Visiting The Poor Clares

The Poor Clares are a cloistered, contemplative order, seeking union with God through a life of prayer and sacrifice, in the spirit of St. Clare, to whom St. Francis was mentor and guide.



No photos were taken. No children were restless. It's as if the serenity of the Poor Clares convent there upon a hill was a secret retreat. An hour and a half from our day that quickly brought joy and memories.

Our Little Flowers group decided to take a trip to the Poor Clares after learning about St. Clare and the virtue of JOY at our last meeting. Working ahead on our next meeting's virtue of GENEROSITY and our first meeting this year on MERCY, we knew that we could also bring along groceries for the Sisters and put into practice what we're learning as a group.

As it turned out, six of the girls from the group could make it, along with their moms. I also ended up bringing Jonah along and hoped I wouldn't regret it lest he become bored and antsy. You know, I think he enjoyed it just as much as the girls did! When we shared our stories with daddy in the evening, Jonah could rattle off many of the details of the Sisters lives as easily as Lily. I couldn't believe it. He sat still and listened intently.

The girls were wonderful and listened as well as asked excellent questions throughout. Of course, I was ready to jump right in there with them since I was utterly fascinated too!

From what I knew of the Sisters, I knew that they had three Sisters that were Externs (nuns who do not take the vow of Enclosure and therefore are free to take care of the external business matters for the monastery) and I assumed that we would be speaking to one of them. Instead, we walked into the Parlor and there, on the other side of the golden grill stood a beloved Sister in full habit. We actually got to spend our time with Sr. Barbara who is one of the Cloistered Sisters. What an honor! And there, as she stood and shared their daily lives with us, the peace and joy that she also radiated was beyond explainable. She was on that side and we were on this side. She lives a life of simple poverty, prayer and dedication as a bride of our Lord and while there she was on the other side, she also so beautifully shared the mystery of her life within the walls of their community.

There are so many things I'd like to write here and all that Sr. Barabara shared with us, but words couldn't even begin to express or explain them all.

Our visit left not only a memorable impression on myself, but also on my children. What a precious gift Sr. Barbara and the Poor Clares bestowed on us that day. Hopefully this will be a treasured memory that will stay in our hearts and we'll be able to make a return visit in the future.

Little Flowers Luncheon

As part of the Little Flowers program, they encourage a Tea for the girls and their mothers. Instead of going with the Tea option, I decided that a little luncheon would still be dainty and cute and work out best for our group.

The weather didn't cooperate as much as I would've liked, but thankfully it didn't rain. It was cloudy and windy, so that kept us from having an outdoor garden party type event. In the end, I think everything turned out just fine despite eating indoors. Everyone had a wonderful time!

I thought I would share photos for your viewing enjoyment. Please excuse the fact that I didn't seem to get any photos of the mothers at all and forgot to get a shot of all of the food before we served. I guess I was too busy watching the girls enjoy themselves!

~The Tables Are Set~

Mothers Table:

Little Flowers Table:

~The Food Is Prepared~

(We also served fresh fruit and veggie pizza)

~Game Time~

Lawn Games:

Tea Tray Game (Memory Game):

"She Likes It, She Likes It Not":

~St. Therese Craft~






~Our Little Flowers~





Thanks to Jessica, once again for all of her postings which really helped me with our luncheon and throughout the year. She just posted her photos from her Little Flowers Tea last weekend. They are pretty darn cute, so go check them out!

The Invitations Have Been Sent

We're looking forward to our Little Flowers Luncheon!

Little Flowers~Industry & Truthfulness

I know I haven't done a very good job of posting our every Little Flowers meeting this year, but felt inspired to share this one. Yesterday was our last meeting for the year that finished out our Wreath I.

We packed in two virtues, Industry and Truthfulness, so that we can have the summer off. I am also working on plans for a Tea/Luncheon next month for the girls and their mothers. I'm sure there will be a post about that, along with some fun photos as well!

As usual, I get so involved in the whole meeting and facilitating so I forget to take photos. This meeting though, one of the moms offered to take some action shots during the meeting for me.

Have I mentioned before how thankful I have been for Jessica's plans and inspiration with Little Flowers? Trust me, she has so much of it documented that it really lends the rest of us a helping hand. Thanks again, Jessica!

Generally, we follow her wonderful ideas for the notebook pages and the girls have created one for each Saint and virtue to treasure in their folder. This is done after the lesson is presented and discussed. To better expand on the virtue of Industry, I also pulled a book from our shelf at home. I read Jacob's Gift by Max Lucado, to help the girls get a better idea of being industrious and using our gifts as we help God our Creator.

The girls, hard at work!





Of course, there is plenty of time for a snack..yum..




Here are the girls with their daffodil project from Industry and their 'Crowns of Truthfulness'




I think we all enjoy our monthly meetings and time together. I know Lily and I look forward to it as a fun outing for just us girls. We're already looking toward next year and the new virtues and Saints that await us! But I'm glad to have the summer to take a little breather from the planning and preparations, as soon as we have our little Tea/Luncheon in a few weeks.

Hi Lo: March 19th

HI's:

1. The weather has been quite nice and therefore: a) the snow is almost all gone b) we've resumed our evening family walk c) all of our moods are much brighter. Happy Days!

2. Late last week we spent an overnight at a local hotel with a water park. There's nothing quite like time in the pool, eating out at a restaurant and watching a movie in your room while eating popcorn that unites a family closer. (Of course, all of that time watching your blossoming family will get a mama to thinking about her children growing up too fast)

3. Since I missed out on Hi Lo last week, I've got to add this one: We had our monthly Little Flowers meeting and everyone was in attendance again! We've been on a good roll with happy, healthy girls at every meeting for the last few months. Little Flowers always makes our highs for the week since Lily and I both really enjoy the meetings.



4. Yesterday Lily finished her very last Little Angel Reader test after working our way through it since the beginning of Kindergarten! We've loved this program so much and I hate to see it end. There will be some other reading/language arts/phonics curriculum we'll learn to enjoy, but this one helped Lily progress quite nicely in many areas and we'll miss it.


LO's:

1. Apparently Lily had some type of allergic reaction or something unknown happened the morning we were to leave for the hotel. It took a bit for the swelling to go down and the corner of her right eye and bridge of her nose took a few days to look normal again. I'm hoping something like this doesn't happen again. Yikes. Here's a photo of it, but this is well after a good amount of the puffiness had gone down:



2. I have less than a week now to come up with Reed's "perfect" birthday gift. I still have got NOTHING. I thought I wanted to give him something significant/thought out/special for his monumental 40th birthday, but for lack of a plan I guess I'm gonna end up getting him something less meaningful. *sigh*


How has your week been? What were your High's and Low's? Have a wonderful Friday!

Little Flowers

We finished our second Little Flowers Girls Club meeting last week. I've been meaning to blog more on it, but struggle with actually getting photos taken at the meetings.

I've enjoyed leading the group and doing the planning. Of course, none of that would even be possible without the many posts that Jessica has so willingly shared. I mean, really, why reinvent the wheel when everything has been so wonderfully laid out for you? Jessica has faithfully blogged every meeting and shared photos, documents to make copies from, coloring page links and craft ideas. How much do we all *love* that woman??!! Thank you again!

So, I have faithfully used her suggestions and our group is enjoying it. I did venture out a little bit on projects based on our group size (just 6 girls for now) and what I could find locally at the craft stores.

We create folder pages for each month, with the saint, verse and virtue on each. This will be a wonderful keepsake for them as they fondly remember their days in the Little Flowers Club.





We held the first meeting at my home and I was in charge of snacks too. This was my feeble attempt at decorating cupcakes with our flower of the month, the sunflower. The girls liked them any way.



Here are the girls this month, working on their folder page for "Hope" and the Ivy flower.



At last week's meeting I was able to get a photo of all of the girls minus one who didn't make it. Aren't they cute with their sashes on? No badges yet since it was just the second meeting, but for the first meeting I had found sunflower buttons to give each of the girls as they began their time in our club.



And finally, here's our craft projects so far. Last month the girls each made a pipe cleaner sunflower and this month they decorated a flower pot to keep their Little Flowers crafts in. As the year goes on, I've found some creative ways to make some of the flowers that are presented each meeting and each girl can keep her flowers in her keepsake flower pot.




The club is proving to be a lot of fun for both Lily and I and something to look forward to each month. But then, who wouldn't look forward to sashes and badges; flowers and virtues; crafts and snacks; friends and fun? It's a win-win for everyone!

Hi Lo: November 13th

HI's:

1. I'm still basking in the glow of sweet memories from last week's concert.

2. We had some warmer weather last Saturday, so Reed and I were able to get all of the Christmas lights hung on the house. No small task for homeowners of a two story home!

3. I got some great deals due to some great sales last Saturday. A little more Christmas shopping done at Christopher & Banks and a local home decor shop. Found a number of additions that will look wonderful on my Thanksgiving table.

4. We held our second Little Flowers meeting this week. We had so much fun! It's SO worth the effort when your little girl says the next day that "the whole meeting was so much fun."


LO's:

1. Lily has a cold. And a runny nose. *sniffle*

2. Jonah is back to a too-early morning routine. Those aren't ever good days in this house. It leads to a weary mommy and very growly little boy.

3. I pulled something in my lower back doing something ordinary early in the week. Still hurts, just not all the time. Hoping to avoid the chiropractor's office. It's been enough to keep me away from my exercising, which isn't good since I was just starting to fall back into a good routine.

4. Reed found out that a couple of moles he recently had removed need further surgery/treatment since they were skin cancer. Neither should be a big deal, but with the one he will have to have the skin removed in the area layer by layer and tested until they get to the layer that is without the cancer. Thankfully, it isn't bad enough that they are concerned since he can't even get in for that appointment until January.

How was your week? What were your Highs and Lows?

Hi Lo: October 16th

HI's:

1. Reed's family holds an annual family hayride in October and we had that last weekend. Not everyone can attend, but those of us who do usually have a pretty good time. We finish the evening with a potluck too. Good conversation and fun. A niece of ours was home from college for the weekend, so I was able to chat with her. That's always a hoot. She makes me laugh all the time. Thanks Hannah!

2. Due to Columbus Day, Reed was home from work on Monday. I scheduled meeting a new friend for coffee that morning. Good conversation, good coffee and good break for mommy.

3. I got back on the exercise wagon that I fell off of some time ago. It helped me remember how good I do feel when I make the time for it. I need to also remember that although I don't need to do it for weight loss, I need to do it for continued health. Hopefully I can get back into a good routine of it again.

4. We started our Little Flowers group this week! Inspired by Jessica all last year when she shared about their group, I decided to offer it for our homeschool group. I couldn't have been nearly as efficient without Jessica's help. Thanks Jessica! I'm leading the group and we only have 6 members this year, but I think all of us had a good time. I was so busy I only got a photo or two, maybe I can capture a few more next meeting.



LO's:

1. We're receiving SNOW here off and on this week. *yuck* It's always WAY TOO EARLY for it, especially when it arrives before my birthday later this month. I'm still hoping for one more warm up yet. I'm probably crazy for being so naive.

2. Under that snow are still a ton of leaves that need to be dealt with and my perennials still aren't covered. I'm hoping that the possible forecast of a warm up for the weekend happens and I can at least take care of those two projects. (If not, I'll be the crazy lady out in the yard shoveling snow away in order to get to the leaves and plants so that I can cross those jobs off my fall to-do list!)

3. Due to the colder weather, I decided it was time to put the flannel sheets on our bed. And that's all I have to say about that.



How was your week? What were your Highs and Lows? Colleen shares hers every week too! Read them here.

Have a great weekend!