Altar Server Training - Traditional Latin Mass

These are from last school year, but they still make me smile :)

He was barefoot the whole time.

;)

Liturgical Seasons Sale - 10% OFF

Liturgical Seasons 10% off sale at Garden of Francis

A bit of a sale between now and December 31st (ends at New Year's EST).

10% off all items in the liturgical season categories of Garden of Francis. This includes such items as the following:

• cosmic cross puzzles
• Christmas season version of the Jesse Tree ornaments
• Jesse Tree ornaments (Advent)
• Jesus Tree ornaments (Lent)
• Easter season version of the Jesus Tree 
• season-appropriate prayer table cloths, made to the size needed, with or without lace
• MUCH MORE! 

Anything with a Christmas season item will be upgraded for free to rush order shipment, so that you might enjoy those items during Christmas THIS year. All other orders (and the non-Christmas components of large orders) will ship in the order orders were placed, over the next 2-3 weeks. 

God bless!

This item is not on sale, but is SO beautiful, I am advertising it anyway ;)

Quick Notes on the Bible Mini-Series

My son and I just today sat down with a bowl of popcorn and Netflix Streaming to watch the Bible Mini-Series that we have heard many good things on. Yes, we heard that a few little things were slightly off, but we figured we wouldn't let that bother us.

My 10 year old saw and verbally noted the following things that annoyed him in the first half (not even a full half!) of the first episode - and when our internet momentarily dropped and I started to refresh the page, he said, "perhaps we can just watch something else. Artistic liberty should NOT CONTRADICT the Bible in a show ABOUT the Bible!"

• the ark would not have leaked - covered inside and out with pitch (tar)
• it likely didn't rock very much - think cruise ships
• no sunlight entering (God sealed them in)
• could not have walked on the deck (God sealed them in)
• Abraham/Abram was called earlier in life - events re: Egypt and his wife being so beautiful as to be brought in with the concubines of Pharaoh - making all his wives infertile until he released her)
• God changed their names after they had been traveling a while - so should have said Abram, instead of Abraham when God first called him
• Abram/Abraham gave Lot the choice of direction
• artistic liberty is great as long as it doesn't CONTRADICT the text: the wives did not act like that - Lot's wife isn't recorded as saying much; Abram's wife didn't hate Ishmael until Isaac was weaned (at age 3) - the dates are off in all of that too

If this is a person's only exposure to the Bible - let's at least be accurate. Visual impressions are strong and lasting. 

I am not sure we'll come back to this.... 

St. Nicholas Rocks :)

Legos - Legos - Legos

Lego Kids Fest.

Lots of interesting people - got into an interesting conversation with a lady whose beliefs I couldn't quite figure out, was she attacking my Catholicism, agreeing with it, just chit-chatting - only God knows. It was all friendly.

Then there was the little lost girl. How long does a little girl need to wander with a look of insistence on her face before someone helps? (Lego KidsFest has that all under control - everything is well-planned and coordinated with a "Lost Parents" Tent, intercom system, instructions beforehand for preparations (take a camera-photo of your child as you walk in, have a card in the child's shoe with your cell phone #, keep your cell phone on, etc. etc.).

Overall, it was good.

And we got some Lord of the Rings - Hobbit - in too ;)

That's a LOT of one-by-ones. 

Tower of Orthanc. With the moon and lots of stars. 

Mounted on the wall of art. 

He didn't know I was taking this picture - I was talking to him. 

Build a tower for Creation Nation (map of the United States on the floor). 

His tower, among the others. 

Flying creation - I think this was in the Star Wars area. 

Smaug was cool. 

He is cooler with a head. 

Bilbo and Gandalf were neat too. 

That's a lot of duplos (they had a simialr thing with regular bricks;
and another similar one with pinks/purples duplos)

I'd probably lose my head too - if I were a hobbit threatened by a dragon. 

watch what is coming. 

Wait for it.... 

it's coming.... 

almost there.... (see the lights?)

and he breathes fire. 

Bye Smaug.
(haha! Sherlock! Yeah!)

Reasons I cannot support the LEGO Movie

Reasons I cannot support the LEGO Movie:
(your experience, and your ratings of the issues will vary - that is fine - this is my personal moral opinion)

1. The number of times the word "butt" is used; all of them in a derogatory manner, not in an appropriate anatomical term manner. As in, "What is your name?" "Your Butt." In comparison, the word "gosh" is spelled out. Huh!? UGH. 
2. Batman is a jerk. Nothing like any of the movies I have seen of him (I have not seen all of them). He is supposed to be a hero, he could at least know his girlfriend's name - or have some level of depth. He wasn't even shallow. Just a jerk.  
3. Two security guards sit on a photocopy machine and create images. Enough said. My child does NOT need to see that.
4. Overall feel of the attitude. There is enough of that in this world, I do not need my 10 year old son having it reiterated through a movie about his favorite building toy and is "Screen-namesake". 
5. If my son ever says "That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard" in the tone of voice used in the movie (repeatedly, by different characters), he will be banned from speaking the rest of the day. Yes, I really do carry out such punishments. And my son doesn't speak like that more than ONCE. 

Just because my child will see or experience or have natural inclinations to these things in the rest of his life, does NOT mean I have a need or desire to have it reiterated in a movie. 

There ARE good things in this movie. They are overshadowed by the issues above. 

In the end, this is a movie about a well-meaning story told by adult men playing at being children again, but who are, indeed, adults. 

This is an adult movie. And I would have totally enjoyed it if I'd gone it into thinking "this is an adult movie."

Montessori Economic Geography Stamps

The Economic Geography Stamps are now available for pre-order at Garden of Francis. (click here)

These are now shipping! They will begin shipping out prior to March 1. I am taking pre-orders to see if it is worth purchasing the tackle-boxes and the wood holders in bulk, or just buy a few at a time as I need them.

My son is so excited! 

(ok, I am too!)

I am so happy to be offering these for substantially less than the ONLY other set available anywhere online that I can find - and they correspond with our KotU geography album!

By the way, side-note: if, as we are using them, anyone wants a different stamp image made, the process I'll be using can very easily accommodate this! In fact, after this first batch of these ones, I am going to look into making stamps of other images for other themes.

Montessori Elementary Economic Geography Stamps - corresponding with the Keys of the Universe Montessori Elementary Geography Album chapter on Economic Geography.

Each  polymer (not rubber, but like rubber) stamp image measures 3/4 inch at its widest; mounted on a 1 inch square cube - with the image imprinted on the top of each cube for easy reference.

Select which set you would like: the core set contains 26 images of mineral, plant and animal resources; the supplementary set contains 14 additional images in more specific items.

Each corresponding tackle-box comes with a cardstock print-out of the included images for that set.

CONTENTS CORRESPOND WITH AMI MONTESSORI ELEMENTARY TRAINING ALBUMS. And are most specifically designed for Keys of the Universe albums.

Purchase your own ink pads according to the color designations of your choice (see the elementary Montessori geography album for further details).





EDITED TO ADD!!!!

With the process we are using to make these stamps, we can VERY easily create custom orders and we are looking to create designs related to the Faith (especially as related to the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd):

true vine, grapes, chalice, paten, altar, Good Shepherd, sheep, cross, dove, flame, shooting star, etc.

We are definitely taking suggestions! We can make them from 1/2" up to paper size.....



:)