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Okay! Now for some *snow* fun for my youngsters! As I’ve said in my last three post, my kids and I are having some wintery fun this fine HOT week in August! Our Lady of Snows feast day was Aug 5th I stumbled onto this fun simple craft idea a few months back at  No Time for Flash Card It super easy for younger kids! You will need: colored paper (we used blue and purple) white glue cotton balls crystals from the Crystal Snowflake project or glitter (both are optional) First use the white glue to create a snowflake shape We made a simple “T” and “X” design Nice for learning to draw the letters, too! 😉 Then the kids added cotton balls to the white glue lines. When they finished they looked like this. Now, you can stop there, but……. …my kids are over-achievers when it comes to art projects, so they couldn’t stop!!! My 8 year old daughter said: “That’s it?!?! That’s too simple.” And so the whole group began to ask for more….So I quickly decided to make use of those pretty crystals that were left on the bottom of our crystal snowflake  container. They added more glue designs on and around the cotton ball snowflake. Then they added some of those crystals from our last project . (glitter will work, too.) They actually had more fun adding the crystals than anything!! The crystals really did make them look nice and my kids thought they were very beautiful!! They are now decorating our “Our Lady of Snows bulletin board” along with our crystal snowflakes and rocks , and our “magic” snow ! Our Lady of Snows, pray for us! ~Jen-Marie

This was a fun simple project my 5 and 6 year old daughters and I enjoyed! It’s just an Indian style vest which we made after reading a story about Kateri Tekakwitha. I had planned to make this with a large felt sheet, but I was unable to get to the store to by some. Well, the good part is this was much cheaper!! 😉  It’s made from a large brown paper grocery bag and this went perfectly with our Christian Symbol Indian headbands that we made for Bl. Kateri’s feast day last year! You will need: a large brown paper bag scissors stapler crayons Cut the bag down the center of a large side, as shown: Cut of the bag’s bottom. Trash the bottom of the bag you only need the large sheet of brown paper.  The top of the bag is the bottom of the vest. Be sure the store label will be on the inside of the vest. Now cut out a curve for the neck area and round the top corners, as shown by the white lines in the picture: The circles are the area you should cut the arm holes….. When cutting the arm holes fold the bag in the center of the narrow sides of the bag. The center of triangular fold, which are naturally in the bag, should be at the top. Cut the circles just below the triangular fold of the bag. Your holes may need to be bigger or smaller depending on the size of the child. Now use that triangular fold to create the shoulder. Fold it toward the inside of the vest and staple it together. That helps to create the natural curve of the shoulder. Now have your child cut fringes into the edges of the vest all the way around. And then they can color on it!! My girls drew animals, tee-pees and Christian symbols like those on the headband . Here they are dressed in costume!! Don’t forget to make the headband ! Bl. Kateri, pray for us! ~Jen-Marie

This week has been a busy week! I took my one-year-old son into the emergency room Tuesday evening. He acquired a huge gaping cut in his eyebrow area after he fell into a cabinet. The huge deep cut had to have 5 stitches! He’s the first of our 9 kids to need stitches, although I imagine that he will not be our last! Then on Friday, our oldest was blessed to receive her Confirmation! It was beautiful, and our Bishop did a great job when he spoke to the kids! During all that business I was also busy preparing for a family get-together in honor of Our Blessed Mother! So today we had a wonderful little tea party in honor of Mother Mary! Since Mother Mary was the reason for our Mother’s Day event, I felt she needed a special place of Honor! So I made this altar using a simple mosquito canopy, fancy ribbons, strings of pearls, white roses, and large drop gem beads.  I hung the canopy in our bay window and tied up the one side so it was open. I added all the decorations using clear thread and I also hung the large drop gems to the back behind Mary to make the canopy sit level.  It turned out so lovely, the pictures just don’t do it justice! Click here to see how to make a floral crown for a Marian statue Here are a few other mini Mary altars I had set out for the party: We had a great time at our party and we plan to have one again next Mother’s day! Here’s a picture of myself (in blue) and my 6 daughters along with my mother. Yes, my two oldest daughters are outgrowing me! But that’s not too hard since I stopped growing when I was their age! I’d add a picture of my daughter with the Bishop at her Confirmation, but I forgot to take my camera to the ceremony. (Thankfully, my mother got a picture. I have to get it from her!) BTW: My little guy is fine and he’s healing very well. He’s back to his normal adventurous self! Oh, he worries me every time he falls now! I’m finding more and more gray hair! Happy Mother’s day to my heavenly Mother and to my earthy mother! And may God bless all Mothers! ~Jen-Marie

Okay, I’m not a professional chef, but I can cook a nice filling meal for my family of 11 people! I can’t make a fancy Passover/Holy Thursday meal, but we ate lamb just the same! Early this morning, after my older girls and I read the free excerpt from Monica’s book “ “ , the girls wanted me to make lamb. Well, that is not a meal I could even begin to create. So I started giving them ideas of things I could make which could be our new family tradition for Holy Thursday. The girls loved the idea of Sheppard’s Pie. I made 2 -13×9 inch casserole pans of Sheppard’s pie (with beef) to feed everyone -that’s as close as I got to making lamb.  I also used   Monica’s excerpt to make Haroset for the little bit of Matzah we happened to have on hand. We didn’t have enough Matzah to go around and feed everyone, so the girls wanted to make some simple whole wheat flat biscuits. While they made the dough, I quickly drew them a picture of how to shape and arrange the biscuits on the pan. They did a great job recreating my picture. So we .  We ate our cute little  (John 1:29) along with that tasty Haroset!    Thanks, Monica, for inspiring us to start a new family tradition!! Maybe next year I can make real lamb, but the kids loved the “biscuit lamb” so much I’m sure we’ll have to create it again! They might even what to make it for Easter, too! May you all have a blessed Good Friday! ~Jen-Marie

These were a fun treat that I made to accompany the First Communion cake that we had to celebrate the First Communion of our two second grade children this past weekend! They would also work well when doing a theme about the Good Shepherd, like this past weekend which was Good Shepherd weekend!! 😉 You will need: cupcakes with white icing miniature marshmallows white icing (for the eyes) chocolate syrup (for the eyes) Chocolate animal crackers (the buffalo work best!) toothpicks Take a chocolate animal cracker (buffalo work best) break off the legs (and head if necessarily) to form a long narrow sheep’s face. The legs make the ears.  Put the face on the cupcake and then add the ears. Surround the face with miniature marshmallows, pressing them into the icing on the cupcake. Use a toothpick to add two balls of white icing for the eyes. Use another toothpick to add chocolate icing on top of the white drops to finish the eyes. That’s it! It’s easy to make a flock of  YUMMY sheep!!!! If you are making these for a First Communion celebration you also might like the Chalice and Host shaped cake , too! Hope you have fun making and eating these cute little guys! God Bless! ~Jen-Marie

I thought some of you might like to see the banners my kids made the year they received their First Communion. My 3rd born, Jacob, made this one 3 years ago. He was rather particular while he was designing his banner! And one thing he decided early on as he was IT MUST have a BIBLE!! So here is his banner, complete with a Bible! His banner is made almost completely from stiff felt. The blue background is just regular stiff felt and the cross, grapes, chalice, etc, were cut out of stiff felt which had a sticker backing. He first added a white felt border. Then he drew wheat with a sharpie marker onto a piece of stiff brown felt and cut them out. (He did need help cutting those thin pieces) I drew the chalice and he traced it onto the yellow felt. The same was done for the grapes and the Bible. Jacob used sharpie markers to add shading and detail to all the items. The “writing” on the Bible is really just dots that Jacob made using a black sharpie marker. Then we added the cross and Host. Jacob drew the cross onto the Host. Then he used glitter glue to make the rays coming from the Host. We hot glued a dowel rod onto the back and tied a string onto each end so we could hang it up! Lots of fun! I’m looking forward to doing two more this year with my 4th and 5th born! Want to see more banners? Click here to see banner #1 Click here to see banner #2 Looking for a few templates? You could use the printable from my Eucharist Art project May God Bless you! ~Jen-Marie

I thought some of you might like to see the banners that my kids had done for their First Communion. This banner was designed and created 5 years ago by my second-born daughter, Rebekah. She LOVED to paint so she used acrylic paint on a green sheet of stiff felt. Since she was only 8 years old, I used masking/painter’s tape along the edges of the items so if she accidentally went out of the area she was painting it would still be straight. The tape was a lifesaver on this project! (Note: the lighter colors needed a least 3 coats of paint)  Rebekah made the rays around the cross and Host using a glitter glue stick. She added red glitter to the drops of blood and blue glitter to the drops of water She also added a sequin string and gems to the chalice. We used Sharpie markers along all the edges of everything to make it look a bit neater. We used a dark purple and black sharpie marker to make all the individual grapes, brown for the wheat center, and green to add the leaf veins. We hot glued a dowel rod to the back and tied on a string so we could hang it! She did a great job! Want to see more banners? Click here to see banner #1 Click here to see banner #3 Looking for a few templates? You could use the printable from my Eucharist Art project May God bless you! ~Jen-Marie

Years ago there was an old tradition of hanging a Crucifix in every room of your home. Sadly, today that tradition has died out for many Catholics. The reason for keeping a crucifix in each room was to remind us that God is always watching and is always with us. It was also a reminder of the wonderful deed Jesus did for us, and that our personal sacrifices are never in vain. So I often try to decorate my home with Catholic items like crucifixes, statues, and pictures. This helps to give my family and me a constant reminder of what is right and what is wrong, of what is a good action and what is a bad action. They are also a reminder that we should always put God first, and that we should always think of God throughout the day and pray to Him for every need. …read more about Catholics and statues here. The Link-up: I’m creating a Link-up for all Catholic bloggers to share their ideas on how they decorate their Catholic homes during various seasons. These posts should be about home altars, Catholic-themed wreaths, and crafts that you have made to decorate your home or any other ideas you had to make your home more of a domestic church! If this Link-up is successful, I would like to host a new “Catholic Decor” link-up each season or month. For example Lent, Spring, Month of Mary, Summer Gardens, Fall, Advent, etc….. If I get a good turnout for this first link-up I plan to have a link-up after Easter next month for decor that is centered around “Spring and Mary’s Month of May”! But for now please add your posts for the Catholic décor in your home during “Lent, Easter, or other Everyday Catholic Décor Ideas The Rules: Only faith-centered décor ideas No items for sale Add, please add this button to your blog/post so others can come and join in too! I’m looking forward to seeing all your awesome ideas!  God Bless! ~Jennifer A Link-up for: Lent, Easter, or other Everyday Catholic Decor Ideas

I can’t believe it’s the 22nd already, but it is!!So, it’s time for another link-up party! First, for those who care, I’ll give you a quick update on my “To Do” list! With the help of my dad I now have a garden complete with raised boxes!!! It’s sooo nice! That’s something I’ve been longing to have for many years! Although I bought a bunch of seeds from St. Clare’s Seeds (*No GMOs*) I couldn’t plant too much this year since it took us a bit longer to complete the creation of the garden and boxes. Many days we were unable to work do to the overabundance of rain. But I’m still happy, it’s ready for next year!  So next summer I’ll have a nice crop ~I hope! 😉 Our home addition has to be finished by July, (according to the permit) and my Handy Hubby is working hard to get that done! I just spent this past evening crapping drywall plaster and paint off the sub-floor so it’s ready for flooring! Hopefully my husband and dad will have that flooring down by Saturday night! After that my husband can add the heaters and the baseboard trim. Once the addition has its final inspection, I’ll be beaming with the joy!! I can finally reorganizing my house and moving into our new addition! I’ll add some pictures of the finished addition later, for anyone interested in seeing it! Now it’s time for a  * * * L I N K – U P P A R T Y ! * * * Feel free to share your faith-centered home posts with us! The Rules: Please add posts about Catholic decor, crafts and activities we can do with our kids, home-school ideas, organization ideas, or any other post that can help Catholic families in our everyday life . Link to me on your blog/post so others can come and join in too! You may use one of my butt ons if you like, or just make a text link of your own. I can’t wait to see your posts! God Bless!~Jennifer If you can’t see the link-up widget below click here

Okay here is my very first Catholic Inspired video!! My husband was shocked that I did this! I hate being videotaped, but my typical step-by-step pictures just didn’t seem to work, so I reluctantly decide a video was a must! My kids thought this was hilarious, and claimed I sound like a kid on video. I’ll admit, I do sound young…I guess it’s my inner child coming out!!  It was fun! 😉 ** Note: Please don’t throw the scrap pieces into the trash!! They are blessed! The proper way to dispose of them is to bury them, burn them, or return them to your church so they can burn them and use them next Ash Wednesday. In our family we always placed a palm with a crucifix like this: Storing palms until you can braid them If you can’t braid your palms within an hour or two after Mass, place your palms in a zip-loc bag with a tablespoon of water, seal it, shake it, and place it in the fridge. That will keep it from drying out until you can get to braiding it! They should keep that way for a few days.

This is a fun and easy craft project for all ages! It makes a nice addition to any altar, room, shelf, or wall. In this simple activity, you’ll create a decoration of St. Joseph on a block of wood. I felt that wood seemed like a perfect spot to put a picture of St. Joseph since he was/is a carpenter! It is easy enough for kids in 1st grade but still nice enough for teens and adults. Since our house is under construction we have A LOT of old boards lying around, but if you can’t find an old board you could buy a new board from your local lumber store, most lumber stores will also cut it for you, too. ~OR~ Many craft stores sell wood plaques that you could use. You will need: a piece of wood picture of St. Joseph Mod Podge** paintbrush sandpaper (fine grit) rag gray and brown craft paint and water (if you want to “age” a new piece of wood) OR stain Download the Instructions and Image here: **Mod Podge is a white glue sealer and it’s sold in all craft stores. Print your St. Joseph picture so it’s a little smaller than your block of wood. I used these pictures of St Joseph and I sized it down to the size I thought would fit on my board before I printed it off: Picture Source Sand the block of wood so there are no sharp, splintered, edges. My son had a grand time do this part! If you have never sanded before be sure to sand “with the grain”…or, as I told my son, always sand in the same direction that the lines on the wood are going. After the wood is nice and smooth, take a rag over it to get all the dust off. Aging/preparing a new piece of wood: If you are using a piece of wood that is new and want it to look older here’s how…After the wood has been sanded, mix a little bit of gray and some brown acrylic-craft paint together until you get a nice color. Add some water and mix it until it’s very thin. Now cover the wood and let it dry. Sanding it lightly again may help, too. Take your image of St Joseph and cut it into the shape and size that you like. I made mine an irregular shape and I cut freely around Jesus, Joseph, the lily, and the work table. I thought it helped to bring the wood and the picture together. Add a bit of Mod Podge to the block of wood and use that to glue down the picture. Smooth it out so it’s flat and there are no air bubbles. Now cover the picture and the wood around the picture with a heavy coat of Mod Podge. You may need to press the picture edges down so it doesn’t bubble. Allow that to dry, it only takes about an hour or two. That’s it!! It’s sooo simple and fun! You can set it on a shelf or add a picture frame hanger to the back and hang it on a wall. My kids each made a small one for their room, and a large group of kids could easily make these. St. Joseph the Craftsman, pray for us! Happy crafting! ~Jen-Marie

Mary over at The Beautiful Gate has tagged me for a book meme! Thanks, Mary! So I need to share my 3 favorite r eligious  books: Okay, I have to be honest with myself and my situation…I’m a mom of 9 kids, all under the age of 13, and I homeschool them. I live in an old, incomplete, house that is in bad shape (but getting better); My time to read is very short! I’ve bought several books over the past few years and I’ve desired so much to read them! Often I’d start to read one, then I wouldn’t get a chance to continue to read it until a week or more later. By that point, I’d forget what I had already read! So I just quit all together! So the most reading I’m blessed to do is homeschool-related or focuses more on a child’s level. (I love reading “ ” to my kids and listening to my Hubby♥ read “ Tikki Tikki Tembo” in his best  Chinese impersonation  is  hilarious !  )  I’ve tried to think back on the books I’ve read BC (Before Children) but I just can’t really remember all that well. So my book picks are perhaps a bit out of the ordinary. These are my 2 favorite prayer books, (Aside from the Bible) and a teaching book. “  by Rev. Charles G. Fehrenbach  It’s a collection of Marian meditations for every day of the year, including Bible verses, saint’s writings, and prayers. I enjoy sharing some of these with my older kids. If it’s a quote or verse I think the kids can understand, I’ll write it on our board for them to read in the morning.    “Minute Meditations on the Mysteries of the Rosary”   by: Rev. Thomas M. Feeley  I found this book to be a wonderful help to focus on while praying the Rosary. If you are like me, you can’t stay focused on prayer and meditation, and your mind just keeps jumping to all the things you need to do.  This book has been a great help to me. “ ”  by Leo  J.  Trese I bought this book to help me teach our beautiful faith to my kids. It has a nice way of explaining our faith in a way that’s easy to understand. Sadly, I never finished the last 25 pages. My 3 year old spilled her milk on the book and I couldn’t get those last few pages apart!! 😉  So now I know that milk can be used as glue!! Hum…maybe a future craft idea?!?! LOL!! 😀 Now I tag: Norren from Rosary Mom Rosary Mom Elisa from Tercets Tercets Tercets Nicole at  Just Like Mary Just Like Mary Just Like Mary Jackie C at My Catholic Family Circus Cheryl at  The Diary of a Sower The Diary of a Sower The Diary of a Sower God Bless! ~Jen-Marie