3 Things to Encourage a Loving Heart and FREE Coloring Valentines

{Update for 2018: Ok, so it's Ash Wednesday and Valentine's day... eek! That doesn't mean you have to stop showing love to each other just not eat candy...or much of anything 😜 In fact, I would suggest this is a time to show more real love, the kind Jesus wants all of us to always give each other. So in this post is a perfect Sacred Heart of Jesus Valentine for this Ash Wednesday. }

It is that time of year and the mush and gush of Valentine's Day is nearly upon us. I'd like to take a little different approach to it by pondering what Jesus says about LOVE in the verses below. 

34 I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. 35 This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” -John 13:34-35 

I think this verse is simply beautiful and exactly what I want my little ones to be focused on every day and not just on a day like Valentine's Day. What better day to hit this message home than on Valentine's Day. Love begins at home says St. Teresa of Calcutta and Jesus wants us to be that shinning example of love for our children. So what kind of things do you do to encourage this selfless love in your children's hearts?

We live in an age and world that focuses so much on me, myself, and I. It can be hard to shape a selfless heart and truly love others as Jesus did. So I am offering three simple things you could do with your kids to encourage a loving heart in them.

1.A great little thing you could do is simply ask your kids how they think Jesus would want them to love others. You can read the 8 beatitudes to them for a little extra encouragement and then they can hear straight from the horse's mouth on the subject! And you can find them in the Sermon on the Mount, in the Gospel of St. Matthew (5:3-10)

2.Make a little game out of it by writing down these suggestions and then handing them out as little tasks or Mercy Missions to perform. I don't know what it is about the word mission or spies and secret agent talk, but my kids love it and I think using language that speaks to them helps to make life fun and AWESOME!

3. Read stories about saints that showed great love and compassion for others to your children. Kids love to be read to and there are some amazing saints that really loved as Jesus did. Some that I think would be great are: St. Teresa of Calcutta. St. JPII, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Elizabeth, Bl Pier Giorgio, St. Gianna Molla, and so many more!

And I did say FREE printable up there in the title, so here is a cute Sacred Heart Valentine printable for your little ones to color, cut out, and give away! Tip: if you save the image first, it will be easy to print out.

Last but I am sure not least in your mind is this awesome Valentine Party Pack Printable. I am going to give 5 sets away. They are a great little PDF that includes 6 pages. The giveaway is open to EVERYONE, starts today 1/26/2017 and will end on 2/8/2017. 

Although the raffle copter giveaway has ended, not many people entered so if you leave a comment about how you encourage your little ones to love others, I will select a an additional winner on Sunday the 12th! 

Have you seen the updated  Lent Activity Pack

It's now available and includes 23 pages of coloring and activities plus a day tracker to count the days to Easter. 

Coffee & Crayons: FREE Jesus I Trust in You Coloring Page

Today seems like a fitting time to post this FREE coloring page. Jesus I trust in you! Aside from a great way to start the New Year, that has got to be my motto for this month because we've had freezing pipes, clogged drains, and a leaking roof. So what do you do with all of that other than just trust in Jesus that He has and plan.

I am giving you two coloring pages one with all dark out lines and one with the flowers very faint so you could water color over them if you wanted to instead of coloring. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and get to coloring this pretty print out. I suggest if you want to paint this that you print it on card stock or water color paper.

You can find all my FREE coloring pages here!

If you are looking for a beautiful gift or something for your home then you can 

 purchase pretty watercolor saint and scripture quotes printed on almost anything over at Zazzle

Our Advent Plans and a FREE Advent Calendar

So with the new baby we are going to keep doing things kind of simple this Advent. I am just using our Advent Calendar to plan things out which is FREE for you to use too!

I will add in the coloring pages from my Advent Activity pack.

and make the ornaments for the O Antiphons from them. Each Sunday we'll read the Mass readings together as a family and let the kids color the corresponding stained glass window coloring page (this has the readings on it so you can crack open the Bible and find them easily).

We are also going to play a little game with Abigail the Angel. This one is easy for me because I just hide the angel at night and place her with one of the cards for the kids to find in the morning. She sends the child on little mercy missions each day to help them prepare their hearts for Jesus! 

Have a blessed Advent!

Coffee & Crayons: FREE Giving Thanks Coloring Page

This past Sunday I listened to an inspiring homily from our bishop and I really want to share my thoughts about it with you. The point of his homily was to encourage us to continue the year of Mercy in our daily lives even though this special year is coming to a close. He directed us to look at the visitation: Mary went to visit Elizabeth and reminds us of Jesus' call to visit the sick, the lonely, the imprisoned, and the forgotten. We need to continue showing mercy to those around us!

I came across this verse when looking for something that ties into Thanksgiving for this month's quote and I just love it! As this year of Mercy ends, we need to remember that God's Mercy endures forever and so we should also continue to walk in that Mercy and dish it out to everyone around us.
    
      Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

      His mercy endures forever. Psalms 118:1

The Handmade Christmas Gift Guide and Giveaway

Before you hit the shops for Black Friday next week, keep in mind giving a heartfelt and handcrafted item that supports a Catholic Family.
Here are some of my favorite items to give people. A few of them are from my shop, some form friends I know and others just cool Catholic stuff I have stumbled upon around the web.

I have a tendency to lean towards giving a gift with meaning...either it's something I have made or I like to add in a wee reminder of the faith :) I am not sure if everyone appreciates this or not, but it's my little way. Plus it feels good to give a handmade gift, and if you are not the crafty type well then this post will help you find something heartfelt plus help out the awesome people who make these things. Feel good about what your hard earned money is being spent on and shop with confidence that the folks who put a lot of heart into their craft will not be giving your money away to causes that contradict your faith :)

1. Curcifix & Miraculous Medal Necklace

2. OL Guadalupe French Press Cozy

3. Blessed Mother Body Butter from Nazareth Farms

4. Sterling Silver Crucifix Necklace

5. Pastel Floral Rosary

6. Stella Maris Bracelet

1. Masculine St. Benedict Rosary

2. St. Benedict T-Shirt from SRP Catholic Store

3. Beard Oil from St. Kilda Beard Care

4. Masculine Hematite Rosary

5. Ecce Homo Necklace

6. Custom Leather Pocket Oratory from Piccolo Di Luce

1. Large Camo Rosary

2. Play Vestments and More from Jacobs Toy Box & Books

3. Soft Saint Dolls from Trendzilly

4. Chew Rosary from Little Praying Hands

5. Large Patron Saint Rosary and Holy Card

6. Dolly & Me Necklace from Paradise Jewelry

7. Wooden Mass Kit by Almond Rod Toys

8. Handmade Kids Scapular

1. Holy Family Hand Wash from Nazareth Farms

2. DIY Soft Nativity Set from

3. Silent Night Quilt Pattern from Faith & Fabric

4.Jesse Tree template PDF from Faith & Fabric  

5. Vintage Image Ornament Set

6. Holy Family Crochet Pattern

The good part you have read through this whole post for: The Giveaway!!!

The Giveaway will start Nov 17th and end Nov 23rd.. It is open to US & Canadian Residents.

There will be 1 winner selected the items shown below: 1. St. Nicholas Printables 2. Cute Nativity Gift Tag Printables 3. Vintage or Old World Master Ornament 4. Sew your own Soft Nativity Kit. Winners will be notified by email so please make sure when you enter the Rafflecopter that your information is correct, prize must be claimed within 3 days or I will select a new recipient.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With the start of Advent right around the corner, we have put together this awesome printable Cute Saint Advent Actvity pack to keep the little ones focused and having fun through Advent!

A New Little One Joins Our Crew!

So we had a surprise early visit from our new little man! He was supposed to be delivered on October 17th but had other arrival plans. We are all smitten especially the girls. They want to love and cuddle the new little life God has blessed us with.

I get a lot of comments after people ask how old everyone one is...all the kiddos are just about 4 years apart. The comments go something like, "wow you planned that out perfectly". Now I'm not a witty quick to respond person. What usually comes out is no I didn't really mastermind any of this, it just worked out that way. What I'd love people to know is that we are not in control and wish to leave the blessing of children up to God. I also wish people knew how hard of a journey bringing life into this world for us is. Each of our children here with us is a rainbow baby and preceded with the loss of a precious little life not destined for this world. Pregnancy is a difficult and painful journey for me as I have constant contractions early on and have to supplement with injections through out to maintain our precious little life.

Every family has different struggles and blessings. For some, the begetting of children is easy and for others it's hard or impossible. Whatever your story is, you can know that our sweet Lord has allowed the struggles and blessings to benefit your journey home to Heaven. Hardly anyone wants to hear that life is lined with struggle here, but the reality of it all is that Jesus came to show us the way and His life was full of hardship and struggles. So if we are to pick up our cross and follow Him, there will be some struggles along the way, but nothing that He can't see us though or even carry us for part of the way. Life is not only about the struggles, but joys too! God determines to fill our souls with joy to lift us up and also bless us amid the struggles.

This precious new baby is such a joy for our family. He melts everyone's heart and brings a smile to all our faces. I am over come with love for this little fellow. All the struggle and pain for the last 9 months & surgery starts to melt away and I am so blessed. Everyone is blessed, and there is also a big opening of hearts as we all have to give a little more of ourselves to make room for our new addition. Children provide lots of opportunity for growth in selflessness, compassion, & service to others.

Thank you Jesus for our little blessings!

Remembering the Departed FREE Printable

This month of November is dedicated to All Souls. Here is a FREE printable you can use to help pray for those who have gone before us. This is how the Church remembers our dearly departed folks, don't buy into the pagan Day of the Dead rigmarole! Here is one of the best articles I have found as food for thought on the compatibility of Dia de Los Muertos with the Catholic Faith: Is Dia de los Muertos really a Catholic holiday?