Blue Knights... #2

Last night was our second Blue Knights meeting!!  I'm so excited to share what we planned for the boys!



We first set the table in preparation for the "Knights" arrival.



After the opening prayer, Bible memory shout, and a wonderful story about St. Ambrose, the boy's got started on their helmet of "hope". This was such a cool and easy craft!!



The helmet pattern is found at the Clevenland Museum of Art.  To get to it, click on the link.  Next click on "Art to go", then "elementary school", then "Cool Knights".  Great craft!!



We struggled with a game/activity for the virtue of "hope" this month.  Because of the cold weather here, and the early darkness this time of year, an outdoor activity would be tough.  We finally decided on a treasure hunt, since we "hope" to reach our treasure of Heaven someday!  We started out by creating little treasure "clues", then put them in balloons.  We also put blank strips in balloons, so the boys wouldn't be able to tell which ones had clues and which ones didn't.  :)



There were 4 "stops" in their journey to their "treasure".  There are 5 boys in our group, so for each stop we blew up 5 balloons.  We numbered the balloons, so that the boys would be able to pop them in order of their "stops".  Then we threw them on the floor!  When the game started, the boys each grabbed a balloon with the #1.  Their goal was to pop their balloon, and see which boy got the clue.  It was really exciting to hear the boy's yell "I GOT A CLUE, I GOT A CLUE!".  Each clue led them on a hunt, then they would go back to the balloons and get the next clue.



Their first "stop" was Mary.  The clue stated " Your journey begins with the hope of a Savior.  Find Mary and pray 1 Hail Mary."



Their second "stop" was the crucifix.  The clue stated "Your journey continues at the feet of Christ, where our Savior willingly died for us, so we may have eternal life.  Find the crucifix and pray an "Act of Faith."



Their 3rd "stop" took them to Calvary.  The clue stated "Next on your journey is Calvary, where Christ was crucified.  Find the picture of Calvary.  Pray an "Act of Hope."



The last clue stated "Final stop on your journey ~ find your treasure in the clouds of Heaven."  K cut out a cloud from poster board, and I created these sweet bags.  They are the perfect size for carrying their Blue Knight member books, and other goodies.



Then, it was time for snacks.  St. Ambrose is the patron saint of bee keepers, so K and E created these awesome Hunny Bee Cookies from Family Fun!  E added faces and stingers!! :)

The boys all had such a good time!!

Random Chitter Chatter...

... of my many blessings, in the van this morning :)

"Mom, I'm worried about little chicken"(little chicken is a plastic 1/2" toy)

"Why, little chicken is at home"

"No, I brought him, and now I can't find him"

"You probably dropped him"

"No, I did not"

"He's probably in your chair"

"No, not my chair, maybe someone else's chair."

"Sarah!"

"Mom, Sarah just threw her toast at my head"

"Sarah Elizabeth, don't throw your toast"

"But, I didn't want the crust"

"I MISS MY ROCK"

"Mom, Sam misses his green rock"

"What green rock"

"MY GREEN ROCK, AND NO~BODY SEARCHED FOR IT!!" (The green rock story is about 2 years old, or so.  How does he remember these things?)

"Everybody has a rock collection.  Little kids, big kids.  I don't know about babies though.  Woman's don't have rock collections."

"Mom is a lady"

"Ladies are womans"

"Mom, S says Jesus isn't powerful.  And, Jesus IS powerful"

"No, Jesus isn't powerful"

"YES HE IS POWERFUL!!"

"I'm powerful"

"You are going to die from my electrical hands"

"BAM!!"

Ahhh... the joys of riding in the van with some of my favorite people :)

Family Fun...

Saturday, we were supposed to go to a fall, horsedrawn hay ride at our local nature center.  They were having a hay ride, caramel apple dipping, and gourd painting for the kids.  When we woke up it was wet, windy and cool.  We started thinking it may not be a good day to go.  As the morning went on, and things got moving in our home, we realized it just wasn't going to work out.  There was grocery shopping to be done, and the wind was supposed to get up to 30 miles per hour.  M is not a big fan of strong winds blowing in children's ears.  We weren't too worried about the bigger kids, but the two youngest were an issue.  So, the decision was made to stay home.  Although we missed out on the windy, horse drawn hay ride, we still had fun at home :)

CARAMEL APPLE DIPPING!!





GOURD PAINTING :)









AND OF COURSE, EATING ALL OF THOSE YUMMY APPLES!!



J got a loose front tooth while eating his!

Life is GOOD!!...

Blue Knights...

     There aren't many Catholic activities for homeschoolers in our area.  There is a wonderful christian homeschooling community, but nothing specifically Catholic that I'm aware of.  We are members of a Catholic homeschooling group in another city about 1/2 hour or so from here, but that drive gets to be a bit much.  So, we decided to try and get something going here in our home town with a few local Catholic homeschoolers!

    Hubby has started up a Blue Knights club for Catholic boys.  The Blue Knights club provides an opportunity for young boys to have a great time, while learning about their faith.  Here is an excerpt from the Leader's Guide ~ "Using the concept of Knighthood based on virtue, the seeds are sown so that the boys can understand St. Joseph's role as guardian of Jesus and Mary.  The martial aspect of Knighthood also is used as a springboard to develop the obedience of faith."

     The first meeting was last night.  There are 5 wonderful young men in the group.  The first meeting was about the virtue of faith, and St. Peter.  I took a few pictures before the meeting started, but stayed out of hubby and the boy's way after.  I wanted this to be their time with dad, and the other young men who came.  hubby did have the help of another dad that came and stayed to enjoy the time with his son.  Hubby appreciated that, because the other dad helped keep things on track :)

     I think they all had a great time ~ I heard LOTS of laughing and yelling!!  Usually a good sign that boys are having fun!!  Here are some before pictures:



This is the table all set and ready to go! Hubby started the meeting with an opening prayer.  He used a toy sword to knight all of the boys after placing the breastplate/capes on them and calling them "Sir (name insert)".



These are the "Shields of faith" I made for the boys to paint for their craft time.



These are the SAD looking cupcakes I made!!!  They overflowed all over the pan while baking, so #1 they are larger than your normal cupcake, and #2 I had to cut them all up just to make them some what resemble a cupcake!  They were supposed to resemble these cupcakes!  Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to make the boats, so I just tried to make due with what I had on hand!



This is the Bible Memory Shout board!  I did hear some shouting for this, which was great!

     After making their craft, the boys went out and played a game outside!  There was so much laughing and yelling!!  We opened up a window in the room we were hanging out in to listen!!  It was a glorious sound!!  I LOVE hearing children laughing and having a great time ~ we all giggled just listening to it :)

     I'm looking forward to planning for the next meeting, and having all of those wonderful young men back!!

Vaccines...

    When given the full gamet of vaccines, as recommended by the CDC, my child will have received a yummy, injectable cocktail of ~

Aluminum [at 2 months, they are injected with anywhere from 295 mcg - 1225 mcg.  FDA recommends no more than 10- 25 mcg of injected aluminum at any one time (for preemies and adults with renal impairment)], 2-phenoxyethanol, formaldehyde, mercury (yep, still in some!!), cow blood, antibiotics, yeast proteins, monkey kidney cells, human blood proteins, aborted fetal cells, chick embryo proteins, gelatin, MSG, EDTA, sodium borate (also known as BORAX!!), formalin, human lung cells, human fetal lung cells, cow heart-muscle extract, cow tissue extract, guinea pig embryo cells, chicken embryos, chicken kidney cells, chicken eggs, octoxynol (a spermacide), sodium deoxycholate (harmful if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed ~ but hey let's inject it and see what happens!!)

     You would think that with all of our technology today, they could come up with something a little safer to inject my children with, to help keep them healthy!!

Mama Bear doesn't like this at all!!!!   Grrrr...

 

 

 

First Day of School...

     Today started the first day of school for many.  Many children got up early,  put on brand new outfits, filled brand new lunch pails, and filled brand new backpacks with pencils, folders, crayons, glue, emergency cards, etc.  Then they went out to the bus stop and waited for the big yellow bus to pick them up.  They met new teachers, new "friends", and were introduced to new routines.  Their days were full.  When that last bell rang, they gathered their new books, backpacks, and coats and lined up at the classroom door for the bus to take them back home.

      Today, our children were on their 6th day of school.  Their routines were familiar ones.  They got up early and got dressed.  Hubby gave K a ride to volleyball practice, and the rest of them gathered at the table for breakfast.  We prayed, and then ate breakfast together.  After breakfast, school began.  They had the same "old" teacher :).  They chose where to work on assignments...


...a few chose comfortable seats...


...others chose desks, with...


...with a beautiful view!


Some worked with scissors...






...others worked with glue (sorry, she won't stay dressed :).

They played with their "best friends":











     Their day was full!  There was no "last bell", no packing of backpacks, no standing in line at the classroom door.  There was no big yellow bus.  They were already home, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

She's only 3...

A conversation between S and me~

S: "Mom, b.a.d. spells 'bed' :)

Mom: "No, b.e.d spells "bed" :)

S: "NO, MOM...it's spelled B.A.D."

Mom: "No, S...it's b.e.d...buh. eh. duh (sounding out letters for her), the e makes an "eh" sound, and a makes an "ah" sound.  You are spelling bad"

S: "MOM, IT'S 'B.A.D."

Mom: "S, I know how to spell...

S: "MOM, I'M SMART, I KNOW HOW TO SPELL!!  YOU'RE NOT SMART, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO SPELL!!  IT'S B.A.D...BED!!

Uugh!!  Someone needs to remind her she's only 3 (ok, almost 4), and remind me NOT to try and reason with a 3 (almost 4) year old!!

Long time as usual!...

     It's been a long time as usual inbetween postings here ;)  Life just sort of sneaks up on me and before I know it 2 or 3 months have passed!

     Today is yet another busy day!  I have to get done with normal chores this morning, have 2 little girls to bath, school with the 3 little's, lunch, Rosary, and at around 2 p.m. I will leave for my 36 week Dr. check up. 

     We still have things to get done before baby decides it's time to meet us.  All of the cloth diapers have been prepped and are ready to go.  The wool covers I bought still need to be lanolized, we still need to get a new mattress for the co-sleeper (they have been out of stock for a couple of weeks), need to finish packing our bags (I only have 2 things packed in mine), and the list goes on ;)

     I'm still hoping that baby decides to come a little early so I don't have to be induced this time.  Hopefully it will.  It feels like baby has no more room in there now.  Last night on the way home from Mass, baby had a hand pushing on a nerve at the top of my thigh and a foot pushing into my ribs. 

     Okay, well time to get my check list and get started!!  It's a long one this morning!!

 

Our weekend...

We had a very nice, relaxing weekend.  Not a whole lot accomplished except family time :)  Could anything be better?

There was soldier playing...

Sarah enjoyed her new maze book...

Jonathon also got into the soldier playing...

Samuel and Jonathon created books (with Katie's help :).  This one is Samuel's :)...

Sarah moved onto the dot~to~dot book, while Madelyn took over the maze book...

A little bit of chess...

Lots of drawing and coloring.  This is Jonathon's picture of the Tiger Tank and the Sherman Tank.  He told me all about both this weekend...

We also ~

created all sorts of "shopping lists",

watched video's online about different tanks,

of course chores,

worked on a new puzzle,

Emma sketched in her new sketchbook,

played computer games,

Emma researched about her favorite characters on some TV shows,

Katie enjoyed a couple of movies with some friends,

the boy's sorted soldiers by color and common characteristics,

read books,

and played the game Zitternix.

How was your weekend?...

Christmas pictures, FINALLY...

Ya, I'm a little behind ;)  Oh well, here they are!...



M...



I think Santa came :)...



There's still room for more stockings!...



Isn't that an AMAZING photo?...



Stocking time...



Wow, between Granny, Grandpa and Santa...they did alright :)



Enjoying our new things...

Of course that's not all of the pics, but it gives you an idea of how wonderful our day was!! :)

Talk to ya soon...