{P, H, F, R} Annual Family Vacation

My husband's family gathers every year in their favorite town on Cape Cod.  It is something that has happened for generations, with multiple cars coming in, flights being booked, houses rented, hotel rooms filled--one year we had 43 people on one vacation.  It is a good time, even if mobilizing that many people at once can be daunting.  We discovered a few years ago that there is a good reason his family is so drawn to that little town, their ancestors, who came over on the Mayflower, actually founded the town. Crazy, I know! 

These pictures are long overdue, but Auntie Leila's plea for {p, h, f, r} posts was just the nudge I needed.

Pretty



Buddy always comes home with a huge bag full of his "collection," which he then uses through out the year to create a museum in our yard.  His original collection, which was a few years in the making, was destroyed in a hurricane, followed by deck construction.  He is very proud of his beautiful finds, especially the crab--which was only a shell but still intact.

Happy

We were all happy to be back at our favorite house on the Cape.  We do not own the house, but it is home. Hubby's immediate family (and their families) have been staying here for almost a decade.  It is our favorite spot to stay.  My favorite part is that we know the home so well, that we just bring in the luggage and head out to our private beach on the pond to relax. 

Little Man was happy to discover the joy of the outdoor shower--oh, the outdoor shower, I wait all year for that!

The big kids were happy to have some open space to fly kites and play endless games of badminton in the sand.

Happy, happy, happy!!!

Funny

My husband received this tent as a birthday gift last year, but hadn't gotten to use it.  We took it along and pitched it in the sand one night.  The two big kids and Hubby had a little adventure sleeping under the stars.  They even saw a meteor shower.

The next day, I took Buddy out for our annual "Mommy/Buddy date," which always includes food.  As we were sitting at the counter of his favorite homemade donut place, some local gentlemen struck up a conversation with us.  They asked where we were staying and how we liked it.  I told them the address and explained how much we enjoyed our week on the pond.  I added, "My husband and the kids even camped out on our backyard beach last night."

He looked at me in dismay, "Camped!  You know we have raccoons around here.  I hope they weren't bothered by any raccoons!"

I politely explained that we come from an area where mountain lions have been spotted walking down residential streets, Coyotes hang out in our woods, and 500 lb black bears press their noses against my kitchen door...raccoons, we can handle!

Real

Probably my favorite part of the trip is real-ly fresh seafood, not the "catch of the day" that was previously frozen and caught LORD knows where that we find at restaurants and grocers by us.  When they say, just caught, it means within the past few hours.  The taste can't be beat, although the price keeps us from eating as much as we would really like to.

However, my family likes to clam.  They can spend hours on the flats in muck up to their ankles digging up clams with their bare hands.  I like to make clam chowder, it's a good deal.  Can I clam? Yes.  Will I clam? No. If my family were starving could I suck it up and feed them clams? Absolutely, but right now I prefer to stay home reading a book and leave the dirty work to them.  Even Little Man pitched in this year on the two and a half hour clamming expedition.

I don't have pictures of that because I was, well at home.  But I do have pictures of the delicious chowder we had for dinner mere hours after the clams were dug.  Can't get much fresher than that!

Of course, a couple weeks after returning home, I found out that the hives, intestinal issues, etc that I had been dealing with for over a month were due to a milk intolerance.  I have learned to make gluten free chowder--milk free, that is a real challenge.  This may have been my last savoring of fresh clam chowder.  I guess I'll eat mine steamed with garlic and oil next year!

We were really sad to say goodbye. Only eleven more months and we get to go back!

Let's Get Planning: Morning Meeting

Linking up with Kelly.


Last year, we started having Morning Meeting each day.  I wasn't sure how it would go, but it revolutionized our homeschool.  Here is my plan for this year.  You can find my plans from last year here.

1

Literature- We will read a chapter or two each day of the following books in this order. The first five were some of my favorite books as a child.

1. Wigger
2. The Story of My Life
3. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
4. My Side of the Mountain
5. The Cricket in Times Square
6. A Nest for Celeste

2

Religion- We have amassed a large collection of St Joseph's picture books and Fr Lovasik books.  Last year, we finally started reading through them.  I plan on reading two chapters a day of each of these:

1. St Paul the Apostle
2. Our Lady of Fatima
3. Padre Pio
4. My Friend Jesus
5. Immaculate Conception
6. Good Saint Joseph
7. The Holy Family
8. The Life of Mary for Children
9. God the Father

3

Hymns- We like to start with a hymn.  Last year, I planned on doing a new hymn every month, this proved too ambitious.  Here are the three that we plan on learning this year, spending a few months on each.

1. Tantum Ergo
2. O Come All Ye Faithful/Adeste, Fidelis
3. Immaculate Mary

4

Catholic Stories- We so enjoyed Catholic Stories for Boys and Girls last year.  This year we will read a story a day from Just Stories.  When we run out of them, I plan on moving onto Angel Food for Boys and Girls.

5

Bible Study- We will continue to read the Psalm of the Day.  In addition, on Thursdays, we will pre-read the Mass reading for Sunday and discuss. Lastly, we are reading The First Christians by Marigold Hunt. 

6

Science-This year I am adding science to morning meeting.  It seems to be the subject I have the hardest time fitting in.  My children spend a lot of time studying nature, watching science movies, and learning about creation but it's time to do some more formal study. We will be reading the following books over the course of the year:

1. Science 2 for Little Folks
2. How do We Know God Created Life
3. How do We Know God is Really There
4. NOAA Teacher at Sea
5. A Pocket Guide to Astronomy
6. Exploring Creation with Physical Science (One module per a week.)

7

Mathmatics- We are using Life of Fred in conjunction with other math practice. We are reading the following books, all together:

1. Edgewater
2. Farming
3. Goldfish

Then Cowgirl and I are covering the following, sometimes the boys join in sometimes not.  This really isn't part of Morning Meeting, but I thought I would share.

1. Kidneys
2. Liver
3. Mineshaft
4. Fractions
5. **Possibly Percentages and Decimals

I'm hoping to also include some picture books, this site has a really nice list of picture books that teach mathematics.

Let's Get Planning: First Communion Preparation

I am attempting a posting blitz today--my goal is four posts.  We will see how it goes, this is post number 2.  (Deep breath) Linking up with Kelly.

Buddy is preparing for First Holy Communion next spring--I can't believe it.  Below is our plan for preparation that includes some of our favorite books!

1

We are including P. A Halpin's Children's Retreats book.  This beautiful book is out of print and fairly expensive out in cyber space. I was blessed to find it for under $10 at a used curriculum fair.   I am on the search for an e-version and will update if I find it. In a search for a place to purchase this book, I discovered the Janet P. McKenzie has published readers for Confession and Confirmation based on Halpin's classic.  In addition, she has First Communion Journals for girls and boys.  I am ordering the St Paul version for Buddy.

2

 


I am hoping Newman Press will bring back this classic.  It is such a sweet book of stories of various children's experiences on the day of their First Holy Communion.  Again, it is exorbitantly expensive for a used copy--who is really paying $130!!!  I will be searching for any deals on this for my readers.  I bought this for $4 at a used curriculum fair.  I better warn the kids about extra gentle care for this one.

3

 

Yet another out of print book, my apologies, friends. However this can be found for reasonable prices.  All of the books in this series are amazing.  We have almost all of them.  In fact, we have a book that contains the stories for each sacrament.  I have read it to the children three times so far, they cry every time it ends that there is no more to read--they are so touched by the stories.

4

 

This story is absolutely beautiful, even more so that the illustrations.  A beautiful book cover to cover.  Based on a true story, it is inspiring for all ages. 

5

 

Come meet a young saint who inspired the Pope to lower the age of Communion. All of Mary Fabyan Windeatt's books are well done.  I think I will enjoy this as much as the children, this is my first time reading this book.  I also highly recommend the Holy Heroes radio drama of Blessed Imelda. 

6

  

This book is a classic.  Though it may seem dated, I believe it still has value.  In addition, our parish just started a monthly Latin Mass.   This will serve to explain both our weekly Novo Ordo Mass as well as the monthly Latin one.

7

Lastly, we will compile a First Communion Notebook.  For Cowgirl, I followed a lovely blog that told me just what to do.  That blog has since been taken down.  So I am going to create my own notebook layout.  I will post page link at the top of the blog and add a photograph, and instructions as we complete the pages.  I am hoping that will keep us from scrambling to finish them all at the last minute.  My Buddy is the great procrastinator. :)

  

Let's Get Planning: Learning on the Go!

Linking up with Kelly.

We live in a semi-suburban, rural area.  My children are very involved in multiple activities.  This translates into a lot of time in the car!  Any activity requires at least 25 minutes, sometimes an hour, drive each way.  All this running around is exhausting for me great for the kids, but it was making completing all our work difficult.  The solution, school in the car!  Now during these drives we could just try to ignore the "He's touching me!" "She's bothering me!" struggles enjoy quality family time, or we can use some educational distractions enrichments to help pass the time.  Here is our school on the road plan for this year.

1

I really wanted to introduce the children to the great composers of history, but how and with what time?  Then I found a selection of these on cassette tape for a steal on Cathswap.  We tried them out and my kids were entranced.  I purchased the entire set for this year.  What I like best about this series is that is retells the story of each composer's life interspersed with their works from each time period.  At the end there is a "Mini concert" of each composer's best works.

2





This is another gem that I picked up second hand.  We have the original series on cassette tape.  Although the Cd or DVD sets are close to $50, they are worth every penny.  Sr John Vianney has such a gentle way of presenting the Faith in a loving tone.  It is completely mesmerizing. 

3

Twin Sisters Music Productions has a number of products that are perfect for learning on the go.  Christian Book Distributors carries numerous mp3 downloads.  We will be using States and Capitals.

We are also using History Songs and Geography Songs from Audio Memory Publishing.

4



We are continuing our study of Latin with Song School Latin.  We have a portable DVD/Mp3 player to watch the videos once of twice a week on the go.  We try to listen to the accompanying CD at least three times a week to help get that vocabulary stuck in our head! 



5

My children really enjoy read alouds and audio books.  In addition to our Morning Meeting read alouds, and Unit Study read alouds, my husband reads to them for forty minutes every night from selections of his own choosing.  However, that isn't enough for this literature hungry family.  We have exhausted the audiobooks at our local library, so I have been happy to find numerous free downloads online.  With the help of an MP3 player and this speaker case, we now have more books to listen to than we have hours in the day.  My plan is to listen to at least 6 books over the course of the year.  Here are my selections Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Eight Cousins, The Red Badge of Courage, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Anne of Avonlea and Peter Pan.

6



To supplement our geography study, we will be listening to classics from around the world.  My big four list is this:  West African Folk Tales, Japanese Fairy Tales, The Heroes,  and American Indian Fairy Tales. 

7

Lastly, comes science, which I hope to find a way to explore more deeply on the road.  We will be listening to the following books, The Burgess Bird Book,  The Burgess Animal Book, and The Insect Folk.  I also found all these wonderful episodes of Mr. Wizard's World on Youtube.  I am trying to find a way to download them to my Kindle so that we can take it on the road.

How do you study on the road?



Let's Get Planning: Farmer Boy Unit Study

Linking up with Kelly.

Buddy is so interested in Farmer Boy.  My children truly love the Ingalls family and remind me constantly that they are cousins.  So, I decided to create a unit study for him.

1

Farmer Boy inspired science- I have the following science activities planned to correlate with the book, we will complete them when we reach that section of the book.

1. Ice experiment- Over at Raising the Barrs there is an interesting activity to teach children about storing ice, reminiscent of Almanzo cutting ice and storing it in the ice house for summer. 
2. Milk and popcorn experiment- How much popcorn can you fit in a full glass of milk?  Find out the way Almanzo did by following this activity by Homeschool in the Hills. 
3. Soap Making-  I am very afraid of lye, but I want to try our hand at making soap like the Wilders' did.  Country Farm Lifestyles has so many soap recipes.  I plan on us starting with the Honey soap recipe and if I can muster my resolve in the spring, try the beginner soap with lye.  This is an exercise in stretching myself, so we will both be learning. 
4. Molasses Candy Pull- A little food science is fitting for studying Almanzo, a boy with an appetite the size of Texas.   In the dead of winter, when we are stuck inside with multiple feet of snow all around, I plan on following this activity from All Things Beautiful.

2

 

Reading and Listening- A large part of this unit is reading.  I will be reading aloud Farmer Boy and Farmer Boy Heads West. From the library, we are going to use the My First Little House Books that tell the Little House stories but break them down for newer readers. These Buddy will read himself.  My plan is at least two books per a week.

3

  

Almanzo loved to eat, a man after Buddy's own stomach heart.  Buddy also really enjoys cooking and wants to learn more recipes.  We are going to cook a selection of recipes from the Little House Cookbook together, including planning a Little House feast from which even Almanzo would walk away full.  In addition, I found the recipes for Vinegar Pie; and Apples and Onions--can't wait to try them. (If I can figure out how to make a gluten and milk free version as well)

4

  

Wilder Biographies- In studying about these beloved ancestors, I want Buddy to learn more about them than just what is in the books.  So, I will be reading the following books aloud Childhood of Famous Americans: Laura Ingalls Wilder,  The Story of the Wilders: All About Almanzo and His Family, and Laura Ingalls Wilder Country.  There is also a lovely documentary, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura.  It is a little pricey on DVD, but can be rented via Amazon Instant Video for only $1.99. (You can purchase the streamed movie for only $2 more!)

5

 

Life on the Prairie- So you want to live on the prairie?  Well, here are some books to show you what life there is really like.  The first, The Prairie Traveler, is actually a period book that has been reprinted.  It was originally written as a guide for those heading west to homestead. The e-version is available at the Gutenberg Project for free.  Diary of an Early American Boy is partially based on the diary of Noah Blake. It provides another view of the world Almanzo experienced.  Lastly, Pioneer Girl: Growing up on the Prairie is a true story of one of Laura's contemporaries that provides a deeper glimpse into everyday chores and activities.

6

Farm Animals- What Farmer Boy unit would be complete without learning more about animals on the farm.  While Buddy has been saving his money to buy a team of oxen, I suggested we start a little smaller and work our way up.  I signed him up for The Bunny Bunch, a 4-H group that teaches children how to care for rabbits.  Within the next couple of months, he will get a rabbit of his own, that we will care for and get to show in the county fair--very Almanzo indeed!  We have also been helping to care for friends' chickens and learning more about what them online.  Buddy wants an entire flock--we may be getting a few in the spring, God willing.

From Currclick*, I downloaded the following free items to enhance our animal study, since I cannot buy every farm animal to experience them first hand.  OHC Farming unit, Down on the Farm Notebooking Pages, and The Critters of Wind Haven Farm.   To help with the notebooking  pages, I am setting up a visiting to a new(er) farm in our town that is currently raising chickens, pigs, and cows all in pastures, the old fashioned way. Noah the Farmer always offers for people to visit, so we are taking him up on the offer.

7

Field Trips- In addition to our trip to the farm, I have a few hands on experiences so that Buddy can live like Almanzo, not just read about him.  The first is going on as I type, Buddy is doing a Hands on History Camp put on by our local historical society.  They are learning and living the early 19th century lifestyles all week.  He is having a blast!  He told me that doing laundry is so much fun, all he wants for his birthday is a washboard, metal wash tub, and a bar of soap and he will do all the laundry there is to wash....hmmm.

We have always talked about taking the kids maple sugaring, but it has yet to happen.  SO, I am including it in our lesson plans for this year.  Once we learn the process of making the syrup, I hope we have enough clean snow to make the famed maple snow candy from the sugaring dance.  

Lastly, I am taking the kids on a road trip to see the actual Wilder farm.  It is a long drive and will definitely be an overnight trip, but it will be worth it.  I'm saving my pennies and hoping we can make it happen this spring. 

This unit is read aloud heavy, as is all our curriculum this year (I told Hubby he needs to buy me some good reading glasses and a large reusable water bottle if I am to make it through :) However, i will not be reading every book, every day.  I am going to divide the books up into daily chunks so that we can complete them within a year.  So on a given day, we may read 15 pages of Farmer Boy, 10 pages of Laura Ingalls Wilder's biography, and 10 pages of The Prairie Traveler.  This way it is more manageable and will keep us on track. I will be posting additional resources on my Pinterest board, be sure to check it out!

*These are affiliate links, though the resources are free, if you purchase any other curriculum, I will receive a small percentage of the purchase price in the form of a credit to provide new curriculum for my homeschool.  Thank you!

 

Let's Get Planning: Equine Studies Unit

Cowgirl, as her nickname suggests, is a horse lover.  She eats, sleeps, breathes horses.  We have read about them and learned about them, but this year, I decided to design an entire curriculum.  Cowgirl is entering middle school, but this curriculum could be adapted for younger students, as well.

1

Horse Literature- This part of the curriculum I am leaving open ended.  There is so much out there to read.  We have read a number of Margurite Henry books--although, quite honestly, she wrote enough books to fill a couple school years of reading--and I would like Cowgirl to re-read some of our favorites and explore a few additional titles by Ms. Henry.  Black Beauty by Anna Sewell has always been a favorite in our home, and we will revisit it for other parts of this unit study.  Ii am focusing on two other authors as well, Kathleen Duey for her historical fiction Hoofbeats series and Patricia Hermes Horse Diaries series.  Historical fiction is a family favorite genre, but I think it also adds richness to the horse studies.  All of these are available at our local library, although I plan on purchasing a few as audiobooks.  The literature component supports all the other components of this unit study.  We will keep a log of books read.  I am hoping to cover quite a bit of ground through the literature but I am allowing this section to be self-paced.

2

Horse Anatomy- I purchased Horse Anatomy: A Coloring Atlas.  It was expensive, and I apparently purchased it without realizing that it cost over $30.  However, this will be an ongoing project.  It is not a coloring book designed for children but a real in-depth study of horse anatomy presented as a coloring project.  If you are looking for a significantly cheaper coloring book designed for younger people, check out Dover Horse Anatomy.  (I think that was the one I really planned to order, this is what happens when I over multi-task!)

3

Equine Science- We purchased this book second hand for $5.  Which is a real bargain.  I like that it is comprehensive, yet accessible to young learners.  I would definitely place this as a middle school level book, however it could be completed with assistance by younger students.  The 4-H mall carries very nice equine science workbooks.  They were my original plan, until we found this beautiful book.  You can get both books for less than half the price of the book above. 

4

The Role of Horses in History- The legacy of the horse spans centuries and continents.  Horses were an integral part of history for generation, long before they became pets and competitors.  I think to truly appreciate the horse's nature, we need to study what it has contributed to mankind as one of God's most beautiful creatures.  I purchased this e-book for $2.99.  I was unable to find it in print anywhere.  I also have several books about the Pony Express.  Learn about Horses has a nice little summary of the horse's role in history.  Horse Talk has an extensive list of articles about different horses through history, as well.  We can't forget the role that race horses have played in recent history, check out The Top Tens for short biographies of the top ten greatest race horses of all time.

5

In-depth Breed Study- Cowgirl will be choosing two horse breeds to research.  She is familiar with many breeds, but I want her to dig a bit deeper.  This will count as her research and writing portion of the unit study.  For each breed, she will be writing a 3-5 paragraph essay (based on the system she learned from IEW Writing Intensive).  Topics to be covered in the essay:

1. Origin of the breed including country of origin
2. Strengths of the breed
3. Breed weaknesses
4. Markings and characteristics
5. Modern uses for the breed
6. Historical uses for the breed
7. Any special care or maintenance that is specific to each breed

6

Barn Management and Safety- Cowgirl will be completing the Youth Safety course through My Horse University.  It is a free on-line course that includes a certificate of completion.  We are also using the resources at Think Like a Horse.  In addition, we found a local 4-H horse club and I plan to set up a "shadow" day at the barn where Cowgirl rides so that she can experience an entire day of running a barn and caring for horses.

7

Currclick Resources- Have you tried Currclick?  It is an online source for curriculum, clubs, and classes.  The prices range start from free, and right now there is a huge back to homeschool sale going on with up to 60% off.  I had already planned on using a number of resources from them, but picked up even more through the sale.  Here is a list of what we are using.{These are affiliate links}

1.  Horse Lapbooking Project
2. In Art-Horses
3. 9 Great Horse Stories (now only $0.10!)
4. All About Horses Bundle (on sale for only $0.45--incredible!)
5. Horse Novel Literature Study
6. Horse Lapbook/Mini Study (on sale for $0.50--that's why I picked it up!)
7. Happy Scribe Copybook-Horses

I have been using Currclick for as long as I have been homeschooling. They have amazing, low cost resources.  I like them so much, I decided to become an affiliate, which means that if you click on any of my Currclick links and purchase any item, I receive a small percentage back in credit to purchase more curriculum for my homeschool.  Thanks.

I will be posting additional resources on my Pinterest boards, please check them out soon!
 God bless!


I'm linking up with Kelly who is just wrapping up an amazing series on SMA, please click over and show her some love!  She says she isn't a superhero, but I have met Kelly and she is one special person and an incredible mom!

Works of Mercy Bouquet: Visit the Sick

It's been awhile since I have posted one of these because I hit a road block when seeing that the next one was visit the sick.  Part of it was because I have done so much visiting of the sick that it became an emotional topic for me.  Another part was that I had a lot of ideas of what visiting the sick should and shouldn't be but not a lot of ideas of where or how to do it.  So, I am changing my format slightly and giving four tips on what the sick and their caretakers need most in a visit, and then a list of ideas of how to visit those who are sick and may not get many, if any, visits.

1

Keep visits short and timely.  My mother, as many of you know, had brain cancer for six and a half years.  She was a teacher and avid volunteer around town, that meant she had a lot of friends and connections.  This proved to be a blessing during the difficult time.  Any given day, at least one person had stopped in to say hello and "shoot the breeze" with my mom--she loved to talk!  However, as much as we appreciated the love and support, it was difficult to constantly have people stopping in and some times staying for hours.  Towards the end, my mom was really only "up and ready" for about an hour or two a day, but people still wanted to visit.  The visitors meant well and were acting out of love.  My first suggestion, though, in being a helpful visitor is keep your visit brief unless requested to stay longer.  Illnesses, especially serious ones, are very draining on the patient and the family.  While, we were always happy to see those who loved us stop by, there were times when we really just wanted to be left alone.  In addition, entertaining people for long stretches of time while caring for my mother was difficult to say the least.  So, please ask the family or caregiver when is best to visit, and plan on it just being a short stop in, not full day visit.

2

  Bring nutritious foods and snacks.  All those lovely friends that stopped by supplied us with a steady stream of cake, pie, cookies, and pastries.  Chocolate is a delicious distraction, however it is also not a healthy one.  In those early years when I was there daily with two young children in tow, my health declined as my weight soared.  I was busy cleaning and helping, especially entertaining guests with coffee and a scrubbed kitchen.  I had no time to sit and eat a meal, so I grabbed what was easy to find--namely junk food.  My children developed a serious sweet tooth and my mom also rapidly gained weight, making caring for her more difficult.  We appreciated the sentiment and enjoyed the bounty but really it didn't help our situation to keep filling up on sugary carbs.  If you would like to bring a treat to the person infirmed, choose a healthy treat like a fruit basket or veggies and dip.  Let the sweetness come from a lovely visit, not just a sugary treat.

3 

Bring something to share.  Especially toward the end, when my mom was home bound, she appreciated people bringing news and photos to share.  Sometimes it was their grandchild's latest photo, or a clipping from the magazine about the school where my mom had worked.  On occasion, someone would bring a video or CD to listen to.  It became increasingly difficult for her to focus, but she always appreciated the thought.  Bringing something happy to talk about helps cut through the isolation and loneliness of being stuck home sick.  After all, who wants to spend their days just discussing doctors, tests, and medicines.

4  

Remember the family and caregiver need visits, too. Caring for a loved one can be very isolating for the family.  Your life revolves around what is best for the person in need.  It was always nice, although rare, when someone would go out of their way to stop by my house or give me a call.  I needed support and cheering up, too.  I felt guilty asking for help, though.  So, make a little time to cheer up the caregivers.  If they live in the same home, take time to talk to them about themselves.  Ask how they are doing, not just how their sick relative is.  Serious illness affects the entire family.

5

If you are blessed to not have a sick loved one of friend in your life right now, here are some other options for your famliy to live this work of mercy:

1. Happy Mail: Send a cheerful message and some distractions to a chronically ill child. Help brighten up their world and help them forget about the worries no child should face.
2. Bring Flowers to a Nursing Home: We have done this with centerpieces from events.  Bring the flowers to a local nursing home and ask for them to be given to a patient who hasn't had a visitor in a long time.  We have also dropped off candy and cards with the same request.

Remember Hospitalized and Sick Religious:  Priests, brothers, and nuns are always the first to pray for the sick or visit the lonely.  However when they are hurting, they are often forgotten. Organize a card shower for a religious in your community in need of support.  Ask church groups and friends to send a card, and then invite three other people to do the same. A shower of cards will surely lift their hearts and remind them that they are loved.

Linking up with Jenna.

Sweetness and Light--Mourning Little Sebastian

Do you remember my friend, Sarah?  She was the angel when I needed a helping hand.  Well, she could really use your prayers right now. Her family is facing the unspeakable loss of her sweet, little nephew, Sebastian.  The tiny boy with light in his eyes, has caught many people's attention.  It is so sad to let him go, and his parents did so in the most grace-filled, amazing way.  His sweetness and light lingers on those who have not even met him.  However, his famliy is living a anguish that we cannot understand.  Please pray for them, for peace and hope and faith and love to flood their very beings and sustain them through the tough, dark moments of learning to live without the love of their lives. Thank you.  Tiny St Sebastian, pray for us!

To read more about Sebastian's story click here!