Currently: January & February 2016 (Tuesday Talk #56)

It's been a fun and busy month!
Here's what we've been up to in January and what's coming up for us in February!

Dreaming
About Peyton winning the Super Bowl!!!!  He will be an Indianapolis Colt forever!

Smelling
The sweet, sweet victory over Tom Brady and the Patriots!

I bet you can't tell, but I am still super pumped about Peyton and the Bronco's awesome win on Sunday!!!!  Go Peyton!!!!!!

Eating
This awesome Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip that Whitney recommended.  Served with pretzels, it's salty and sweet - the perfect combo.  We'll definitely be having this while we watch the Super Bowl in 2 weeks!

Sending
My husband to the grocery for me.  All the time.  Because who wants to bundle up and take 3 kids out in the snow and cold?  Thanks, sweetie!

Wearing
My sweet little one!  Last week, I did a "adoption bump" picture timeline of our babywearing adventures this year - oh my gosh, I loved going through all of our sweet pictures together.  I cherish every moment!


Watching
Duck Dynasty's Jep and Jessica's adoption last week.  I cried my eyes out! 

It was exactly like our 3 little one's adoptions - from the roller coaster of emotions while waiting to the exciting call in the middle of the day to that.first.moment.you.see.him♡ to stopping to get formula on the way home to all of the love that is showered on him - the show was spot on!

It really showed how difficult and beautiful adoption is!  Did you watch it?  What did you think?


Dreading and excited about
My appointment with the doctor about my endometriosis this week.  I'm not ready and so ready to know what needs to be done this time around, you know what I mean?  I would really appreciate prayers!

Hearting
Our Rosary Roses - we've been playing with them a lot lately!  They have been a great tool to teach our kids about the Faith.  We use them to learn about prayer, the lives of saints, gratitude, sacrificial love, and acts of kindness.  They're a big winner at our house!  (You can read more about exactly how we use them here!)

This post contains affiliate links below.  This means that I may make a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on those links; please see the disclosure page for more info.   

Reading
Well, I'm about to read Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting by Laura Kelly Fanucci for my mom's book club.  We will be getting them this week!  I know this book is going to be great because it relates the everyday life of motherhood to the Sacraments.  I just know this is going to be an awesome read for Lent!

I'd love to add to my list too.  What are some spiritual books specifically for mothers that you would recommend?

Looking forward to in February
Lent!  It always gets me fired up about growing in my faith and spiritual life!

We had a great Advent with the kids, so I'm excited to do some more activities and feast day celebrations with them during Lent.

And for myself, I'm going to be using (the digital download of) Blessed is She's Lenten Workbook.  This workbook has more spiritual direction than their past devotional journals so I'm very excited to dig in!

Do you have any plans for Lent yet?

And what have you been up to lately, my friend?  Happy Tuesday!

             

Ok, on to the link up!

Let's connect!
Beth at Our Pretty Little Girls | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram 

Becky at BYBMG | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Jessica at Sweet Little Ones | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Emily at Raising Barnes | Pinterest | Instagram

Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Stasia at Our Life on a Budget | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Sarah at Abiding In Grace | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Ruthie at Rear. Release. Regroup. | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Laura at Life Is Beautiful | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Christina at Waltzing In Beauty | Pinterest | Instagram

Michelle at Grammie Time | Pinterest | Instagram 

Tina at Go Big or Go Home | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Whitney at Polka Dotty Place | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Check out the Tuesday Talk guidelines here,

and check out everyone's features on Pinterest here!

Can The KonMari Method of Tidying Really Change Your Life? by Holly at While I'm Waiting

{PIN IT}

When God Hit Me with a Brick (Or, How I Keep Learning That We're All Different) by AnneMarie at Sacrifice of Love

{PIN IT}

 How to Raise Your Children to Confide in You by Ruthie at Rear.Release.Regroup

 {PIN IT}

DIY Playbill Notebook by Tanya at The Other Side of the Road

{PIN IT}

You guys share so many great posts every week!  It is so hard to choose only a few to feature.  So throughout the week, I will also be sharing more of your best posts on my Facebook page too.  I'd love for you to follow along!

One thing before you link up - if you want the opportunity to be featured, please make sure there is a link back to at least one of the hosts in your post, sidebar, or party page.  (You can grab the button below!)  Your lovely blog is being presented on our 13 blogs - we would love it if you would return the favor and link back to us!  Thank you!!!

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I'm linking up with these awesome parties,
especially Anne and Jenna for their monthly Currently link up,
and the many ladies of What's Up Wednesday!

An InLinkz Link-up

             

Five Ways to Use Rosary Roses to Teach Your Kids About the Faith

I was given a set of Rosary Roses by Annery's Handmade to review, but all opinions are my own (and my kids' too!).  This post does NOT contain affiliate links.  Please see my disclosure for more information.


I was very intrigued by these Rosary Roses by Annery's Handmade when I first heard about them.  We had just begun praying the Rosary together as a family, so I thought they would be a great learning tool for our children while we were all saying our prayers.

And after receiving our Rosary Roses, we quickly discovered that they have many more uses than teaching our children how to pray the rosary.  These crocheted roses can be used in so many different and fun ways to teach our children about our Catholic Faith!

Praying the Rosary.

Obviously!  This is what they were made for.  Ten roses of one color for each Hail Mary and one of a different color for the Our Father and Glory Be. 

Two of my favorite things about the Rosary Roses are that they're soft and the perfect size for a child's hand.  They focus on their prayers better because they have something beautiful to touch and look at while praying.  And since the roses are movable and are larger than the beads of a rosary, they also help them count the prayers better.

Our daughter J absolutely loves using them while we pray the Rosary.  She particularly likes to line them up in an arc around her!

Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego: The Miracle of the Roses

Learning the Lives of the Saints.

During the Advent season, we celebrated several feast days, including the feasts of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The kids had a blast acting out their story of the Miracle of the Roses with their Rosary Roses.  They kept asking to play it again and again (B especially loved dumping the roses - go figure!) so it helped them to really learn and remember the story of these two saints in such a fun way.

There are so many saints with roses as a part of their story (St. Thérèse of Lisieux being my favorite "rose" saint!), so we're looking forward to continue using them throughout the year to teach our kids about the lives of these holy men and women of God.

We love you, Mary and Baby Jesus!

Honoring Mary, the Mother of God.  

We love to give flowers to Mary, but we don't always have fresh flowers at our house (especially in the winter!).  So we will lay the Rosary Roses at her feet to thank her for her "yes" to God to bear and raise the Savior of the World!

Counting Sacrifices.  

Have you heard of St. Thérèse's Sacrifice Beads?  You "pull a bead" every time you make a sacrifice, like fasting, not complaining, doing something you don't like to (like washing the dishes!), etc.  Well, we use the roses instead of beads.  When the kids give something up - no matter how small - they get to put a rose in the bucket.  And when the bucket is full, they present their roses to Jesus as gifts of love to Him.

Excited that their bucket is full!

Counting Acts of Kindness.

We use them to count good deeds as well.  They also get to put a rose in the bucket every time they help clean up their toys, empty the dishwasher, share a toy without being asked, do something kind for someone else, and so on.  Once again, when the bucket is full of roses, they lovingly present them to Jesus.

Needless to say, we love our Rosary Roses!  They get played with or used everyday!

But the best part is that they are an excellent tool to teach our children about prayer, the saints, being grateful, sacrificial love, and being kind - which all draw us ever closer to our loving God!

             

P.S.  Thank you, Annery's Handmade, for our Rosary Roses!  They are well loved!


You may also like:

How to Pray a Family Rosary: 7 Tips for Real Life Families

What is the Rosary?  Here is how to pray this beautiful devotion!

I'm linking up with these awesome parties!