March of Dimes Pictures

 Team KLAG 2012

As promised I would update with pictures from Team KLAG. I'm sure there are more to come :o)

These pictures are not in order but I hope you can feel the excitement and love. I will add more pictures as I come across them. For now this is what I have and some pictures are doubles from my previous post

I hope you like the pictures. If you have any to contribute please let me know!

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of the Mexican army over the French at the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. About 4,000 Mexicans faced the French army, which was better armed and three times larger - and the Mexicans won. A year later, the losers from Puebla managed to take over Mexico City and start a French government. The French victory was short lived. The government soon collapsed and Mexicans took back their city.

Read more: Cinco de Mayo

We started the day with a soccer game for Little Man! He has been doing absolutley amazing on the soccer field. It was such a humid hot day and all the kids were definetly not as energetic as normal. Even with the heat, he had 3 goals and attempted to block 5 goals from the other team. I am truly impressed with the understanding he has about how the game works. In his age group they don't use goalies so there is no one to block the shots. Little Man knows the way to get points is by kicking the ball in your goal but he also realized that he needs to keep the opposing team from scoring without anyone explaining it. I am so proud of him! He is really excited because next week will be team photos! He has a wall where we place the pictures from each sport team he has played on so he can look back and remember how much fun it is to play on a team.

In addition to soccer, We had a sleepover last night so all the boys were pretty tired from the lack of sleep they had from Friday night so I decided to make a quick lunch of mexican rice and black beans to start our celebration of Cinco de Mayo.The kids ate real quick and took a long afternoon nap. :o)


For dinner I made Vegetable Fajitas (Sauteed red onion, squash, green and read peppers in chili powder and fresh lime topped with monterrey jack cheese and salsa) with left over Mexican rice and beans. For dessert I made a delicious Mexican chocolate cake with caramel icing ( Store bought chocolate cake mix with vanilla extract and ground cinnamon, you can add a dash of chili powder for extra kick but I did not include it this time). I wish I could have bought a pinata and printed off some coloring pages but I ran out of time. Although, I think the kids liked the simple day we had anyway :o) Does anyone know any good family movies for Cinco de Mayo to end the night? Sorry there are no pics I need to get new batteries so all I have are the soccer photos for now!

I hope everyone's celebrations were fun. Now time to start planning the upcoming week! I need to write out my menu for next week to get started. Then I need to plan for Little Man's last Field Trip of the year, our May Crowning and our Hawaiian Luau for the Feast of Saint Damien on May 10th. It is my dad's name day so we are going to make it a little more elaborate.

A Mother's Love and Tradition

I began this blog to help me find unique ways to incorporate my Catholic faith in my children's lives. I was inspired by several other blogs that I was reading even before I had my own blog. Lately I have been thinking about what it means to be a good mother, which I guess is appropriate for the upcoming month of May. Mother's Day and Mary are honored during this month. I want to have my children know that I love them with every ounce of life God has given me. I want them to grow into the young gentlemen I see in my dreams. I know God has amazing plans for them to touch people's lives, they have already changed mine. My Baptismal Saint is Saint Anne, the mother of Mary. Recently I have found myself thinking about her and how she must have been such an amazing mother to be able to raise such a wonderful daughter like Mary to become the mother of Jesus. I feel so blessed to have children that are sweet and thoughtful. I can feel God's love when I watch them sleep or when they are playing together. Having children has taught me that I was a very selfish person as a young adult. I always felt that my "stresses" in life were so much larger than they actually were. Having my boys opened my eyes to the real world and popped the bubble I was living inside. When I experienced the unconditional love that comes with having a child I knew I was on the path to become the person I was meant to be.

Little Man has two Baptismal Saints that we gave him when he was born, Saint Michael and Saint Dominic. Saint Michael the Archangel was always special to me because he is my brother's Baptismal Saint as well and the church I spent my young adult years had a special devotion to him. Saint Dominic's mother had a dream about him before he was born and he grew to have a close relationship to Our Lady of the Rosary. I also had dreams about my Little Man before he was born and I knew he was going to be a very special child. Little Man loves when we say our rosaries together and talks about Mary and Jesus all the time. I know he has big things destined in his life.

Squishy's Baptismal Saint is Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary. We chose Saint Joseph because he is the Patron Saint of families. We had a miscarriage just before we found out we were pregnant with Squishy. It was a very difficult time and I was very nervous during my pregnancy with him. We knew he was such a special addition to the family and we have asked Saint Joseph to pray for him as he grows. We prayed for this little boy so hard and we knew he would teach us to embrace all the crosses we have been asked to carry in our lives. Losing our precious baby before him was hard and I will always remember the day we said goodbye but I know we will meet again.

Lately I have been trying to think of some ways to make a special gift for my children that I can give them when they reach special milestones in their life. I think I would like to make them a journal/ scrapbook. On special days like birthdays, anniversaries of their sacraments to document milestones in their lives. I would like to write them letters and place them within the journal with pictures and cards from other family members. I think it could be a humbling gift for them when they reach their adult years. I am learning to find the small pleasures in life and I hope this little gift will illustrate my personal growth as a mother and the special place each of my kids has in my heart.

Until then, I will strive to be the kind of mother God has called me to be and raise my children the best way I can, with God as our center. I hope that the month of May is a time for great spiritual growth. I hope this little journal can become a tradition for my family.

Prayer to St. Anne

With my heart full of the most sincere venerations, I prostrate myself before thee, O glorious Saint Anne. Thou art that creature of privilege and predilection, who by thy extraordinary virtues and holiness didst merit from God the high favor of giving life to her who is the Treasury of all graces, blessed among women, the Mother of the Word Incarnate, the most holy Virgin Mary. By virtue of so lofty a privilege, do thou deign, O most compassionate saint, to receive me into the number of thy true clients, for so I profess myself and so I desire to remain throughout my entire life.

Shield me with thine effectual patronage and obtain for me from God the power to imitate those virtues where with thou wast so plentifully adorned. Grant that I may know and weep over my sins in bitterness of heart. Obtain for me the grace of most active love for Jesus and Mary, and resolution to fulfill the duties of my state of life with faithfulness and constancy. Save me from every danger that confronts me in life, and help me at the hour of death, that so I may come in safety to paradise, there to sing with thee, O most happy mother, the praises of the Word of God made Man in the womb of thy most pure daughter, the Virgin Mary. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be, (three times).

The March: Team KLAG

Today was the day.... the day of the March of Dimes March for Babies! Squishy and I walked with Team KLAG! It was my first time walking for a cause and it was such a great experience. I know we will be doing it again. Hopefully soon.

What an amazing day! The weather was absolutely gorgeous with brilliant sunlight and a calm cool breeze. Everything was decorated with big purple and white balloons. Bubble blowers were setup at the checkpoints and blew around as you passed. The path set for us to walk was lined with beautiful shady trees and with views of the Gulf of Mexico. If the beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery wasn't enough to get you excited there was a band playing music along the beginning of our walking path. I am honored that Squishy and I were able to attend such a wonderful fundraising event for such a great cause. You could feel the love that everyone participating had for every child we were walking for. I loved watching the enthusiasm and excitement. The pavilion area and several teams held posters decorated in honor of their teams and children that were their team mascots. Every team also had team shirts that were decorated anyway the team designated. Look at the amazing job Mallory did on these shirts. She even had every team members name on the backs.

Look Closely you can see Kai's name within the words on the shirt.

My camera was not wanting to cooperate with me so all the pictures posted are compliments of the team members of KLAG. Thank you everyone for the amazing pictures! As I come across more pictures I will update this post. Please leave me a comment if you have any more you don't mind me borrowing. Thank you in advance and keep checking for updates!

It was so refreshing to see families together and children playing and running down the path. Squishy walked for maybe 100 steps before deciding being carried (not pushed in the stroller) was the best way to finish the race. I definitely got a workout! As you finished the walk and crossed under the purple and white balloon arch they handed out the cutest stickers to every walker and stroller! :o) Take a look at the kids with the stickers on their shirts. I love how Squishy is passed out but the sticker says "I DID IT!" We placed our sticker on our calendar when we got home.

This walk was so much fun. Many of the members of the team were friends from high school, so it was a small reunion for me. It was great to see how everyone is starting families and/or starting careers. It was an awesome feeling. In addition to having an amazing day and getting a chance to catch up with some high school friends, our team won several awards! The March of Dimes hands out the awards after the walk and Team KLAG won Best New Team AND Best Family Team! GO TEAM KLAG!

I love the poster Mallory made to hang from Kai's stroller for the walk. If you can't see through the shadow it says...

My daddy is in Afghanistan. Wish you were here. Love you!

In this area we have many military families. These families deserve so many thanks for the sacrifices they make for everyone's freedom. We all wish you could have come to walk with us today and thank you for your service.

This picture embodies the whole day!

{Perfect}

For those of you interested in joining us next year they will be hosting the March of Dimes March for Babies in Panama City on April 27, 2013. Go ahead and mark your calendars its never too early to start getting ready for this awesome event!

Prayer for Unborn Children

O God, our Heavenly Father, You sent Your Son into this world that He might Bless and Consecrate all life to You.

Your constant Love protected Him as the Ever Virgin Mary bore Him in Her womb for nine months.

In His mission He taught us the Greatness of Your Love and the Sanctity of Life.

We pray that we may always cherish the Life that You give us.

In a special way we ask and pray that You Grace and Protect all unborn children with Your ever caring Love.

We pray this in the Name of Jesus, Who is Lord, Forever and Ever. Amen.

Most Rev. Louis E. Gelineau, D.D.

Bishop of Providence

The Day of the Dragon Slayer

I am still getting use to planning and executing all the plans I have for the liturgical year. I am loving the interaction I get from my children and the excitement that comes with every new feast day. I was unable to make cupcakes with the Cross of Saint George due to a flat tire that kept me from the grocery store {I should have purchased the ingredients prior to the day of the celebration-Lesson learned }Oh well! Practice makes perfect and I know to be more prepared next time. We also did not receive George and the Dragon from Netflix but instead we watched the Disney classic, The Sword in the Stone. All in all, it was still a memorable day with some excited little boys! After seeing the amazing Dragon cake from Waltzing Matilda I will definitely make one next year!.

Here are the pictures from our Saint George Festivities!

Scones...Did I say scones? I mean biscuits {that look similar to scones} for breakfast ;o)

Went perfectly with my Hazelnut coffee! YUM!

Dragon Fruit Smoothies!

Not really made with dragon fruit but definitely made the kids smile

Recipe below (makes about 3)

1 can tropical mixed fruit

1 strawberry banana yogurt

splash of apple juice

ice

English Fish n' Chips!

I think Little Man didn't quite understand why we were calling the french fries chips

Here are the boys being boys playing with the Dragon castle and swords

I hope everyone had a Jolly Good Day! Now to start preparations for tomorrow...and the Feast of Saint Mark!

Saint George, Pray for us!

The Knights and Princess

Monday, April 23rd, is the Feast Day of Saint George the Dragon Slayer! April 23rd is also the day William Shakespeare was born and died. So naturally this is a great day to celebrate England and its beautiful culture! Saint George's Day for England is like Saint Patrick's Day for Ireland. I think this Feast Day is going to turn into a favorite for the boys this year. I would like to make them knight costumes out of pillow cases and draw St. George's Cross on to the front of their armor. I still need to find some place to either find a shield, sword and/ or helmet. I am even going to dress up like a princess and let my boys rescue me. :o) In addition to dressing up I already checked out Saint George and the Dragon from the library and I am hoping that the movie I ordered from Netflix, George and the Dragon will arrive on time (fingers crossed). For dinner I am making a British meal of Fish and Chips! I would LOVE to attempt a Dragon cake but I think I would need a practice run first. Instead I am thinking cupcakes with St. George Crosses or Dragon toy figurines as toppers. I really would like to try to make scones and have an afternoon tea as snack during story time but I do have a bunch of boys, I may just have a tea party for one. For more information on how the British celebrate their patron saint check out this website here. Those are my plans and the start of my preparations for this day. Are there any special customs that anyone else may know about that would be fun to incorporate?

Cross of Saint George

I would really like to incorporate Shakespeare into today as well but I don't really know anything besides Gnomeo and Juliet to be an age appropriate version of a Shakespearean play. Well I guess I have a little more planning to do on this subject. Maybe I could continue this celebration into the next day is necessary.

Below are some other days we will be doing special crafts, snacks, stories etc. Although I have not worked out solid plans for any of these days yet. Any Suggestions?

Sunday April 22 Earth Day

Wednesday April 25 Saint Mark

Saturday April 28 Saint Gianna

Monday April 30 Saint Catherine of Siena:

Normally celebrated on April 29th but it falls on a Sunday this year.

The Liturgical Year is so fun to celebrate! Especially since my boys are starting to understand more concepts about their faith. I would really like to get any suggestions or feedback on some good traditions for any of these days.

**On a side note I wish the United States celebrated the Immaculate Conception since Mary is our Patron Saint. People celebrate Saint Patrick's Day and Saint Valentine's Day (most in a commercialised way) but we should embrace our Patron Saint as well.