Busy Weekend

Have you tried out the Home Depot Kids Workshops yet? If not, you are missing out on a wonderful FREE resource to share with your kids. Particularly if you have any crafty kids or kids who want to always be the one helping out with any projects at home.

This month I took 7 of the kids with me. Liam still loves to get a hammer in his hands any chance he can and Katie likes to come along to help with Seamus (because she is too big to do a project on her own she says). We made butterfly nesting boxes and as soon as the snow melts, we'll search for 6 places in the yard to hang them up. Maybe plant a few extra butterfly attracting plants.

The rules may vary by store but at our store you just show up. No signing up needed. This is great because we can go when it works with our schedule and not go when we are too busy. But check your local store because some do have sign up requirements.

We also finally got around to making our Pascal Candle. We took a super easy route this year because last year I ordered the pascal candle making kit from Illuminated Ink. Then I got to feeling rather sick and the project never got done. In fact, the 2015 pascal candle making kit is still somewhere in the house. So this year I lowered my standards and we finished the project. I call that a win.

Plain white tall candle (available at Aldi's or the Dollar Store), pascal candle print out from a creative person online. Project complete. We even managed to remember to take it with us on Sunday to get it blessed by Fr.

Dear God, I Don't Get It

We all have those times when we feel like God is not answering our prayers. This can be a hard thing for adults to understand but getting a child to understand why prayers appear to go unanswered can be a struggle. The book Dear God, I Don't Get It by Patti Maguire Armstrong helps children understand just this question.

Dear God, I Don't Get It is the first in a series of books about the Ajax family. In this book you meet brothers Aaron, Luke, and Tyler.  As the story opens, the family learns that they must move. This is something that feels like the end of the world to 12-year-old  Aaron Ajax. He prays to God to please find a way for the family to stay where they are but his prayers are not answered in the way Aaron expects.

This book helps broach an often misunderstood concept in a way young minds can easily grasp.  Adults are often heard saying that prayer works but they fail to understand exactly how prayer works. Many children often grow up with the mistaken notion that all you have to do is pray and God will grant your every desire. Failing to understand that God often answers our prayers with a no because He has something else in mind for us can cause many people to question their beliefs. By the end of the book, Aaron begins to understand that God's answers are not always our own.

This book does a wonderful job at weaving faith into the lives of the characters without being preachy or pushy. It successfully walks that fine line without beating the point home with a morality stick. This helps to keep the story interesting without turning you off.

I recommend sharing this book for kids in the 8 to 12 age range. The entire series promises to provide an easy way to tackle some of the tough topics in life with your children.

The Empty Jar

You see that empty canning jar? Yes, the picture is awful but it's not the point. That jar. My favorite Christmas gift this year.

Why? It was simple and a reminder. A reminder I needed.

You see the paper taped to the jar? That paper has a note from one of the children. The note says:

To Mom and Dad: A jar of nothing for the people who have it all.

Ok, it is quite possible the child behind this gift was just looking for something simple, easy, and free. But I see something else.

I see a reminder that even with all of the chaos, the medical bills, the car repairs, the kids who are behind in school, the laundry that won't stop, the appliances that keep breaking, the darn freeloading chickens who won't lay eggs right now. In the midst of all of that chaos, when I've been oh so sick for weeks, going on months. When the baby isn't quite gaining enough weight to keep everyone happy, when we are still struggling to find a parish where the entire family feels at home and we are struggling with our faith. In the midst of all of that. We do have it all. And that is just what I needed to hear.

Happy New Year

Tiny Saints

I recently won an on-line raffle and received five Tiny Saints charms. I received St. Joseph, St. Michael the Archangel, Mary the Blessed Mother, Padre Pio, and one additional that one of my kiddos has claimed for their own.These adorable little charms are meant to serve as a daily reminder of our patron saints.

Each package comes with a short summary of the saint's life on the back. Just enough to hep you determine if this saint relates to your life. The clasp allows you to attach the Tiny Saints to zipper pulls, key chains or backpacks. With around 80 different charms to chose from, there is sure to be one perfect for you.

My one criticism of the charms is that they are not as sturdy as I would like. Especially if they might be used by children. Our Padre Pio charm fell off the clasp almost immediately. They are, however, incredibly affordable at only $5 per charm and very adorable.

Things You Might Find In My Yard

Mass Books for Kids

How do you answer that age old question of what to do with the young children during Mass? I know we've gone through many different ways of managing young kids and seem to have settled on you just expect them to learn to be quiet and bring as few distractions as possible. Because there are few things as annoying as an older child dragging in a toy store or a Happy Meal or a tablet loaded with movies to Mass. Seriously, that sort of thing really bugs me.

One of the few things we will allow our kids to have during Mass are kid friendly Mass books. But how do you know which ones are worth the money? Today I am sharing my views on the books by  Catholic Icing and Holy Heroes.

The booklet by Holy Heroes is really two books in one. On one side, you have the prayers of the Mass. Flip the book over and you'll find a collection of Best Loved Catholic Prayers.  You can also purchase an audio CD to go along with this book with the Holy Heroes kids leading your children through all of the prayers.

The Holy Heroes book does, however, lack pictures. It has a very simply layout that focuses almost exclusively on the words of the various prayers. This allows for more information but means the book is best suited for an older child. The audio CD that can be purchased with the book is great for using in the car to help your kids memorize prayers or during family prayer time. This section of the book includes prayers such as the Angelus, Memorare, the St Michel Prayer, and several common prayers in both English and Latin.  I love this book for the middle kids in the family.

The Mass book by Catholic  Icing is called A Picture Book of the Mass. This book focuses exclusively on the prayers of the Mass. I love this one because of the amazing pictures. The booklet is illustrated using old masters paintings. With at least one picture on every page, it keeps the attention of younger kids. Older kids also enjoy the paintings but this one is my go to book to grab for the toddlers. Even if they can't read the words, they are captivated by paintings in the book.

Price wise, both books are just about the same. Both companies also offer bulk discounts so these would be great books to buy for religious ed classes or homeschooling groups or vbs or just to donate to your parish. They are both soft cover booklets so if yours live in the diaper bag like mine do, they will show wear and tear after a while. But the affordable price makes them easy to replace.  As nice as the hardcover formal books many of us received  as First Communion gifts are, these books are a little more convenient for younger children or larger families. You also know that your purchase is supporting a small at home Catholic business. Which is a win-win situation for everyone.

All opinions in this post are entirely my own. I was not compensated in anyway for my review. Just sharing one Mom's opinion.