Here is a more detailed coloring page for the St. Andrew Christmas Novena. Just click on the picture and select "save image as". After you save it you will be able to print it out.
I am praying you have a blessed Advent!
You can find more Coffee & Crayons coloring pages here:
Well Advent is almost here whether you are ready or not! Here is my annual Advent calendar for the kids. If you have the Activity pack from last year there are no new saints, but I have added additional pages this year: Epiphany, the Holy Family, nativity gift tags, a template letter to Baby Jesus, and the bonus of an updated easy to read St. Andrew's Christmas Novena card. You can pick it up in my Etsy shop here.
To print the calendar click on it and save it as an image then you can select to print it.
There is an Advent Activity Pack group on facebook you can join where others and I share ideas and links for Advent.
Advent Activity Pack Resource
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A place to share and talk about Advent traditions and activities.
Help for the Mamas...
1. YES Dec 8th is a Holy Day of Obligation even though it's Saturday. It might be helpful to look at your church's Advent schedule and see what times they have set aside for Mass. If they offer a vigil, going Friday night for Immaculate Conception and then Sunday Morning or afternoon for your Sunday obligation may be a pleasant way to spread it out.
2. My lovely friend Ginny at Not So Formulaic has written this beautiful Mass Journal for moms. This Advent, one of my goals is to pay better attention in Mass as I am busy keeping an eye on my children. The older girls are pretty great now in Mass, but golly that two year old! I am hoping to kick start my Advent this weekend with Ginny's book Until I Rest in You. You can pick up a copy at Amazon or buy a digital download from Not So Formulaic here.
Here is a peak at the inside of this beautifully simple Mass Journal.
Help for the Kids...
1. Advent is a time to focus our hearts on Jesus more. If you are not already volunteering and helping find something as a family you can do to help others. Ginny also has an awesome Works of Mercy printable advent calendar with suggestions for Advent prayer, sacrifice, and service.
2. Encourage little acts of kindness in your family. There are a bunch of awesome ways to do this. The straw for Baby Jesus thing, Natalie the Nativity Angel, Abigail the Altruism Angel (she is retired this year maybe she'll make a come back next year after a thorough proofreading and editing of the file), The Shepherd on the Search, or Christmas Countdown as you follow the star (This is my new
3. I have really wanted to jump on the Jesse Tree train because I feel it is a tangible way of unfolding Salvation History for children. I stumbled upon this beautiful Jesse Tree printable from Marginalia Books and it's only $4!!!!! It only lists the reading and you need to look them up but can be a great activity to help kids become more familiar with the bible. Make it special by lighting a candle as you break open the Word of God and read from the Bible together.
I'd love to introduce you to Annaliese Harry who has written this beautiful Advent devotional calledJourney Through Advent.
Anni is a proud Army wife, mamma, blogger, and author. A Beautiful Camouflaged Mess of A Life is her blog. She also writes inspirational pieces for Every Day Ediths, Catholic Sistas, and Catholic Mom. I think you would really enjoy following Anni for some inspiration in your life. The beautiful Advent cover art was illustrated by Caitlyn Anderson, you can check her stuff out on her Blog Lime & Lungs and over on Instagram @limeandlunges
Although this devotional is written with the military woman in mind, it's a great resource for moms like me because it is written beautifully simple. The little hand in the picture is my toddler and I don't have a lot of time to spend reading, but I desire to be nourished and fed at a pace that fits my station in life at the moment.
I love how Anni organized this devotional with a meditation on the theme of each week in Advent and then how she lays out every day simple and to the point: Readings, Reflection, Prayer, and Action.
One of my favorite parts is the little call to action at the end of each day's reflection. Sometimes you just need a little push to get going or to think of how to put into action your faith. I know I get stuck at times in the rut of survival just saying my go to prayers and making sure everyone is fed and reasonably content at the end of the day.
I was thinking that it would be super fun to add this special edition pinkish purple Camo Rosary for a giveaway. It has a St. Michael medal center and is pretty sturdy. I make these in green camo and offer them over at my Etsy shop. The Giveaway for this Camo rosary is open to US Residents. It will run from now to November 21st. Enter the Giveaway through Rafflecopter below!
A new friend recently inspired the making of this coloring page. She wanted something talking about the Eucharist and giving with space for families to write down what they were thankful for. So here it is a coloring page for you to write down what you as a family are thankful for. Hint: use the big space in the leaves to write your grateful sentiments! Ultimately our greatest gratitude should be Jesus in the Eucharist giving us life!
I hope to be more diligent with the Coffee & Crayons post. If you have suggestions or themes you would like to see as a coloring page just mention it in a comment!
Every year I choose to support the Conference 4 Moms because as a mom, it's hard to get away yet we yearn for fellowship and the chance to fill our cup up! This year's theme is to "Pass it On " and poses a great question: What’s Going Into Your Child’s Backpack?
Thousands of moms are getting together online for an exciting conference-- The Pass It On Catholic
Conference 4 Moms . Why is this so exciting? Because moms are taking the lead to do the most
important thing for our church today, strengthening our families. As the Great Saint John Paul II said,
'As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.'
The Pass It On conference with 15 popular presenters will challenge parents to consider what they are
passing on to their children, and they don’t mean treasury bonds or property. Each speaker makes a
strong case to consider a topic or “item” to place into their children’s proverbial backpacks as they
prepare to make their journey through life to adulthood, a journey that will ultimately lead to God.
The topics cover a wide variety from the basics such as, Good Manners by Lindsay Schlegel and Healthy Eating Habits , by Katie Kimball, to deeper understanding of concepts like Forgiveness by
Celeste Behe and what it means to be truly Chaste by Lisa Mladinich.
Popular Mom writer, Danielle Bean and everyone’s favorite Holy Land tour guide, Steve Ray give you glimpses inside their family life along with their favorite suggestions for how to pass on Learning and Joy to your children.
The first step along this path that both parents and children need to cultivate is Prayer , by Heather
Johnson. This leads to helping your children Trust in God , by Tami Kiser, and to develop a Relationship with Mary, by Marge Fenelon. Thank God, for the Sacraments , by Allison Gingras for practical, real spiritual help in all of these matters.
Finally, to help your children along their path to God, you need to pack away Love in the Family , by
Colleen Duggan. Let’s not forget to get the whole Community , by Cam Fradd, involved. Spouses
especially need each other in this task. Even recent studies show us how important a Strong Marriage , by Kathleen Billings, is for children.
As children get older, they must start to make this journey their own by developing their Teenage Faith , by Michele Houmis and Gabe Lewis. Keith Kiser, adds that giving your children appreciation and experiences of Wonder and Beauty will allow them to always be open to find their way to God.
Join with thousands of other moms as we all consider these weighty matters.
The online conference is free Oct. 10-15. You can sign up anytime at www.CatholicMosaic.com.
If you’d like “more” out of the conference, the presentations are available along with over $150 of free bonuses for Catholic moms, in the More 4 Mom Package . These presentations with Discussion Guide, are perfect to watch and talk about with your spouse, parent group, mom group, or neighborhood book club. You can check that out here: more-4-mom-package{I make a portion back for my blog on every sale and the rest of the money goes towards making other great programs for Catholic women. Thanks for your support.}
So what are you putting in your children’s backpack?
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Grab your coffee, tea, or Rockstar...really whatever gets you going in the morning and hear me out on this one! Print out this coloring page and doodle on it while you sip away pondering this:
Love. Love yourself and your kids and all of those around you.
So I was trying to pick a saint quote for January to illustrate for a free coloring page and I kept coming across St. John Bosco. This quote really stood out to me "Without confidence and love, there can be no true education.If you want to be loved…you must love yourselves, and make your children feel that you love them." -St. John Bosco I love it because as a momma I need to remember to love myself and above all let that love spill over to my children. How many of us really focus on loving ourselves and by this I mean set time aside to pray & rest
There are a few other quotes I absolutely love because I think that as a parent I have a special duty to educate my children. And this isn't primarily focusing on a home education although that is something I am appreciative that we can provide. We have the duty to teach our children about God and help them develop a well informed concience.
"If we want to have a good society, we must concentrate all our forces on the Christian education of the young. Experience has taught me that if we wish to sustain civil society then we should take good care of the young."-St. John Bosco
Whether you send your children to school or home educate, one hour a week at Religious education is not going to make the cut for a decent Christian education. This is something we need to work on daily and not just squeeze in around the time of Sacraments. Take time to talk to your children about their faith.
To share the faith with our kids, here are some things we love to do and maybe you can try them too:
1)Read the Bible & Catechism together and then have discussions about it. 2) Read about the lives of the saints and celebrate their feast days. 3) Reinforce and act out lessons learned from the 10 Commandments and Beatitudes. 4) Make regular confessions 5) Pray together as a family other than at meal time!
"If young people are educated properly, we have moral order; if not, vice and disorder prevail. Religion alone can initiate and achieve a true education."-St. John Bosco
I think we can just look around and see the affects of the lack of properly educated children in this world. This is quite self evident.
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Do you have a child who really soaks things up visually? Well I do, and here in this post I'll share with you some of the videos on Amazon Prime that help enrich our studies. We take full advantage of our Prime account and it is quite amazing all that comes included at no additional cost with a Prime membership! Besides the free shipping we have access to a plethora of videos and music. You can make a play list from Prime Music of classical composers to accompany your day or add videos to your watch list to enrich the subjects you are covering.
Here is a short list of some prime videos we have enjoyed, take a look at them and then explore from there on your own. All you need to do is search for a subject in Prime video. I usually do this on my computer ahead of time so that the videos I want the kids to watch are all cued up and ready to go.
New Dimention Media covers a lot of material...there are 38 pages of Prime videos covering many subjects so check it out!
If you don't have amazon Prime you can check it out with a 30 day free trial! There is also a special discount for Prime for those who have an EBT card.
**This post contains affiliate links – meaning if you purchase through the link provided, I may earn a commission from Amazon, at no additional cost to you.**
Well would you look at that! This year Valentine's Day falls on Ash Wednesday. How are you supposed to celebrate when you need to be fasting? My kids are in shock that we won't be indulging in candy. I am going to share with you my thoughts with five hopfully helpful tips to navigate this situation.
1. Celebrate the night before with a St. Valentine Family Party. This could be blended nicely with a Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday celebration. You could make heart shaped pancakes, decorate and exchange cards. I was thinking about putting a little twist on a King cake by using a heart shaped cake pan like this one Nordic Ware Elegant Heart Bundt Pan
3. Host a St. Valentine Dance the night before. (Great for older kids and the grown ups too)
2. Just becuase you won't be feasting on Ash Wednesday doesn't meant you can't show a little love in other ways. Showing how you care for others is a great way to prepare for Lent. Doing small acts of kindness for family and friends is perfectly appropriate even making and exchanging cards. This would be a fantastic time to talk about Jesus and how much he loved us by giving His life for us. I have an old post with a free crucifix Valentine printable here.
4. While some of the littlest ones may not be fasting, you can put out something simple with lunch or for snack. Cut strawberries in half to look like hearts. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out hearts from silices of cheese and other veggies or bread. You can cut baby carrots and cherry tomatoes diagonnally and place them together in the shape of a heart.
Looking for some Valentine or Lenten printables? Check out these available in my Etsy Shop.
What are some of the ways you observe Ash Wednesday?
We had a priest once who prefered complete silence after reception of the ashes, this included no gathering afterwards like soup etc. I really like the opportunity to collect in silence, a kind of centering as we enter the Lenten Season. I liked this little tradition and hope to continue with the Ash Wednesday silence as I try to tune out the world and be with God. There of course is only so much tuning out you can do with a bunch of kids, but I plan on making Ash Wednesday a no device kind of day and keep activities down to minimum.
