Feeding The Soul~10 Things

This was a week that fed my Soul...10 things to share!

1. A Free Field Trip to our favorite aquarium kicked off our week.  (It was a free homeschool day)
 I just love the jelly fish. Can you believe these photos were taken from my phone?

Our whole family favors the sea...We are definitely ocean lovers!

Our favorite was the Sea Horse...

Especially the red ones:)

Doesn't everybody love a penguin, so stout and sassy?
Wish I looked that cute with my belly sticking out:)

Gotta see a SHARK!

And a Sea Turtle...

Said "Hello" to some cute little Puffins...

The day was officially complete upon Finding Nemo!

2.  I basked in the glow of Autumn, ablaze all around us.

3.  We enjoyed our favorite "soul food" and had a much-needed family dinner.  All 7 members of our family LOVE this dish.  Anyone who has multiple children knows this is a small miracle:)

Tater Tot Casserole
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. pkg. frozen mixed vegetables
1 lb. pkg. tater tots
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 can water
Brown and season beef.  Place in 13x9 casserole.  Add layer of onions, mixed frozen vegetables, then frozen tater tots. Pour the soup, mixed with water, over the top.  Bake 2 hours at 350 degrees. (1 1/2 hours covered, and last 1/2 hour uncovered)


4.  We enjoyed some fun Leaf Art!

I got the idea from Little Page Turners.

It was pretty messy...But very FUN!

5.  The Gift of a Mass from a thoughtful friend.  She gave me this gift for my birthday last month and I got to enjoy it this week.
 "The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death.”~Pope Benedict XV~
Read more about this over at EWTN

6.  The Peace of Adoration.  I have missed the last couple of weeks so I got back on track this week...Serious food for my soul!
"When we are before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His."~St. John Mary Vianney~

7.  The Catholicism Project came out this week on EWTN and it was amazing!  It fed the souls of our whole family:)  If you haven't been able to check out this new documentary television series, be sure to visit the website.  You won't be disappointed!

8.  A trip down memory lane to our local museum.  They displayed some of my old Army paraphernalia for the month of November to honor Veterans of different wars.  You know you're OLD when your junk is in a museum!

This is me and my Dad, who is history-buff-extraordinare:)

The museum display included "those shiny boots"...definite soul food.

9.  Friday morning Bible Study...need I say more?

10. Rosary Making with our Little Flowers/Blue Knights home school group closed out the week.  We all joined the Rosary Army! I am loving this project, shared and brought to us by a special family.  I am a very awkward learner but the girls are patient with me, bless their hearts.  The girls are making these knotted twine/chord rosaries for charity and also to donate to the troops. 

Hope the weeks ahead are good for your soul!

Soul Season

I love the changing of the colors!

To me, it's Soul Season.

The leaves are finally turning here in California and Autumn is aglow...This is the view of the backyard Birch tree looking down from our school room window last week...Some of the leaves are actually still green.

Fast forward to this week...

  The same window and the burst of golden color is glorious...No more green leaves!

Our Mary garden annuals are fading but a red rose still blooms...

(Can you see her on the bottom right, tucked under the tree)?

I'm enjoying the color so much that I don't want to rake up the leaves!

I never get tired of looking at them:)

I wrote this poem last year and I dug it up to share again this year.

Seasons of the Soul

Brilliantly, leaves change color right before they fall, signaling Christ's blazing love, one last time.

Then they are finished and go back into the dust.

But they will come again...

Until then we are left with bare trees, colder temperatures, and darker days.

It is time to hunker down and examen our own nakedness and sin.

A time to root out all that does not lead us to God. 

We may suffer through the dimness but we have hope in the light.

Springtime is ahead, like the hope of heaven.

We need only to wait patiently and keep the faith,

For the promise of new life.

The resurrection illuminates the seasons of our soul.

This is the most gorgeous place in town...Our Parish Fatima Shrine in Fall bloom. It's my favorite place to visit and soak my soul before the darkness of winter sets in.

It's beyond beautiful, just like Our Lady, Mother of Our Savior.  

As she beckons us to come closer, this bold and brilliant grove of trees lead the way...

Isn't it amazing?
And fitting that she be the vessel to reveal God's glory all around her...

We are so blessed with such beauty and grace, here in this place.

Time Does Not Take You Away

Time Does Not Take You Away

I thought about you today...

your brilliant smile, your witty way.

I longed for you today,

your jubilant voice to tell me things are okay.

My heart leaps from my chest today,

the longing, the agony, the dismay.

My humanness cries,

My soul yearns,

My spirit connects.

A flood of emotions consume me today,

Your memory is only an impulse away.

The rustle of the leaves whisper

the turning of the season.

I remember you today...

just like I do everyday.

~My son at the grave of his father~

On this All Soul's Day, 2010

I am reflecting on this poem that I wrote in 1995, just 18 months after my husband's tragic death.

Having weathered this storm of suffering, I am joyful once again...

But those who grieve never forget...

We are not resigned but relentless in our hope.

Seasons of the Soul

Autumn Fingerprint Tree Craft

Made by 8yo Princess

2010

Seasons of the Soul

The changing of the seasons remind me of the seasons of the soul and our Christian journey. 
I'm sure there are some really great writings about this somewhere!  
I was inspired by these vivid paintings that two of my children made so I wrote this little poem...

Brilliantly, leaves change color right before they fall, signaling Christ's blazing love, one last time.
Then they are finished and go back into the dust.
But they will come again...
Until then we are left with bare trees, colder temperatures, and darker days.
It is time to hunker down and examen our own nakedness and sin.
A time to root out all that does not lead us to God. 

We may suffer through the dimness but we have hope in the light.
Springtime is ahead, like the hope of heaven.
We need only to wait patiently and keep the faith,
For the promise of new life.
The resurrection illuminates the seasons of our soul.

If you haven't seen this CUTE Autumn craft floating around the internet, you can find it at Kaboose. We used it as a nature unit but also thought it would make a great craft for studying Creation and the Garden of Eden (Tree of Life).
 
Princess and her handprint/fingerprint tree, followed by 6yo Superboy and his tree...

Another close-up photo of Superboy's prints

1st Grade

And here they are together...

These books were good supplements to our study:

The Tale of Three Trees

Even though this is an Easter Story, you can't help but love it year-round. I just love that line about how the third tree "knew that God's love had changed everything!"

Tell Me, Tree by Gail Gibbons

I just love this author for detailed learning about lots of subjects. We check out her stuff from our local library.

I am always looking for the sacred significance all around us so this Catholic Symbols site has a very interesting list of plants and trees with their Christian symbolism!

St. Joemaria Escriva also inspired my writing today...
"Anything that does not lead you to God is a hindrance.  Root it out and throw it far from you."
"You, if you are an apostle, will not have to die.  You will move to a new house: that is all."
"So you have failed?  You cannot fail.  You have not failed: you have gained experience.  Forward!"
"Love Our Lady. And she will obtain abundant grace for you to help you conquer in your daily struggle.  And the enemy will gain nothing by those foul things that continually seem to boil and rise within you, seeking to swallow up in their perfumed corruption the high ideals, the sublime determination that Christ Himself has set in your heart." 

God Bless your souls during this change of seasons...