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!