Natural Family Planning Week is July 25-31

Discover what every couple needs to know...what every woman has a right to know...Creighton Model Fertility Care System. Go green...totally organic! No side effects. Maintain your own procreative & gynecologic health. Achieve or avoid pregnancy with better than 96.8% accuracy. Real solutions for real problems: infertility, menstrual cramps, PMS, ovarian cysts, abnormal bleeding, miscarriage, postpartum depression & many others.

For more information about Fertility Care:
http://www.creightonmodel.com/

Read couples stories here:
http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp/nfpweek/couples.shtml

For articles about NFP & Fertility Care:
http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp/nfpweek/articles.shtml

Blessings!

Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

The Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is on Friday. On July 16, 1251, Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock and gave him the Brown Scapular. Mary told him, "Whoever dies clothed in this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire." She also said, "Wear it devoutly and perseveringly, it is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helpin you to secure eternal life." Mary told St. Dominic, "One day, through the Rosry and Scapular, I will save the world." What wonderful promises from our Blessed Mother!

This recipe is from "Building the Family Cookbook" by, Suzanne Fowler. It is named for OL of Mt. Carmel because oranges and cinnamon are found in the area of Mount Carmel itself.

OL of Mt. Carmel Orange Ring

1/2 c orange marmelade
2 T chopped walnuts
1 c brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 (12 oz) cans refrigerated buttermilk flaky biscuits
1/2 c butter, melted

Heat oven to 350. Grease 12 cup bundt pan. Spoon the marmelade into the bottom of the bundt pan & sprinkle with walnuts. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Separate the biscuits & dip each one in the melted butter and then in the sugar mixture. Stand the biscuits on edge in the greased pan, spacing evenly. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture & drizzle with remaining butter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for a few minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Hot topping may spill out the sidese, so be careful.

Here are some other yummy treats:
http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/search?q=brown+scapular&updated-max=2010-07-09T01%3A00%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=20

You can find some great coloring sheets here:
http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2010/07/our-lady-of-mt-carmel-coloring-sheets.html

And some crafts ideas here:
http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2010/07/catholic-scapular-crafts-diys.html

Catholic Icing is a great blog! There are always tons of cool ideas there. It is one of my favorites. God bless!

Feast of Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha

Today is the feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. You can find out more about her here: http://saints.sqpn.com/blessed-kateri-tekakwitha/. She was a member of the Turtle Clan, so have your children make a turtle using a paper plate or a circle of green construction paper. Cut out shapes for the shell as well as the legs & head. Simple & easy :o) God bless!

July - Month of the Precious Blood of Jesus

July is the Month of the Precious Blood of Jesus. Each month has a dedication & I will try to post some activities for each month. My files are all at school, so in the summer those activities will usually be limited to what's in my head (not much! LOL) and what I have found online. I have always been a little jealous of the people who have a rich heritage & hold onto it & have traditions they still practice...and one day I realized I DO have that heritage...my Catholic faith! One way we can pass that faith on to our children and make them LOVE it is to celebrate the liturgical seasons of the Church year. You can find out more about the Liturgical Seasons here: http://www.wf-f.org/LiturgicalCalendar-info.html and here: http://thankevann.com/homeschoolgoodies/?page_id=48

And now on to the Month of the Precious Blood...

The picture is one I took of the heart my niece made using a heart mold to make a heart out of Jello and then added drops of blood, also with Jello. You could also make finger jello & cut out hearts with a cookie cutter or knife and use the leftover pieces in the pan to make drops of blood.

Learn to draw a chalice and grapes:

http://www.chcweb.com/catalog/files/htdpb.pdf

Sacred Heart Color Sheet:

http://www.sjtbre.org/docs/Sacred%20Heart.pdf

Here is a beautiful prayer, as you can see they put it on a drop-shaped piece of red cardstock:

http://starrymantle.blogspot.com/2008/07/july-month-of-precious-blood.html

Have fun!

Modesty

ST. BERNARD
"How beautiful then is modesty and what a gem among virtues it is."

Hello!

I had (well still do have actually) a spaceslive blog, but it seems that google blogger is more popular...so I decided to make a change. It will probably take me a little while to get everything looking how I want it, so please bear with me. I enjoy blogging & reading other people's blogs. I find SO many good ideas for teachign & crafts on blogs, as well as recipes & websites & lots of other great stuff! I hope you will visit often & would love to have some followers too :o)

You will find a variety of thigns on my blog once I get going. I love to share things about my faith, the saints, quotations, etc. as well as recipes, modesty resources, crafts & activities and much more!

Blessings to you! Ladybug