Listen to God's voice at the foot of the crucifix." ~St. Gaspar del Bufaro~

Monday, August 22, 2011

Fabulous First Day of School

The Queenship of Mary made for a fabulous first day of school!
"Mary reigns as Queen; I have nothing to fear."
~Bl. John Henry Newman~
We started our day with the bread of life, followed by breakfast "out" at a favorite restaurant.
The kids were altar servers this morning and Father T. gave us all a special blessing after the Mass, especially the teacher:)
Flowers for Our Lady...May her union with God remind us that holiness means our own dependence on God, hence the Holy Mass to start our homeschool year!
We kept a few little flowers at home for our home altar/prayer table, filling this beautiful vase from a dear friend.
"Through the simple act of becoming a mother, a woman changed the world."
~Edward Sri~

The love letters for each of the kids were a hit!
I hand-wrote a love letter to each of the children and placed them in their learning binders.  It was an exciting surprise to give.  I called them into my office, individually, and read their letters out loud to them privately.  I thought for sure I'd bawl like a baby...but I actually held it together for all. (I had already sent my love letter for my oldest son and husband on their pilgrimage:)  It was such a loving way to start the year and I eagerly gave and received some pretty big hugs!
The words of Father Larry Richards have been ringing in my heart that the #1 duty of parents is to instill the faith in children by our example and our love.  I do tell my children that I love them but this was an intentional moment to tell them that I will never stop loving them, no matter what.  I will love them forever. As the Father has loved me, so I will love them. (John 16:27)
Then we drew names for the kids to write love letters to one another, further spreading the love and practice letter writing...how can you go wrong with this assignment?

"Let us always meet eachother with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
~Bl Mother Teresa~

They woke up to these surprise goody bags with school supplies...
And an encouraging poster to make this an amazing grace-filled year!
Hallelujah...Our pilgrims come home late tonight!
And so does Grandma Judy (My Mom)!  She's still on oxygen and medication but she is out of the hospital.  Hooray!  Praise God for continued healing and all of your glorious prayers.
Making cookies is next on the list!  These are the best ever...We always save this recipe for the first day of school and maybe for Christmas.

Heavenly Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 C firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 C All purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside.  In an electric mixer, or vigorously by hand, cream the butter and the sugars.  Beat the eggs in another bowl and gradually add them to the creamed mixture.  Add the vanilla.  Gradually add the creamed mixture to the dry ingredients, slowly incorporating the two, and add chocolate chips last.  When the mixture is fully incorporated, drop by large scoops onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake 8-10 minutes.
Enjoy a heavenly delight!

8 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing your day with us! I am inspired, encouraged and even more excited about the beginning of my own family's year. I am particularly happy for you since reading about the rough patch you went through. Your perseverance in faithfulness and humility before the Cross has born great fruit! Deo Gratias!

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  2. What a great beginning of the school year! Praise God your mama is out of the hospital!

    We had a good day, my son, 6th grade, finished by 11:30. The others would have if there were 4 other mamas there to teach, but each had to wait their turn, which is always the hardest.

    Happy cookie mama cookies made!

    Love your boards....I wrote something like "Welcome Back!" "Let's have a super year!"

    Love your love letter idea...we did mommy dates and went to adoration together within the last 2 weeks preparing for the beginning of the year.

    Thanks for sharing your day!

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  3. Wonderful! I love the way made the day special.

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  4. Tiffany, Your first day of school must have been so Spirit-filled !! you added little touches to the day to make it memorable and to instill in the children that Jesus is the center of all our goals and life's work, and Our Lady guides them too! Love the letter writing love notes idea. And I'm glad your mother is recovering. Praise God for all the miracles of life.

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  5. What a beautiful first day you had! What a great idea to write letters to your children and then to put them in their notebook for a constant reminder of your love. You guys know how to start the year out right :) Many blessings for you on your school year.

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  6. Tiffany, a school year could not have been kicked off any better than the way you did it! Many blessings to you during this new year of adventure, learning, and growth! So happy to hear you mother is out of the hospital. We will continue our prayers.

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  7. Tiffany, you're such a great mom and teacher! Your children are blessed to have you! I hope you don't mind but I tagged you in a patron saint meme. It's to think about what causes are close to your heart and what God will praise you for.

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  8. Congrats on starting a new school year! Those are some great ideas. :) I love the Edward Sri quote - so much in there to think about.

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