Famous last words

Bigboy is feeling much better and the germs haven't spread to the big kids yet. Hooray for small miracles!

Hah! Sniffle, snort, cough, hack... at least we made it through the birthday!

Shortcake's Puppy Party

~The Decorations~

Yes, I went a little crazy at Party City when I found out that they had a puppy theme in stock but remember, we are working on healing a heart and...Husband said I could! BTW...the best free printable party hats can be found here! (scroll down on the right)

~The Gifts~
I love cut-and-sew aprons especially for little girls and I know this one will feel well loved come the end of this holiday season. Scottie dogs on Christmas plaid. She loves it! Also, that tall fuzzy guy behind her in the hat. He's new. And he doesn't bite! See...
~The Craft~
Whoops. Forgot to take pictures. Will update later.

~The Favors~

Giant dog biscuits and puppy pencils for our friends who will stop by later when everyone is healthy.

~The Cake~
When she first mentioned that she wanted a puppy themed party, I assumed she wanted a cute, puppy cake. Nope. My tenderhearted little girl couldn't stand the thought of hacking into a sweet little mutt's face. So we came up with the idea for a dog bowl cake with dog biscuits inside. This was partly due to the fact that it was her job to help get Beegee's food ready in the morning. Even after the great greyhound disaster, she still wanted a dog bowl cake. This cake is a delicious Chocolate Mocha Pound (Puppy) Cake and the biscuits are Chocolate Cut-Out Sugar cookies. Recipes later if you want them. The figure on top is an LPS greyhound. I had it saved for today even before the dog came to live with us. Shortcake named it "B.G.". She is incredibly forgiving!

~Turn out the lights, the party's over...~

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! You are our big-hearted, peace-making, friend-to-all, spunky girl and we are so blessed to have you in our lives! We love you!!!

Coloring Page Reminder

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us! Enjoy the coloring page. I'll be back with birthday pictures later!

One way to hang an Advent Wreath

A conversation over at the 4Real forum prompted me to try to type out a description of how we have suspended our Advent wreath in the past but I just couldn't do it. I'm too visual, but I suspect a lot of you are too.

My MIL was the first one to introduce me to a suspended wreath and they are breathtaking! There are so many different ways to do it... this is just the one that worked best for us.

I started with an acrylic platter from the local party store and drilled holes in a cross shape. It doesn't have to be perfect. You can see that the two on the sides are a little off.
Next, take one ribbon and pass it through the top of one hole, under the platter and out through the bottom of the opposite hole.
Do the same for the other two holes. I used two different colored ribbons to demonstrate better.
Here is where the method to my madness comes in. Go ahead and draw the ribbon ends up and tie them in a sturdy knot. I have always used a small hook that blends into the ceiling to hang it from. You will see that there is a chance your platter will hang lopsided. That's OK.
Slide the platter along the ribbons until you get it even. Then you can secure it on the bottom with clear packing tape.
Place the candles in between the ribbons and you won't have to worry about anything catching on fire although you should never leave it unattended. I think you could also do it with a wire framed wreath and no platter, but I haven't tried that myself. We have always just set the wreath on the platter and usually it's fullness disguises the green below. Just don't tie the ribbons to the frame so that you can slide it to get it balanced.

UPDATE:
I found this picture in an older post that shows the wreath on the suspended platter.

Hope that helps!

Martinmas Lanterns

The amazing and talented AussieAnnie has been sharing some ideas for Martinmas lanterns so I thought I would share ours for anyone looking for a quick, last minute idea. We used colorful gift bags (.59 cents each), some ribbon from the ribbon box, a hole puncher and a few sheets of clear vellum paper (which you can buy individually in the scrapbooking section of any craft store if you don't need a whole pack). Electric tea lights are the only option for these lanterns. Don't even think about real candles!I printed images of St. Martin on the vellum for the boys but the girls wanted to color their own so I printed a copy of my St. Martin coloring page in a smaller size also on vellum for them to color in later. Then I cut a hole in both sides of the bag using a craft knife and punched two holes in the top for the ribbon tie.I taped the pictures on the inside and placed two electric tea lights in the bag before tying the ribbon. The girls will probably want to decorate the outside of the bag, but I imagine the boys will keep theirs simple.Our traditional horseshoe cookies will be perfect for H week this week. Bigboy is feeling much better and the germs haven't spread to the big kids yet. Hooray for small miracles!

Fall

What did you do this weekend?

BigBoy Sickisms

H Week has been put on hold because BigBoy has been down with a cold. In the meantime, we have discovered that he is super cute when in a febrile state.

Today was the worst day ever! First the big kids were interrupting me and then making fun of me and now comes the meanness!

We need to have a baby right now so that I can be taller than someone!

I don't need any lunch, I still have my breakfast right here. (Dry cereal. Some one really didn't feel good.)

Artist Trading Cards

Have you heard of these? The children were introduced to ATCs at their art lessons this year. They are 2.5 x 3.5 inch (same size as baseball cards) works of art that you trade with other artists for fun, not profit. They are wonderful little ways of experimenting with different artistic techniques without committing to a large project. You can purchase pre-cut Bristol board cards or cut your own out of cardstock. I like to glue two layers of cardstock together to make them a little stiffer. You can even cut up old cereal boxes and glue white paper on top. Anything goes...collage, paint, marker, stamps. You must remember to write your name and the date on the back. And don't forget to give your piece a title!We printed off some samples from the internet to decorate our notebook with. They provide inspiration for new ideas. Baseball trading card sheet protectors hold and organize your cards to trade and cards to keep perfectly!

The girls and I have been having some fun with watercolors. Here are some others to give you some ideas.

URGENT Prayers!

12 dead and 31 wounded in Fort Hood Mass shooting

We have heard from reliable sources that everyone we know and love in the Fort Hood area has been accounted for. Please pray for the dead, the wounded, their families and all of those living in the area who were affected by this terrifying ordeal.

Lord Jesus, have mercy!

All Souls Display

I have posted before about the mantle piece I made for the Month of the Holy Souls a couple of years ago. This year, the mantle was decorated early, since our dear friend, Fall, arrived a little ahead of schedule, and I really liked it so we decided to move our Holy Souls display to the learning room. I'm not sure if I like the new location better. We get to see both side of these beautiful old funeral cards but it feels a little awkward to say our evening prayers in there so I'm still undecided as to the permanence of this move.

Why don't they make beautiful funeral Mass cards like this anymore. Someone should! I bet there would be serious demand for antique looking Mass cards. I have some that date back to 1927 and they are just gorgeous with their muted colors, sepia tones, stirring prayers and somber black edges. Just wanted to share some with you...