Celebrating Pentecost

Each year we celebrate Pentecost with flame decorated cupcakes. Everyone has enjoyed our little tradition.  However, this year I was inspired by Jessica at Shower of Roses to throw a real party.

We started our day with Mass, of course, and then headed out for some powdered doughnuts. Pentecost is also known as Whit Sunday so we were looking for a white treat.

Unfortunately, the doughnut shop was out of powdered doughnuts. So, we settled for anything white-ish. The children didn't mind at all. They practically inhaled breakfast. I couldn't even take a picture before they had tucked in.

At home, they colored a stained glass page found in Fenestrae  Fidei: A Coloring Companion for Catholic Mosaic which had been copied onto transparency film.


The biggest hit was a rousing game of  Who Has The Fire?
(Introduce game: What flickered around the disciple’s heads, but didn’t burn them? Fiery flames.
Need: Orange construction paper balled up to be the fire.
Directions: The children sit in a circle close together. The child who is “It” stands away from the circle and hides their eyes while the fire is passed around. When “It” says "STOP!", the child holding the fire hides it (under their leg, up their sleeve, etc.). The child who is “It” guesses who has the fire. The child who had the fire is now “It”.)

I made the felt fire and dove especially for the game.

Dinner Menu

Roasted Chicken

12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit Salad

White Mashed Potatoes

Broiled Asparagus (it looks flame-ish)

White Squishy Bread

and

Pentecost Cake

1 candle for the Holy Spirit

12 little candles for the 12 apostles

7 flames for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

12 candies for the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit (we had many more candies though)

Here is our home altar decorated for Pentecost.

50 days of Easter are over and it is time put away the decorations for another year.

At the end of the season, I am happy to enjoy the quiet of Ordinary Time.

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol.5)

1. A Quote to Ponder

Jen at Conversion Diary had this quote to ponder and I am pondering it quite a bit at the moment too. My moods affect my children deeply, especially the eldest. The Virtue of Affability according to Prior Marc Foley:

"Affability is the duty of justice, it is a kind of debt of decency, writes Thomas Aquinas. Affability is the virtue of maturity and not of youth. It requires the discipline and strength of character to be even-keeled in one's demeanor, regardless of how one is feeling. It is that rare species of charity, the heroic strength that does not inflict one's fluctuating moods upon others."

2. Olivia and Collette brought home a bouquet of dandelions. Inspired by this blog post, we made delicious dandelion syrup. Who knew dandelions were more than weeds? I have spent way, way, too much time trying to decimate their population! Now I will smile whenever I see them, just like my children do.

3. Best Toy Ever for Entertaing a Fussy Baby: Plasma Car

Oh, how I love these cars. We have two, one in green and one in red. When I need a break from a fussy baby to cook dinner, these gems come to the rescue time and time again. All my children can take turns cruising around with their passenger in tow. True, they can inflict some serious bruises on my ankles, but I have gotten to be very adept at jumping out of the way. 

4. What my children love to do:

5. Every year we grow radishes. They are easy and so satisfying to yank out of the ground. The children love to harvest them, but no one really likes to eat them. One in a salad is plenty for me. This year I was determined to do something with them. So, I made a radish dip. It included 4 cloves of garlic, lots of radishes, a bit of red pepper for color, and cream cheese to hold it altogether. Potent but tasty!

6. My last note about the snake: He is now such a common presence in the chicken coop that Quinton will simply hoist him out and toss him into the bushes. No one squeals and no one takes pictures. It's perfunctory. On the positive side: I've been told that they help to deter rattle snakes. That is worth a few eggs. 


7. Dominic is potty trained! And I can finally laugh about that day.

My Turbo

Hosted by Jen @ Conversion Diary

Day at the Mission

Well,  after much pondering and preparation, we headed off this morning to have a family photo taken at our beautiful mission. Coordinating eight people to arrive looking handsome and groomed at a location 45 minutes away at 9am is no small feat, but we did it! And then the photographer was over an hour late. Oh well, we toured the stunning grounds and took a few photos of our own. 

I dressed everyone in navy blue, white, khaki, and denim. The children looked wonderful and Dominic was so proud of his belt. The day was cool and overcast when we arrived.

Quinton was looking especially sharp today!

Here is a better shot of my new haircut. Olivia has finally stopped scowling at me and Collette has declared it "Very pretty." 

Doesn't it look like that plant is about to grab my head and eat me? :-)

This is how I would like to landscape my 2.5 acres. Oh, it was absolutely breathtaking!

All in all, it was a wonderful day. The children behaved beautifully, even after the hour wait. Xavier cooed, Dominic smiled happily, and the big kids relaxed and enjoyed the whole event. I'll find out in a week how the photos turned out. Can I say a prayer for a pretty family picture?

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 4)

1. Saturday: Olivia took me to a Mother's Day Tea Party with her Little Women group. The girls planned and executed the entire party (with a little help, of course.) The food was delicious and the company, wonderful! 

2. Sunday: Happy Mother's Day

Collette was chosen to crown our Blessed Mother Mary again this year. What an honor! 

Gracie can't wait for her turn next year.

After church we spent the day at Nanna and Papa's house. Grandma Ricky and Nana were there also. Truly, we had mothers practically littering the kitchen. Before the BBQ, the kids spent quite some time swimming in the spa, even Xavier! He had his own little tub.

3. Stephen surprised me on Monday with a new little point and shoot camera. He tried it out on our front gate area. Funny how a photo can make it all so picturesque up here on the mountain. 

4. Tuesday brought the snake into the chicken coop again! He was officially measured at 5.5 feet! My neighbor pulled him out of the coop this time. No, not the burly fireman; it was his petite wife.

We found the thieving snake before he had swallowed the egg. With all the commotion, he spit it out and tried to slither off. I just washed off the snake saliva and scrambled that egg for breakfast. 

This is how we collect eggs when we have visitors. 

Do you see the worried look on Grace's face? 

5. Thursday: A really bad hair day for my little girls.

6. Friday: I spent over 2 hours sitting in a chair reading fashion magazines while a very nice lady cut 5 inches off. Some thoughts: First, that is a long time for just a cut. Stephen didn't believe me when I called to let him know I was heading home. He was adamant that I had gone shopping. Next, my children threatened to cry when they saw me. Maybe I should get my hair cut more often than once a year. Finally, I am woefully out of fashion. 

7. Saturday: Out with the old...

... and in with the new (for me.)

 We can walk it like a stroller or pull it behind a bicycle. 

I am so excited to cruise the neighborhood with my little boys!

HT: Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 3)

Our Week in Review

1. We spent a beautiful Tuesday afternoon at the park playing, swinging, climbing, and creating flower sculptures with our favorite family, the Murphys. Xavier did not like the sand. His little toes would curl up and he'd start dancing and squeaking until I picked him up.

2. On Wednesday, Grace and Dominic played joyous music together on our new bell set. I have great plans for these bells. They are perfect for my non-musical family to belt out such classics as Mary had a Little Lamb and Old MacDonald.

3. Thursday had my boys hanging out on Roxaboxen. Quinton was carrying Dominic around after the snake appearance. Not because Dominic was afraid, oh no, because Dominic was going hunting for that snake. He wanted a closer look!

4. Collette is reviewing the concept of odd and even in math. Since I am eclectic in my approach to teaching, I used a little Montessori, a little Miquon, and a little gnome to cement her understanding.

5.  Thursday gifts: hair ribbons for my girls locks.

6. A Little Quote (or two)

Grace on the merits of bathtubs vs showers:
"Well, you know, bathtubs are oval and the drain is way off in the corner. So, the water rises up and stays. But the shower is square and has that drain in the middle, so the water just sprinkles right down. How am I supposed to bath in that?"

Collette on wishes:
"My first wish from the leprechaun would be to pay off the mortgage so Daddy could stay home. Then my second wish would be for landscaping for Mommy. And my third wish would be for Olivia and Quinton to go to school at Hogwarts. That third wish might take up all the leprechauns power, though."

7. Friday's Haircut: Dominic before and after.

Oh my, so much better. This haircut was accomplished with ingenious combination of lollipops, the movie Cars, and a super quick mom. We only repeat this performance once every 4 months or so.

HT: Conversion Diary

Eek!

When children start yelling and everyone congregates around the chicken coup like this:

Then you know something is up. When my squealing children finally managed to speak, the only words I got were "snake" and "eggs."

Do you see the egg in it's mouth? Or our precious eggs under the coils? Quinton assured me that it is a gopher snake. Harmless. Length: 5 feet! That is not so reassuring.

Stephen grabbed the remaining eggs and tried to remove our visitor from the coop. The snake won on that account. After crushing the egg and spitting out the shells, he slithered off for a nap by our front porch. I think this counts as science for the day.

Quinton protecting the chicks.

Our saved eggs.

In other news, we have three bats making a home on the back porch.

This is a lot of wildlife living at my home!