Custodians of Beauty

On Palm Sunday, we hear the Gospel reading of Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. How fitting that this lowly creature was chosen to carry Christ (and Our Lady) to the place of His birth in Bethlehem and now bears Our King through the streets where He will suffer His Passion and Death on the Cross. From the womb to the tomb. What a beautiful prefigurement to reflect on during Holy Week. I wanted the girls to be familiar with this bible story so that when they heard it on Sunday, they would be able to follow along. So we cuddled on the couch and read from the book of Matthew. After explaining to my 3 year old why it was ok for the donkey to step on the clothes, we pulled out the markers and crayons for some coloring. This  coloring sheet  and  cut-out Jesus  (my personal favorite) were great visuals. We reenacted the scene of Jesus entering Jerusalem. I drew a few palm branches for the girls to use as props and place on the road. ...

During the first week of Advent, our parish offers wall calendars (great for remembering saint feast days!) and the Magnificat Advent Companion to all the parishioners. We've been reading from the Magnificat Advent Companion as a family. We read the prayer and reflection of the day every night after dinner. Then the girls get to open their advent calendars. One of the calendars displays the nativity scene and has a bible verse and picture behind each door. The other calendar has small chocolates treats behind each door. (We open the bible verse calendar first.) The girls take turns opening the doors and sharing the chocolate. So far there have only been a few times when the treat didn't make it to the second mouth. We are getting better though. Our advent wreath sits on the home altar. We were able to use last years purple and pink candles, since they still had some life left in them. One of the Advent calendars we are opening this year.  Last night we left our shoe...

The newest saint on the block, St. Teresa of Calcutta! Happy Feast of All Saints! I love celebrating this feast day; there's a host of holy men and women to learn about. This year, I searched around to find a few of my favorite holy cards to put on our home altar. Canonized this year is Saint Teresa of Calcutta. The outpouring of love and care that this fragile woman gave to the poor and unwanted is truly humbling. My aunt, a sister of the Sisters of Life, was blessed to have met and talked with Mother Teresa during her visit to NY. She recently sent us this card of the beloved saint. I'd like to share with you an extraordinary story about my fondness and devotion towards Mother Teresa. Shortly after my first daughter was born, I read about the early life of Mother Teresa. Turns out, the name given to her at birth (before she assumed the name 'Teresa') is the name we gave my daughter. Also, the day my daughter was born, September 10, was the same day...

This is the first year I threw a themed birthday party, and I'm very glad I did. My youngest celebrated her 1st birthday last week. It was a small gathering with immediate family. The party's theme was based on the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," by Eric Carle; it's one of A's favorites. We own the board book along with a stuffed caterpillar toy. These turned out to be perfect party props.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle The week before the party, I combed through Pinterest boards for food, decor and party ideas -- believe me, there were PLENTY to chose from. Lucky for me, I wasn't the first mama to put something like this together. ;) Here are a few photos of the festivities: Found these free coloring pages  for the party. Get your color on!    Instead of balloons, I used paper plates to create a caterpillar inching across the doorway. Gotta say, this was much faster than blowing up balloons. Plus, we're tryi...

St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra We celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas this year by placing our shoes by the door for St. Nick to fill. Growing up, my family hung stockings on the stairway, but now as a mom myself, I prefer the idea of shoes. And here's why: 1. It's adorable to see them lined up from small to big, 2. You only need a few treats and small gifts to fill them (stockings can be WAY too roomy and take forever to fill), 3. I feel that it's more "old world" and truer to the St. Nicholas story.     This year the shoes were stuffed with clementines , chocolate santas, applesauce pouches, and assorted nuts. I was hoping to find chocolate coins, but the store only had  hanukkah themed ones . "Jolly old St. Nicholas, lend your ear this way..." After Sunday Mass and naps, we took the girls to a local tree farm. It was overcast that afternoon which gave the tree fields a lovely haze. This was a first for our family, we'd never cu...

Respond, ye souls in endless rest,  ye patriarchs and prophets blest,  Alleluia! Alleluia!  Ye holy twelve, ye martyrs strong,  all saints triumphant, raise the song:  Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!  Hymn from "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" This year for All Saints Day I adorned our fireplace with votives and holy cards. I wove an autumnal leaf garland around a few white pillar candles and framed pictures. It was fun to mill through my tin of alphabetized holy cards (a homeschool project from 8th grade) and pick out my favorites. Didn't realize how many third class relics I have in my assortment; Venerable Fulton Sheen, St. Maria Goretti, Blessed Miguel Pro, and St. Padre Pio, to name a few. Coloring pages are the best. I found these wonderful (and free!) coloring pages online. I intend to make extra copies to save for next year.  This coloring page is from  Audrey Eclectic's website...