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The Little Flower


I saw this sweet book come out a year ago and bought it this year to celebrate the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux (The Little Flower).  The gorgeous illustrations engage the reader and listener alike.

St. Therese's feast day is October 1.

St. Therese, pray for us!

Patty
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Homecoming 2018

All dressed up and somewhere to go!

Last Saturday was the North Texas Homeschool Homecoming dance.

Miss Ester decided to forgo her senior homecoming dance to attend a concert with her dad as her date :)

I love her spirit!




She saw Aaron Watson, a native Texan, at the state fair.  Our family friends and a friend of Sarah's went with them.



Miss Mabel went with a very large group, and they all looked so classy!


They all had an amazing evening!

Patty


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Little Flowers - St. Lucy and the Virtue of Loyalty


Miss Clementine had her second Little Flowers Girls Club meeting of the school year, and it was a delightful one!  My friend taught this one.

She "taught the younger girls about the virtue of loyalty. We learned about being loyal to our family, the Church, our country, and God. The girls recited the Apostles Creed and the Pledge of Allegiance. I gave them poppy hair bows to wear in remembrance of loyal soldiers. They made St Lucy costumes and frosted cinnamon rolls for our snack."




All of my girls have participated in the Little Flowers Girls Club.  This is such a sweet program for Catholic girls, one of which I am so grateful for.

Patty
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Stan Turns 13!


We have another teen in the house!

Stan had a pretty good day yesterday.  Once he was home from school, we celebrated with gifts, a delicious dinner that Dad made (steaks, jalapeño poppers, and tator tots), and this homemade Swiss Roll Cake, that he requested and Mabel baked for him (as a gift).

He was a pretty happy guy :)

Stan the man is a devoted alter server and loves being outdoors exploring, camping, and fishing.  He shares his birthday with the feast of St. Francis of Assisi (which is no surprise).

We love you, Sam!!

Dad & Mom
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Early Fall Daybook Post 2018

Outside my window ~

We freshened up our pots outside.  We are blessed to have a warm season that nurtures summer flowers well into the fall.  This is lantana.  It loves Texas heat.



I am thankful for ~

F.A.M.I.L.Y. Weekend!


We had to divide and conquer last weekend. My boys had a camp out for Troops of St. George, so the girls and I drove down to visit Sarah at school.  But life is good!  Everyone had a great time.

By the way, I am feeling old!  Sarah served us dinner at her apartment, (crock pot salsa chicken).  It was such a surreal feeling :)  She's growing up fast.

Then it was off to pre-game activities.  Miss Clementine enjoyed herself every. single. bit.  And how fun is it to watch a college football game from the stadium?!  It's even better when the home team wins!


From the school room ~

Next week is our 9th week.  (That first quarter ALWAYS goes quickly!)

Field trips ::

We visited an historical farmstead where the kiddos sat and listened to the story, Farmer Duck.  After that, they were introduced to what farm life would have been like - back in the day ;)

They learned about milking cows and churning butter, and then saw a multitude of farm animals.



Then it was onto pumping water and washing clothes.  You can't forget about line drying!


It was such an enjoyable field trip!

From the kitchen ~

Miss Clementine helped me bake cut out cookies for the Feast of the Guardian Angels (Oct. 2).


What I have read recently ~

I read but do not recommend this one.


It's "a total supermarket romance novel".  I only finished this cheesy novel because I didn't want to waste my kindle cost - ha ha!

Now for this next one,  I really enjoyed it!


Despite some crude language that caught me off guard (and sprinkled throughout), I loved this book because of the suspense and history.  From Amazon:  "In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women - a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during WWI and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947 - are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption."  For mature audiences due to the nature of this book.

Around the house ~

We had another tea party.  Those are so much fun!

Bringing our faith to life, we celebrated the Feast of Guardian Angels with cut out cookies (angel shaped), apple cider, books and a prayer.




I am praying for ~

* An end to abortion
* My mother
* For all those who have asked for prayers

I am listening to ~

* a loud house!  (David is studying with Stan the Man, Miss Ester and Mabel are doing the dishes, and Miss Clementine is running the bath water.)

Coming down the pike this week ~

Stan the man's birthday!

Homecoming dance!

Concert (Miss Ester and David are going)

A last photo to share ~

We are in the process of counting down 50 days to David's  5-0!


Every day, for 50 days, David opens up a little gift.  As Stan the Man said, "It's like a GIANT Advent calendar!"

Exactly!  It's definitely a labor of love, but he really appreciates it and looks forward to each day's surprise :)

Today we are on day 15 out of 50.  His birthday is November 9.  (I plan on putting a final list of everything we did when it's all over.)

Here's to a beautiful October, friends!

Patty

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Senior Season

Senior season is underway for Miss Ester.  There are five senior ladies and one guy in our homeschool group this year.  It's a nice group of teens!

We had a sleep over (for 4 out of the 5 ladies) a couple of weeks ago.  The ladies got up super early for a breakfast before hitting the road for a day of kayaking and picnicking at the lake.







They really enjoyed, especially the ones who had never kayaked before. :)

This group plans to have a great senior year!

Patty
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Her Golden Birthday

Our sweet daughter turned 15 on the 15th!


She is  kind-hearted, faith loving, creative, and intelligent.


We are so blessed that God chose us to raise this beautiful soul.


Happy birthday to our sweet daughter!  We love you so much!

Dad and Mom
xoxo

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Camping Gear I Love (Part 2)

Since we head out to camp so often, finding things that make the experience run smooth is really important.


This dishpan (made for RV's or boats) has  personally been one of my favorite additions.  It holds service ware for up to six.  That's plates, bowls, cups, and silverware.



I line it up to my camper sink and the water drains right into the sink from the little dishpan underneath.  I don't have to waste numerous towels to lie the dishes on after rinsing.

It stores easily in my microwave when it isn't being used.  And gosh!  I'm really impressed with how sturdy it is made, not flimsy at all.


The Camco mini dish drainer and rack is just under $9 on Amazon.

The next item is one we just used for the first time on our latest camping trip.  It is an outdoor (collapsible) trash can.


It holds a 13 gallon kitchen trash bag inside.  Check out the clips!  The clips will hold the bag in place.  I zip it up during the day to keep any ants out.  At night, we always throw the trash into the trash receptors so raccoons don't get into it.


My husband really liked having this.  Some camp grounds have trash poles that you hang your bag on, high off the ground.  Not all parks do.  We learned that in August when we were at Jamaica Beach camping.


There are many different brands on Amazon, and many are made out of different material.  I liked this heavy-duty material.  I bought the deluxe size here for $15.  Since it collapses, I can easily store it on the side of my camper refrigerator until the next trip.

Money well spent on both items :)

Happy camping!

Camping Gear I Love (Part 1)

*I am not receiving any endorsement fees for sharing.  I just like to share a good thing when I find it.*
Patty



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Little Flowers Girls Club - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Persistence, and the Lotus Flower

Earlier this month, Little Flowers started back up.  I had signed up to teach September for the 5-8 year olds. 

We learned the virtue of persistence by reading, The Tortoise and The Hare, reading about St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and studying the meaning and looking at pictures of the lotus flower.



(Photo credit: my friend Cindy)


The craft that the little girls painted, glued, and put together.  St. Elizabeth Ann Seton started the first free Catholic school in America.


The lotus flower is a great representation of persistence and resurrection.

Lastly, for a snack, I made these edible crayons!  Didn't they turn out darling? 


They are actually chocolate-covered pretzel rods! 

And folks, at this point, I have to say thank you, Jesus, for Pinterest and all the ideas I find there!  I love Pinterest :)

Patty


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Camping Trip to the Piney Woods Region of TX

This was our homeschool for a couple of days this week.



We drove over to the Piney Woods region of TX,  and it did not disappoint!

On the way, we stopped off at Sulpher Springs, TX to see America's only see-thru public bathroom!


Call me crazy, but I saw this on a travel Texas video and thought if I was ever in the area, I would definitely stop to check it out.  Ha ha!



Here's inside the bathroom looking out.


Daddy was peaking in.  That silly man ;)


It's definitely a room with a view!


Just one of those random, check it out, kind of things to do.

Back on the road, we eventually pulled into the state park that (unbeknown to us), is known for some Big Foot sightings.  (Not sure if they were serious or not?!)


Our campsite was breathtaking!


We explored, fished, and even did school work (this is how we school on the road).  After a taco dinner, we headed back to the fishing pier to catch the super pink sunset :)




Day 2 consisted of egg & sausage breakfast followed by kayaking, fishing, exploring, and just be-ing!





We were only gone about 48 hours this time, but it was a peace-filled 48 hours.  I'm so grateful for the peace and quiet :)

Patty


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