A Slice of Smith Life

Touchdown Treats for Super Bowl!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

2 years ago and before I started my blog here, I made these easy and yummy football treats for the Super Bowl party our family attended. I'm sorry I can't remember where I got the idea from so I can't give credit where credit is due. But, they are just Rice Krispie Marshmallow Treats made with Cocoa Krispies vs. the plain Rice Krispie. Then you roll each one into a football shape and put white icing on them for the stripes.
Cute and easy and sure to be a hit at your Super Bowl party! They were a hit at ours!

It's a new month at No Ordinary Blog Hop which means more link-ups and new beautiful blog buttons that you can grab!

Wordless Wednesday: Flower Power

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:21:00 +0000

This past week, my 7 year old daughter slipped away for some time in between her homschool lessons and surprised me with this beautiful creation! :) The petals are material from a lei that fell apart and she stuck a pom pom in the center with green chenille stems. So sweet and beautiful, don't you think?

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

A new month at No Ordinary Blog Hop which means more link-ups and new beautiful blog buttons!

Feeding the Hungry

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:19:00 +0000

Wow! What a week it has been! It was a blessing to go to the March for Life last week (has it already been a week since the March in D.C.?), but it's always a challenge to get home from a short/long trip and get back into the routine. I felt like last week I was playing "catch up" after I got home, especially since life never stands still when you go away for a bit!

This afternoon our homeschool group volunteered again with a local inner city homeless ministry. Our homeschool group provides food and serves the food whenever there is a 5th Sunday in the month. There are volunteers every Sunday at a well-known spot downtown and our homeschool group was blessed to be a part of the food preparation and serving today. We had adults and children ranging from age 7 to teens helping out, including my three oldest "cupcakes" and myself. After the preacher talked with the men, women, and children during an informal church service under an open-air pavilion, they were invited to eat a warm, home-made meal provided by many families and volunteers.

Today we made and served Southwest Chicken and here is the recipe (sorry I forgot to take pictures of this yummy and easy dish)

Southwest Chicken:

4 chicken breasts
1-2 jars of salsa
2 -3 cups cooked rice
grated cheddar cheese for topping (1-2 cups)

The chicken can be cooked the day before in a crock pot or that morning on the stove.

Place chicken breasts in a crock pot and add 1-2 jars of salsa, enough to cover the meat and provide a bit extra. Cook on low for eight hours, until the chicken is done, then shred the the meat with two forks (very easy to do when the chicken has been cooking all day).
Mix in 2-3 cups of cooked rice. Place in disposal serving pan, top liberally with cheese.
Heat through, until cheese is melted.
This recipe is very forgiving. It was originally intended to be burrito filling. You can add in corn or beans, more rice or salsa... whatever you want; it all tastes good. You can also use any precooked chicken that you have- just chop it into small pieces first.

Some families also made Baked Apples which was also a hit!

I am always impressed by how friendly and gracious the people are as we feed them. Many of them thank us over and over again for our service. As the volunteers, we are blessed in many ways also by serving in this ministry.
Here are more photos from our afternoon of helping those who always look forward to a warm, home-made meal, a helping hand, and a friendly smile.

Matthew 25:35-40 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome
lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me."
Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you?
When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?"
And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."

Capturing March for Life 2012 in My Own Words/Photos/Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:41:00 +0000

A few days before leaving for the 39th annual March for Life 2012, I thought of this phrase....

Why do we March for L.I.F.E.?

Life Is For Everyone!

Last year my family and I attended our first March for Life and I blogged about this incredible experience HERE. This year, my daughter, friends, and I joined a parish in Rocky Mount, NC and traveled to our second march on buses. There were three large buses filled with 150 people from Rocky Mount and surrounding areas.

We left early Monday morning, January 23, 2012 at 6:00 AM from Rocky Mount, NC to our nation's Capitol for the annual March for Life rally to protest the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the legalization of abortion. Our first stop when we arrived was the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

As soon as we got off the bus, I had a friend snap this picture of my daughter and me standing with Fr. Tim Meares, priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rocky Mount. Fr. Meares has been on many marches and we were all blessed with this holy priest's presence during our trip.

Here is most of our group with all the bright yellow scarves:

Each year there is a Holy Mass for Life for all the N.C. pro-lifers present at the march. It is just so beautiful to see the many priests and seminarians and our two bishops from the Raleigh and Charlotte Diocese celebrate Mass with the packed church.

Although I missed celebrating this march with my husband and other three children, it was very special to have my daughter with me to share such a powerful event. It's never too early to teach our children that life, no matter how small, is precious and sacred.

Down in the Crypt Church of the Basilica, I found Cameron Smith's artwork (No relation to me). Cameron and his family are in our homeschool group and are dear friends. He has incredible God- given talent and he did a painting on marble of Saint Maron and and Our Lady of Lebanon for the Maronite chapel and these beautiful masterpieces are located in one of the many side altars. You can visit Cameron's website HERE to see his other beautiful prints to view/purchase.

The weatherman called for 90% chance of rain in the afternoon and after we left the Basilica it was drizzling, but then it stopped during the march. The sky was gray and gloomy, but the spirits were high which made the day much brighter for sure.

After our group gathered at the Navy Memorial, we marched with an estimated 300,000-500,000 pro-lifers. It's hard to know the exact number, but based on previous year's estimations, I'm guessing this many people might have attended this year's march. There were men, women, and children from all ages, races, religions, and walks of life joining together to stand for life one step and prayer at a time. It was breathtaking, exhilarating, and powerful to walk among the masses. There was a sea of love, as one friend put it. There was no anger, fear, or hate in the crowds. Rather, there was a feeling of security, hope, peace, joy, and love and all the young people present gave me hope for our future.
Here is a video clip I took while walking in the march. The young people are shouting, "We love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how 'bout you!"

Speaking of our young generation, here are a few beautiful teens that I know from my homeschool group. They and about 13 others came to the march and are part of our local Teens for Life group. Not only are they shining witnesses for life, but they also love spreading the message of life with bright smiles and duct tape! Awesome!

Like last year, I love all the signs that float through the massive crowds Here is a slideshow of some signs that I saw:

At one point while we were walking we noticed two businessmen watching from high above the crowds from their office windows. We were waving at them to get their attention and they waved back. I wanted to be up there to witness from their vantage point the hundreds of thousands marching. I was wondering what they were thinking? Were they encouraged as pro-lifers themselves? Maybe they were in awe of the crowd, despite being pro-choice? Maybe they were wondering how the news media could continue to miss this BIG story about March for Life each year? Maybe they were amazed that so many people could come together peacefully? Whatever they were thinking or feeling, we as pro-lifers might have planted seeds in their hearts to always defend life!

Here are photos of the crowds. Like last year's march, I never saw the beginning or the end of the march and I hear the numbers who attend gets higher and higher!

One of my friends from our group had this to say about the march. "We joined in the march at 2:00 PM. It was shuffle, shuffle, stop. Repeat. On the hill itself, it was so crowded that we had to make full stops about 7 times. From the bottom of the hill to the top where the route turns on First Street to the Supreme Court, it was packed. I didn't see any gaps. We were like sardines. If you had claustrophobia, you would've felt it at the National Archives. The official end of the March came at about 4 PM with the fife and drum and bagpipe corps of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, who run the America Needs Fatima campaign, marching behind Our Lady of Fatima statue. They always bring up the rear."

We stopped at the Congressional Building for a small reception and to listen to our NC Senator, Richard Burr, speak. We also listened to Congresswoman Renee Ellmers. Both gave the audience words of encouragement to keep marching on to defend life.

After we left the Senate building, we headed toward the Supreme Court where we listened to women tell their stories about how they had an abortion and how much they have suffered physically, mentally, physcologically, emotionally, and spiritually from their decision. It was heartbreaking to hear their stories, but they share their stories to help others through a project called Silent No More Awareness Campaign.

A few feet from where the women were speaking there were different signs that were being held up. It didn't even register in my mind that these signs were not like the ones I was blessed to see all day during the march. No, seeing these signs made me sad...because these women's stories were filled with pain, grief, sadness, confusion and even hope, but only a few feet away pro-abortion signs were being held up proudly. I snapped a picture of signs that read "Keep Abortion Legal" and the pro-life signs that read "Defund Planned Parenthood" and "Face It....Abortion Kills a Person". My 11 year old daughter didn't understand why anyone would want to keep abortion legalized. She kept asking me "why?" I told her I don't understand it myself, but we need to keep standing up for life and praying for conversions so that all people will see that each human person is made in the image and likeness of God and each life, no matter how small, no matter the circumstance, is sacred and valuable.

I conclude this year's March for Life with this video and quotes by Mother Teresa:

"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters"
And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign." (Mother Theresa -- "Notable and Quotable," Wall Street Journal, 2/25/94, p. A14)

"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love - that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. "

"Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted, and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child, and be loved by the child. From our children's home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over 3,000 children from abortions. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopting parents, and have grown up so full of love and joy!"

February 1997 - National Prayer Breakfast in Washington attended by the President and the First Lady. "What is taking place in America," she said, "is a war against the child. And if we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another."

"Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants."

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

Why do we March for L.I.F.E.?

because Life Is For Everyone!

Marching for Life this Monday, 1/23/12

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:03:00 +0000

Last year our family went to the March for Life for the first time and what an incredible experience we had! This year, I will be going with my 11 year old daughter and some friends to march on in Washington, D.C. to mark the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade court decision that legalized the killing of innocent lives and has destroyed so many.

I look forward to posting about our march this year that will take place this Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. But, until then, I will leave you with these two posts that I published last year regarding "who" we are marching for and my family's first march experience...We shall overcome someday!

This is "Who" we will be marching for at March for Life

Our First March for Life: In My Own Words and Photos

Show off My Work Wednesday: "H" is for House and "I" is for Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:34:00 +0000

Last week I forgot to post another "H" activity I did with my 4 year old "cupcake". I got this H house idea at Crafts N Things.

This week for our Alphabet Boxes we are doing the long "Ii" sound and my daughter made the letters with craft sticks and dotted the lower case "i" with a purple pom pom.

She also made ice cream with colored pom poms and a cone with craft sticks and glue. My 7 year old daughter enjoyed making a cone too! Yum! :)

She thought it would be funny to act like she was eating her ice cream :)

Craft stick cone

Ice Cream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream! :)

Autistic Girl Expresses Unimaginable Intelligence

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:13:00 +0000

This is an amazing video about an amazing young girl with autism that I thought was worth sharing! It must give all those that care for autistic children such insight and hope!

Crazy for Coupons and "H" is for Horse!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:36:00 +0000

I haven't posted since last week partly due to the fact that I have been busy saving money with coupons which has turned into making some extra money also since I have started teaching my "Smith's Savings" Coupon Workshops to teach others how to save money!

My "official" title is an Independent Coupon Consultant with Delly's Deals. I had my first workshop this past Saturday and I was so excited to teach to the 24 people that attended. It was alot of fun and just yesterday I received this email from a lady who took my workshop:

"Tracy,

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I cannot thank you enough for all of the valuable information that you shared with us on Saturday. I put it to work yesterday afternoon on my trip to HT [Harris Teeter]. I broke one of the golden rules and did buy a few things that I didn’t have coupons for but they were necessities.

I just wanted to share with you that applying the tips/knowledge that you had shared on Saturday I had a total SAVINGS of $130.37! My total bill was $206.52 after my savings. It was AMAZING!!!! I can’t wait to continue watching the savings come in (so to speak)! And believe me, I’ve been telling everyone I know! Everyone at work! E-mailing friends out of town. Sharing with family! It truly is AWESOME!!! BTW – The Binder is AMAZING! It is fabulous how everything is right there at your finger tips and I’m not fumbling thru my white business envelope anymore. I would advise everyone I know or anyone interested in beginning to coupon to get the Binder! It truly is an asset!"

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge with me (and the rest of the group) on Saturday."

Wow! I was so happy to receive the lady's email and just so happy that my workshop helped her save so much money! 63%! Awesome!

The binder she is referring to is an exclusive Delly's Deals product and like I told the ladies at my workshop, some people have a security blanket, I have a security binder! The binder goes with me every time I'm in a grocery store. It allows me to see all my coupons by aisle to maximize my savings at the register and has allowed me to save 50% or more each time I check out!

This past week at Harris Teeter, it was a special coupon week since all coupons $1.98 or less double. Harris Teeter doubles coupons everyday up to 99 cents, but every 6 weeks or so they have the special coupon weeks where the high dollar coupons will double! So $1.00 off coupons double to $2.00 off coupons, $1.50 off coupons double to $3.00 off! Awesome!

Last night I went shopping again during Super Double week and got these groceries that totaled $55.58 before store sales and coupons.

But, with store sales and coupons I paid...(drum roll)

$7.82 !!!!!

The Smart Balance milk was free because it was on sale for 2 for $3.00 and I had (2) $1.50 off coupons for the milk. During Super Doubles week the $1.50 doubles to $3.00 off making each milk FREE!

Now that's what I call low prices....Always! ;)

Being crazy for coupons saves lots of money!

OK, now it's time to step out of coupon world and back into the world of homeschooling...Last week I continued my Alphabet Boxes with my 4 year old and we were on the letter "H" so we did the following activities.

Making letter "H" with dot paint markers. I got this idea for the Hh dots from Our Crafts N Things who got the templates from Confessions of a Homeschooler

She decorated this Hh template with foam hearts and stamped houses and horses. I get all my letter templates like this from Alphabuddies Alphabet Section at DLTK.Kids

She loved making horses from her handprints and she colored the feet with red "hoof" polish ;)

Happy Shopping, Saving, and Schooling!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Family's Most Beautiful Christmas Gift!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:22:00 +0000

On Christmas morning 2011, our family woke up to another one of God's masterpieces in the sky. My husband snapped these photos in our backyard. What a beautiful, priceless Christmas gift from our Creator!

Happy New Year with Mary and Epiphany!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

In the Catholic Church, January 1st is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Many are not comfortable calling Jesus' mother, the Mother of God. Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosi has an interesting article titled, Mary, Mother of God?, which discusses how this title of our Blessed Mother came to be and the history behind it.

I always enjoy attending Mass on New Years Day as a family to set the new year off right. We went to the vigil Mass tonight at 5 PM since we knew we would be out late ringing in the new year with friends. So we played Wii games with 2 other families and then rang in the new year with glasses of champagne and the kids had sparkling grape juice (out of real wine glasses!) :) They loved it!

This weekend our homeschool group will have our annual Epiphany party. We have a get together after the Christmas rush and it's nice to come together in fun and fellowship just before the second half of our school year begins. I'll be bringing the frankincense and myrrh that Anna-Marie at Life's Adventures posted about and then she sent me some in the mail. I look forward to bringing these nativity gifts to our Epiphany party! Thank you Anna-Marie for your thoughtfulness! For a great article about the Epiphany feast day be sure to read The Epiphany Revealed !

May you have a blessed 2012!

What are the 12 Days of Christmas?

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:54:00 +0000

Although the calendar says December 26 and the Christmas carols are no longer playing on the radio and in stores, it is still Christmas! Christmas begins on Christmas Day and continues for 12 more days until the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6, when the Magi visit the Christ Child and bring Him gifts.

So did you know that the famous Christmas song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas", celebrates the beginning of the Christmas season, Christmas Day, in the liturgical calendar and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany? Many mistakenly believe that the 12 days refers to the 12 days prior to the celebration of Christmas Day.

On our Christmas tree we have this beautiful ornament of a partridge in a pear tree that was given to my husband and me by an aunt who has since passed away. We treasure this gift from our loved one and it wasn't until I started researching about the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" that I realized that there is some controversy surrounding what the partridge in the pear tree symbolized, as well as the other items mentioned in the song.

Several years ago, I read that "The Twelve Days of Christmas" has religious symbolism and according to Father Edward Dowling in the article, "The Real Meaning of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was written to educate the faithful in the doctrines of the faith and yet not be obvious to the persecutors. The numbers are simply a mnemonic to help Catholics remember some basic facts. Recall the words of the song. “On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: twelve lords a leaping, eleven pipers piping, ten ladies dancing, nine drummers drumming, eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.”

Father Dowling's article then lists what each phrase of the song means as a way for Catholic Christians to remember the doctrines of the faith:

“My true love” refers to God, “me” is the individual Catholic.

The “twelve lords a leaping” are the twelve basic beliefs of the Catholic Church as outlined in the Apostles Creed.

The “eleven pipers piping” are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful after the treachery of Judas.

The “ten ladies dancing” are the Ten Commandments.

The “nine drummers drumming” are the nine choirs of angels which in those days of class distinction were thought important.

The “eight maids a milking” are the Eight Beatitudes.

The “seven swans a swimming” are the Seven Sacraments.

The “six geese a laying” are the Six Commandments of the Church or the six days of creation.

The “five golden rings” are the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah which are generally considered the most sacred and important of all the Old Testament.

The “four calling birds” are the Four Gospels.

The “three French hens” are the Three Persons in God or the three gifts of the Wise Men.

The “two turtle doves” represent the two natures in Jesus: human and divine or the two Testaments, Old and New.

The “partridge” is the piece de resistance, Jesus himself, and the “pear tree” is the Cross.

It wasn't until I did a search on the internet about "The Twelve Days of Christmas" that I realized that the religious symbolism behind the song is thought to be fiction. For example, Snopes states that the song was NOT created as a "coded reference to important articles of the Christian faith." Then Snopes goes into detail why some claim this to be false. "The Twelve Days of Christmas", according to many articles that I have read, might have been mixed up with another song titled, "A New Dial" which dates to at least 1625 and assigns religious meanings to each day of the 12 days of Christmas.

After reading many articles about the real meaning of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" song I'm not sure if the song has religious symbolism or not since it appears there is no sound proof for it to be true or false.

What do you think? Have you heard about the religious symbolism in "The Twelve Days of Christmas"? Were you aware of the differences of opinions in whether or not the song was created as a type of catechism during a time of persecution? I think this is a fascinating topic and would love to hear what others think about it.

There are many parodies that have come from "The Twelve Days of Christmas" song and I would like to conclude this post with 2 variations that you may have never heard, but I found them to be fun and entertaining.

The first video is titled "The Twelve Days of Homeschooling" which I found funny as a homeschool mom myself to my four children.

This second video is the group Straight No Chaser singing a creative and entertaining version called "12 Days of Christmas Medley".

On this first day of Christmas, I wish you a Merry Christmas!

I recently read Tiffany's plans that she did for all the 12 days of Christmas and it was all just so beautiful and impressive so I am linking to Tiffany's page, Catholic 12 Days of Christmas, over at Family At The Foot Of The Cross for my own future reference and to share the lovely ideas that Tiffany has done with her family during this holy season! Maybe one year I will be able to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas as beautifully as she did! Thanks Tiffany!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:13:00 +0000

Each year since our children were very small, we have decorated a birthday cake for Jesus and we sing "Happy Birthday" to Him on Christmas Day. My children and their cousins love to sprinkle (dump) lots of sprinkles and multi-colored sugar crystals on the cake. Then we place a small plastic manger with baby Jesus in it in the middle of the cake. Here is a picture of our oldest Cupcake decorating a cake when she was 2 1/2 years old:

Here are pictures of my Cupcakes and cousins decorating away a few years ago:

serious shot

silly shot

Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!

He's on His Way !

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:58:00 +0000

This poster image for the 2010 campaign, Baby Scan Jesus, is from ChurchAds.org

Today my cupcakes and I will be visiting the nursing home that our homeschool group visits each month. It has been a hectic week, but I'm so glad we have the opportunity to brighten someone's Christmas season with our presence, smiles, singing voices, and cards!

As our family celebrates Jesus' birth this weekend, we want to wish you a blessed and merry CHRISTmas and a happy and blessed new year!

Homemade Gingerbread Cookies and Christmas Posts from the Past

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:35:00 +0000

Today we had 2 friends who homeschool with us come over to play with my cupcakes. While the friends were here we made gingerbread cookies (from scratch :) ). I've never made gingerbread before, but it was a sticky and yummy good time! I also did some gingerbread activities last week in my post Moon Cookies and "G" is for Gingerbread. Here are photos from our gingerbread day:

Molasses!

For a Gingerbread Scratch and Sniff Paint Activity, check out Catholic Icing's post HERE!

I thought I would also list posts from last year of activities that we did as a family during this fun time of year as we prepare for Christmas. I wasn't able to do all these activities this year. For example, I can't find the big bag of LifeSavers like I found last year for the LifeSaver ornaments, so we haven't made them yet this year :( Maybe I'll find some soon! Enjoy!

LifeSaver Ornaments

Our "Handy" CHRISTmas Tree Skirt

"Bua Bark" and Sweet Pretzel Treats for Christmas Gifts

Silverware Stockings

Valentine Candy Canes and Christmas Crackers!

Happy Birthday Jesus Cake!

Thank You "My Heart's Desire Creations" for my New Blog Makeover!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:09:00 +0000

When I started blogging in June 2010, I taught myself through many hours of trial and error how to design my blog and write posts. There was always something new to learn about the blogging world and I loved starting from scratch to get my blog up and running...but it did take alot of time!

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you might notice things look a bit different with my blog design now vs. my original look that I created. This was my old blog header created by Lynda at My Heart's Desire Creations. I loved this new look when Lynda surprised me with it several months ago!

After seeing all the beautiful blog makeovers that Lynda has worked on so far, I thought I would treat myself and my blog to a new look! I knew I didn't have the time to spend several more hours redesigning my blog and I knew my friend Lynda is so talented with blog designs so I asked her to update my blog's look and what a great job she did, don't you think?

Lynda changed my blog header that includes the cool scroll of all the cakes I have made for my "cupcakes". She also changed the background color and "cleaned" up my blog a bit by including scrolls to store favorite sites!

My original blog button that I designed looked like this:

Here is my new blog button designed by Lynda:

Lynda made many other changes too to get the look I wanted and I am very happy with how it all turned out! What do you think?

If you would like to see more great examples of Lynda's work on other blogs, be sure to check out her My Heart's Desire Creations page HERE.

For pricing for products/services and to fill out a Design Request Form you can visit Lynda's page HERE.

If you are interested in starting a new blog with Blogger or would like to change the look of an existing blog, I highly recommend Lynda to do the job! She listened to what I wanted and was easy to work with when I wanted to change things around to get the perfect look.

Thank You Lynda at My Heart's Desire Creations for my great new blog look just in time for the new year!

Moon Cookies and "G" is for Gingerbread

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:15:00 +0000

So what does the moon and cookies have in common?

The answer: The cookies can look like the moon phases and make for a special and yummy homeschool lesson as we continue our Apologia Astronomy studies this year.

Since this is our last week in our homeschool before Christmas, I thought my "cupcakes" and I would enjoy a break from the usual book routine and do this idea that I have read from different sources.

As we discussed the phases of the moon, each child used a plastic knife to scrape the cookie icing to make it look like the particular phase.

I then had them draw and label each phase on paper.

So by the end of their lesson their paper looked like this:

This week, my 4 year old cupcake was learning about the "G" as in Gingerbread as we continue our Preschool Alphabet Boxes. It was perfect timing to do fun gingerbread activities since Christmas is just around the corner! So I printed off pages from a December issue of The Mailbox magazine that had an activity to measure the Area and Perimeter of a gingerbread picture. We used raisins, marshmallows, and chocolate chips and each child recorded their findings. The cupcakes couldn't wait to count their treats, record, and then eat some of them! Here are pictures from the activity.

My 4 year old was content to just color her gingerbread and decorate him with chocolate chips...

She also liked playing with the marshmallows and was having fun with the sticky treats...

She ate a few treats too!

Each year it's a family tradition to put together a gingerbread house. A pre-packaged gingerbread house that is! :)

So while my hubby was gluing the walls with the sugary icing....

...I had my children sort the hard candy into colors to keep them busy and to try to keep them from eating all the decorations!

Then it was time to have fun to decorate the house...

And here is the house all done!

The proud artists...

The hungry artists...

The silly artists...

For a Gingerbread Scratch and Sniff Paint Activity, check out Catholic Icing's post HERE!

So far we have enjoyed our last week in the 2011 school year as we anxiously and joyfully await the celebration of Jesus' birth!

Today is Saint Lucy Feast Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:05:00 +0000

Feast Day: December 13
Born: 283 :: Died: 304

Today, December 13th, is St. Lucy feast day. Lucy's name means "light", with the same root as "lucid" which means "clear, radiant, understandable." If you do not know about this young, beautiful saint you can read more about her here. My oldest daughter especially loves this feast day because it is a Swedish tradition that the oldest daughter in the family wears a white dress with a red sash (red symbolizes martyrdom) and she wears a St. Lucy crown with candles on it. The daughter serves sweet rolls to family members. We will be having cinnamon rolls for breakfast which I know everyone will devour :)

This year we will start a new tradition and our family will pile into our van and look at all the Christmas lights (since it is the feast of lights). I got this great idea from Jen at her blog post HERE. Well, that is if our van gets out of the shop in time...our van is getting an early Christmas present, but we aren't...a new transmission and it's the third one in 11 years!!!!!!!)

Lacy at Catholic Icing has a beautiful post with ideas and resources to celebrate St. Lucy's feast day so be sure to check out her wonderful blog.

Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:47:00 +0000

Every December 12 there is a special feast day celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe.

If you are not familiar with this image and the story surrounding its origin, I encourage you to read here, where it explains how the Mother of God first appeared to a poor farmer named Juan Diego on December 9, 1531 in Mexico. ( If you click on the links above, they will take you to a summary for younger children. I am sharing this link to share with my own children, but it also does a nice job of summarizing Juan Diego's life changing experience in a simple and short way.)

The image above was what appeared on Juan Diego's tilma when the bouquet of roses cascaded down from Juan Diego's cloak as he was showing others who were skeptical about his story.

A few years ago our family went to Mass to celebrate this feast day at a church named "Our Lady of Guadalupe".
The altar was filled with hundreds and hundreds of roses and was so beautiful. When our Blessed Mother appeared to Juan Diego at the hill of Tepeyac, there was a field of roses where roses did not bloom naturally before or during the season of winter. Hence, when people celebrate this feast day, many decorate their homes and churches with roses.

After Mass one year we went to a Mexican restaurant with 6 adults and 13 children! (3 families total). I brought a candle with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on it and burned it during our dinner to help celebrate such a special outing with family and friends.

We enjoy reading The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola each year because Juan Diego's story about how he was blessed by Mary's presence is too miraculous not to share with my children. When I read this book, I am always so impressed by the great faith and persistence Juan Diego had even when others doubted his story and experience.

We also watch the CCC video, Juan Diego-Messanger of Guadalupe, sometime between St. Juan Diego's feast on December 9 and Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast day on December 12.

The image from Juan Diego's tilma is on display in Mexico and has not deteriorated since the 1500s when the image first appeared. There are many other miraculous facts about this image. To read some of these facts, you can read the post, "Little Known Facts About Our Lady of Guadalupe".

You can also read "Our Lady of Guadalupe ‘completely beyond' scientific explanation, says researcher", which is an article that explains how researchers to this day say "there is no scientific explanation for the 478 years of high quality-preservation of the Tilma or for the miracles that have occurred to ensure its preservation. "

Top 115 Parenting Blog and If Mary and Joseph Used Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:02:00 +0000

I just found out that my blog here was voted one of 115 Top Parenting Blogs for eCollege Finder!

I was very excited to be included on the list of great blogs! I wrote a post HERE telling about my nomination and encouraging student parents to keep working hard! I'm thrilled to be on the list with 2 great blogging buddies, Lynda at My Heart's Desire, and Anna-Marie at (Our) Life's Adventures. To check out their blogs and the many other eCollege Finder's Top Parenting Blogs go HERE. Thank You eCollege Finder!

As we enter the third Sunday of Advent (also known as Gaudete Sunday when we light the pink candle) I thought it would be fun to share this creative and fun video "If Mary and Joseph Used Facebook". REJOICE!

Review of Color Me Catholic: New Roman Missal Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:05:00 +0000

I was given the privilege to receive a free download of the new Color Me Catholic: New Roman Missal Edition craft kit in exchange for a review. Color Me Catholic craft kit was created by Monica at Arma Dei, Equipping Catholic Families. Since I wanted to learn the new Roman Missal with my children that just began on the first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 27, 2011, I was excited to be able to review a product that would help my family learn about the new changes and responses.

The full collection of booklets (there are 10 small booklets in all) are created by downloading the black and white images and then printing them from your computer. The pictures below shows the cover and the back of the folder that holds the booklets which was colored by one of my children.

The folder holds the entire collection of 10 booklets as shown here:

As stated on the product page the kit includes: Instructions and templates to create 10 mini-booklets, each offering 8 mini coloring pages of treasured Vessels, Vestments & Symbols, Church Furnishings, Parts of the Mass and Sacraments & Sacramentals plus 8 pages of phrases from the New Roman Missal Mass in sequential order.
A template is also included to create a folder to hold the booklets.

The full collection allows for exposure to most of the text of the Mass (especially all the "People's Parts") and many images, easily reviewed over 10 Masses. Why not re-circulate the booklets for the next 10 Masses, for even better familiarity, getting kids to look and listen during Mass?

The instructions were clear, but a great amount of concentration was needed in order to make sure I was printing the pages correctly and folding and cutting correctly. I had a few questions for Monica about the assembly, but she was always prompt with her replies and so helpful so that I could begin using the booklets. I would highly recommend viewing the YouTube tutorial video also which can be found on the left side of the product page HERE.

Once I printed all the booklets out, I had my children color a section of the booklet as we discussed the images and read over the Mass texts. Here are some of my children coloring as we discussed each booklet.

My thoughts: I enjoy using Monica's product with my children. These Mass booklets are a perfect size for little hands and material is covered a little at a time to keep children's attention without being too overwhelming. My children will be using these booklets and coloring them a little at a time as we review the Mass responses. I will be using Color Me Catholic: New Roman Missal Edition as weekly guides to teach during our religion classes during our homeschool days. I think the more we use them the more familiar our family will be with the new mass responses, which is the intention of the product.

If you would like to read another review about this product, be sure to go to Laura's blog at Day by Day in our World and read her review HERE.

Jennifer also wrote a review at Crafolic.

Disclaimer ~ I was provided with a copy of Color Me Catholic: New Roman Missal Edition! to facilitate this review. No monetary compensation occurred and all opinions are my own.

Explaining the Immaculate Conception to Kids (and Adults): 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:22:00 +0000

Picture drawn by Lacy at Catholic Icing

Colored by my daughter, Cupcake #1

Thank you Lacy at Catholic Icing for another great free resource about the Catholic faith! Here is an explanation by Lacy about her beautiful drawing on the Immaculate Conception:

Symbolism in this picture includes Mary in the womb of St. Anne (wearing her signature veil). St. Anne and Mary both have their backs turned towards the apple tree to visually state that Mary was conceived without original sin. There are 3 beams of light coming down from the sun that stand for the trinity. Also, the snake (Satan) is unhappy about what has happened here.

On Dec. 8, Catholics around the world celebrate another beautiful feast day, the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. What does this mean? Many Catholics and non-Catholics mistakenly think that this day celebrates when Mary miraculously conceived Jesus, however this feast day refers to Mary being conceived without original sin.
There are so many great articles and resources to explain this doctrine. One article I found, "Advent- The Immaculate Conception", does a beautiful job on how to explain such a teaching to young children. I include the link to the article for myself to refer back to for my children, but if you have time to read it, I hope you too will be blessed by it in some way. Today also concludes the Immaculate Conception Novena that I blogged about HERE.

Here is a short video with a priest explaining the Immaculate Conception:

I plan to let my children watch another great CCC movie titled, Bernadette-The Princess of Lourdes . See below for an explanation from the CCC website about the graces this beautiful young girl received from God and our Blessed Mother in 1858...

BERNADETTE - THE PRINCESS OF LOURDES
It’s February 11, 1858. Three girls from Lourdes, France, gather firewood in front of a grotto. Suddenly one of them, Bernadette Soubirous, 14, drops to her knees, gazes ecstatically at something beautiful only she can see, and starts to pray. Soon the town buzzes: Has Bernadette, poor, sickly, and always behind in school, really seen a Lady from Heaven? The police chief is angry, the pastor busy, and the crowd amused, but Bernadette is calm and brave. Then a spring bubbles up from nowhere and withered arms and sightless eyes are cured. At last, the Lady tells Bernadette her name: “I am The Immaculate Conception.”
BERNADETTE, THE PRINCESS OF LOURDES, is the exciting true story of a visit by the Queen of Heaven that left all the world a source of health for body and soul.

Then on Thursday, Dec. 9, we will celebrate Saint Juan Diego's feast day by watching the CCC video, Juan Diego-Messenger of Guadalupe. See below for a summary from CCC about this video and Juan Diego's true story.

JUAN DIEGO - MESSENGER OF GUADALUPE
In 1591 Juan Diego found himself between two worlds…that of the Spanish conquerors and that of his own Aztec heritage. Because of his love for his people and his strong faith, Juan Diego turned to Jesus and His Mother, Mary for help in uniting his people. The answer to Juan Diego’s prayers has become one of the greatest events in the history of the Americas.
JUAN DIEGO, MESSENGER OF GUADALUPE is the true story of how the Blessed Mother chose a hero for a key role in a beautiful miracle that would united diverse peoples and change the course of history.
In the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City the miracle of the tilma of Juan Diego may still be seen, just as it was seen by the bishop in 1531.

Lacy at Catholic Icing has a great post on the feast day of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe here. I love all the resources she has for this feast day! (can you tell I am a BIG fan of Lacy's site and CCC with all my links to them? )

I can't say enough good things about CCC and their saints and heroes 11 DVD collection and all their other resources! My children watch these DVDs over and over again no matter what feast day it is!

Celebrating St. Nicholas' Feast Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:06:00 +0000

One of the joys of being a Catholic is the gift to celebrate so many wonderful feast days, especially during the month of December. For a list of all the lovely feast days in Decemeber with great links, be sure to visit Jessica's post HERE at Shower of Roses.

Not only does our family get to anticipate the celebration of Jesus' birth at the end of this month, but during Advent, we remember some of the lives of those that have been holy role models that have passed on our faith.

On December 6th we celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas, a favorite saint in our home.

Who is St. Nicholas? Find out more HERE.
If you would like to know more about St. Nicholas and the origin of Santa Claus, click HERE.
A great link for tons of great information about St. Nicholas, be sure to visit St. Nicholas Center (dot) org.

It is a tradition in many households to set out your shoes by the fireplace or door so that St. Nicholas will leave small treats in the shoes to represent how St. Nicholas long ago showed God's love to others by leaving money for those in need. We have our shoes ready by our fireplace again this year. Here are our shoes from a few years back that were filled with chocolate gold coins and candy canes. The candy canes symbolize St. Nicholas' staff that he carried as Bishop of Myra. This year, my children will receive this Playmobil St. Nick and Angel set that I found at Catholic Child and a new nativity from Catholic Child as well. They will also find their gold chocolate coins covered with pictures of St. Nicholas that I printed from Shower of Roses.

Last week our homeschool group got together to celebrate the giving spirit of St. Nicholas by assembling 25 Christmas bags for children who are in poor housing conditions or homeless. The students in our group stuffed the bags with packaged cookies and candy, pencils, religious Christmas stickers, and a small Nativity set. We also collected gently used coats to donate to children and adults who are in need of them this winter. Here are some pictures of our homeschool group honoring St. Nicholas' giving spirit.

Another fun way we celebrate and remember how Saint Nicholas shared God's love is by watching a CCC DVD titled, "Nicholas, The Boy Who Became Santa".

My family loves the CCC company and their award winning animated films DVD collection. We have all their Saints and Heroes DVDs and my children watch these short and inspiring stories over and over again! I enjoy watching them too and I'm learning so much about our faith along with my children! I highly recommend CCC as an excellent resource for teaching our faith to children young and old!

It is a blessing to be able to tell my children about St. Nicholas and focus on the sacredness of this joyous season vs. only knowing the secular side of Christmas, which is more about getting vs. giving.

ST. NICHOLAS PRAYER

Loving God, we thank you for
      the example of St Nicholas,
      who fed the hungry,
      brought hope to the imprisoned,
      gave comfort to the lost,
      and taught the truth to all.
May we strive to imitate him
      by putting you first in all we do.
Give us the courage, love and strength
      of St Nicholas, so that, like him,
      we may serve you through loving
      our brothers and sisters. Amen.

—by Amy Welborn

Check out how other bloggers celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas by visiting Jessica's post HERE at Catholic Cuisine!

I am linking this post to No Ordinary Blog Hop where bloggers have the opportunity to share how they can touch lives one gift at a time!

Share your Gifts with Us at NOBH and Advent Calendars!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:40:00 +0000

December 1st is here which means Jesus' birthday will be here soon and it means another new month for No Ordinary Blog Hop (NOBH), the blog hop that I co-host with 7 other bloggers. Click HERE to link up and our monthly theme is "How do you share your gifts with others?" If you have a post on the monthly theme link it up under the "Monthly Theme" button on the right sidebar at NOBH.

We countdown to Christmas Day in our house with these special Advent calendars:

This is a magnetic calendar with 24 doors. Each door has a magnet in it to add to the nativity scene with Day 24 holding the Baby Jesus. My cupcake #1 is placing the first piece which is a yellow star over the stable. This was given to one of my children several years ago by one of their Godparents. They love peeking into each door to find the next piece each day!

I received this cloth Advent calendar from my parents when I was pregnant with Cupcake #1, so we have been using it for the past 11 years! The first piece, the moon, is velcroed into place. This calendar will also make a Nativity scene, filled with angels, animals, wisemen, and the Holy Family.

Melissa at The Joys of Home Educating also posted today about her Advent Calendars. You can read her post HERE. My children would love the LEGO Star Wars one she has...maybe one day we'll be able to add that one to our collection too! :)

How does your family countdown to Christmas?

May you have a blessed 24 days anticipating the celebration of Jesus' birth!

Novena, Christmas Creche, Homemade Nativities

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:29:00 +0000

Before I encourage others to pray the Immaculate Conception Novena beginning today, Nov. 29, HERE is information that answers "What are Novenas?"

Immaculate Conception Novena!
Starting November 29th, I am joining over 6,000 Catholics to pray the Immaculate Conception Novena!
I’m looking forward to the answered prayers from this amazing saint! With so many faithful Catholics around the world praying this novena, I thought I'd invite others to join too!
Do you have any special petitions to bring to Mary?
You can sign up for handy email reminders to get the the novena prayers here: Immaculate Conception Novena
Let’s get as many as we can to pray this novena together for the Immaculate Conception!

Photo Credit

Tis the season to see Nativity scenes displayed in homes, yards, businesses, Christmas cards, etc. But, do you know the history behind the Nativity Scene or Creche (French)? Believe it or not, the origin of the Christmas Creche dates back to the 1200s with St. Francis of Assisi. Read more about this beautiful story and tradition HERE.

One tradition our family does during the holy season of Advent is to prepare a soft bed/manger for Baby Jesus. I saw this idea on Holy Heroes Advent Adventure and thought this would be a fun and simple way to have my children prepare their hearts and souls for the true meaning of the Advent/Christmas season. So at the beginning of Advent we start with an empty manger (empty basket) and have a bowl full of "hay" (yellow yarn pieces).

Then as my children make sacrifices for family and friends (doing their chores without complaining, helping a sibling with school work, doing a kind deed for a friend, etc), they can put a piece of yarn in the basket. So by the end of the Advent season, the basket will be filled with yarn for a soft bed for Baby Jesus (at least that is the goal :) )

On Christmas morning, we will place Jesus in our soft manger built with love and sacrifices and display Him under our Christmas tree.

I love this quote from the article, St. Francis and the Christmas Creche by Fr. William Saunders :

"Although the story is long old, the message is clear for us. Our own Nativity scenes which rest under our Christmas trees are a visible reminder of that night when our Savior was born. May we never forget to see in our hearts the little Babe of Bethlehem, who came to save us from sin. We must never forget that the wood of the manger that held Him so securely would one day give way to the wood of the cross. May we too embrace Him with all of our love as did St. Francis."

Are you looking for affordable Nativity sets for children? Lacy at Catholic Icing did a post where she listed lots of ideas and I blogged about her post HERE.

Speaking of Nativities, be sure to check out Monica's blog post HERE at Arma Dei Equipping Catholic Families that has photos and links to so many creative handmade nativity sets. If you have a nativity set to share you can link up your creation to Monica's blog post HERE and grab a button like this:

The world tells us Christmas is here and ends on Dec. 26. Our family is blessed with our Catholic faith that tells us that Advent is here as we prepare for Christmas. The Christmas season officially starts on Christmas Day and the 12 days following....More on this on a later post...Stay tuned!

Catholic Icing Posts Affordable Nativity Sets

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:16:00 +0000

I wanted to help spread the word about all the cute and affordable Nativity Sets that are available.

Lacy at Catholic Icing has this post with lots of sets listed at great prices. My kids love Nativity sets and they are especially enjoying the Little People set I got for them last year. I gave the Little People Nativity to our Godchildren last year for Christmas gifts.

As mentioned on Lacy's blog post, I just ordered the Playmobil Nativity Set for $19.95 with Free Shipping until Tuesday, Nov. 29 by using the coupon code 16911. I can't wait to give this to my children on St. Nicholas' Feast Day on Dec. 6!