08 August, 2011

It has been a busy summer so far!
I am pretty well prepared for school, curriculum all chosen and purchased.  Am trying Classical Catholic Memory this year - it really looks great.  I just got our in the mail Saturday, so still in the process of reading through.  The kids are always excited about something new.

Also, just purchased the new Catholic Preschool Curriculum over at Catholic Icing.  Have done many of the activities there and at other blogs in the past - but having the information all pulled together in one place save me loads of time wasted surfing around on the net looking for this or that craft or activity I saw some other time.  We have been thinking lately of just what kinds of activities to havI hae for the two little ones when the adoption (please, God) goes through.  The kids are excitied about the adoption and the fun "littles" activities they remember doing in the past.

I have been working on/planning our schedule and chores lists for this school year. 
Greg & Mary both want Chore Packs, Elizabeth wants more of a chore chart.
Seems easy enough.

Found this new list of homeschool sites to visit - a few of them are even new, to me. 
The one blog I am looking over this hosts the "Not Back to School Bloghop" and "Not - week One". I always love seeing how other families homeschool, arrange their homes, schools, supplies and what others use for curriculum and all that jazz. 
Most of the time, knowing that other families struggle with the same questions, issues and difficulties - is enough to get me over the hump. 

18 July, 2011

Quotes on Prayer

He who prays most receives most.
St. Alphonsus Ligouri (1696-1787)

When prayer is poured forth, sins are covered.
St. Ambrose (340-97)

By prayer, man gives God the greatest glory possible.
St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-68)

Diligence in prayer is the perfection of the Gospel.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-91)

Prayer is to our soul what rain is to the soil. Fertilize the soil ever so richly, it will remain barren unless fed by frequent rains.
St. John Vianney (1786-1859)

It is essential to begin the practice of prayer with a firm resolution of persevering in it.
St. Teresa of Avila (1515-82)

By humble and faithful prayer, the soul acquires, with time and perseverance, every virtue.
St. Catherine of Siena

When you ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray well, put yourself for a moment in the presence of God.
St. Louis de Montfort (1673-1716)

God is more anxious to bestow His blessings on us than we are to receive them.
St. Augustine (354-430)

He who fights even the smallest distractions faithfully when he says even the very smallest prayer will also be faithful in great things.
St. Louis de Montfort (1673-1716)

The grating in a ... monastery is not to keep the sisters in, but to keep the world out.
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

"... there are not two kinds of answers to prayer but three: One is "Yes". Another is "No". The third is "Wait".
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

"Prayer can truly change your life. For it turns your attention away from yourself and directs your mind and your heart toward the Lord."
Pope John Paul II

"You can pray while you work. Work doesn't stop prayer and prayer doesn't stop work. It requires only that small raising of the mind to Him."
Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"Everything starts from prayer."
Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"If we really want to pray, we must first learn to listen: for in the silence of the heart God speaks."
Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"Love to be true has to begin with God in prayer."
Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"God has created us to love and to be loved, and this is the beginning of prayer - to know that He loves me, that I have been created for greater things."
Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"When we contemplate God, we are made like unto God."
Julian of Norwich (14th cent.)
"... the rosary is being presented as a genuinely evangelical prayer and even as a way of teaching people how to ponder over the scriptures in prayer and faith."

"the rosary is very well adapted to teaching the life of faith."

"The rosary, which is a school of life open to the simplest of people, far from tying them down to the rudiments of the faith, leads them step by step along the paths of meditation, prayer and contemplation of the Lord. It teaches us to leave words behind when we pray."

He causes his prayers to be of more avail to himself, who offers them also for others.
St. Gregory the Great (d.604)

He knows how to live well who knows how to pray well.
St. Augustine (354-430)

We ought to be persuaded that what God refuses to our prayer, He grants to our salvation.
St. Augustine (354-430)

It is simply impossible to lead, without the aide of prayer, a virtuous life.
St. John Chrysostom (347-407)

As our body cannot live without nourishment, so our soul cannot spiritually be kept alive without prayer.
St. Augustine (347-430)

scapular photos

This is the first one I beaded.  After a dreadful rash in the FL humidity.
It was my practice, the next one looked much nicer.

The back.  I sew on the medals and then fabric glue them down.

We were beading the string on this one to see what we thought.
Not finished yet.


I am planning on going to Lorretto, PA where I was told there is a book store across from the Carmelite Convent that sells a larger brown scapular than I have seen before.  Like 3" square or so... I have been wanting a bigger one, so now I suppose is a good time.  I like having mine beaded because it makes it heavier and I can always feel it.  I like the continual reminder that I am wearing the scapular.  I have always told my children that it reminds me who I belong to and how I am supposed to live every moment.  I probably need to wear something the weight and size of a hubcap that bangs into my knees when I walk, but this will have to suffice :0)  A hubcap wouldn't fit under my clothes anyway.

I will post another picture when I get it, and when I finish beading it.

30 May, 2011

Landmark Books List

Landmarks




1. The Voyages of Christopher Columbus by Armstrong Sperry

2. The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty

3. Pocahontas & Captain John Smith by Marie Lawson

4. Paul Revere & the Minute Men by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

5. Our Independence and the Constitution by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

6. The California Gold Rush by May McNeer

7. The Pony Express by Samuel Hopkins Adams

8. Lee and Grant at Appomattox by MacKinlay Kantor

9. The Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad by Adele Gutman Nathan

10. The Wright Brothers (Pioneers of American Aviation) by Quentin Reynolds--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's













11. Prehistoric America by Anne Terry White

12. The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's

13. The Santa Fe Trail by Samuel Hopkins Adams

14. The Story of the U.S. Marines by George Hunt

15. The Lewis and Clark Expedition by Richard L. Neuberger

16. The Monitor and the Merrimac by Fletcher Pratt

17. The Explorations of Pere Marquette by Jim Kjelgaard

18. The Panama Canal by Bob Considine

19. The Pirate Lafitte & the Battle of New Orleans by Robert Tallant

20. Custer's Last Stand by Quentin Reynolds













21. Daniel Boone by John Mason Brown

22. Clipper Ship Days by John Jennings

23. Gettysburg by MacKinlay Kantor--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's

24. The Louisiana Purchase by Robert Tallant

25. Wild Bill Hickok Tames the West by Stewart H. Holbrook

26. Betsy Ross & the Flag by Jane Mayer

27. The Conquest of the North & South Poles by Russell Owen

28. Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia by Margaret Cousins--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's

29. Trappers & Traders of the Far West by James Daugherty

30. Mr. Bell Invents the Telephone by Katherine B. Shippen













31. The Barbary Pirates by C. S. Forester

32. Sam Houston, the Tallest Texan by William Johnson

33. The Winter at Valley Forge by Van Wyck Mason

34. The Erie Canal by Samuel Hopkins Adams

35. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo by Ted Lawson & Bob Considine

36. Thomas Jefferson, Father of Democracy by Vincent Sheean

37. The Coming of the Mormons by Jim Kjelgaard

38. George Washington Carver, the Story of a Great American by Anne Terry White

39. John Paul Jones, Fighting Sailor by Armstrong Sperry

40. The First Overland Mail by Robert Pinkerton













41. Teddy Roosevelt & the Rough Riders by Henry Castor

42. The Pioneers Go West (To California by Covered Wagon-hardback title) by George R. Stewart--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's

43. Peter Stuyvesant of Old New York by Anna Erskine, et. al.

44. Lincoln & Douglas: The Years of Decision by Regina Z. Kelly

45. Robert Fulton & the Steamboat by Ralph Nading Hill

46. The F.B.I. by Quentin Reynolds

47. Dolly Madison by Jane Mayer

48. John James Audubon by Margaret & John Kieran

49. Hawaii, Gem of the Pacific by Oscar Lewis

50. War Chief of the Seminoles by May McNeer













51. Old Ironsides, the Fighting Constitution by Harry Hansen

52. The Mississippi Bubble by Thomas B. Costain

53. Kit Carson & the Wild Frontier by Ralph Moody

54. Robert E. Lee & the Road of Honor by Hodding Carter

55. Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis

56. Commodore Perry & the Opening of Japan by Ferdinand Kuhn

57. Davy Crockett by Stewart H. Holbrook

58. Clara Barton, Founder of the American Red Cross by Helen Boylston

59. The Story of San Francisco by Charlotte Jackson

60. Up the Trail From Texas by J. Frank Dobie













61. Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House by Sterling North--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's

62. The Story of D-Day: June 6, 1944 by Bruce Bliven Jr.

63. Rogers' Rangers & the French & Indian War by Bradford Smith

64. The World's Greatest Showman: the Life of P.T. Barnum by Joe Bryan III

65. Sequoyah: Leader of the Cherokees by Alice Marriott

66. Ethan Allen & the Green Mountain Boys by Slater Brown

67. Wyatt Earp: U.S. Marshall by Stewart H. Holbrook

68. The Early Days of Automobiles by Elizabeth Janeway

69. The Witchcraft of Salem Village by Shirley Jackson--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's

70. The West Point Story by Colonel Red Reeder, et. al.













71. George Washington: Frontier Colonel by Sterling North

72. The Texas Rangers by Will Henry

73. Buffalo Bill's Great Wild West Show by Walter Havighurst

74. Evageline & the Acadians by Robert Tallant

75. The Story of the Secret Service by Ferdinand Kuhn

76. Tippecanoe & Tyler, Too! by Stanley Young

77. America's First World War: General Pershing and the Yanks by Henry Castor

78. The Doctors Who Conquered Yellow Fever by Ralph Nading Hill

79. Remember the Alamo! by Robert Penn Warren

80. Andrew Carnegie & the Age of Steel by Katherine B. Shippen













81. Geronimo: Wolf of the Warpath by Ralph Moody

82. The Story of the Paratroops by George Weller

83. The American Revolution by Bruce Bliven--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's

84. The Story of the Naval Academy by Felix Riesenberg Jr.

85. Alexander Hamilton & Aaron Burr by Anna Erskine, et. al.

86. Stonewall Jackson by Jonathan Daniels

87. The Battle for the Atlantic by Jay Williams

88. The First Transatlantic Cable by Adele Gutman Nathan

89. The Story of the U. S. Air Force by Robert Loomis

90. The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook













91. Heroines of the Early West by Nancy Wilson Ross

92. The Alaska Gold Rush by May McNeer

93. The Golden Age of Railroads by Stewart H. Holbrook

94. From Pearl Harbor To Okinawa by Bruce Bliven Jr.

95. The Copper Kings of Montana by Marian T. Place

96. Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II by Robert D. Loomis

97. The Story of the U.S. Coast Guard by Eugene Rachlis

98. William Penn: Quaker Hero by Hildegarde Dolson

99. John F. Kennedy & PT 109 by Richard Tregaskis

100. The Story of Oklahoma by Lon Tinkle













101. Americans Into Orbit: The Story of Project Mercury by Gene Gurney

102. The Story of Submarines by George Weller

103. The Seabees of World War II by Edmund Castillo

104. The U.S. Border Patrol by Clement Hellyer

105. The Flying Tigers by John Toland

106. The U.S. Frogmen of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

107. Women of Courage by Dorothy Nathan

108. Dwight D. Eisenhower by Malcom Moos

109. Disaster at Johnstown: the Great Flood by Hildegarde Dolson

110. The Story of Thomas Alva Edison by Margaret Cousins--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's













111. Medal of Honor Heroes by Colonel Red Reeder

112. From Casablanca to Berlin by Bruce Bliven, Jr.

113. Young Mark Twain & the Mississippi by Harnett T. Kane

114. The Battle of the Bulge by John Toland

115. The Story of the Thirteen Colonies by Clifford Lindsey Alderman

116. Combat Nurses of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

117. Walk in Space: the Story of Project Gemini by Gene Gurney

118. The Battle for Iwo Jima by Robert Leckie

119. Midway, Battle for the Pacific by Captain Edmund L. Castillo

120. Medical Corps Heros of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame

121. Flat Tops, the Story of Aircraft Carriers by Edmund L. Castillo

122. The Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd by A. B. C. Whipple
World Landmarks



1. The First Men in the World by Anne Terry White
2. Alexander the Great by John Gunther
3. Adventures Discoveries of Marco Polo by Richard J. Walsh
4. Joan of Arc by Nancy Wilson Ross
5. King Arthur His Knights by Mabel Louise Robinson
6. Mary, Queen of Scots by Emily Hahn
7. Napoleon & the Battle of Waterloo by Frances Winwar
8. Royal Canadian Mounted Police by Richard L. Neuberger
9. The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-sen by Pearl S. Buck
10. The Battle of Britain by Quentin Reynolds
11. The Crusades by Anthony West
12. Genghis Kahn the Mongol Horde by Harold Lamb
13. Queen Elizabeth the Spanish Armada by Frances Winwar
14. Simon Bolivar, the Great Liberator by Arnold Whitridge
15. The Slave Who Freed Haiti: The Story of Toussaint Louverture by Katherine Scherman
16. The Story of Scotland Yard by Laurence Thompson
17. The Life of Saint Patrick by Quentin Reynolds
18. The Exploits of Xenophon by Geoffrey Household
19. Captain Cook Explores the South Seas by Armstrong Sperry
20. Custer's Last Stand by Quentin Reynolds

21. Will Shakespeare and the Globe Theater by Anne Terry White
22. The French Foreign Legion by Wyatt Blassingame
23. Martin Luther by Harry Emerson Fosdick
24. The Hudson's Bay Company by Richard Morenus
25. Balboa: Swordsman Conquistador by Felix Riesenberg
26. The Magna Charta by James Daugherty
27. Leonardo da Vinci by Emily Hahn
28. General Brock and Niagara Falls by Samuel Hopkins Adams
29. Catherine the Great by Katherine Scherman
30. The Fall of Constantinople by Bernadine Kielty
31. Ferdinand Magellan: Master Mariner by Seymour Gates Pond
32. Garibaldi: Father of Modern Italy by Marcia Davenport
33. The Story of Albert Schweitzer by Anita Daniel
34. The Marquis de Lafayette: Bright Sword of Freedom by Hodding Carter
35. Famous Pirates of the New World by A. B. C. Whipple
36. Exploring the Himalaya by William O. Douglas
37. Queen Victoria by Noel Streatfeild
38. The Flight and Adventures of Charles II by Charles Norman
39. Chief of the Cossacks by Harold Lamb
40. Adventures of Ulysses by Gerald Gottlieb
41. William the Conqueror by Thomas B. Costain
42. Jesus of Nazareth by Harry Emerson Fosdick
43. Julius Caesar by John Gunther
44. The Story of Australia by A. Grove Day
45. Captain Cortes Conquers Mexico by William Johnson
46. Florence Nightingale by Ruth Fox Hume
47. The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler by William L. Shirer
48. The Story of Atomic Energy by Laura Fermi
49. Great Men of Medicine by Ruth Fox Hume
50. Cleopatra of Egypt by Leonora Hornblow
51. The Sinking of the Bismarck by William L. Shirer
52. Lawrence of Arabia by Alistair MacLean
53. The Life of Saint Paul by Harry Emerson Fosdick
54. The Voyages of Henry Hudson Eugene Rachlis
55. Hero of Trafalgar by A. B. C. Whipple
56. Winston Churchill by Quentin Reynolds
57. The War in Korea: 1950 - 1953 by Robert Leckie
58. Walter Raleigh by Henrietta Buckmaster
59. Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Elizabeth Payne--Paperback from Amazon or Powell's
60. Flying Aces of World War I by Gene Gurney
61. Commandos of World War II by Hodding Carter
62. Ben Gurion and the Birth of Israel by Joan Comay
63. The United Nations in War and Peace by T. R. Fehrenback

26 May, 2011

Chicken Coop

Now that we are not in the city, I wanted to get chickens.
So, where to begin?

Reading:
(will add my favorites later)

and, a chicken coop.
Grandpa (my daddy) to the rescue!



  Our superhero - no cape, suspenders.

What color did we want to paint it?
We have red, so red.





Silly girl.


We ran out of red, so will be finishing up with mahogany and black.
What you can't see is on the other side of the garage is Matt's new car.
His dream car mind you -
I can't find the picture - it is a 270Z.  Orange.

No red polka dots got on it in the making of this coop.
Thanks be to God.



Latin Mass in Patton, PA

One of the things we most missed about Jacksonville, FL (friends excluded) was our Church.
Immaculate Conception in downtown Jacksonville is an amazing and wonderful Church.
We loved the Latin (Tridentine) Mass each Sunday, we miss terribly having Confession before every Mass, the stunning beauty of the Church, teaching CCD, all the lovely parishoners who welcomed us with open arms.  A Knights of Columbus council that was very active - and YOUNG! 
And,  our priest.  Father Murphy, a wonderful and holy priest we had the priviledge to know for that time.

Here, the only available Latin Mass in our area of PA (hostile bishop, former now - God bless our newly installed Bishop Bartchak) is in Patton, PA at Queen of Peace Catholic Church.  The call it "Latin in Patton".  When we move I always research Church's, homeschooling (and the laws) and other various things like best value shopping and so forth, where we are moving. 
So, I had known about the Latin Mass, but this is PA.  We moved in September 20th and snow was right around the corner.  Patton is norther and into the mountains from us - an hour.  Needless to say, we weren't going until after the spring thaw....
we are still waiting, LOL! 

Well at the Catholic Homeschool Conference we attended we were told that all the homeschoolers go to the first Sunday Latin Mass each month, and stay after for breakfast and socializing.
First Sunday was the next day...........
So, we went to Harrisburg, PA Saturday and Patton, PA the next.
I am so not a traveling gal.
But, I was in for a treat.  It was a 1st Sunday High Mass is celebrated in its full solemnity, with the Asperges (sprinkling with holy water), incensing, torchbearers, and the St. Benedict Schola Cantorum chanting the Mass. The church breakfast is held from 7 AM to 1 PM.  If you click the above link, Latin in Patton you can see a close up of the high altar.  The reliquaries are amazing.  I'd not seen them before like that on the altar.
Here are some pictures -


Look up and all around the Church are symols of the Blessed Virgin with the titles.

They are amazing.

Side Altar/left



Ambo - See the Holy Spirite in the top?
St. Michael the Archangel is on the very top.


St. Michael the Archangel.
not very clear

Main Altar


Steps up to the main altar.



Right side altar.





Cool confessionals, right?

Really, really beautifully sung.  I felt like I could see into Heaven.

25 May, 2011

May Crowning

Turns out there are Catholic homeschoolers in PA after all.
We found them at the little Catholic Homeschool convention in Harrisburg.
Today we went to a May Crowning Mass -

Matt and the children.
I have to say, one of the really neat things about living in PA is all the old Catholic Churches - and all the Catholic "stuff".  Outdoor shrines, LOTS and LOTS of Catholic Churches. 
The building behind the grotto is the rectory, and friary.

ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS Catholic Church
Johnstown, PA

Crowning at the beginning of Mass.

Rosary procession around the grounds to the different little shrines. 



Gifts for the religous who are so supportive of the homeschool community.

Everyone............

Matt, far left

And the picture takers.

18 May, 2011

tap, tap, tap

Is this thing on?

06 November, 2010

So what do you get when you buy a shopping cart full of pumpkins for $5

All cleaned and ready to go into the oven.
I can't tell you how grateful I am to have a double oven.

Look at the floor, apparently we are planting pumpkin seeds right here in the kitchen to see if they will grow.

Puree, and packaging station.
Pumkin butter in crock, pumpkin bread to the left

Greg asked, what's for dinner?
Pumpkin soup
Pumpkin hummus
Pumpkin shepherds pie
Sauteed pumpkin and onions................
Pumpkin cranberry bread
Pumpkin corn bread
Toast with pumpkin butter

what would you like?

02 November, 2010

All Souls Day

From things to do at CatholicCulture.org

The faithful who visit a cemetery to pray for the faithful departed, saying the Lord's Prayer and the Creed (even if only mentally), may gain a plenary indulgence once only under the usual conditions: sacramental confession (eight days before or after the act), Eucharistic Communion on that day, and prayer for the Pope's intentions (usually one Our Father and Hail Mary as minimum). Each day between November 1 and November 8, this gains a plenary indulgence that can only be applied to the poor souls in purgatory. Any other time of year this gains a partial indulgence. See Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November for more information about indulgences for the Poor Souls.

The children and I went to our town's cemetary.
It is shared by our church Our Lady Queen of Angels, the Russian Orhodox, and the Greek Orthodox churches in town.  It is just lovely. 

The was one strange thing I noted, however.
The sign at the cemetary stated it was holy ground, a few other housekeeping type details, and a notice forbidding burying dead people with out proper permission.  I couldn't help but wonder if this had been a problem in the past.  Why else would it have been posted?


We walked through the cemetary, and prayed the rosary together.  It was really quite nice.
The kids had fun.  I came to the conclusion that I am actually going to need to get a winter coat.
I have the sneaking suspicion PA cold is going to be an all new expreience for me.....

Greg wanted to know if we were related to the Gregor family, or the Gregovich family.
There are a lot of family plots with several generations of families buried together.  There are so many tiny headstones with the lamb (below) where babies and young children are buried.  Generally dating to the early 1900's. 

I know the cemetary is well cared for, it is mentioned constantly at church.
I will have to ask Father Joe if it would be allowable for us to make rubbings of some of the headstones.
I am not sure, perhaps that would be inappropriate?

Greg stopped at so many of the graves and made the sign of the cross for them.


Catholic Culture has a great article:   Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November


(clipped)
Explaining indulgences and practices Catholics can do during the month of November for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.

(clipped)An indulgence is "the remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins already forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned." To obtain this remission there are proper dispositions and certain conditions predetermined by the Church that must be met by the faithful. The remission is acquired through the intervention of the Church, who has the power to loose and bind granted through Jesus Christ. "As minister of the Redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the Saints" (Enchiridion of Indulgences).


(clipped)
To attain a plenary indulgence, three conditions must accompany the prescribed act:

the faithful must receive the sacrament of confession, either eight days before or after the pious act is performed,
receive Holy Communion on that day and
recite prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father (one Our Father and one Hail Mary is the minimum, but any other additional prayers may be added).



Follow the above link for the entire article, and more information.

Toties Quoties Indulgence


From noon on All Saints Day through midnight of All Souls Day* the Catholic faithful, as often as they visit a church to pray for the dead, reciting six times during each visit the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for the intentions of Holy Mother Church may gain a plenary indulgence applicable only to the souls in Purgatory, under the usual conditions of making a good Confession within a week before or after, worthily receiving Holy Communion within the week and having the right intention of heart. This is called the Toties Quoties Indulgence.

* This same plenary indulgence may also be gained from noon on Sunday, November 2nd until midnight November 3rd, but only by those who did not gain it on the preceding November 1st and 2nd. In other words it's either All Saints Day or All Souls Day or Saturday and Monday, not both.