Awww, nuts!

Hickory nuts, to be precise!
This evening the entire family took a walk to the woods to gather the fallen hickory nuts, before the squirrels and other woodland creatures get them first.  Though a bit tricky to crack, these jewels of the forest are certainly worth the effort.
It was a lovely evening, warmer than it has [...]

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6th picture…

Esther tapped me for this unusual meme.  As I’m using hubby’s computer right now, this picture folder is much more recent.
Here’s how it works:
Go to your pictures, go to the 6th file, go to the 6th picture and then post it. For bonus points [yeah, sure, there's points] see if you can remember even taking [...]

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Nature walk and journaling…

The younger children are enjoying Apologia’s Exploring Creation With Botany. What an outstanding program! Before class this morning, we took a nature walk to the woods. There is still much life left even as we are in the midst of the change of seasons. Butterflies and moths flitted before us, the [...]

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A lone, pink rose…

Just a brief “good morning” as well as a hearty “Happy Feast of the Most Holy Rosary!” and then I’m off to the schoolroom…
This morning I noticed that the single pink rosebud on the bush next to the statue of our Lady, has begun to open.  How lovely it would be if our rose would [...]

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Alphabet of Catholic Saints

As promised, here is the finished Alphabet of Catholic Saints. I apologize for the poor resolution, my photography skills need much improvement. Our “Communion of Saints” were great fun to paint and it wasn’t terribly difficult to look at the illustrations in the above book and determine which attributes would best identify our [...]

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October devotions…

During the season of Lent, our family has established a devotion which encourages offering the rosary for friends and family members.
But why stop at Lent?
October is the month of the Most Holy Rosary.  Beginning October 1st, we began pulling names out of the prayer jar, offering the rosary for two individuals or families, every evening.  [...]

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Visit Peggy at The Simple Woman for more Daybook entries!
FOR TODAY - October 6, 2008
Outside my Window…rosy-tinged morning sky, crispy-brown cornstalks rustling in the early morning breeze, silence upstairs.  Shhhh…the children are still sleeping…
I am thinking…about today’s plans.  How much more prepared I am after last week’s trials…
I am thankful for…a lovely weekend.  For nature [...]

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Paper crafts

1 sick child + 1 injured child = two very sad children
Two very, very sad children who didn’t get to go to the park today with dad and the other children.
Then mom found this website.
The Toymaker
A few sheets of cardstock, a printer, scissors and a glue stick, and voila!  A whole lot of fun and [...]

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More creekside fun

Fossils, butterflies, spear-chucking and seining were on the agenda this afternoon at our local Metro Park.  Mom stayed home with Gawain, who was sick and Charlotte, who had severely burned her finger.  The remaining able-bodied family members spent the afternoon enjoying programs offered by the Metro Park system conservation officers.  The weather was beautiful, frost [...]

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On target…

While mom ran errands this morning, Dad marshalled the troops and accomplished much of the morning’s work.  The reward?  An afternoon at Sycamore Plains where the children were instructed in the use of a compound bow.  Even little Emily was able to try her hand at archery:
The conservation officers were excellent instructors:

So was Daddy!

Emily made [...]

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Youtube breaks a promise…

Thanks to the effort of the American TFP and other devout Catholics, Youtube received more than 18,000 signatures on a petition requesting the removal of blasphemous videos showing the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament.   On October 1st, Youtube complied, removing more than 40 videos.
Yesterday, the videos were back up.
C’mon guys…you promised!  Would you allow a [...]

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Gnocchi report…

Wow!! I’m hooked. What an amazingly simple recipe with such outstanding results…
Move over Soup of Suffering…we have a new Friday favorite! Last night’s homemade gnocchi was a tremendous hit. I didn’t make nearly enough. I was trying to “fill in” for the insufficient amount of angel hair pasta. The children [...]

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Angels all around…

Galahad calls this the “Angel bouquet”:

And he calls this one the “Mary bouquet”:

A few of our “angel inspired” crafts:

It’s been a productive day.  I finished clear-coating our Alphabet of Saints and whipped up (pun intended!) the fluffy cloud dessert.  I think I may try my hand at homemade gnocchi…Charlotte is obsessed with Italian cooking and, [...]

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The Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

Happy Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels!!  Today we honor our best and dearest friend…the one given to us before all others, our very own Guardian Angel.  Here are a few ideas for angel-inspired crafts and a nice coloring page.  Here’s another one and a very sweet Guardian Angel Booklet. Tonight we dine on [...]

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Blessed realization…

Yesterday afternoon I had an enormous temper tantrum.  Monday was supposed to have been our first day of school.  Poverty and poor planning had necessitated the late purchase of our homeschool curriculum.  Thanks to a well-timed gift, we were finally able to order the most essential books.
The week after I placed my order, the storm [...]

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Glitter glue…

A few more crafts for the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux.

I love glitter glue.  So do my children.

Even the boys…

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Roses from St. Therese…

October 1st is the Feast of St. Therese Of Lisieux, according to the new calendar.  For adherents to the Tridentine Calendar, the Feast is celebrated on October 3rd.  This family traditionally celebrates the feast days as delineated by the old calendar, but had to make a small exception today.  The weekday Traditional Latin Mass is [...]

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The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry…

Alas, the bonfire and feast await a better day.  My dear husband came down with a positively vile stomach bug and has been laid low all day.  It was perhaps a bit cruel to prepare the celebratory Michaelmas brunch while he languished, but the children were already fairly upset that we would have to forgo [...]

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Visit Peggy at The Simple Woman for more Daybook entries!
FOR TODAY - September 29, 2008
Outside my Window…pitch dark.  It’s 5:41 a.m.  No wind, no birds…just silence.
I am thinking…about the busyness of today’s schedule.  We had so much wanted to attend the McCain-Palin rally at Capital University this morning, but the conflict with Mass required that [...]

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Celebrating Michaelmas

Ah, Michaelmas!  Such is the name of the traditional Feast of St. Michael the Archangel celebrated on September 29th.  Our family has a great devotion to St. Michael, most particularly due to the great devotion our young son, Galahad has shown since early childhood.
Galahad is convinced that St. Michael is his personal Guardian Angel. He [...]

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