NEW! Anna’s Blossoms of Joy & A Bundle of Printable Spring/Easter Activities for Your Children!

I love the simple things in life. I don’t think things need to be complicated.

The teaching of our children especially needs to be simple, too. Our Catholic Faith needs to permeate our whole existence…from our waking up to our retiring each night…as a brook that bubbles in the background at all times. It’s a beautiful way to live and it reaps many rewards.

That is why I like to publish children stories. They tell of a simple life…with simple truths. And so here is my latest in my Catholic Hearth Series…..

Anna’s Blossoms of Joy

I am excited about this book! It is perfect to put into those Easter Baskets on that great Feast Day coming up!

Set in poetic rhyme and beautifully hand-illustrated, your children will love the pictures as we see Anna walk through the pages looking at all the new life on her family’s farm. She is looking forward to a “special something” in her barn! Her Catholic Faith shines forth in the book and is a part of her everyday life.

Catholic Hearth Stories are tales filled with traditional, old-fashioned values. They are about everyday situations in the life of a Catholic family…Tales about home, friends, fun, sacrifice, prayer, etc. These are full-color books sure to capture the heart of your children.

This book is 22 pages of full-color pictures that tell a lovely Catholic story. The ages it is appropriate for are approximately 2 – 7 years. Older children will also enjoy it and will appreciate the detail in the illustrations…it is a lovely book for all!

Available for pre-order here.

Illustrated by Rachel Billington, New Zealand

Rachel is a friend from New Zealand. She has a beautiful talent for drawing and agreed to illustrate my Spring/Easter book! She has been lovely to work with and I am thrilled to have had her do hand-drawn illustrations!

Rach is a homeschooling mom who lives in Manawatu, NZ with her husband, Gerard, and 8 children, 3 boys and 5 girls, ranging in age from 24 to almost two. Her oldest daughter will be getting married this year and her oldest son lives in Australia.

Thank you, Rach! 🥰🥰❤️❤️

NEW! A Bundle of Printable Spring/Easter Activities for Your Children ~ A Journey Through the Octave of Easter for Young Hearts ~ Available here.

This Catholic Activity Bundle is perfect for families who wish to reinforce the lessons of Easter and enjoy Spring activities with their children.
There are 36 pages in the form of a size 8.5 by 11 pdf.
This is a digital download.

The learning bundle includes:
Dot-to-dot activities
Writing Copy Work
Craft Activities
Drawing Activities
Octave of Easter Coloring Pages with Events from that Timeline
Easter Tree Activity
New Life Barn Activity
Ukrainian Easter Egg History and Coloring Page
Playdough Recipe
Playdough Easter Mat

Spring/Easter Package Special! Anna’s Blossoms of Joy~Catholic Hearth Story and Printable Easter Activity Bundle!

Available here.

The History of ‘APRONS’ – Tina Trivett

I don’t think most kids today know what an apron is. The principle use of Mom’s or Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids..

And when the weather was cold, she wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, she walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about aprons.

REMEMBER:

Mom’s and Grandma’s used to set hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don’t think I ever caught anything from an apron – but love.

Full-Color Catholic Mother Goose Volume Two and The Catholic Mother Goose Volume One

Review: The volumes are so thick and worth the price! Both the black and white volume with its intricate pencil illustrations, and the volume with its bright wall-to-wall colors, have equal appeal each in their own way. It is a sturdy paperback, and will last in a house full of kids. Shipped quickly.

Review: Catholic Mother Goose, Volume Two, is a ‘one of a kind’ treasure for young and old alike! Little minds will be captivated by the beautifully colored and illustrated pages. Throughout the nursery rhymes, children will learn the lessons of kindness, unselfishness, the efficacy of suffering and the value of prayer! They will become more familiar with the lives of the Saints, St. Therese, St. Francis, etc. and their great love for Jesus and Mary. These beautifully written poems will plant the seed for good literature and a love for reading for years to come. This is how we make our Catholic faith and culture come alive for our children! This book is a must!

Available here.
Package Special on Volumes One and Two here.

Beautiful Aprons for available here!

St. Agnes:

St. Anne:

Brother Lawrence was a man of humble beginnings who discovered the greatest secret of living in the kingdom of God here on earth. It is the art of “practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end.” He often stated that it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our souls. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence.
As a humble cook, Brother Lawrence learned an important lesson through each daily chore: The time he spent in communion with the Lord should be the same, whether he was bustling around in the kitchen—with several people asking questions at the same time—or on his knees in prayer. He learned to cultivate the deep presence of God so thoroughly in his own heart that he was able to joyfully exclaim, “I am doing now what I will do for all eternity. I am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him, and loving Him with all my heart.”
This unparalleled classic has given both blessing and instruction to those who can be content with nothing less than knowing God in all His majesty and feeling His loving presence throughout each simple day.

Available here.

Don Dolindo offers spiritual wisdom that you can apply to your daily life and shows you how to prepare for a holy death and the glory of the world to come. He describes the remarkable mystical experience of the soul’s awe-inspiring entrance into Heaven and explains the unique power of Our Blessed Mother to help us get there.

You’ll also learn:

• The most important prayers that help free the Holy Souls in Purgatory
• Why even venial sin impairs our relationship with God
• Why good works, almsgiving, and penances are powerful atonements for sin
• Why we need Our Lady’s maternity, humility, and love for souls
• Why the saints delight in interceding for us
• The sublime ecstasy and complete fulfillment that await us when we behold the Holy Trinity in Heaven

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