~ A,B,C's ~

A is for APPLE...From the garden.

These are (literally) sweet little apples.  Our lemons are bigger than our apples.

Three bites and they are gone...Let's find out.

One, twoooo, three - a thhhhhree.

B is for BELGIAN ECLAIRS...St. Terese of Lisieux's favorite desert.  Her feast day was October 1st...

 Which is near Butterfly's Baptismal Anniversary date. 















C is for CELL...

Five and Six years ago, Butterfly & Conductor made these model clay cells.

Now, Little Lamb is studying the same material:

 

We only had wax in the house...a little more effort was needed to mold the mitochondrias.

 

The ABCs of October

~ Birthday Extravaganza Continued ~

The Birthday Extravaganza Weekend took us from place to place...
After dinner at the Birthday Boy's request - the restaurant shocked surprised us all with a FREE ICE CREAM - oh.my!!

It was embarrassingly huge - (so we ate really, really fast)!  The five of us couldn't finish it off - since we were so full from dinner.  This monstrosity could have served 10 or 20! 

After the traditional Treasure Hunt, and a good nights rest and some tums,
we had lunch at one of our favorite places that serves clam chowder in those economical fun sourdough bowls...mmmmm good.  (The color is a bit off because I like to splash "a little" tabasco sauce in mine).  mmmmmmm good!

And then, the Grand Finale

and much to Conductor's pleasure -

The Giants Won!!!

HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY SON!!! 
WE LOVE YOU AND ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

~ The Holy Guardian Angels ~

.

I just love the way this angel is swooping down to protect this little child.
That's what our guardian angels do...they guide and protect us; we just need to call out to them.  It is so amazing that each of us has our very own guardian angel.

Today, October 2nd, is the memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels. 


Our pastor leads us in prayer, every Tuesday, during the Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion...So in addition to celebrating the memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, we prayed the Mother of Perpetual Help devotion in front of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by benediction.

I love this part of the devotion prayer:
"Mary, humble handmaid of the Lord, we need your example today to discover God's will in our lives.  You always gave God the first place in your life.  Just as you pondered his Word in your heart, help each of us to seek his plan in all that we do.  Give us the conviction that nothing is more important than doing the will of our heavenly Father.  May we spend each moment in loving and pleasing Him.  Help us follow your example in proclaiming, I am the servant of the Lord.  I will what God wills, when He wills it, as He wills it, because He wills it."

Such a beautiful and revealing devotion...

 Mother of Perpetual Help

"The Lord has put angels in charge of you,
to guard you in all your ways."  ~ Psalm 91

Additionally, October is the month of the Rosary...Have a blessed Day!

~ Ferris Bueller's B-Day ~

AKA Birthday Extravaganza...
The question isn't "what are we going to do," the question is "what aren't we going to do?"

Conductor celebrated his 15th Birthday this month!  FIFTEEN.  Yikes!
So how do you celebrate with a 15 year old?

Well, you begin with a little of this, and a little of that...

Trains, family, SF baseball game, more trains, food, favorite cake, traditional treasure hunt to find hidden gifts (at home), and...

some more trains...this was a gem of a place

 

A Hidden Treasure...

But the fun didn't stop there or here...

 

The weather was perfect.  The fun seemed endless...
It spilled over into the following day...stay tuned for more of
A Ferris Bueller kind of day...

Treasure Hunt - following the treasure map

Treasure Hunt loot

 

Favorite cake - special request, home-made with love...

 

 Danke Schoen...

~ Ordinary Time ~

Ordinary Time is a season.  It is the liturgical period outside of the distinctive liturgical seasons, and runs 33 or 34 weeks. 

Ordinary Time, in Latin, is called Tempus Per Annum ~ "time throughout the year".

Ordinary Time falls between Christmas and Lent, and between Easter and Advent.

The Liturgical Color of Ordinary Time is GREEN.

Ordinary Time of the Year is the Monday following the Baptism of the Lord, until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

And then, Monday following Pentecost until the evening before Advent. 

We read various Scriptural Readings, or refer to various Scriptures, during Ordinary Time.  It celebrates and symbolizes the Holy Trinity.

Did I mention GREEN is the color used...?  Green is the color of hope and growth.

Ordinary Time encompasses that part of the Christian year that does not fall within the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter.

The Catholic Church celebrates two periods of the year as Ordinary Time.  As you delve more deeply into the spiritual meaning of Ordinary Time, you will find just how rich this Time actually is...

 

ORDINARY TIME ~ QUITE AN EXTRAORDINARY TIME!

~ Life on the Rock ~

When we think of Life on the Rock,
we think of the EWTN show.

But Life on the Rock took on a new meaning for my children last week...

Heading towards "the Rock".

Getting ready to dock

(on the Rock). 

 

 

Self tour before we started the audio tour.

Life was tough on the Rock...even the plants are tough!  Check out those thorns...wicked.

~ Chemical Reaction ~

What does and empty container, vinegar, baking soda & ballon equal?

Besides carbon dioxide...

 

...a very happy 8 year old.  cool.