Reminiscing...

Mom sent me this one today.
That's me in the middle with my mouth open and rock star hair.  Sometimes I wish I had a puppy...then I remember I have my Monkey (that's my nickname as of late for my 18th month old- don't ask why. I don't know myself).  He's much better than a puppy.  I just noticed, he also looks a lot like my little brother on this picture with the blonde hair.

My parents used to breed and raise Samoyeds and German Shepherds. The Samoyeds were the CUTEST fluff balls as you can see. Growing up, we had so much fun with those puppies. Thanks for the memories, Mom and Dad!

Life by the River

The kids went down to the river this morning with their grandparents- my husband's parents.  We have been down to swim in it three times this year already. Today wasn't a swimming day, but the kids did enjoy seeing a crane, snake and catching minnows. 

The county recently put in a sidewalk, so now are able to walk down from our house.  We really love this beautiful river! 

Making a Meaningful Holy Week

Jesus is almost done carrying his cross and then it will be replaced with a butterfly as we journey 40 days to his Ascension.

Thanks to an unexpected cold, my husband was able to take the sick day he's wanted to use for awhile. We're always looking for ethical ways to use those up ;)  It was the perfect timing for Holy Week. I was able to send off 16 packages and get all caught up with my rosary orders and send off some special Easter packages for family.  Now we have time to clean the house for Easter and prepare our minds, hearts and think about CRAFTS for the kids to make it more meaningful.

We made this desert motif with tomb and crosses (found here) . Jesus has been in that desert for 40 days now.  Tomorrow we will take the cacti away put dirt on it, add wheat berries, and sprinkle some red water to remember that it takes the blood of Jesus on Good Friday to open the gates of heaven. He was the wheat the fell to the ground and died  It was His blood that watered the wheat for GRACE to happen in our souls.  My hope is that by Easter Sunday, the wheat grass will sprout.

Last year, we did Lacy's Last Supper craft, so we will be doing that again. I would love to do a Seder meal, but realistically, that won't happen until the kids are older- like grade school age.   For now, we remember through crafts and stories ;)

Tomorrow is Good Friday and the start of the Divine Mercy Novena, which ends on Divine Mercy Sunday next Sunday.  We've never done this as a family and my kids have no idea what is all about, so I've prepared a few things to teach them including the stories and crafts on this page, the printable chaplet on this page and maybe the countdown egg cartons craft on Lacy's page.

I just finished reading how Elise Arndt's family (A Mother's Touch) spent Good Friday in silence.  She writes how it was a tradition that the kids remembered as they grew older that it is a day to remember Christ's sacrifice all day. I think we will try our best to talk in whispers and maybe use some solemn chant as background music. Candles and incense are also good reminders for us to keep the day a prayerful one.

Have a blessed Holy week everyone!

Only three days left! Liam does this FIRST thing in the morning.

Thinking Ahead

The busy season isn't quite over for my business, and yet I am already thinking about the beads I want to make next. Today while I was painting with Analee, I painted some of my ideas for new beads.

There's the "In Love with Jesus" heart. I already have one that I use with the Girl's First Communion Rosaries, but I'd like one to use with all the rosaries because it is an important symbol.  I want one that's bursting with color and joy.

Then there's the Alpha and Omega... I was singing the Greek alphabet song my son is learning in his classical learning program while painting this.  And whoops! I painting the Omega upside down! I guess I should have been studying the Greek alphabet a little more closely.  This is NOT what the bead will look like:

This is what my painting SHOULD have looked like:

I would like to do something for the Sacrament of Holy Orders- specifically the priesthood. Priests need our prayers and we need more priests!

I've had rooster on the brain for quite sometime as a symbol of the resurrection (cock crowed three times...). I love roosters- they are so beautiful and a rooster bead would be such fun.  It is actually a traditional symbol of the Church and some (protestant) churches even have roosters on top of their churches as a symbol of the resurrection!  There was a stained glass rooster in my old church in Maryland too.

Day Trip- Luray Caverns

A couple weeks ago (shows you how on top of things I am around here when it comes to pictures!) my husband took a very, very rare three day weekend. Shift work doesn't come with the luxury of government holidays or any holiday for that matter, including Sundays.  The extra day off was so fantastic. We are still talking about how relaxing it was and how much fun we had.   It was actually his idea we traveled farther than five minutes from our home- which is another rarity!  He really wanted to see these caverns. It turned out to be a great idea- aside from the fact that Jude was teething and made whiny noises throughout the whole tour (don't worry, my chapstick pacified him for the most part.  It's now destroyed, but it was worth having some peace during the hour long tour.)

The way to the caverns was half the fun since it was a scenic drive through the Shenandoah mountains.  However, making rosary bracelets around those curves didn't go so well.  As soon as we started around those mountain curves, the beads flew everywhere I was getting carsick because I wasn't looking out the window.  Thankfully I was almost finished with the bracelet I was working on, so I quickly put it together and all was well.  The nausea soon left I was able to enjoy the scenery.

This was a lake inside the caverns. The mirror image was so identical that you couldn't tell there was water.

These caverns were huge! I don't remember ever seeing such big structures. In fact there was a giant stalactite that they said was millions of years old judging from it's size and how long it takes for them to grow.  Being there in the place where a million year old creation grew was humbling and awe inspiring.