Category - Faith

How is it March already?  I think January and February speed by the fastest of all the months, which is sad for me because I love winter. I’m just glad that this year, Lent and Easter have held off until February was over.

Last year, Bip and I started a Lent Lapbook.  If you’re a homeschooler, you are probably at least vaguely family with lapbooks as a good hands-on way to teach material on one central topic.  Even though Lent has begun, it isn’t too late to start a lapbook.  I do not possess the organizational skills to actually create one from scratch, so I purchased mine as a download from this site: Lapbooks for Catholics -Lent.   The printable file is $10, which isn’t a bad deal, considering how many pages and activities it comes with.  Most of the activities have multiple options to meet the abilities of a range of children.

There is so many activities included that we didn’t even get close to finishing last year.  I chose the things that were most important that Bip learn as a 2nd grader. Now we’re going to add more to it this year and build on what he knows.  This could turn into a multi-year study of Lent for us!

Another good resource for Lent is by my friend Jen over at The Polka Dot Posie.  She has created a free printable worksheet to go along with the popular 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge.  She also has some good ideas for making the challenge more about serving others.  Tell her I sent you! The Polka Dot Posie 40 Bags Printable

Print Friendly

Here we are at Epiphany already!  I hope your Christmas season was a good one.

We will be blessing our house once again this year.  We use the following simple blessing. We’ll probably do this on Sunday because we get too busy during the week, but the actual date of the Feast of the Epiphany is Monday, January 6.

Epiphany Blessing

All make the Sign of the Cross.

Head of Household: “Peace be to this house and to all who dwell here, in the name of the Lord.

All: Blessed be God forever.

Reader: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things come to be through him, and without him nothing came to be….. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3.14)

Above the entryway to your house, write with chalk:

20 + C + M + B + 14

(This is the initials of the three magi -Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar – with the numerals of the new year surrounding them. C, M, B can also be interpreted as the Latin phrase “Christus mansionem benedicat” which means “Christ bless this house”.)

All: Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. May we be blessed with health, goodness of heart, gentleness and the keeping of your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Print Friendly

So. I had the worst Mother’s Day ever. Well, the one worst one for me,at least.

To put it bluntly, I got a new toothbrush.

There’s a story here, of course. I got a new toothbrush because that’s what I do every time I get so sick that I find myself moaning over my aching stomach. And when my stomach hurts that much, there’s pretty much only one way out of it. Oh yes. On my knees in the wee hours of the morning, thanking the Good Lord above that the drop-in toilet thingy is doing its job because my face is about to up close and personal with the porcelain throne.

Stomach properly emptied, I returned to bed and slept pretty much most of the rest of the day.

Less than twenty-four hours later I felt much better, keeping food down and my fever was gone. Poor Phil went down about that time, though he didn’t get it nearly as bad.

But what, what, WHAT does this have to do with the title of this post?

I’ll tell you. Two of my boys are receiving sacraments this weekend. We’ve got houseguests coming. The boys can NOT get sick.

It’s been two days since Phil got sick and all the kids seem fine.

But if you could spare a prayer, could you say one that my kids stay healthy?

Thanks, I owe you one!

Print Friendly

Merry Christmas from all of us here at the Mac and Cheese house.  We woke to beautiful, freshly fallen snow and it has just started snowing again. I have tried to say something pithy here about love and loss and grief and hope, but nothing sounds right.  So instead, I will share with you my favorite non-carol Christmas song. Merry Christmas!

http://youtu.be/5hINfyhuTt0

Print Friendly

Several people were canonized today and among them was Kateri Tekakwitha.   I don’t always follow Catholic news, so I just found out a couple of months ago that this was going to happen.  Pumpkin Girl was so excited because she has been praying for Kateri to get that last miracle.  She wanted to use Kateri as her Confirmation name and wasn’t sure she would be able to if Kateri was not yet canonized.  And with her Confirmation just 2 1/2 years away, she was running out of time.

But it turns out the miracle that Pumpkin had been praying for occurred in 2006, so the Lord was already answering her prayers.  And I can’t help but think of this day as a special little present for Pumpkin Girl, a way for her to experience God’s love for her.  It is always a good thing when God tells you “yes”.  Not, “no” or even “not yet.”  But a resounding “yes”.

Saint Kateri, pray for us.

Print Friendly