Daily Prayer to Saint Joseph

“Who would venture to compare any Saint with St. Joseph? In what amazing union with God, in what flames of heroic love, in what Mary-like depths of self-abasement, did not that shadow of the Eternal Father dwell, ever honoring by the shadow that he cast that stupendous majesty and awful adorable Person whose representative he was!” -Fr Frederick William Faber

“The children of the world are ignorant regarding the privileges and rights which the Most High has conferred on my holy spouse, and the power of his intercession with the Divine Majesty and with me. But I assure you, my daughter, that in Heaven he is most intimate with the Lord, and has great power to avert the punishment of Divine justice from sinners. In all trials seek his intercession, because the Heavenly Father will grant whatever my spouse asks.” - Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda

“To other Saints Our Lord seems to have given power to succor us in some special necessity—but to this glorious Saint, I know by experience, He has given the power to help us in all. Our Lord would have us understand that as He was subject to St. Joseph on earth—for St. Joseph, bearing the title of father and being His guardian, could command Him—so now in Heaven Our Lord grants all his petitions. I have asked others to recommend themselves to St. Joseph, and they, too, know the same thing by experience.” - St.Teresa of Avila

“Go, then to Joseph, and do all that he shall say to you; Go to Joseph, and obey him as Jesus and Mary obeyed him; Go to Joseph, and speak to him as they spoke to him; Go to Joseph, and consult him as they consulted him; Go to Joseph, and honour him as they honoured him; Go to Joseph, and be grateful to him as they were grateful to him; Go to Joseph, and love him, as they love him still.” - St. Alphonsus Liguori

For just over a year, we’ve added this prayer to the end of our daily family Rosary. This quick daily devotion has given our family such strong affection and attachment to Saint Joseph. We’ve seen so many tangible, sweet blessings through our prayers to our beloved Terror of Demons, Joseph Most Valiant, Pillar of Families, Joseph Most Obedient.

To thee, O Blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our tribulations, and while imploring the aid of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. By that love which united thee to the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and by the fatherly affection with which thou didst embrace the Infant Jesus, we humbly beseech thee graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased with His Blood and to help us in our necessities, by thy powerful intercession. Protect, O most provident Guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen children of Jesus Christ; ward off from us, O most loving Father, all taint of error and corruption; graciously assist us from Heaven, O most power protector, in our struggle with the powers of darkness; and as thou didst once rescue the Child Jesus from imminent peril to His life, so now defend the Holy Church of God from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity. Shield each one of us with thy unceasing patronage that, imitating thy example and sported by thy aid, we may be enabled to live a good life, die a holy death, and secure everlasting happiness in Heaven. Amen.

In our times as Catholics, between the world outside and the challenges inside the Church, the temptation for discouragement is so high. There is no higher Saint than Joseph (Our Lady exempted!), to call near and to ask to guide us. He is Our Lady’s best friend, Our Lord’s foster father. Meditation on the Presentation, the Flight into Egypt, and the Three Days Loss from the vantage point of observing this greatest of saints so easily leads us to interior freedom and peace. Whatever your need, your intention, your circumstances - go to Joseph. The fruits of leaning heavily on him in our family are so abundant, I want to see the world aflame with affection for him! As St. Teresa of Avila attests, I know you will grow to love him with the sweetest gratitude, too. +JMJ+

My first blog post for Little Light Family was a simple printable, just a drawing I converted into a printable so that my children could put an Immaculate Heart of Mary together. When Saint Joseph answered, quite gratuitously, an intention for our family, we celebrated with a little surprise family lunch party…I quickly altered parts of the Immaculate Heart printable so my children could make Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph artwork for their daddy! Below are the images, ready for direct download. Be sure to print both pages as full 8.5 x 11 images (on my printer I select “print full image”) to get the proportions to match up correctly! Children can color or watercolor the heart, the fire, the lilies, and the stem, then cut out the components and assemble them on a piece of cardstock! The images can also be shrunk to print at 50% and added to a 5x7 homemade card - what better “Father’s Day” card could there be? Saint Joseph, pray for us!

Children’s Rosary Book Review: On A Mission to Love

One of the handful of incredibly influential changes or additions we’ve made over recent years in living out our Catholic faith has been the daily family Rosary. Yes, daily…as in, every single day, we pray a full 5 decade Rosary with our four small people. I know for some that sounds daunting, or even “holier than thou”, or heroic…it is not any of those things. It’s necessary. First, it was suggested to us by our priest, who was counseling us in a few areas of our family life and spiritual lives. Second, it’s what Our Lady herself has requested of us - the daily Rosary, 15 minutes of our day, this one specific prayer. So many devotions and prayers are incredible; this one is the ONE that Our Lady herself has asked of each of us. Read more about Our Lady of Fatima here, at fatima.org! Just understanding the events and the words of the Blessed Mother during these apparitions can be a life-changer for your faith!

With that being said, we do the Rosary daily as a family because it is necessary, not because it is easy, or we are experts at ‘being Catholic,’ or because our children are abnormally well-behaved…oh man…they are NOT. Often (usually…okay always), the Rosary is a struggle. It’s hard - a four year old is trying to learn her prayers and how to follow each bead, a two year old is yelling about not wanting to pray the Rosary, an eight year old is slouching, a six year old is saying her knees/back/elbows/toes hurt all of the sudden. It’s just not smooth, pretty, glamorous…it’s hard. I am always looking for ways to help it run a little smoother, and usually just end up day dreaming about making my own board books or painted blocks with roses on them - there have been very few actually helpful resources we have found for the little ones for the family Rosary!

Enter in the On a Mission to Love Children’s Rosary Meditation Book, which we were given to enjoy and review! We’ve had them for over two months now, so I can truly say that we LOVE them. I love so much about these books, and I am thankful to have them in our home!

One of the things I love is the artwork - it’s hard to find Rosary decade images that are not watered down and childish. While I love simplistic coloring pages and child-friendly cartoon-like artwork in some circumstances, Daniel and I feel strongly that it’s important for meditative prayer preparation that children are given the “real deal” in their environment. These images are truly beautiful - rich in meaning, yet still accessible and recognizable for children.

I am also a big fan of the individual prayer meditations - for each Hail Mary of a decade, a reader can read the meditative sentence, and a non-reader can simply keep his or her finger on that “bead,” represented by connected dots on the page! I also love that you can grab these as a bundle with our favorite wooden bead Rosaries - this was a sheer coincidence in our home! The girls both have these gorgeous wooden bead Rosaries from Small Things Great Love (on Etsy), and Debbie from On a Mission to Love has collaborated with Allison to offer them with her meditation books!

If you are looking to add the Rosary to your family prayer routine with little ones, looking for a lovely First Holy Communion gift, or hoping to foster a deeper love for the Rosary in children who are already praying it with the family, I think you will love these Rosary meditation books too!

Modesty on Mondays - Resource List

Modesty.

Is it a word that makes you feel defensive or uncomfortable? Is it something you think just doesn’t apply to our modern Catholic living? Something that is antiquated? Something that is his problem, not mine? An optional area of virtue some people happen to prefer?

Modesty takes on a lot of baggage as a topic of discussion, so it seems like we just avoid the conversation all together. We add it to the relativistic group of topics, deciding “to each her own” and “whatever floats your boat.”

Okay, I absolutely thought all of those things about the buzzword “modesty,” and not all that long ago. That what I wore didn’t actually matter in any real, true sense. That it was my business how I wanted to dress, and certainly no man, or woman even, could or should advise me on what I should be wearing. That “mostly modest” or “modest most of the time” was more than enough effort on my part. I can’t say that I’ve figured it all out, or that I’ve acquired this virtue, even. But what I’ve learned from a number of wonderful resources has been so beautifully transformative that I just want to share it. To open the discussion up, to share the resources I’ve connected with, and to walk out this piece of growing in virtue together with other like-minded women.

For a little while, I’ve been doing that through #modestyonmondays on Instagram. It’s been a fruitful, continuous discussion - I think those of us who are drawn toward authentic Catholic living truly need the affirmations that a space like IG can give! We are not alone. We are not isolated in our challenges and struggles, and we are able to lift each other up through sharing the way Our Lord is moving in our lives. Within those conversations and direct messages, I’m often sending a handful of my favorite resources to ladies who want to learn more - below is that list!

Audio:

Luke1128.org: ***https://luke1128.org/2015/08/31/clothing-and-modesty-its-not-about-you-its-about-him/

Steak or kale? This homily has been such a game changer for me and my understanding on what the Church (actively!) teaches about modesty. It’s one I’ve listened to again and again, and my top recommendation for a starting point to learning about the virtue of modesty.

***These sermons have been removed from public access, but I have a ‘hard copy’ of the MP3 and am happy to email it directly to you! Email me through the contact form and I’ll send it over.

Father Ripperger: http://sensustraditionis.org/release/modesty/

Sensus Traditionis is a wealth of edifying, faith life-changing information! I have learned so much from this brilliant, straight-shooting, traditional priest. The link above is for the whole eight part series of talks. He does talk about modesty in dress, but as a part of the bigger picture of the virtue of modesty, which falls under temperance. It’s heavy hitting and Thomistic, and so very helpful in getting a broader understanding of why this virtue matters as much as it does!

Books:

Dressing with Dignity: (here on Amazon)

Written by a woman for women, this book covers a lot of ground in a pretty quick read. Most interestingly, she covers how fashions have been disrupted and why our culture and modern Church has lost so much ground on this virtue. One of my questions when beginning to learn about modesty was if this is what the Church has always taught, and the teaching is unbroken and unchanged, then why have I not heard about it in 30 years of being Catholic? Colleen Hammond brings the answers to the table in an accessible way.

The Privilege of Being a Woman: (here on Amazon)

While she does not primarily cover modesty, I have found this book to be foundational in my understanding of femininity and the value of womanhood. Alice von Hildebrand answers the question “Why does modesty even matter?” without the topic being significantly approached. Truly, understanding the dignity gifted to women is the interior cornerstone for external efforts in modesty. It’s a book every Catholic woman will find value in, and is indispensable for those raising daughters in today’s moral climate!

Prayer Before A Crucifix Printables

When we moved to Texas from Virginia ten years ago, we noticed that many of our new friends had what they called “cross walls” in their homes. It’s not something I have ever seen before moving to Texas, even having lived in seven different states! We loved the concept, and from our first years of marriage, started collecting beautiful crosses and crucifixes - Daniel would chose different ones for birthdays and holidays and surprise me with them! Our collection is set, and I love the spot they are in in our new home. This past spring I found a prayer in my missal that I fell in love with, and it has made its home with our cross wall as well! The prayer is called the Prayer Before A Crucifix, and it carries partial and plenary indulgences! A partial indulgence is granted any time it is prayed in front of a crucifix - traditionally, it is read or said after receiving Holy Communion during Mass - under the usual conditions of indulgences. If you are like me and you need a crash course in indulgences, press play on this sermon the next time you are washing dishes or heading out in the car! A plenary indulgence is granted when it is said on Fridays during Lent. Indulgences are such an amazing opportunity for charity towards the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Now that we understand what they are we do our best to gain them every time we receive Holy Communion, but for a long long time I had absolutely no clue that people actually could accomplish the requirements! I’ve learned through great friends and wonderful priests that many simple things carry indulgences, including the family Rosary and this beautiful prayer. It can be said once a day, and even more.

Prayer Before A Crucifix:

Behold, O good and sweetest Jesus, I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech Thee that Thou would impress upon my heart lively sentiments of Faith, Hope, and Charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment, while with deep affection and grief of soul I consider within myself and mentally contemplate Thy five most precious Wounds; having before my eyes that which words David the prophet long ago spoke concerning Thee: “They have pierced my hands and feet; they have numbered all my bones.”

We’ve printed the first square image and added it to an 8x8 frame for our entry way, making it easy to kneel before the crucifixes to read! Feel free to save either of the images below for your own use! The first is for an 8x8 print, the second for an 8x10.

Download the full resolution 8x8 here: Prayer Before a Crucifix 8x8

Download the full resolution for the 8x10 here: Prayer Before a Crucifix 8x10

Spiritual Reading Review: Humility of Heart

At the beginning of the year, I undertook a goal to read thirteen spiritual reading books, and started with Humility of Heart by Father Cajetan Mary de Bergamo. It was such a grace to *start* with Humility of Heart, because it made me realize that I just might not get to read all of these books in that time window! I am making my way through my book list, but it seems that I'll certainly take longer than I expected! I realized this was to likely be true with Humility of Heart taking longer than I expected to read simply because you can get caught up in reading, thinking, and praying over three short pages for over half an hour...there is so much depth in spiritual reads that you typically can't read them at the same pace you would any other category of writing! 

While I mostly gave myself this challenge simply to push myself to finish many of the books I've started to read or have purchased with the best of intentions, I also committed to sharing my thoughts as I finished each book. Many of the books I've read or added to my list have come from other Catholic women sharing how the book influenced them, and for that I am super thankful! Humility of Heart was also the perfect book to start with from this perspective, because writing a spiritual reading book review on a book of this magnitude and impact is SO FAR out of my league, I have nothing to gain except humility in attempting to write it. Let's agree to start with the premise that I'm your average Catholic mom sharing thoughts, nothing profound or particularly notable about me or the thoughts in my head, and we'll do just fine, ha!

Humility of Heart is one of those books for me that ended up with a lot of journaling, notes, and underlining. Sentence after sentence, passage after passage is packed with explanations and descriptions of the virtue of humility that made me think about humility in an entirely different way. I closed the book around a bookmark many times with a desperation nearing tears, realizing how necessary this virtue is, and how far I am from possessing it. He pulls in many thoughts from Scripture, the saints, and doctors of the church, referring often to Saint Thomas and Saint Augustine. It's one that I am sure I need to re-read many times, that each time there will be more that stands out. There are a handful of things that were super impactful - while I was reading the book, these were the concepts I kept bringing up with my husband and friends. If we were chatting over coffee about this amazing book, I'd be trying to convince you to read it for these concepts especially. 

Humility is truth. I grew up learning about virtues from a secular perspective - good behaviors and habits that make you a high functioning, successful, likable person. From that vantage point, humility is something entirely different than what it truly is in the eyes of Our Lord. My worldly view of humility was that it meant thinking lowly of one's self, esteeming others more than yourself, and not considering yourself more important than others. This kind of "humility" just works itself out to be pride, though, doesn't it? It's appearing to be humble, appearing to put others first, appearing to think lowly of one's self; but internally congratulating yourself for the accomplishment of acting in this way, of giving the perception of your humility. While those things are part of how a truly humble person thinks of themselves, they are byproducts of possessing the virtue in its truest sense. Humility actually has very little to do with *us* and everything to do with God. Bergamo does a wonderful job of helping us to see that what we are is simply created works of Almighty God, and humility is simply fully understanding that truth. When we exalt ourselves above what we actually are, we are crafting a lie - we simply cannot make ourselves out to be more than we actually are, in the eyes of God. "Every time I esteem myself, preferring myself to others, I deceive myself with this self-adulation and commit an error against truth." Pride is the lie that we are something beyond our own nothingness, the false thinking that we are, we have, or that we achieve anything of our own accord, that we are the cause of our own excellence, or that we should seek our own excellence above and beyond that which is the Will of God. What a beautiful antidote this is to a culture that is screaming out to us, especially women and mothers, to do more, to be more, to achieve more. Humility is the simple truth of our own nothingness, and loving and accepting that truth, in the light of what it means for pleasing Our Lord. 

We have nothing to be proud of.  In a similar vein, Bergamo shakes off all idiotic notions that we ourselves have any justified reasons for pride. I brought the book out to my husband one morning as he was trying to get ready for work, following him around and reading out loud, I loved this explanation so much. He describes a master placing burdens on his animals, meant for them to carry for him. One carries books, one has gold, another weapons, and so on. The absolute absurdity of these animals boasting of their knowledge, their wealth, their bravery - it made such a huge impact for me! The truth of humility does not mean that we pretend we have no gifts, no talents, no intelligence, etc - but it does mean that we first and foremost attribute these things *only* and always to God, and that we aspire to only the excellence that is His Holy Will in these gifts and areas. "All the good that is in us comes from God, and to Him alone we must give praise and honor." He explains so well our need to realize that all that is good in us comes from and belongs to God, and all that is wicked and lacking in us comes from ourselves.  Again, in a culture that shouts at us to indulge in ourselves, to build up our self-esteem, to call ourselves awesome and take full credit - Bergamo's words are such a needed truth! 

"Let us place humility above all things."  Bergamo details the necessity for humility, reminding us that no one enters Heaven without this virtue. To place it above all other virtues and holy actions, we must face how strong our pride is, and begin to root it out through prayer and penance. As we pray for humility, humiliations will come. One of our favorite priests challenges often to add a scary component to our prayers - "at any cost." Before I read this book, he challenged through a sermon to pray "Lord, make me humble, at any cost." As humility is the highest, most necessary virtue, it likewise comes with the highest price tag - humiliations, being brought low, coming to see clearly how highly we've exalted ourselves through the process of down. If you've ever prayed for humility, you know exactly what I am talking about - and this process is most necessary! Instead of bringing only the bitterness of rejections, humiliations, and other necessary injuries to our pride, praying for humility and seeking to humble ourselves before the Lord brings us freedom and peace. 

Humility brings freedom and peace. "The humble man enjoys peace and quiet because he lives according to the rules of truth and justice, submitting his own will in all things to the Divine Will. The proud man is always agitated and perturbed because of the opposition he is continually offering to the Divine Will in order to fulfill his own. The more the heart is filled with self-love, so much greater will be its anxiety and agitation." While I can't claim humility for myself, I have the grace to know many truly humble people where this is so very evident. The peace and freedom they experience, the simplicity of their lives speaks of how they unite their own will to the Will of God, regardless of circumstances. We see this in the lives of the saints, again and again, in so many different paths, but always the same peace and freedom, as they operate with true humility in accordance with the Will of God.

This book is a treasure, and one that I will need to read again and again. I hope I've done it the tiniest bit of justice and that you want to read it right away! If not, the failure is only mine - you will LOVE this book, it will be a spiritual life changer. Read it! 

"And as Thou commandest me to be humble, I am ready to obey; but grant that, through Thy help, I may in truth become such as Thou dost desire."

Bringing the Saints into Family Life

I can remember a saint picture book or two with images and short paragraph biographies existing in my home growing up, but besides picking out a name for Confirmation, saints were not part of my life. Sound like you, too? Learning the lives of the saints, leaning on them for inspiration, motivation, and intercession, looking to them as having accomplished the mission we are in the midst of...incorporating the saints into our daily lives has been a game changer for my husband and I. We want this for our children, too. We love finding ways that we can bring the saints to life in our home, and I want to share a few that have made the biggest impact for our family.

An Atmosphere of Saints

Creating an atmosphere for our family where talking about the saints is just second nature has been boosted by prayer, decor, and devotions. We finish our family morning prayers asking our special saints for intercession, and the children love getting to hear or say the name of their favorite saints. My choleric six year old loves to say the names of everyone else's saints faster than my husband. :-P We chose what goes on our walls and what fills our homes, and this can go far for atmosphere! I've done the trendy Hobby Lobby decor for periods, and I always tire of it. Meaningless artwork and decor doesn't last in our home, and has been replaced over time with intentional pieces that help us bring the saints into our family! I've jokingly mentioned to friends that I only decorate with plants and religious artwork, and it's true! Having images of the saints, even if it's just holy cards on the fridge and posters in the kids' rooms, has made a big impact for us. We have also incorporated more relics and blessed saint medals...I'll have to share about my husband's treasured Saint Michael stones another time! The priests at our parish bless items for parishoners once a month, so letting the children watch their saint medals get blessed has been awesome too.

Lead by Example

Our current reads - A Family of Saints for me, and The Life and Glories of Saint Joseph for Daniel. Children absorb life more than they learn it by direction. What they see you doing is what speaks volumes, regardless of what you tell them is important. My daughter pulled open my nightstand drawer and asked a few questions about the books, one of the questions being "Are they all holy books?" We have a shelf in our book closet under the stairs that is "holy books" - books they are allowed to bring to Mass! My drawer was filled with a prayer book and three other spiritual reading books that I've finished or am still reading, so I was able to answer her with a "yes." I love fiction, but her little question just drove home for me that need to be modeling the behaviors we want to see in our children. I want to be a saint, I want to raise saints - how could I miss the chance to read the wildly varied lives of the saints who've walked that path themselves?  You can't teach what you don't know yourself, and a shallow knowledge of the saints was leading to an even shallower knowledge for our children. Reading deeper into the lives of the saints has changed the way we talk about the saints with our children dramatically. Instead of a quick repeat of a factoid learned from an internet search, we are able to share specific stories, truly bringing the life of that saint into our children's memories. One of my favorite things to remind them is that the saints we love will be our treasured friends in Heaven!

Edifying Play

We have a big collection of saint peg dolls, a few from a swap, and most from Emmaus Road's subscription service. We use them to play with the dollhouse my father made, and to pray a hands on Litany of Saints! This is especially great for ages 4 and under, as they can begin to recognize the saints and you can talk simply about them. Culturally our toys are total trash, based on media characters you don't actually want your children to imitate. Why not put toys that edify into their hands? 

Read Deeper with Your Children

If you are like me, the handful of volumes of saint encyclopedias was all that you knew of for learning about the lives of the saints. We often think small of and for our children, giving them overly simplified, annotated information (about everything) that leaves them bored and unlikely to even retain any of the information they read and hear. After attending a Charlotte Mason Institute conference this past summer, I was inspired to raise the bar when it comes to reading depth for my children! While my son can read any book he wants to,  I was keeping our saint study overly simple for my littler ones. Over two months with just 10-20 minutes a day, we read Saint Martin de Porres by Mary Fabyan Windeatt and now my children have a significantly deeper understanding of Saint Martin than I could have ever given them - I didn't know more than a handful of lifeless facts about him before reading either! We can now talk about a number of amazing things that happened to Brother Martin, as the "living book" qualities are abundant in Windeatt's stories. The children absorb the stories and make connections they never could with a list of facts. One evening after the Rosary my six year old asked about the Presentation, and interrupted me when I mentioned Anna.  She asked, "Ana, like Saint Martin's mother?" I was in awe that she remembered her name from our read aloud, and refueled into loving this way of sharing the saints with the kids in a deeper way! Currently we are reading a chapter book on Saint Kateri, as we are studying Native Americans for History. Their eyes lit up when we read that she grew up in a wikiup, which they had recently learned about! The art of these connections is impossible with shallow fact paragraphs, and the richness of the knowledge gained is so worth the 10 minutes of reading each day!

Play Games!

Our new Fishing for Saints game has been wonderful, letting the children play with the saints independently! It's a precious game of "go fish," saint-style. They can play the classic game and love it, and you can use the cards in other fun ways too! The game includes a little book and a set of cards with a simple description on the back, which is *perfect* for playing Guess the Saint! Just like you'd play Guess Who or Headbanz, asking yes or know questions, you try to figure out who your saint is! With the description cards handy, the kids can narrow down which saint they have. My older two have had a blast with this, especially. Games are a fun way to bring the saints into daily living, reminding the children that they are simply part of our lives. 

"If they, why not I? If these men and women could become saints, why cannot I with the help of Him who is all powerful?" - Saint Augustine of Hippo

What favorite ways have you found to bring the saints to life in your home? 

Plant Lady 101 - The Best Three Plants to Start With!

Two things you can find in every room of our house - religious art and plants! These are my two favorite things to decorate with. Plants bring such a happy pop of green and life to a space, giving it warmth and depth. They are fun to watch grow and change, and make a great little project for children to help out with. My children have plants in their bedrooms too, per their request! Whether it is a friend visiting the house or spotting a plant in a room via Instagram, I get a lot of "I need you to teach me how to keep plants!" comments. I am totally an amateur plant lady, but thankfully it doesn't take much to bring and keep bright greenery into your space! I used to wander around looking at plants, feeling overwhelmed and clueless. My husband new I wanted to get a few plants, so one Mother's Day, he gave me a gift card to a local plant store! I did a little Pinterest research on plants I might not kill, and went for it! Not every plant I've had over the last three years has lived, but some have stuck with me that whole time. So to each friend that has said "teach me your ways," here we go!

First, don't go drooling over urban jungle IG accounts and go purchase $200 Fiddle Leaf Figs and rare succulents! Give yourself three months to prove to yourself that you can keep $30-50 worth of plants alive, even if the plants you start with aren't your dream plants. I think the best way to start is with a handful of plants that look great and can stand up to your learning curve! Second, don't be legalistic with how much water, how much sun, etc. You can find tips for every plant imaginable on the internet, but even if you follow those rules perfectly, your particular plant may not be happy! Know that you'll have to play around with where to keep it for the amount of sun and how much water it likes. Third, get a few to start! If you get one plant and it dies, you may feel like a failure. If you have three and you lose one, you have a few others to care for! I also think my plants aren't neglected because they have friends - there are too many plants in my house to forget about them! When you are watering and checking on more than one plant, it's likely to become a natural part of your home care routine. Okay - let's dive into what I think are the best three plants to start with!

From left to right: ZZ plant, pothos ivy, and snake plant! 

ZZ Plant: The zamioculas zamiifolia is the first plant we ever bought, and it went to my husband's chiropractic office! I asked the woman at the local plant store for a plant that could handle low light and likely some neglect (my husband takes amazing care of his patients, but his plants don't get water as often as they should!), and she sent me home with a ZZ! If you are the brownest of thumbs, the ZZ plant is your best friend. They do well in moderate to bright light, near a bright window - you'll see new growth constantly! That being said, the ZZ is a rockstar for super low light, and can even live on just fluorescent lighting! This is one you can stick in a low lighting corner for a design pop, and it'll look healthy forever. The ZZ can handle water once a week, but it'll tolerate being watered less and even totally forgotten for a while! It doesn't want to be overwatered, so be sure the soil is dried out between watering. One thing that I love about the ZZ is that it has these big rhizomes that store water - it truly can handle some drought. When they look shriveled and not full, you can be sure that the plant is thirsty. I have one ZZ and I usually water it every two weeks. When I place it near a window, it gets tons of new growth and height. In a darker spot, it slows but looks great and stays happy! Bonus - even if you are eventually going to kill a ZZ, it probably will take you over a year to kill it. Ha!

Pothos Ivy: Your grandma's favorite houseplant, and for good reason. I have four pothos plants, and they are some of my favorites! You usually purchase them as bushy, short plants with two or three leaves on a few of the vines. They can grow quickly, making them the most satisfying first plants I can think of! It's a joy to watch new pothos leaves unfurl and to see your vines get some length! Like the ZZ, pothos can handle not having a lot of sun. They are great on bookshelves and in spots that get moderate light, but can be a good distance from windows too. All of my pothos plants are fairly far away from their light source, but they are happy! Starting with plants that aren't too picky about their lighting is ideal, I think. Pothos plants are also good at telling you what they want changed. If they are droopy or starting to brown, they are thirsty. If they are getting too much light, the color of the leaves will bleach out. Pothos ivy plants like to have their soil dry out completely before watering, and I find with mine that once a week is usually when they are ready for water. I have often let them go two weeks with no problems! This is a low maintenance plant that looks great in every space and is fun to watch grow.  

Snake Plant: The sanseveria plants are some of my favorite! My husband has two at the office, and we have one at home. I love the height and fun patterning that they bring to a space! They are similar to ZZ plants in many ways. They'll do great in bright light near a sunny window, but they'll also hang out happily in lower light areas. These are a favorite for people who forget to water their plants, as they need water about every two to three weeks! You'll get feedback from your plant if you are overwatering - the leaves will start to droop rather than stand up straight. 

Plant Lady, you are officially ready! Head to a local nursery (or even Amazon!) and grab your first three plants! Get regular potting mix and some terra cotta pots or at least pots with holes at the bottom, and find spots for your new plant babies. Don't be afraid to move them around and don't stress over watering - just check the soil with your fingers to make sure it has dried out before watering again. Don't overthink it, just enjoy your plants!

Good Bye, Old Chicken Coop!

In March we moved into a new home, and the last three months have required a lot of adjusting and resettling! We moved our existing chickens over with us, and they are in a temporary coop made from pallets while my husband gets ready for a big three to four week coop build!

As he's been getting ready, downloading plans and setting aside time to build, I've been thinking fondly of the first coop we built. We had a lot of requests for how it was built, and I wish I could share more details! Daniel and I looked at many coop designs, and filtered them through our main goal - lots of run space, able to keep birds full-time enclosed if needed, and as frugal as possible! Many coop designs run $1000+ in wood and materials, and we built this one for less than $400, using what we could that we already had and reducing materials down to the basics!

It was the very first building project I ever requested of my husband - he had not so much as built a shelf before this! It was a daunting task, and I was so proud of the design he drew up and his execution! He was quick to decide to use pre-made designs for the next coop - he'll be building a slightly modified Garden Loft Coop. 

Basic design - I wanted the chickens to have as much run space as we could, without spending a ton on materials! I also wanted to be able to walk in to clean the run floor and go in and out with the feeder and waterer. 

We were able to keep the feeder and waterer under the little hen house part of the coop, keeping it from rain. 

Super simple entrance to the hen house. Our girls would go in to put themselves to bed on the roosting bars or go in to lay eggs!

One side of the coop had a swing door to collect eggs from two little laying areas we set up. It was a great height for the older two children to unlatch and open!

This back door was put in to help make it super easy to clean up the bedding, I just swept out the old into a bag and had the children help me replenish the new chips! 

I am excited for our new coop, but I did love this homemade design! We learned a ton about caring for our chickens and what does and doesn't work for their living spaces in the process. As the Garden Loft Coop build gets underway, I will be sharing the progress over on Instagram Stories - be sure to follow @LittleLightFamily on IG and follow along! 

Spiritual Reading: Baker's Dozen Book Challenge for 2018

Happy 2018! I am not one for "New Year's Resolutions," but I am one for accountability when I make big plans. I am great at ideas and dreams, but projects and commitments that don't fall into crafts and artwork categories are highly at risk of not being finished. Ha! I love to read, but when it comes to spiritual reading, I am really good at *buying* the books...I'm even great at reading the first few chapters. Completely finishing them, on the other hand, I am horrible at. To prevent myself from buying anymore books from our parish bookstore and then just looking at them longingly, I am making myself accountable for reading the ones I already have! I started the first one just after Christmas, so I am including 13 books in my personal challenge! I will be sharing thoughts on each book as I finish them - but I do promise that many many other people have written profound thoughts and reviews...that's not me. Fair warning if you decide to follow along, it'll just be some basic Catholic mama thoughts. ;-) 

Here's my complete list, in order of the photo, but not necessarily in the order I will read them (mostly because I am not sure what order I will read them in...that's too much planning for me!). I've started with Humility of Heart, and though some of the books may not be as heavy, I am realizing all 13 will be quite challenging. After Humility of Heart, I am going to dive into The Privilege of Being A Woman. 

1. Humility of Heart (Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo)

This one was a gift from a thoughtful friend, and I've started and stopped it too many times! It's a heavy-hitter, and I've started with this one first!

2. The Imitation of Mary (Alexander De Rouville)

I've read this almost completely, but many years ago. I am looking forward to reading it again in my current stage of life.

3. The Glories of Mary (Saint Alphonsus Liguori)

My husband and I finished our Total Consecration to Mary in the fall, and I am realizing that I will never be able to learn enough about her! This book was recommended in a talk I listened to online!

4. The Privilege of Being a Woman (Alice von Hildebrand)

True femininity in the context of our Faith is not something I have learned much about until the last two years at our Traditional Latin Mass parish. It has been something I need a LOT of grace to put into practice, so I am especially looking forward to this one!

5. The Martins of Lisiuex - Saints Therese, Louis, and Zelie (Fr. Stephane-Joseph Piat O.F.M.)

I have a special love and admiration for Saint Therese, and in what little I've read of Saint Zelie's letters, I know that these three are Saints I need to get to know better! This is an intimidatingly sized book, but I am looking forward to stories and examples from this holy family.

6. An Introduction to the Devout Life (Saint Frances de Sales)

This book is so beautifully written, I can't wait to dive in! It is another that is recommended by a priest my husband and I listen to online often, and was recently recommended by one of our parish priests in our Women's Spirituality class as a cornerstone for spiritual reading!

7. The Mass Explained to Children (Maria Montessori)

I started reading this one out loud to my children during homeschool time, but with the two younger ones to hold and wrestle, I didn't keep it up! I want to finish it myself and see how I can best convey Maria Montessori's message to my five and seven year old!

8. What's Wrong with the World (G.K. Chesterton)

To be honest, this one is the book that is most likely to get bumped off my list, if I fall behind! I want to read it because there will be a time, soon, to explain to our children why we seem so strange! This is one, though, that falls more in line with my husband's state in life than mine, so we shall see!

9. A Mother's Rule of Life (Holly Pierlot)

Our parish's homeschool mom's group read this for the Fall semester and discussed it at the meetings, but I didn't read along. I will get through it this year!

10. The Latin Mass Explained (George J. Moorman and R. Michael Schmitz)

Another that I've read at least halfway through, but haven't finished for whatever reason. We've been attending the Latin Mass for about a year and a half, and I'm certain even in 20 years there will be more to learn about it! 

11. True Devotion to Mary (Saint Louis de Montfort)

We used a different book for our Total Consecration to Mary, but both Daniel and I love Saint Louis de Montfort and this book seems like a necessity!

12. How to Really Love Your Child (Ross Campbell)

My confessor recommended this book to me, and our pastor recommended it again to the whole parish during a sermon! I read dozens of parenting and psychology books in my first few years as a new mom, but haven't read many since. I think this one will be very helpful for both my husband and I!

13. The Ways of Mental Prayer (Vitalis Lehodey O.C.R.)

Oh, this one. I've started reading it, and have skipped around to parts I thought might help me more immediately. The priest that I learned about it from says that it's a beast, but the very best single book to aid in mental prayer and meditation! 

Find ALL of the titles here! (Not an affiliate link! I love me some Amazon, but if we can find these titles at our local Catholic bookstores, I'd rather see those small businesses flourish!)

If you have read some of these, which has been your favorite? Are any of these on your reading list for this year too?

Saint Andrew Christmas Novena

This is our fourth year praying the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena, which is prayed from Saint Andrew's Feast Day, November 30th, through December 24th. Each of the days you repeat the same intention; so many people have reported prayers granted and abundant graces through this Novena! As you meditate on the words of the prayer, that joyful anticipation of the Advent season is palpable. It is a beautiful prayer that has brought our family incredible graces, and I look forward to it every year! 

The prayer is prayed 15 times a day, and for the last three years my husband and I have prayed it without the children. I usually make the "lock screen" on my phone a graphic of the prayer (you can download that here at the bottom of this post!), and just count on praying it at least fifteen times throughout the day. This year, with our children a little older and now accustomed to praying the Rosary daily together, we are adding in the full Christmas Novena! 

Thinking of ways to break it up visually for them, I decided to make felt ball chaplets. My intent was for the older two to be able to string their own, but between the tapestry needles and the thickness of the bakers twine I have, it was a little too tough for them to create these on their own. I made them fairly quickly, and I look forward to having the children use them!

We'll be breaking the 15 prayers up, five in the morning, five at lunch, and five before our Rosary. With the felt ball counters, they are able to move the balls up as they complete one of the prayers! 

DIY Felt Ball Christmas Novena Chaplet:

+ 15 felt balls (Amazon, Hello Maypole, Hobby Lobby)

+ Bakers twine

+ tapestry needle

+ cardstock and laminator (optional, to add the prayer to the end of the chaplet! Below is the 3x4 sized image; for the size pictured, print six per page)

And if you need those little reminders throughout the day yourself, below is a graphic that will fit your phone screen for home/lock screens!

All Saints Day Saint Costumes 2017

I am ALL for store bought Halloween costumes, and for the Trunk or Treat we went to a few days before Halloween, that is exactly what my children wore - store bought costumes! Our local Target didn't seem to have a very large selection of Saint costumes, however. Really though, wouldn't it be awesome if we could order Saint costumes on Amazon? The reality is that for All Saints Day celebrations, the Catholic mama is on her own. I honestly think that's why many people skip Saint costumes, because as much as they'd like to do some special Liturgical living with their children, it takes a lot of time and planning to make a number of Saint outfits! 

This year after the children decided who they wanted to be, I planned our costumes out with the goal of being as efficient as possible, and while their costumes are clearly not seamstress status, they held up for our All Saints Eve Party at our church, and each of them loved their costumes! 

I cheated as MUCH as possible on these, and from start to finish I spent less than three hours making them. So, Catholic Mama, here are my hacks - let's cheat together!! 

We have a Benedictine monk (Saint Benedict for the party!), Saint Philomena, and Saint Therese of Lisieux! 

Our Benedictine habit is just a few yards of black jersey fabric, folded in half, with a little crescent cut out just big enough for his neck! I had my son lay down on the folded fabric and traced out the arms, then cut away - the fabric looked like a letter "T." This is the only one I pulled the sewing machine out for. I used jersey fabric as much as possible for these costumes, because with jersey you can make a straight cut, rip the fabric quickly, and then the "hem" will just roll a little and look fairly finished! Not spending energy cutting perfectly saves so much time! He wore it over a black hoodie so that I didn't have to attempt to sew a hood!

Saint Philomena has on a pillowcase! I cut arm holes and cinched the "neck" with twine! We used a cape we already owned, which was perfect. Her crown was an existing pink jersey headband, and I just hot glued flowers and leaves on to it! With this little love being under three, I didn't take the chance of accessorizing her with an anchor, arrows, palms, or a rope...in fact my husband forbade me from letting her wear a rope around her neck...what can you do? 

Saint Therese the Little Flower also has a pillow case tunic; bottom cut off and left unhemmed, arms cut out, neck cinched! Her mantle I ruffled by hand quickly, and then hot glued sparkly gold ribbon to both sides. The toque is a simple piece of white jersey, and the veil is black jersey - both cut, ripped, and left unhemmed! 

I hope my hacks encourage you to make Saint costumes for All Saints Day celebrations - no one needs to know we cheated! ;-)

Montessori-ish: Table Setting & Dishes with Little Children

Nearly every time we have friends visit for the first time, I get questions about our "dishes station" near our kitchen table. It's been refined a number of times over the years - when we first started Montessori at home from when our oldest was two, to now with four children ages 6 months to seven. 

I love Montessori, and I love *strict* Montessori - I like to do things full throttle, and that is how we started with Montessori in our home. We got rid of 80% of our toys, sold furniture and big things so we could buy Montessori home, practical life, and sensorial materials; basically we revamped our whole household to create a prepared environment. In the kitchen, that meant a "water station" and "snack station" so that our children could get their own water, and a "dishes station" so they could independently prepare for meals. We had glass cups, ceramic plates, cube chairs and a little table. While I loved aspects of this "full on Montessori," when we moved and didn't have room for a little table, I realized I loved having the children at the table with us for all meals, especially family dinners. The glass cups and ceramic plates were quickly replaced in an impulsive postpartum Amazon purchase - with a four year old, a two year old, and a newborn, the anxiety it was causing me to need to stop everything and calmly help a child clean up a shattered glass cup that had fallen on the tile was too much! So I released some of the Perfect Montessori Home Rules I had in my head, and I have loved our current system for the last three years! We've been able to stick to the real materials standard of Montessori and avoid plastic, but also find unbreakable dishes that keep me sane. 

Our table setting materials:

Plates: (find the exact ones here, and similar ones here) I love our stainless steel camping plates, but they seem to go in and out of stock on Amazon! I love that they have separators and are the perfect size. They are lightweight, durable, and reasonably priced.

Bowls: (find them here) The Cub Bowls by Caveman Cups are awesome quality and the perfect size! 

Utensils: (find the exact ones here, and similar ones here) We've had more commercial stainless steel utensils, but with three different colored handles, issues over getting pink spoons and pink forks occurred much too often! This set is fantastic - perfect size and heavy duty!

Cups: (find similar ones here) We have 16 oz cups only because stainless steel children's dishes weren't "a thing" when I bought mine - I would totally buy the eight ounce or four ounce Caveman Cups if we needed them. The standard size ones are fine, but the smaller cups are better for little hands and easier for them to fill up on their own.

Placemats: these are fabric ones from Target from years ago, but in Montessori, the children as young as 15-18 months learn to take care of their environment by rolling mats, cloths, and placemats. Much easier to roll than to fold, and it's a task even very small children love to do! When looking for placemats, pick fabric that is roll-able, washable, and that you don't mind looking at all day (as in, don't get "kid" fabrics, get what you like!).

Bussing station: this probably has a real name, but we call it the "bussing station." I have eighteen billion of these containers from when I was a teacher (they held my leveled readers in my classroom). Ours is from Sterilite and you can get them just about anywhere. Size-wise, it is small enough that the older two can wash it out in the kitchen sink, but also fits a full day of children's dishes.

Our routine:

For breakfast and lunch, each child sets their own place. They grab their placemat, unroll it at their seat, and come back for plates and utensils. Then they fill their water at the water station, and are ready to say grace and serve themselves! For dinner, either one child sets the whole table, or they each do different jobs. When they are finished they ask if they can be excused, and they clear their place. They put all of their dishes in the bussing station, and then roll their placemats up and put them back. Pretty simple - and if you aren't sure if your children could get into the habit, just remember it only takes two to three weeks of doing something consistently for it to become a routine.

After dinner, our five or seven year old does the dishes at the kitchen sink, rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher. They at least do the full bin of children's dishes, but usually finish all of the dirty dishes. We consistently load the children's dishes on the far left of the two dishwasher drawers so they can easily unload their own dishes in the morning and prepare their dishes station for the day.

Tips:

• Use the space you have! We have this strange little corner of the kitchen that is the back of the fireplace, and this cart from Hobby Lobby fits well. Ideally each of the table setting items would be flush on a shelf, but this is the space we have, so we make it work. Many people use a lower set of kitchen cabinets or put a small bookcase near the kitchen table. 

• Let go of perfect - if you want to create the independence, responsibility, and routine, but you can't afford to toss all of the current children's dishes, let go of the stainless steel or glass and ceramic for now! Find space to set up their dishes - that part is free. 

• If you *can* afford it, make the investment into high quality, durable dishes. You will have these for years and years and use them three times a day - it is well worth it!

• Stick with it. For two or three weeks it may feel like you are doing more work, reminding, setting up, helping them learn to rinse and load dishes. It will soon be *much less* work for you, as the mama, I promise! Your children will independently set their place, clear their place, and wash their dishes! 

• Get enough dishes for each child for three meals. We have three children eating, so we have ten sets of utensils, 12 plates, and eight cups and bowls. It works really well for our routine to not have to do extra sets of dishes during the day just to make sure we have clean dishes for the next meal. 

Happy table setting! 

Claire

Immaculate Heart of Mary Craft & Printable

Tomorrow is our second day of school for the 2017-2018 school year, and our first day homeschooling as part of Regina Caeli Academy! One of the primary reasons we've chosen to homeschool our children is so that they can experience their faith as an integrated part of their education and lives. Of course, that means we get to celebrate the Liturgical Year and special Feast Days together!

With a Kindergartener and First Grader, scissor skills and fine motor work are high on my list - I wanted to create a printable for the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that would incorporate coloring and cutting! As we work on this project tomorrow, we will talk about the symbols depicted in the image of the Immaculate Heart!

Red Heart - a symbol of her maternal love for us (discuss Mary as our Mother, and how much she loves us!)

Fire - a symbol of how her Heart burns with love for Jesus and for us.

Sword - a symbol of Mary's sorrows (discuss Mary's Seven Sorrows and pray the Seven Sorrows of Mary while we color and cut!).

White Roses - a symbol of Mary's purity. 

I hope this printable enriches your celebration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! If your children love it, be sure to snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@familydodge)!

Birth of Pax Vianney

This little love of ours is just passed seven months old, and time is flying by. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that he was born, and his sweet birth has been on my mind lately. For my first two births, I spent a lot of time reading peaceful, natural birth stories and watching families welcome little ones in videos - you never know how you'll handle birth, but taking in the experiences of others was so comforting and empowering for me. For that reason, and in thanksgiving for this little man, I want to share his birth story!

With baby number three, Violet, I was in prodromal labor for ten days. It was physically and emotionally exhausting on both me and my husband, and it influenced how I dealt with the end of my pregnancy with Pax. When I started to have significant pre-labor contractions right at 39 weeks that reminded me of prodromal labor, I used every gentle preparation method I could - if he was ready to come, I was not going to be in pre-labor for ten days! I had three days of prodromal labor contractions - usually from midnight to four or five in the morning, making it impossible to sleep and discouraged by the morning when the contractions subsided. On Pax's birthday, I had mild contractions from midnight on, and I was pretty sure that I was in prodromal, non-labor till about 6:00am. As everyone in the house woke up, I told my husband that this was it; contractions less than ten minutes apart, increasing in intensity (when I have prodromal labor, the mind game of contractions is so hard - they are intense and "productive", but they don't increase in intensity or frequency). By 8:00am, it seemed like they were lessening in intensity and decreasing in frequency, and I started to get discouraged, thinking I had been wrong about labor beginning. Daniel insisted that even if we ended up not in labor, we should go ahead and send the kids with our friends - the girls went off with one and Charlie went off with another - by the end of Pax's birthday four precious mamas shared in the care of our three big kids! 

Around 10:00am we were alone without children, and my contractions began to pick up rapidly and ready to start calling in our birth team. Our amazing doula, our wonderful birth photographer, and our rockstar nurse midwife all arrived soon after. My water broke as the midwife was parking in front of our house. I was shocked, because my contractions were strong but manageable, and I was energetic and alert between them. I've also never had my water break before transition or pushing stages. I rocked on the ball, I got in and out of the shower, and our birth team set up the birth pool. Daniel has been truly phenomenal with each of our first three births, and this one was no exception - lots of counter pressure and gentle strength. I got in the tub as soon as I could and worked to relax through contractions. They were coming fast and furious, and I remember telling Dana, our doula, that I couldn't seem to get on top of them. I pray that I don't have labors without her - with Vi and with Pax, she has brought such strength and peace to the very hardest parts of transition and pushing! 

Soon after 12:00pm, Pax was ready to come, and as a birth team we were aiming for me to be in a better position for birthing, as my pushing stages are so short that I usually have repairs needed. As I began pushing, Daniel and our midwife applied counter pressure. Daniel caught him and he and the midwife handed him to me! He was the tiniest of all four of my babies and came so quickly and easily; I was both overwhelmed with joy and surprise! The photos show my shock - at 10:00am, even at 11:45am, my contractions were so manageable that I thought I'd be having a baby at 4:00pm - I had no clue we were so close! 

Daniel, of course, got to give Pax his first adjustment, and our birth team set up an herbal bath for Pax's first bath! He loved it on his birthday and has loved baths with mama as he gets bigger (the first of our children to not hate baths as infants!). 

It was truly a peaceful, gentle birth - I was so supported by my husband and our amazing providers! We got to enjoy a few hours together before the big three came home, and by dinnertime, we were reunited as a family of six! 

I've intentionally only included a few photos; birth photographs may not be your thing, and for modesty purposes you might want to avoid more "birthy" photos. If you do want to see a few more images, you can click through the gallery below!