Garden of the Good Shepherd

Easter Celebration – Week 3

April 25, 2010 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Easter, Garden of the Good Shepherd, Pope

“The Heaven’s Tell God’s Glory”

JOY…This was a reward for Dad just as much as it was for the kids. He managed to run an errand for me in the morning, take Sparkles to her Communion lessons, make confession, do yard work at our Church and come home to spend more time with the rest of us – all on 1.5 hours of sleep (+ a few minutes here and there).

I was beyond tired but had help, everyone chipped in. Rose helped with the baking the day before. Papi and Sweetie worked on the rainbows. Sparkles was entertaining her impromptu guest and watching Papi as I continued to prepare dinner.

Dad took all the kids to the park for fresh air. They each had a popsicle, “lightning.”

Dinner was ready when they returned. First, we honored the Anniversary of the Coronation of Supreme Pontiff, Benedict XVI. Then everyone was given clear instructions not to eat until each item was identified and discussed. It was most difficult for us the parents and Rose. Nonetheless, we followed along.

The children enjoyed the simple evening of recollection. Sparkles friend was thrilled with the festivities. She more than willingly took on some of the responsibility to place the stickers on the board.

I threw together what we had and the kids found the correlation between the items. They love identifying the significance of their food and sharing their faith. Most of the time, they find significance where I didn’t plan. It’s awesome to see how their minds and hearts are constantly being directed to Our Heavenly Father. I pray that they continue to be pleasing to Jesus Christ and seek His will, all the days of their lives.

⁹ That is why, ever since the day he told us, we have never failed to remember you in our prayers and ask that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will ¹⁰ and so be able to lead a life worthy of the Lord, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects, bearing fruit in every kind of good work and growing in knowledge of God, ¹¹ fortified, in accordance with his glorious strength, with all power always to persevere and endure, ¹² giving thanks with joy to the Father who has made you able to share the lot of God’s holy people and with them to inherit the light. ~ Col 1:9-12

“The Heaven’s Tell God’s Glory”

15. The Sun

Lemon Cupcakes

Slightly deviated form the recipe found here. They are “yumm-o!”

Corn & Broccoli Cheese Soup

¹ [For the choirmaster Psalm Of David] The heavens declare the glory of God, the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork, ² day discourses of it to day, night to night hands on the knowledge. ³ No utterance at all, no speech, not a sound to be heard, ⁴ but from the entire earth the design stands out, this message reaches the whole world. High above, he pitched a tent for the sun, ⁵ who comes forth from his pavilion like a bridegroom, delights like a champion in the course to be run. ⁶ Rising on the one horizon he runs his circuit to the other, and nothing can escape his heat. ~ Psalm 19:1-6

16. The Cloud

Baked Italian Chicken

Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

Whipped Cream Topping for the Lemon Cupcakes

² All the men of Israel assembled round King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, at the time of the feast (that is, the seventh month). ³ When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark ⁴ and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred utensils which were in the Tent. ⁵ King Solomon and all Israel, present with him before the ark, sacrificed countless, innumerable sheep and oxen. ⁶ The priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, in the Debir of the Temple, that is, in the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the winged creatures ⁷ for the winged creatures spread their wings over the place where the ark stood, forming a canopy over the ark and its shafts. ⁸ These were so long, however, that the ends of the shafts could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the Debir, though they could not be seen from outside. They are still there today. ⁹ There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses had placed in it at Horeb, the tablets of the covenant which Yahweh made with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt. ¹⁰ Now when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Temple of Yahweh, ¹¹ and because of the cloud the priests could not stay and perform their duties. For the glory of Yahweh filled the Temple of Yahweh. ~ 1 Kings 8:2-11

17. The Rain

Water

I warned you that I was low on energy and threw this celebration together with what I had on hand.

⁴³ ‘You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; ⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much? ⁴⁷ And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? ⁴⁸ Do not even the gentiles do as much? You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ ~ Matthew 5:43-48

18. The Lightning

Popsicles

²⁰ But where does Wisdom come from? Where is Intelligence to be found? ²¹ She cannot be seen by any living creature, she is hidden from the birds of the sky. ²² Perdition and Death both say, ‘We have heard only rumours of her.’ ²³ God alone understands her path and knows where she is to be found. ²⁴ (For he sees to the remotest parts of the earth, and observes all that lies under heaven.) ²⁵ When he willed to give weight to the wind and measured out the waters with a gauge, ²⁶ when he imposed a law on the rain and mapped a route for thunderclaps to follow, ~ Job 28:20-26

19. The Hail

Sonic Cubed Ice

²⁸ Has the rain a father? Who begets the dewdrops? ²⁹ What womb brings forth the ice, who gives birth to the frost of heaven, ³⁰ when the waters grow hard as stone and the surface of the deep congeals? ~ Job 38:28-30

20. The Wind

Whipped Cream in the can

⁷ I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a clattering sound; it was the bones coming together. ⁸ And as I looked, they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, yet there was no breath in them. ⁹ He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, “The Lord Yahweh says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead, so that they come to life!” ‘ ¹⁰ I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army. ~ Ezekiel 37:7-10

21. The Rainbow

Rainbow Sugar Cookies

Store bought sugar cookie dough, divided and dyed with gel food coloring.

¹² ‘And this’, God said, ‘is the sign of the covenant which I now make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: ¹³ I now set my bow in the clouds and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I shall recall the covenant between myself and you and every living creature, in a word all living things, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all living things. ~ Genesis 9:12-15

Catholic Cuisine – Week 3

Celebrating Easter – Week 2

April 17, 2010 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Easter, Garden of the Good Shepherd, Pope, St. Bernadette 10 Comments

We celebrated the second week of Easter in a big way on Friday. Sparkles whose feast day was on Friday, April 16 requested a Tea Party. We went ahead and turned the Garden of the Good Shepherd celebration into a tea party. We honored St. Bernadette’s Feast Day and Pope Benedict XVI 83rd Birthday.

It was a glorious occasion!

Welcome to the Lord’s Table!

We started the celebration by decorating the school room for tea time.

8. The Table

Netting

²⁶ When Joseph arrived at the house they offered him the gift they had with them, bowing low before him. ²⁷ He greeted them pleasantly, asking, ‘Is your father well, the old man you told me of ? Is he still alive?’ ²⁸ ‘Your servant our father is well,’ they replied, ‘he is still alive,’ and they bowed respectfully. ²⁹ Looking about, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son. ‘Is this your youngest brother’, he asked, ‘of whom you told me?’ And he added, ‘God be good to you, my son.’ ³⁰ Joseph hurried out; so strong was the affection he felt for his brother that he wanted to cry. He went into his room and there he wept. ³¹ After washing his face he returned and, controlling himself, gave the order: ‘Serve the meal.’ ³² He was served separately; so were they, and so were the Egyptians who ate in his household, for the Egyptians could not take food with Hebrews; Egyptians have a horror of doing so. ³³ They were placed facing him in order of seniority, from the eldest to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in amazement. ³⁴ He had portions carried to them from his own dish, the portion for Benjamin being five times larger than any of the others. And they feasted with him and drank freely. ~ Genesis 43: 26-34

9. The Chairs

Hats and Fabric

¹ Yahweh appeared to him at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. ² He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them, and bowed to the ground. ³ ‘My lord,’ he said, ‘if I find favour with you, please do not pass your servant by. ⁴ Let me have a little water brought, and you can wash your feet and have a rest under the tree. ⁵ Let me fetch a little bread and you can refresh yourselves before going further, now that you have come in your servant’s direction.’ They replied, ‘Do as you say.’ ⁶ Abraham hurried to the tent and said to Sarah, ‘Quick, knead three measures of best flour and make loaves.’ ⁷ Then, running to the herd, Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸ Then taking curds, milk and the calf which had been prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree. ~ Genesis 18: 1-8

Our menu was simple and deviated slightly from Jessica’s & Charlotte’s Week 2 suggestions.

10. The Bread

Croissants

⁸ Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back, each of you to your mother’s house. ⁹ May Yahweh show you faithful love, as you have done to those who have died and to me. Yahweh grant that you may each find happiness with a husband!’ She then kissed them, but they began weeping loudly, ¹⁰ and said, ‘No, we shall go back with you to your people.’ ¹¹ ‘Go home, daughters,’ Naomi replied. ‘Why come with me? Have I any more sons in my womb to make husbands for you? ¹² Go home, daughters, go, for I am now too old to marry again. Even if I said, “I still have a hope: I shall take a husband this very night and shall bear more sons,” ¹³ would you be prepared to wait for them until they were grown up? Would you refuse to marry for their sake? No, daughters, I am bitterly sorry for your sakes that the hand of Yahweh should have been raised against me.’ ¹⁴ They started weeping loudly all over again; Orpah then kissed her mother-in-law and went back to her people. But Ruth stayed with her. ~Ruth 2:8-14

11. The Wine

Sparkling White Grape

¹ Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money, free! ² Why spend money on what cannot nourish and your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy. ~Isaiah 55:1-2

11. The Milk

Milk for Tea

⁸ and Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. ⁹ He brought us here and has given us this country, a country flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ Hence, I now bring the first-fruits of the soil that you, Yahweh, have given me.” ‘You will then lay them before Yahweh your God, and prostrate yourself in the presence of Yahweh your God. ~ Deuteronomy 26:8-10

12. The Pot of Honey

Honey Butter

⁴ John the Baptist was in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. ⁶ John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey. ~ Mark 1:4-6

13. The Fruit

Berries

¹⁶ BELOVED: Awake, north wind, come, wind of the south! Breathe over my garden, to spread its sweet smell around. Let my love come into his garden, let him taste its most exquisite fruits. ~ Song of Songs (Solomon) 4:16

We reviewed the Garden of the Good Shepherd’s sticker board. Each GFG took turns explaining the significance of the food items.

We prayed for Pope Benedict and sought the intercession of St. Bernadette.

Our GFG worked on their Pope Benedict XVI Activities.

DEO GRATIAS!

Good Shepherd’s Garden Party – Week 2

Celebrating Easter – Week 1

April 12, 2010 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Easter, Garden of the Good Shepherd, Good Shepherd's Garden Party, Little Flowers 9 Comments

I’m so very thankful that I found Jessica’s Blog, Shower of Roses about a year ago. It has been a great gift. She continuously inspires me to fully live out the Liturgical Year in my home, domestic church. However, I’m often slow to implement many of the ideas. I have to be certain I take on only that which is conducive to my family’s current state in life. This includes our budget, energy levels, church commitments, and etc…

I was fascinated by Jessica’s implementation of The Garden of the Good Shepherd upon my initial discovery.

This is my first go at following this guide for the Easter season. I’m not sure I’d be willing to give it a go without Jessica’s and Charlotte’s aides.

Garden of the Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd’s Pasture
I decided to celebrate the first week of Easter & The Garden of the Good Shepherd with my Little Flowers Girls Group. I had initially planned to host an Easter Tea for my Little Flowers last meeting but went for the informal festivities of this celebration instead.

We had a great turnout of about 20 girls. Some of which were 4 years old, new members. A nice showing of moms stayed to help and enjoy the celebration.

Our meeting followed Saturday Mass. We started the meeting/party with prayer, an introduction of new girls, and group assignments. We were off and running.

I wanted to keep a crafty theme going for this celebration since I use crafts to help the girls grow in their virtues and develop their domestic skills. I decided to have the girls create their own baked treats. I also added some traditional crafts to the mix.

I created six stations for groups of 4-5 girls. Each group rotated together throughout the celebration.

Before the girls could switch their stations, I read a day from the Good Shepherd and held a brief discussion with the girls. A Little Flower was selected to adhere the sticker to the board.

Garden of the Good Shepherd Stations:

(items used for 20 girls)

Ewe Cupcakes & Shepherd’s Crook

-Prepared cupcakes (2 packages of cake mix) – $0.99/cake box

-48 Cupcake liners – $1/package of 36

-Frosting (2 reg sized containers of frosting or 1 large container) – $1.50/std. container
-Knives (1/girl in group) – FREE I use my kids plastic knives from IKEA
-Mini marshmallows (1 bag) – $0.99
-Large marshmallows cut in half (1 bag) – $0.99
-Raisins (for eyes) (3 mini boxes) – $2.28 for 1 standard box of raisins
-Jelly Belly/candy (20 candies) – FREE left over from Easter
-Cups for Frosting, mini marshmallows, raisins, candy
-Premade shepherd’s crook/breadsticks – $1.75/container
(Made from 2 packages of refrigerated breadsticks. I cut each uncooked bread stick in half before shaping to reduce the size of the crook.)

Gate of the Sheepfold & Wolf Paw Cookies

-Peanut butter (2-3 cups) – $3.00

-Stick pretzels (1/2 regular bag) – $2.50
-Graham crackers (3 bags of graham crackers) – $2.50 (1 box contains 4 bags)

-Premade Wolf Paw Cookies
     -1 bag of chocolate chip cookies or ½ box of Nilla Wafers- $2 ea box
    – 1/2 bag of Almond Bark – $2/bag
     -3 bars of White/Vanilla Bark – $2/bag

Ram Collage

-Pre cut rams on cardstock – $5.50/pack of 150 sheets

-Cotton balls (1 bag) – $2
-Tacky glue (1 bottle) – $0.94 I use tacky glue because it sets fast and does not run.
-Craft sticks (1/ea. girl in group. Used to spread glue) – FREE recycled popsicle sticks
-Small containers for tacky glue (I use cupcake liners) – FREE left over from EWE cupcakes
-Wiggle eyes (1 small packet) – $0.94 (pack of 50)
-Colored pencils – FREE perk of homeschooling

Divine Mercy Wall Art/Door Hanger

–Divine Mercy Prayer Cards – Donated

-Foam cut-outs – $1.00/pack of 24-36
-7 in precut ribbon/per girl – $1.00/4 yards
-Stickers for embellishments
-Tacky glue (1 bottle) – $0.94 I use tacky glue because it sets fast and does not run.
-Craft sticks (1/ea. girl in group. Used to spread glue) – FREE recycled popsicle sticks
-Small containers for tacky glue (I use cupcake liners) – left over from EWE cupcakes
-Hot glue gun (1 used by mom)
-Hot glue sticks (2-3) – $2/bag of 36 glue sticks

related links on Divine Mercy:

Feast of the Divine Mercy

HandPrint Lily

Saint Coloring

All supplies used were left over from Little Flowers meetings

-Saint Coloring Pages Construction paper
-Colored Pencils
-Markers
-Scissors
-Glue Sticks

Tea & Doll House Play

-Tea hats (1/girl in group) – $1/ea found at Dollar Tree Store

-Toy tea set
Little Flowers Doll House (this house was a gift from the previous group leader. It is used for special occasions only, a real treat!)

I created info cards for all stations. The food stations had cards listing the coordinating scripture verse. This allowed the mom-volunteers to reiterate the significance of the craft.

Father L was able to join us for a blessing between his First Communion Lessons and Confirmation testing. We presented him with a gift of thanks for all he does, an image of Divine Mercy.

We went out with a bang and touched upon Week 2 – Welcome to the Lord’s Table, Milk. Milk, Ice Cream Sundaes were our final treat.

The girls had a blessed day! They were delighted with all the crafts & treats. The loved the Garden of the Good Shepherd lessons and were more than attentive. I would love to continue the Easter celebrations with the girls but will settle for a weekly celebration with my children in our home as we JOYfully await the arrival of our new blessing, Baby "G".

I followed Jessica’s instructions to make my stickers reusable

Papi helped me post our Garden of the Good Shepherd Book in our Liturgical corner. He decided were the “corner” should be moved to and where the book should go. He loves telling the story to all.