A Slice of Smith Life

King Cake, Ash Wednesday, Lenten Traditions for our Family

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:52:00 +0000

This afternoon, we were blessed to spend time with dear friends and enjoy J.H.'s beautiful and delicious King Cake. From what she tells me it's a true labor of love to make such a treat! It was beautiful and oh so yummy! One tradition is to stick a plastic baby (represents Jesus) in the cake and the person who gets the piece with the baby, is suppose to have a year of extra blessings. My son picked the lucky piece and all the kids were laughing because the baby looks breeched :)

Here are my cupcakes and their friends. Dear J.H's parents, this picture is for you! :)

It's always fun to search my blog posts from the past to see what I blogged about. So as to not "reinvent the wheel" I'm linking up previous Lenten posts below. Just click on the title to direct you to the post.
As we journey through Lent, I hope to be inspired and maybe try more Lenten traditions from other bloggers and families! If you have Lenten traditions to share, please leave your link(s) in comments and I'll look forward to reading them!

Ash Wednesday and the Holy Season of Lent 2011

Magnetic Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross Bags and Pretzels for Lent

Happy Mardi Gras!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

This afternoon we will be heading to a friend's house to eat her homemade King Cake to celebrate Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, the last day before the Lenten season begins in the liturgical calender. Pictures of my friend's King Cake will be posted soon....

Here is a picture of the King Cake that I found HERE with information about the meaning behind this delicious tradition.

I will be posting our Lenten traditions soon since Lent starts tomorrow with Ash Wednesday!

Catholic Bloggers Share-A-Thon! Enter to Win!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:21:00 +0000

Here it is! The first ever Catholic Bloggers Network Colossal Giveaway. Prizes total over $350 (with shipping) and up to 16 winners!

What are we giving away?

Thanks to all of the participating Blogs!

Miracoli Rosaries
Mountain of Grace
Wondering
Ladies Of Our Lady: Denver
Mountaineer Country
Hair Bows 4 Life Bowtique
A Slice of Smith Life (that's me and I'm so glad I could support this great giveaway in a small way!)
Happy Saints
From The Pews
Catholic Homeschool Support
Conservamom
Through My "I"s
Our Village is a Little Different
Blossoming Joy
My Life's a Treasure
The Rosary Chick
Crafolic ~ Catholic Crafts and More!
Day by Day in Our World
A Catholic Life
Equipping Catholic Families (Arma Dei)
Homeschooling With Joy
Raising {& Teaching} Little Saints

Go HERE to read more details or enter to win below with Rafflecopter!!!!!!!
Hurry! Giveaway ends on Feb. 27!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Surgery update and "K" is for Kite

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Last week my daughter got her tonsils out due to excessive step and soar throats. Well, she is doing much better and resting. She has been eating soft foods like this plate of mac and cheese I made for her.

And she has been drinking lots of Gatorade and Sprite to stay hydrated. The nurse said flavored drinks are better than water after tonsil surgery to try to get as many calories as possible into her body.

Last week, we also continued to work on the Alphabet Boxes with my 4 year old. We made kites for "K" using cardboard box, construction paper kite, paint and marbles. My 7 year old also joined in on the art project helping her younger sister roll the painted marbles around to create a fun design on the kite. Here are some pictures:

My Cupcake's Big Day: Tonsil Surgery!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:49:00 +0000

Another busy week as always! This morning Cupcake #1 got her tonsils removed and here we are waiting in the waiting room before her surgery! I'm not sure what I'm looking at in photo!

We are thankful my other 3 cupcakes stayed overnight with my in-laws so we could get up bright and early and report to the doctor's office. Thanks H. and P. for keeping our children. My husband and I had some apprehensions about whether to go through with the surgery or not, but in the end it was good we did. The doctor said after surgery that her tonsils were twice as large as they should have been and chronically infected....she has had many cases of strep and soar throats in the past too!

Just before the IV in her hand and surgery.

There's a smile! :)

Not a happy camper as she got her IV in her hand to prepare for anesthesia medicine to be put in IV.

OK, this is not the most attractive photo as she just got out of surgery, and she still had the sleepy meds still in her, but wanted to show my brave girl! I was going to snap another picture, but the nurse came in and I forgot.

She rested today and is following doctor's orders! I'll have to post another "after" photo to prove that she didn't stay looking so sleepy for too long after surgery! :)

We look forward to less strep throat and antibiotics!

Happy Valentine's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:20:00 +0000

Today our homeschool group celebrated Valentine's Day with a potluck lunch and the 30 children present decorated brown lunch bags for themselves and white lunch bags to be donated to needy families in our local area. Then the bags were filled with Valentine cards and goodies from their friends and candy and cards were placed in the bags for the needy. My oldest "cupcake" made the white bag that has a sticker of Jesus and she wrote "The best Valentine is Jesus." Here are some pictures of the yummy and easy pretzel treats that I brought that were devoured by all the children.

These pretzel treats are so easy to make and my "cupcakes" enjoy unwrapping each Hershey kiss
(and I love them doing that part too!) to put on each pretzel. For directions on how to make these treats go HERE and scroll down the post a little to see the directions. These treats are perfect all year round with any seasonal M&Ms :)

For my Valentine's post this year I thought I would also share posts from the past that highlight some crafts and ideas I have done to celebrate this special day! Enjoy and Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

We {Heart} Jesus and Valentine Crafts

Valentine Candy Canes and CHRISTmas Crackers!

I am linking this post to:

Introducing my NEW Page: Coupon Binder!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:08:00 +0000

Some of you may know that I have been couponing since last spring and since I have cut my grocery bill by 50% by applying coupons with sales, I am now teaching others how to coupon and save money with my "Smith's Savings" Coupon Workshops! It is so rewarding to show others how to use coupons to make grocery trips more affordable, but also alot more fun! I love getting "rewarded" at the register each time I shop since I save 50% or more with coupons!
One of the topics I discuss in my couponing workshops is organization...that's half the battle right?

As an Independent Couponing Consultant with Delly Deals, Inc., I sell a great coupon binder that helps me stay organized and it wasn't until I started using my binder that I saw how my savings could really be maximized!

I love my coupon binder and wanted to let my followers know that I added a new page to my blog here titled "Coupon Binder". It's located at the top of my home page in between the "Natural Family Planning" button and "Contact Me" button. Go take a look, find out more information, and contact me if you have questions!

Happy Shopping and Saving!

Religious Emblem for Boy Scouts and First Reconciliation

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:34:00 +0000

Another busy week means lots of hustle and bustle and blessings, but it also means less posts on my little corner of blog land here....But, I thought I would highlight a few big celebrations we had this past week with Cupcake #2 and #3 :)

Last Sunday, February 5, was Scout Sunday, and Scout Sunday is celebrated each year on or around the founding date of Boy Scouts, February 8, 1910. Since this past fall, my son and our family have been working on his religious emblem, called "Parvuli Dei" (Children of God). Each faith denomination has it's own religious emblem and Parvuli Dei is the Catholic religious award. We used a booklet called Parvuli Dei and worked on activities to complete the program and on Scout Sunday he was presented with his award. Here is a picture of the emblem pinned to his scout shirt.

My husband pins religious emblem on my son's shirt at the beginning of Mass as each scout was presented in front of the congregation

Family photo: My parents are on the left side and mother-in law on the right side

This past Wednesday, Feb. 8, my daughter received her First Reconciliation with some of the other children in our homeschool group. So this was the first time she experienced the graces, peace and joy of this beautiful sacrament! It was a blessed day!

Here are some photos of the day:

One of our moms made these 2 beautiful cakes that were delicious after our potluck luncheon.

The white cake had the Isaiah scripture on it and it was a red velvet cake.

My daughter on the far right and her friends who received the Sacrament of Penance for the first time.

Our homeschool group is blessed with Fr. Alex, a holy man who invests much time, support, and smiles for our homeschool families and children.

So many blessings this past week and we are grateful for our faith, family, and above all, God's mercy and forgiveness!

"J" is for Jellyfish, Solar System Experiments, and Greek Masks!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:35:00 +0000

Last week was a busy week as always and especially with the many fun projects we were able to accomplish!

For my 4 year old daughter's alphabet box we learned the letter "J" last week. I had my daughter color a "J" template that I got here and I drew jigsaw pieces on the template. After I helped her cut out the pieces she glued the letter back together and I cut out a border to look like an outline of puzzle pieces. So it looked like this:

One thing she made, along with my 7 year old, was a jellyfish. They were super easy and fun! We used 1/2 of a paper plate, chenille sticks, glue, tape, googly eyes and markers.

I also read books about Jesus and Jonah while they were doing their jellyfish craft.

We hung up their creations on our alphabet wall which is really on an "A frame" ceiling, hence the slanted look in this picture :)

We also continued our Apologia Astronomy studies with 2 experiments about the planet Mars. The first experiment was suggested by Anna-Marie at Our Life's Adventures when she was studying astronomy with her children. So I got the same book out of the library, Mars by Steven Kip p, and tried making our own martian sand to explain why the sand on Mars is red.

My husband helped with this project which is always a nice and rare treat. He showed them the steel wool.

And cut the wool into small pieces.

He was able to explain how the wool was magnetic as it stuck to the scissors.

We put white sand into 2 different pie pans and wool pieces into each pan.

One pan was filled with drops of water while the other one we left dry.

After a few days the wool started to rust in the pan with water while the other dry pan did not have rust. We explained to our "cupcakes" that the dust on Mars is red due to the iron oxide which is rust. According to our Apologia text there is some evidence that there was liquid water on Mars at one time, but currently scientists believe there is none now.

Another fun experiment we did was build the biggest mountain peak in the entire solar system on Mars, and this volcano is called Olympus Mons.

We first made the salt dough recipe that was suggested in the Apologia text that was used for our volcano.

Our volcano is in the background with rocks around it with the text in the forefront that explained the experiment.

We then erupted our Olympus Mons by combining red food coloring, baking soda, vinegar, and dish washing liquid.

We are continuing to study ancient Greek history and this past week we made theater masks as I read information about how the Greeks only used male actors because females weren't allowed to perform. So the men also played women's roles and usually used 2 sided masks to show 2 different emotions while performing. Before my children began their masks, we looked up images on the computer of all the different kinds of masks to get ideas. We stumbled upon a fun game on the computer called "Face Memory" that explained how Ancient Greeks had exaggerated features on their masks to entertain several thousand people in a big theater. This memory game tests how well your children can remember features on a mask. My children enjoyed testing their memory skills! Click HERE to play. Here are some pictures from our mask activity:

My 4 year old insisted I take this picture of her with her mask as she looked into our bathroom mirror :)

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!