the Boy Scout Centennial Campout! They shot BB guns for the first time and made their very own emergency cable bracelets. 

This was Goalie's birthday month and he turned 6! To celebrate we visited Diana's Pumpkin Patch and the boys even earned a Cub Scout Patch for completing the corn maze!

We were forced to buy a new car this month as well because our older one decided to crack an engine block while my husband was driving home from work one night.

This was our first Halloween dressing up together and we decided on a Star Wars theme: Little Man was a Flame Trooper, Goalie was Captain Rex, my husband was Darth Vader and I was a Storm Trooper. It was so much fun, I can't wait to plan another family costume.

In November... was filled with amazing food! We were blessed to attend a Friendsgiving and still do a traditional Thanksgiving at home and invited new friends to share the experience with us! 

We also participated in our first Turkey Trot (yes, we did dress like turkeys!)

Let's not forget...Goalie lost his first baby tooth!

This month was the end of our OFFICIAL first year in Colorado. We have learned so much and are ready to fill this next year with more neat experiences!

In December...there is so much to share, I barely know where to begin!

I was asked to join the committee at church to help with our Parish Faith Nights and this month was my very first one! It was Advent themed and we made Craft Advent Wreaths and sang songs.

I won a Mass Box during a Giveaway and hosted my first ever Giveaway during December!

We attended the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Electric Zoo Safari as a family! So many beautiful lights and even got a chance to see Mr. and Mrs. Claus while we were there.

Goalie was in a Winter Musical Production called the Big Chill at school and both boys won awards for Outstanding Student and their participation in the 100 Mile Club!

I also have found myself pulled into the Bullet Journal craze and am currently working on my first ever Bujo and adding some Liturgical Pages and trackers along with so much more!

To end this month, I was able to watch my children sing in the Christmas Eve Christmas Choir and it just made my heart so full, I could have burst! There were so not so fun things that we endured this year but as you can see, the good far out weighed the bad! And it will continue to be that way as long as we realize all the amazing blessings around us and never forget what is important! How was 2016 for you and your family? I hope it was filled with many blessings and that the upcoming year is even more amazing. You still have a couple more days before the end of 2016... let's go out in a bang! I am linking this with Revolution of Love.

God Bless!