SharonAndAdam.com

Jammin’ with Matt Maher

Matt Maher is my FAVORITE Catholic singer! He’s awesome and so filled with the Holy Spirit. Adam and I went to his concert last night at Texas State University in San Marcos. The crowd wasn’t huge but it was awesome to see so many people of different ages there. Some people brought their little bitty kids and their older teens. It was so much fun. We saw some of our friends, too. Our friend, Rebecca, took some great pictures.

Cecilia’s Speech Update

Cecilia has been receiving in- home developmental therapy through the Early Childhood Intervention program to help her start speaking more. We have seen leaps and bounds in her signing since we started in July. She’s a smart cookie and can communicate very well non verbally. However, her verbal speech has been coming along slowly.

This week we had a visit with our regular therapist and a speech therapist to re- evaluate the services we are receiving. Now in addition to our weekly visit with the developmental therapist, we are adding the speech therpist another two days every other week.

I have to say ECI has really helped us identify her strengths and build up her weaknesses. Most of the time communicating with little miss sunshine is easy. She still has her moments aka 2 year old behavior. Thankfully she has the most delightful dispositions of all our children.

Snow Day

I know…I’m late posting these…been busy.  Better late than never. I can’t even remember that it was that cold! But looking at these pictures, the kids all agreed it was REALLY cold. Glad it only lasted a day.

Castles and Rovers

Our homeschool projects have been tasty this month!

We are studying castles and knights in history. So we made this castle with a keep, bailey, and castle wall:

In our astronomy study of Mars, we made a Mars rover out of graham crackers:

Trick-or-treat

Here’s our full array of dressed up kiddos. St. Michael, St. Cecilia (after changing her mind from being St. Clare) and St. Rose of Lima. The children had colored and drew pictures of their favorite Saints last week and we used those to decorate the door. One trick-or-treater said she loved all the pictures on our door. And several of the kids said, “cool,” when they saw the holy cards we gave them with their candy.

The Light of Christ

Three years ago our sweet Gianna Maria received the Light of Christ. Her God parents joined us for dinner tonight to celebrate the wonderful gift of her baptism.

Feast of the Guardian Angels

Angel of God, my holy protector, given by God from Heaven to abide in me. Diligently I pray unto thee: illuminate me all this day and protect me against all evil, lead me toward righteous deeds, and into the way of salvation. Amen.

“From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their (the angels) watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united to God.”

- from the Catechism of the Catholic Church; 336.

Little Flower Pilgrimage

Happy Feast of St. Therese!

As it was our sweet Therese’s feast day, the family took a little pilgrimage to San Antonio to the Basilica of National Shrine of the Little Flower for Mass and the veneration of her relic. Adam and I did this the first three years of our married life but as we added more children to the mix and the feast fell in the middle of the week, we hadn’t been in a few years.

Therese was SO excited to go and had been looking forward to this all week long. Daddy surprised her this morning with a dozen red roses. She was quite smitten.

After Mass, Therese wanted to light a candle that she decided to offer for her aunt’s healing (my sister, Diana). When we went to get the candle, we stopped to talk to the priest who celebrated Mass and he gave our family a blessing. While we were there we managed to pick up some blessed St. Therese oil. It is rose oil in which a relic of St. Therese was place while prayers of healing we said over the oil.

Later we stopped by to see my sister who only lives five minutes from the church. We had a nice little visit. It really is too bad that my kids are afraid of her pets otherwise we could probably stay longer.

St. Therese, pray for us!

St. Michael Chaplet

In case you’re still looking for a way (other than Angel Food cake or Angel Hair Pasta) to celebrate the Feast of the Archangels, the St. Michael Chaplet is beautiful. Thank you to the Andersons for introducing us to this lovely devotion!

The Chaplet of St. Michael

O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc.

[Say one Our Father and three Hail Marys after each of the following nine salutations in honor of the nine Choirs of Angels]

1. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity.
Amen.

2. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim may the Lord grant us the grace to leave the ways of sin and run in the paths of Christian perfection.
Amen.

3. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility.
Amen.

4. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Dominations may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and overcome any unruly passions.
Amen.

5. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues may the Lord preserve us from evil and falling into temptation. Amen.

6. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Powers may the Lord protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil.
Amen.

7. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience. Amen.

8. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels may the Lord give us perseverance in faith and in all good works in order that we may attain the glory of Heaven.
Amen.

9. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted in the life to come to Heaven.
Amen.

Say one Our Father in honor of each of the following leading Angels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and our Guardian Angel.

Concluding prayers:

O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor, you who shine with excellence and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil, who turn to you with confidence and enable us by your gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.

Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ, that we may be made worthy of His promises.

Almighty and Everlasting God, Who, by a prodigy of goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, has appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael Prince of Your Church, make us worthy, we ask You, to be delivered from all our enemies, that none of them may harass us at the hour of death, but that we may be conducted by him into Your Presence.This we ask through the merits of
Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

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