Feast of the Archangels

Today was celebrated the Feast of the Archangels, Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. Our activities centered mainly around St. Michael, especially because we have been learning about him in our religion lessons.

We have been learning about St. Michael's defeat of the devils, and how he threw them out of heaven and down into hell. Because of this feat, we made a devil's food cake (which St. Michael will fight later in the post)

I made a printout of the Prayer to St. Michael so that the younger kids can begin to memorize it. Daddy put it up on our "religious education" wall. Everything we post on this wall seems to be learned very quickly. It is the dining room wall, behind the table, where it can always be seen.

This afternoon, I found a printout for these very cute angels. It was a last minute thing that the kids really love. They have been playing archangel puppets ever since. The next time I make them though, I will NOT print and color the side that contains the directions-whoops!

Charlotte, over at Waltzing Matilda, has been providing us with many beautiful coloring pages of saints. She graciously has given her permission to print these pictures and use them for private, family use. You can find this, plus many other saint printables, on the sidebar of Charlotte's blog.We used the St. Michael coloring page to decorate our devil's food cake. Here is the saint getting ready to slay the serpent. (along with help from Kim and Luke's angels)

Everyone took turns stabbing the cake, thus, slaying the devil.
A very important part of of feast day celebrations-YUMMY!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Went Up the Waterspout....

Fall Luminaries

Jenny, at My Three Girls, found this very pretty craft and we just had to make it. It came from the Kaboose website, which is just full of great activities to do with the kids.
First, we gathered our materials:

glass tealight candle holders

tealight candles

white glue

leaf stickers

tissue paper

Note: Jenny used real leaves, and they were just beautiful. I saw the stickers above at the craft store, and then remembered this activity, (I often do crafts backwards-get supplies first, and then look for a craft after the purchase)

Since we used stickers and not real leaves, we just stuck the stickers to the glass candle holder.

Mix white glue with equal parts water, and brush this onto the glass. We did this in little sections at a time, because my crafters tend to craft s-l-o-w-l-y. We then stuck tissue paper that we had torn into small pieces onto the glue.

After putting the tissue paper onto the glass, "paint" another layer of glue over all the tissue.
When extra-small children get up from their nap early, quickly get the help of a nearby teenager, or everything will get very sticky. If the three year old sticks his finger in the glue and says, "This is glue, Kimmy, eat it!", don't let Kimmy eat it and then remove the three year old from the work area.
Let this dry for a few hours, and then place a tea light inside and sit back and admire your beautiful work.

Picture of the Day

Mother of Mothers-Pray for Us

Lisa, at Are We There Yet? , shared this beautiful prayer and holy card in honor of Our Lady of Little Ones. I just wanted to share....

Prayer for Help to be a Good Mother
Mary, my Mother, grant that my little children may instruct me in the ways of God. Let their innocent eyes speak to me of the spotless holiness of Jesus. Let their open smiles remind me of the great love God has for his creatures.
Let their helplessness teach me the unbounded power of God. May their first feeble efforts to speak call to mind the wisdom of the Almighty. May their simple trust in me lead me to cherish a like confidence in God. May my love for God be stimulated by the deep-rooted affection my children have for me. May I in all these things grow in a greater appreciation of my holy motherhood.
Mary, I trust in you to obtain this favor for me. Amen.
Mother of Mothers, pray for me!

Scenes from an Autumn's Day

The old barn
turkeys
time to harvest the cow corn brown-eyed susans
peeking geese
American black duck
Grandma's day lily
mushroom
time to harvest the soybeans
Maybe, the last rose of the year......

It's a woman's privilege to change her mind...

Amy has changed her mind. She has decided that she prefers this picture for all of her future book jackets.

Amy's Book Jacket Photo

We have decided that when Amy is a famous author, this will be her book jacket photo.

Super Soccer

The HCA girl's soccer team, led by Dad and Auntie Kim, is off to a wonderful season.

They have begun the season with 5 wins and 1 loss. All the girls have been playing remarkable soccer.

Amy
Laura
Amy
Laura

Waiting for the game to start....

Soccer season on the sidelines.

Author Fiesta-Crinkleroot Hats

Keeping in the Jim Arnosky nature theme, and wanting to honor our favorite nature guide, Crinkleroot, I made the four littlest kids "hiking hats". We plan to use them on all of our nature walks, especially this autumn, as we continue enjoying the Author Fiesta.
I planned to have a nature walk today, after reading Jim Arnosky's book, Wild Tracks. We were going to enjoy the predicted sunshine, look for animal tracks, study the autumnal flowers and wildlife. But, the clouds rolled in and a little mist occasionally fell, so we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house to help clean up their yard after our brush with hurricane Ike.The kids are really enjoying their hats. I used Simplicity #5540 as my pattern. I think they only cost about $3.00 each to make.
We had a frost a few nighs ago, but apparently the frost didn't hit the grapes, because they are still very sour.
Luke worked very hard cleaning sticks up in the yard, he also hasn't taken off his hat, except to sleep, over the past few days.
We did find this funny, upturned mushroom in the yard. Crinkleroot would be proud of our observation skills.
Gracie
"You are supposed to be working, Mark!"
Kimberly takes a break.

A Lady? Who'd have thought....

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Prioress

You are a moral person and are also highly intellectual. You like your solitude but are also kind and helpful to those around you. Guided by a belief in the goodness of mankind you will likely be christened a saint after your life is over.

You scored high as both the Lady and the Monk. You can try again to get a more precise description of either the Monk or the lady, or you can be happy that you're an individual.

Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy