Well, in the midst of all this journal talk, life at home is marching on to a familiar and happy beat. Yesterday was the Feast of St. Agnes as well as National Squirrel Appreciation Day ... representing two sides of our family's seasonal life - liturgical and natural. For the squirrels we made a seed craft, and for St. Agnes, we contemplated the prayer card handed out at last Sunday's Mass and made a snowflake cake in her honor ...
Naturally, I have pictures to share!
I had some wooden snowflakes leftover from Advent so, when I was thinking about making "critter treats" with the kids for Squirrel Appreciation Day, I remembered those snowflakes ... and I thought, hmmm. That could work. And, as it happens (according to one legend anyway), snowflakes are known as "St. Agnes Flowers" ...
So, there you go!
To keep the craft kid- and critter-friendly, I made up some homemade paste. Then we smeared those snowflakes with the paste ...
And stuck those sticky snowflakes in a mix of seeds and dried fruits ...
(Messy crafts are always a hit with the boys!)
A short while later we had a tray full of rather seedy looking snowflakes ...
Bundled up, we headed outside with the treats and leftover seed mix.
Little Bear immediately found a leaf to hold onto - lol, he's done this since he was tiny. If we're outside he's got either a leaf or a stick in his hand!
Marching over to hang his snowflake in the bush ...
They kind of blend in, don't they? I suppose we could have tinted the paste with some natural food dye and that would have been pretty. Maybe next time!
The birds loved the snowflakes, but the squirrels (including my dear little red shown above) liked the scattered seeds and fruit best!
Back inside it was time to start our Feast Day cake ... my best helper is Earlybird who just LOVES to bake. Someday this boy and I will run a little baking business together!
I followed a simple online scratch yellow cake mix recipe. We took our time measuring out the ingredients ...
While my littlest fella clung to my legs, lol. He wanted "Pup!" which is how he asks to be picked up. He wanted to be a baker, too!
At last we had cakes cooling on the counter ... and just before supper I assembled our cake:
A glossy layer of apricot jam in the middle, some buttercream on top ...
And the final touch: a sprinkling of snowflakes - aka St. Agnes's flowers!
❤
Our dinner was yummy and simple - baked ziti ("cheesey-pasta," my boys call it), steamed broccoli with lemon, crescent rolls and then of course, cake. Bill got home a bit late because he was working out of state, but we saved him a plate. :)
These are the quiet, homey days I love best. Not too much "out and about," the bulk of our day spent at home. We got some fresh air, made things, read books, baked stuff, and celebrated our faith ...
And we enjoyed our home, truly. I count that all joy!
Well my friends, I'm off for now, but I will give you an idea of the drafts I have in queue at the moment. Posts I'm working on ...
* binder breakdown
* lesson planning/assignments
* new household chore routine
* magazine love :)
* winter meals
* henkeeping advice
❤
Let me know if there's any topics you'd like to chat about or if you have any more planner/journal issues to discuss. I'm always open to ideas!
Enjoy the rest of your Thursday, my friends ... see you here again very soon!