Garden of the Good Shepherd: Weeks 1 & 2

Our Garden of the Good Shepherd parties started off a little slow. It seems that a cold has been infecting every blogging home that I visit. Now I knew that computers could transmit viruses, I just didn't know that my children could catch them! After a week of battling stuffy noses, aching throats, and relentless coughs, we are on the mend. Hopefully, all of our Bible readings will be caught up this weekend and we'll be back on track for celebrating our 50 days of Easter.

Week One Menu
On the Pasture Green Salad (Because I just have to have to torture my children at every dinner!)
Shepherd's Pie (Made with chicken because that's what was in the house)
Shepherd's Crook Garlic Herb Bread Sticks
Sheep Popcorn (Which we made three times because they kept coming out as toasty brown little things)
Sheepfold Gates (Made with Almond cocoa butter, yum!)
Wolf Paw Cookies (This recipe is heavenly! I swear it tastes like caramel. We added almonds for the claws which was so tasty.)

The little ones made impromptu sheep decorations while I made popcorn for the up-teenth time.

I did manage to pull out our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd presentation for Good Shepherd. It was perfect! Dominic and Grace are at an ideal age for these presentations. They internalized the love of Our Lord and His connection to the shepherd who cares for his flock. It was heartwarming to watch them, oh so carefully, re-enact the Bible story. One could almost hear the Holy Spirit whispering in their ears. Well, until Xavier came rampaging by, but that is another story. :-)

Week Two Menu
Table and Chairs (We didn't do anything special because all my plans were thrown out the window when the two little boys suddenly appeared nearly naked and caked with mud from head to toe. They looked like they had just escaped from the jungle. So, the time that was going to be spent decorating was instead spent scrapping mud out of their hair. What? That doesn't happen at your house?)
Italian Easter Bread (This was so easy and tasty just like Jessica promised. We didn't dye eggs though since ours are colored year around!)
Sparkling Cranberry and Sparkling Lemonade (The kids loved the wine glasses. I think I could serve them sparkling broccoli juice and they would drink it.)
Honey and Greek Yogurt
Fruit Platter

I love Karen's idea at A Servant's Memories for doing this meal as breakfast.
We'll definitely do that next year!

Thank you, Jessica, for your bounty of inspiration! Please visit Catholic Cuisine for more ideas.

Car Wash

Can I post a Making it Count from a Making it Count post? 

Hmm, I think I shall break into unknown territory with this one. :-)

Elizabeth posted last week about her little one painting his cars. I knew two little boys that would think this was the best idea ever. I grabbed our sand and water table, set up a painting station, and demonstrated the car wash. Towels in place? Check. Smocks on? Check. Eager boys? Check!

Elizabeth's little boy painted contentedly for an hour. Now, I know all little ones are different so I didn't really expect my two hurricanes to last that long, but I was looking forward to some seriously creative quiet. However, I made such a rookie mistake- I promised them a special treat when they were done. Guess, how long they painted? 15 minutes and then they wanted their treat. It was a a fun and contented 15 minutes but sometimes someone needs to smack me upside the head. We shall try again because it was a hit with all ages, but I have promised not to name anyone older than four on the blog. ;-)

Please visit Pam Everyday Snapshots for more Making it Count inspiration.

Happy Easter

Xavier~ 2yrs

A Happy Trio

Quinton~ 12yrs

Dominic~ 4yrs

Collette~ 9yrs

Grace Anne~ 6yrs

Olivia~ 13yrs

Marie Claire~ 8mo.

He is Risen. He is Risen indeed.

Good Friday to Holy Saturday

I started looking through all of our Triduum photos, thinking that I could finish up Holy Week in one post. However, that would have been a monumental edition to my blog that taxed Grandma's patience. So, I broke it down again. Easter will follow shortly, I promise. ;-)

Holy Friday

We started the day off with hot cross buns. This is the only day of the year that I make buns from scratch so my children look forward to it annually. They even play at feeding their dolls a little wooden 'hot cross bun.' Here's the problem: my persnickety eaters will yank out every raisin. Every.One. It drives me nuts. So this year, I chopped up the raisins into itty-bitty pieces. It worked like a charm- no one pulled out even one little bit. Olivia did glower at them for a moment, but even she ate them right up and asked for more. A success, hurrah!

Yum!

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

The orange flavored icing was delightful.

We had another special dinner inspired by Jessica at Shower of Roses.

Our First Annual Good Friday Dinner

Quinton was in charge of decorating the Golgotha eggs. I loved all of the skulls!

"And they brought Him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of the skull)" 

Mark 15: 22

Everyone washed their hands at the Water Bowl

"Pilate took water and washed his hands before the crowd saying, "I am innocent of this righteous man's blood." Matthew 27: 24

Our Menu

Caesar Salad~ That works, right?

The King's Crown~ Refried Beans topped with cheese and surrounded by pointy corn chips

Out of Envy~ Guacamole and sliced avocado for the littles

The Purple Cloak~ Boysenberry fruit leathers

Crown of Thorns~ Round crackers, peanut butter, and broken cracker bits 

Golgotha Eggs~ Hard boiled eggs decorated with washable markers

The Seamless Garment~ Flour tortillas cut to look like a robe and cheese 'dice'

The Two Robbers~ Two carrot sticks and two spinach leaves

 (I was trying to get as many veggies as possible into them!)

Vinegar to Drink~ Everyone tasted a spoonful of balsamic vinegar

The Temple Curtain~ We ripped napkins, too

The Roman Centurion~ I did Roma tomatoes but Stephen was the only to eat them

Empty Tomb~ Zucchini muffins with a bit of jelly in the middle

After spending the afternoon at church venerating the cross and praying at the solemn Good Friday service as the Passion was retold, this felt like a bit too much of a feast. Now, my children loved it, really loved it. So I am torn. As an adult, I am drawn to the quiet, the prayer, the reflection, the fast. However, my children truly seemed to connect more deeply to the story of Our Lord's suffering and sacrifice through these meals, even the very little ones. Something to ponder for next year.

Holy Saturday

This is our traditional day to prepare and decorate. I encouraged the older two to look up means of naturally dying Easter eggs. Quinton and Olivia tried a blueberry dye and an onion peel dye. The blueberry one was only ho-hum gray but the onion peel ones were gorgeous! We'll definitely do more of these next time.

Of course, there was also the standard food coloring eggs. I really do love them as they are simple and beautiful and remind me of my own childhood. However, I am such a curmodgeon that I set the timer and make the kids wait while the eggs dye to a nice deep color. Why am I such a pill? Well, they are prettier but it also keeps my little ones from flying through a dozen lightly tinted eggs in two minutes flat.

No one was harmed in this exercise of patience. 

Missy Girl wanted to stick her hands in all the glasses of gorgeous colors.

After all the dying, we cleaned up and began decorating the Lamb cake. Actually the children watched while I spent the better part of the afternoon huddled over the cake. The children were threatened with beatings if they dared to touch it. Okay, not beatings but I did shake my finger sternly at them and Xavier had to be banished from the countertop because he kept trying to lick off the tail. The little ones had fun decorating cupcakes with all of the leftover frosting and everyone helped to make nests for the jelly bean eggs. The evening was spent reading Holy Week picture books with the children and trying to recapture the quiet.

“Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness.  A great stillness because the King is asleep.  The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and has raised up all who have slept since the world began… ” I order you, O sleeper, to awake.  I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell.  Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead.” (Liturgy of the Hours, Holy Saturday)

On to the joy of Easter!

Bunnies

My lovely Olivia made these sweet little bunnies for all of her siblings' Easter baskets. I am trying hard to encourage her to 'do it' rather than just surf around craft blogs gathering other's ideas. She came through wonderfully!

Inspired by: elsie marley's quick little bunny tutorial

These were made for all the girlies. Marie likes to chew on hers.

Inspired by: Craft Passion Bunny Sachet

Olivia stuffed her's with rice so that the boys could throw them around, because you know that is exactly what they would do!

Sarah @ Amongst Lovely Things, thank you for the little encouragement to get it done!