A Day of Faith And Art!

Today ended up being an Impromptu Art Day!


I don't do a very good job incorporating art into our school weeks...
But I do appreciate it.
And I still claim to be "craft handicapped" so if I can do a craft, anyone can!

That being said, I do collect arts and crafts supplies, in hopes that I will do more things.  But they tend to build up in my drawers instead.  
While cleaning out a few cupboards and drawers today, putting Christmas stuff away, I found some of these supplies that I had picked up at the Dollar Tree

over the last year...I thought "Let's Do It" and decided to finally put a few of them to use!

These plaques were so cute and they came with the bow already connected.

I had spray painted them gold for a "past project".
Having just learned a new crafting word recently:
"Repurpose"...Love that word...
I found a "new purpose" for my plaques.

Coupled with these little wooden letters, which are perfect for all kinds of crafts,
I came up with a way to honor the Most Holy Name of Jesus.

 I guess the photo (above) kind of gives away what I ended up with!? 

Just a little Modge Podge, paint, and glitter...

Not very fancy but super easy!

Voila, we have a plaque that completes our

January Liturgical Wreath!

~January is dedicated to the Most Holy Name of Jesus~

{Catholic Icing also has some other fun craft suggestions}

We just hung our regular wreath over the plaque that reads

"Jesus Loves"

~With these sentiments, the wreath also makes a nice St. Valentine's decoration~

I just love this wreath of red roses that I found at Target (last year) since

Red Roses also represent Our Lady!

The rest of our afternoon was spent using pastels.

We have had a pack of pastels on hand that we are rather unfamiliar with using.

Princess (Age 8) watched a video tutorial on You Tube on how to use pastels.
There are a few good videos for beginners if you google around.


Princess decided to draw her 1st Communion Patron Saint
and try out some pastels.
She used our favorite
Catholic How-To-Draw book from CHC.

~Saint Kateri Tekakwitha~

Princess found it hard to use pastels on the smaller facial features, like the eyes and mouth.  But I say it was a brilliant first try!  

We were also inspired by pastels used by
That Artist Woman
and her project that
Lacy posted over at Catholic Icing
on Mary, Mother of God.
She makes it look so easy!
*We are really liking these pastels and plan to do a few more things*


I found these adorable Holy Family Templates
over at Deviantmonk.
They also provide the templates for the entire Nativity.
I thought they were so cute!
I traced and used pastel coloring and blending...
Once again, not fancy but fun.

February is dedicated to the Holy Family!
~Hmmm, lots of stuff to do with that one~


Here is our quote to memorize and copy for the week in keeping with
January's [Most Holy Name of Jesus] theme:
"The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; The godly run to Him and are safe."
~Proverbs 18:10~

Epiphany Royal Celebration

Happy Traditional Epiphany Day!
January 6, 2011


While much of the world left Christmas behind over a week ago,

I have truly been savoring the season.

Gratitude for my Catholic faith overflowed this week as things

slowed down after the flurry of Advent activity;

I have FINALLY been able to enjoy Christmas!

Twinkling lights and peaceful Christmas music lingered in my car CD player

AND in my soul all week long...

Today was the 12th Day of Christmas and the celebration of the visit from the Magi to the manger~ 
The traditional Epiphany Day.
(Matthew 2:1-12)
I suppose it's also time to make the transition from Christmastide to Ordinary time... 
(after this Sunday)
Though I AM tempted to wait until 
The Presentation of the Lord in February;
For some reason, I am just not ready to say goodbye 
to Christmas quite yet!


Regardless of the quiet digging in of my heels, we made the best of this ending.
Marking the closing of our Christmas season,
we enjoyed an evening of celebration, complete  
with an Epiphany Royal Supper!


~The evening began with the Traditional Home Blessing~
The “C, M, B also stands for the Latin blessing Christius Mansionem Benedicat which means “May Christ Bless this House”.
Be sure to visit Catholic Icing for Lacy's post on the Epiphany House Blessing and more linkys for Epiphany ideas:)

We have started a tradition of choosing a Patron Saint for our family for the New Year.  We have been doing this via the Saint Generator.
Dad picks companion saints for our family 
to follow, learn about, and pray with us through the New Year.

Our Epiphany Royal Supper Menu:
Crown Pizza
"Golden Pear" Winter Fruit Salad
Royal Punch
Dessert:  King's Cake

We brought our Three Wise Guys to the center of our 
dinner table to join our Royal Supper, also posted over at Catholic Cuisine.


Rod cut a family-sized Take and Bake Pizza
in half and then carved 
2 crown shapes from the top and bottom halves:

The "Golden Pear" Winter Salad
was a new and simple recipe I tried  
It turned out incredibly Yuuuuumy!


Bosco Pears
Ambrosia Apples
Oats and Honey Granola
Greek Yogurt~Honey Flavored

The Epiphany~ Manifestation of the Word made Flesh~
Gave us reason to CHEER!

I also wanted to share this simple recipe for our

~Royal King's Cake~

One of our family favorites!

Ingredients:

Yellow Cake Mix

1 pkg. Vanilla Pudding mix

4 Eggs

1 Cup Dry Sherry Wine

3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

*Beat all ingredients together on high for approx. 5 minutes*

Spray Bundt Pan and Bake at 350 degrees 

for 45-50 minutes

Sprinkle with Powdered Sugar

(We added the Royal Garnish for our Epiphany Celebration)

As the Magi brought gifts to Jesus,
we closed out the evening by bringing Him our hearts,
renewing our love and commitment
to the Christ child and Savior of the world.

After crowning the King of Kings, 

Each person thought of one way to improve their spiritual life and wrote the promise or "gift to Jesus" on a paper heart.  We placed our hearts at the feet of the Christ Child for the evening.
The hearts will be taped on bathroom mirrors or school stations to remind us of our 
New Year's gift to Jesus.

This weekend we will take down our Christmas decorations...

I don't look forward to the bare nakedness of my home after the last 
string of lights are put away.
But the beauty of our faith DOES remind me of the cycle of our human spirit as we
constantly strive for our ultimate goal.
We are continually reminded that we must decrease and empty
ourselves in order to open up a space to receive the graces of heaven.
I may not want "Christmas" to end but it is a reflection of what's best for me and for us all.


As our homes reflect the emptiness of "Christmas", they also serve as visual reminders to renew our
strength for the journey in this New Year.
We are called to rediscover the sanctity of our every day lives in Ordinary Time...
Only from death, can we be raised to eternal life.
"Naked and stripped there came forth
from her, He who clothes all."
~St. Ephrem the Syrian~

Lunchtime Hit!

~Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza~

This was a lunchtime'hit' at our house today!

It was a hit for this Mama because it was easy,

fed a lot of mouths at once,

and nutritional too.

It was a hit with the kids because it was something new.

Though it was the same (Natural) peanut butter and Trader Joe's organic strawberry jelly, it was FUN to eat it on warm, crunchy, pizza crust... On this cold and foggy day!

I also place some sliced fruit out in bowls (bananas and blueberries) to add as toppings.  I think strawberries would be good too but we didn't have any on hand.

Much of the food groups were covered all in one sitting,

including  a few glasses of milk!

Trader Joe's has whole wheat pizza dough that I want to try next time.   I think I'll throw in a few scoops of wheat germ or flaxseed meal, 

into the peanut butter too...

Shhhhh.

Off to enjoy the last day or two of Christmas!

Most Holy Name of Jesus

"For there is no other Name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved."

~Acts of the Apostles 4:12~

How appropriate that we start out THIS week with THIS feast day!

I know I will be calling on His Holy Name quite a bit as we attempt

to get back on task and find our routine after a busy

Advent and Christmas!

We started things out with a healthy twist this morning since

we have had so many Christmas goodies...

~Holy Name Oat Bran Muffins~
*They went over pretty well*


I linked up over at Catholic Cuisine...
Be sure to check them out for some wonderful January "feastings!"

*Blessed Be The Name Of Jesus*

Is our theme for the month and beyond!

{The Child Jesus, King of Love, has also been chosen to be my 2011 Saintly Companion,

hence another reason for my focus this morning.  I will be blogging a bit more about this a bit later.  Thank you, Totus Tuus}

Let Us Pray:

O Lord Jesus Christ,

who have said:

"Ask, and you shall receive;

seek, and you shall find;

knock, and it shall be opened unto you;

grant, we beseech you, to us who ask the gift of your most divine love,

that we may ever love you with all our hearts,

and in all our words and actions,

and never cease praising you.

Give us, O Lord, a perpetual fear and love of your Holy Name,

for you never fail to govern those whom you solidly establish in your love,

 you who live and reign forever and ever.

Amen.

Be sure to visit JOYfilled family for an abundance of Holy Name of Jesus spiritual resources!


This is our Copywork for the week:


"If you think the name "Jesus" continually,
it purges your sin and kindles your heart;
it clarifies your soul,
it removes anger and does away with slowness.
It wounds in love and fulfills charity.
It chases the devil and puts out dread.
It opens heaven, and makes you a contemplative.
It puts all vices and phantoms out from the lover."
~Richard Rolle~

12 Days of Christmas~Meaning of the Song

The Twelve Days of Christmas” as a Catechism Song

It is said that the Twelve Days of Christmas song lyrics were written as a catechism song to help young Catholics learn their faith, at a time when practicing Catholicism was discouraged in England (1558 until 1829).  One article I found suggests that the song was written by English Jesuits during the 16th century.
You can also read more about the meaning behind the song at Catholic Culture.
I just love the symbolism and meaning to share with my children as we wrap up the
12 Days of Christmas this week!
We are reading this book with beautiful illustrations from the traditional song.

Then we are comparing the book and traditional song with the real meaning
that I have compiled below here from what I have read and added my own images:

Gift Interpretation
The "12 Days of Christmas" song gifts are hidden meanings to the teachings of the faith. The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor, it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge which feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, much in memory of the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so..."
December 25: A Partridge in a pear tree …….. Jesus.

December 26: Two Turtle Doves …….. The Old and New Testaments.

December 27: Three French Hens ……. The three theological virtues – faith, hope and charity.

December 28: Four Calling Birds ……. The four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists:
 ~Matthew, Mark, Luke and John~

December 29: Five Gold Rings …… The Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, giving the history of man's fall from grace.

December 30: Six Geese a-Laying …. The six days of Creation.

December 31: Seven Swans a-Swimming ….. Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (piety, fortitude, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fear of the Lord, wisdom). Also it can help us remember the seven Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Matrimony, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick.

January 1: Eight Maids a-Milking …… The Eight Beatitudes – a set of eight blessings contained in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Four beatitudes also appear in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, where they are contrasted with four woes.

January 2: Nine Ladies Dancing ……. Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-31.

January 3: Ten Lords a-Leaping…… The Ten Commandments.

January 4: Eleven Pipers Piping….. The eleven faithful Apostles.

January 5: Twelve Drummers Drumming …… The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed.

From the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440. The border shows the legend of the composition of the Apostles' Creed, according to which the Twelve, before dispersing thoughout the world to preach the Gospel, composed the Creed as a sure rule of the Faith, each of them contributing one of the twelve articles. In the center is depicted the legend of the Ten Thousand Martyrs, represented here symbolically by only ten figures.

"Regardless of whether this tale is made up of both fact and fiction, hopefully it will be accepted in the spirit it was written. As an encouragement to people to keep their faith alive, when it is easy, and when any outward expressions of their faith could mean their life. Today there are still people living under similar conditions, may this tale give them courage, and determination to use any creative means at their disposal to keep their faith alive."

~Fr. Hal Stockert~