Catholic Woman's Almanac {CWA} Week 2

Moments of Gratitude
  • Carpooling with a lovely family from St. Paul Catholic Elementary School. Saves gas for the 30 mile round trip we do each day...twice a day!
  • Catholic moms who have taken the time to create awesome Saints folders...and have kindly shared with us fellow bloggers.  Thank you to Gardenia of My Little Flower  and Charlotte of Waltzing Matilda for their generosity in sharing Feast Day ideas.
  • Having three SNUGGLERS for children.  We love to have "sleepovers" (i.e. sleep in mommy and daddy's bed) when daddy is on-duty!
  • A support group of friends (my Catholic Women's Group) who support and raise each other up through prayer and conversation.
  • Pumpkin Pancakes and Natural Bliss coffee creamer!
Beauty in the Ordinary

I have begun piecing together a quilt for our daughter, Mary Catherine.  I appreciate how my simple, ordinary, Singer School Model sewing machine is such a trusty workhouse.  (Don't get me wrong...I would certainly love a fancier machine designed for quilting.)  No computer to go on the fritz...no plastic parts to break..just good old-fashioned ingenuity and quality.  I will never part with this machine!  It may be old and loud, but it is the perfect machine to learn on.  Just ask Mary Catherine!


This simple sewing machine is the tool helping to create this item of beauty...a full-size bed quilt for Mary.


From the Kitchen

After a few weeks of sloppy eating I'm back on the healthy foods kick.  (I really do feel so much better when I eat whole/clean foods!)  This morning's omelet consisted of egg beaters, fresh baby spinach, and this:



Praying
  • For my father whose birthday is later this week!  Happy Birthday, Dad!
  • For my father-in-law who recently lost his job.
  • For all those struggling with family or health issues.
Rereading...

The Story of a Soul in  honor of St. Therese of Lisieux Feast Day!


Words to Live By

 “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
 ~St. Therese of Lisieux
 
Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.
~Blessed (Mother) Teresa 
 


Linking up with the ladies of 


Comments

  1. Wow! Pics are awesome and so much to be grateful for...I can't believe you have that much of a drive. So different when you are in the city and there are 5 Catholic schools within a 10 minute drive.

    Enjoy St. Therese's book...truly a treasure.

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  2. thanks for the link, val. very kind of you. I'm glad to hear you have found a Catholic women's group. that in itself is awesome. don't you love the little snugglers!! so thankful for snuggles from my daughter.

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  3. Yes,Theresa, we are sacrificing to send our kids to St. Paul in more ways than one! Growing up in St. Louis, where the question du jour is "where did you go to school/" and they mean HIGH SCHOOL not college, I never realized how spoiled I was to have so many choices of quality Catholic schools to choose from. It wasn't until I relocated to Kansas City that I came to understand that all communities have as many school choices to offer...or any at all. Our parish's Catholic school closed in the 1960s or 1979s. Thanks for your kind words. The colors in Mary's new quilt really pop!

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  4. Hi Gardenia.

    Yes, I do love my Women's Group friends. I wish we could meet every week...but alas, we are mothers/wives/homemakers...and twice a month is truly enough! At least I see almost everyone of them every Sunday (we only have 2 Mass times (1 on Saturday night and 1 on Sunday) and so most of us attend on Sundays.

    You are very welcome for the link...I so enjoy your blog!

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  5. Hi Valerie...I hopped on over from Patty's blog. I too am a class of '87 gal! I have enjoyed reading through your lovely blog. Have a wonderful week! : )

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  6. That quilt is so cute! I miss snugglers...there is only one left at my house.

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  7. Hi Billie Jo.

    I'm so glad you stopped by for a visit. I love that you are fellow Class of '87 gal! (Our high school motto was "We're the Devils sent from Heaven we're the class of '87!" How funny is that for a bunch of Catholic school girls?!!!

    Anyway, I just dropped by your blog and love it! I think we are kindred spirits...my kiddos have been dying for Oct. 1st to drag out the Halloween storage tubs!

    Blessings,
    Valerie

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  8. Awww, Jenny Lynn! Don't tell me that...they grow up waaaay too fast, don't they?!!!

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  9. Hi Valerie, What a great almanac! I agree about the simple sewing machine. You brought back great memories of sewing my boys summer shorts during our homeschooling years ( lots of years ago LOL ) Beautiful pictures. +

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  10. Thank you for dropping by, Caroline. I didn't get around to making any summer shorts for my boys (I have two), but I did make some awesome superhero capes and I'm looking forward to matching holiday pajama pants!!!

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  11. Indeed you are blessed to have that carpool. I wish I had one for the swim team practice. Same situation. Your quilt looks beautiful, so feminine and delicate. Have a beautiful week, Valerie! Happy feast day of the Little Flower!

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  12. Thanks, Patty! we are having fun here this week with both St. Therese and St. Francis feast days...and can't forget those Guardian Angels! Love the month of October in the Church. Yes, Mary chose the Marmalade fabric pattern and I do love how fun and flirty...soft and feminine it is. It also has a "youthful" appearance. It's gonna be so cute...regardless of my mismatched seams!

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  13. Lots of good things to be thankful for!
    The quilt is looking super too.
    Mary is going to love it.

    Go Tigers! They should win this Saturday.

    M :)

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  14. Thanks, Melinda! My sweet girl is "designing" it...i.e. laying out the charm squares. So sweet!

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  15. I hear you on the Catholic School commute! We have one - ONE - Catholic High School in the diocese, and it's a 30 minute interstate drive from our house. It was such a blessing when our older girls learned to drive and could take themselves to school. Now that they are both off to college, I'm back to driving the boys until The Architect gets his license...just another month or so.

    That quilt? Delicious! I love the colors.

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  16. Hi Angela!

    I remember that same drive to Catholic high school when I was in my teens. It was such a blessing to my parents when I got my driver's license...but man, now that I'm a mom I've got to say what courage it took to allow their 16 year old to take the highway to get to school! Not sure I could do the same...but then again Mary Catherine is only 8...she's got alot of growing up to do before she's 16 and I'm confident of the mature, young woman she will become!

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  17. Your quilt is beautiful. My 4yo asked me to make him a quilt out of some old flannel sheets we have. I need to get started on that to have it ready for a Christmas present.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Your kind words are appreciated! As Mother Teresa said, "Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."

Valerie

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