Living Like a Saint~ St. Martha

Saint Martha

Feast Day~ July 29th

Patron Saint of Housewives

Prayer to Saint Martha

O glorious Saint Martha, 

I have recourse to your protection and aid.

and as proof of my affection and faith

I promise faithfully to complete this novena.

Comfort me in my difficulties

and intercede for my family

with your intimate friend, our savior,

that we may always hold God in our hearts

and be provided for in our necessities.

I beg your supplications

Especially on behalf of the favor

I ask of you in this novena.

(mention your request)

I ask you, Saint Martha

by your intercession to help me, 

in overcoming all my difficulties,

and to teach me to become great,

in the Kingdom of Heaven,

by becoming as humble as you,

in this world.

Amen.

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Traveling Thursday~ C & O Canal Paw Paw, WV

This summer, our homeschool group has been planning some fun, yet educational field trips for the kids to do. We wanted to keep them active, be able to see friends, and help relieve some of the boredom that sets in during the summer months. 

We recently headed out for a hike and picnic at the Paw Paw Tunnel. 

The Paw Paw Tunnel is part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O). The C&O Canal is a National Historical Park in Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. It is 184.5 miles long and covers 19,586 acres. The primary purpose of the canal was to transport coal from the Allegheny Mountains to Washington D.C. Now it is used by hikers and bikers.

The Paw Paw Tunnel was built to bypass the Paw Paw Bends a 6 mile stretch along the Potomac River. The Tunnel took 14 years to build. It was started in 1836 and didn't open until 1850. The tunnel is lined with SIX MILLION bricks!

Once completed, boatman lead mules through the tunnel. The mules would pull the boats and cargo through the tunnel. The tunnel was small and cramped. Two boats couldn't pass each other, so boatmen had to alternate. Sometimes this was peaceful, but not always.

Today, the tunnel can be explored on foot since the tow path is still intact. The path is gravel and a little uneven. The tunnel is 3,118 feet long. It's height is 24 feet and the tunnel width is 27 feet.

Definitely bring a flashlight! You can barely see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We saw lots of wildlife. Snakes, frogs, and butterflies.

After our pleasant hike along the canal, we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Following lunch, moms chatted away while the kids played a game of kickball. 

We were lucky enough to have a park ranger stop by. He gave an informative talk to the kids (and parents) about the canal. He answered all their questions. It was nice of him to take time out of his busy day to talk to the kids. I love when other people take an interest in children's lives and education.

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.

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Living Like a Saint~ St. Ignatius of Loyola

" To give, and not to count the cost,

to fight, and not to heed the wounds,

to toil, and not to seek for rest,

to labor, and not to ask for any reward,

save that of knowing we do Thy will."

~St. Ignatius of Loyola

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.

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Traveling Thursdays~ The National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

Sometime you just have to find a quiet place to find yourself, clear your head, or calm the raging storm that is inside you. The National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, MD is just that place.  Here in this beautiful mountain top shrine, you can draw close to Jesus through his Blessed Mother, Mary. 

The Catholic shrine is dedicated to Our Blessed Mother Mary. The gardens and shrine are breathtaking. As you stroll along the various paths, you are filled with peace. The Grotto located on the mountain was constructed in 1879 by Father John Watterson. The shrine was built two decades after the apparition of Mary at Lourdes in 1858. The National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is one of the oldest American replicas of the Lourdes Shrine in France. 

It truly is a sanctuary.

Upon entering the garden, you will walk along Corpus Christi Lane and the Stations of the Cross. This path will remind you all that Jesus did for us when he was crucified and died on the Cross. 

As you exit the path, you will find yourself in front of the Grotto Water and Our Lady of Esplanade.

from there, you can enter the Corpus Christi Chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is kept. Here you can kneel (or sit) spending some prayer time with Jesus.

After leaving the Chapel, you are asked to keep quiet and maintain a prayerful attitude as you head to the Grotto Cave.

At the Grotto Cave, you will see a replica of the Lourdes Grotto. At the Grotto, you can leave prayer intentions. You can also see and touch a stone from the Lourdes Shrine in France.

The Shrine has other paths you can walk through for peace and solitude. You can walk paths that have mosaics representing  the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary. 

You can pray the Rosary as they walk along.

You will also be able to walk through paths with various statues of Mary, Jesus, and the Saints.The Nativity Statue, a Pro-Life Memorial,  of Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus is absolutely amazing. The tiny details on Baby Jesus make Him so life like. You just want to pick Him up and cuddle him close to your heart.

The Grotto is opened daily from 9-4:30. You can attend Mass Thursday through Monday at 12:00 p.m. Confession is offered on Thursdays. Even if you are not Catholic, this beautiful garden can bring peace to all that enter its sanctuary. 

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

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Living Like a Saint~ Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

"Why should we pray? Why breath? We have to take in fresh air and get rid of the bad air, we have to take in new power and get rid of old weaknesses. 

We pray because we are orchestras and always need to tune-up. Just as a battery sometimes runs down and needs to be charged, so we have to be renewed in spiritual vigor. 

Our blessed Lord said, "Without Me you can do nothing."

~ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

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TOS Review~ Entire Level 1 from ArtAchieve

As we were finishing up this year's curriculum, I added a wonderful new homeschool art curriculum from ArtAchieve to our lessons. As a mama, who studied art, I'm always on the look out for new art projects for the kids to do. I love doing art with the kids, but I'm not the best at teaching it. A lot of times it just gets shoved aside for other projects. For this review, we received the entire Level 1 art lessons from ArtAchieve. 

ArtAchieve is an online homeschool art program for students and parents of all ages. They offer five different levels to work through. If you have no art experience at all or are very limited in your artistic abilities, they recommend starting with level 1.  You will then work your way through the various levels as your confidence and artistic abilities improve. You can buy individual lessons for $4.00 to $11.00. The higher the level the higher the cost. You can buy the entire Level for a discounted price. For example, Level 1 lessons were $4 a lesson or you can buy all the lessons for $27. This save you a dollar off each lessons. You can even buy the entire art curriculum lessons for $255. The levels are good for an entire year. Not sure what Level to buy or if your kids will like the program, ArtAchieve offers free lessons to try it out!

The kids and I worked through Level 1. Level 1 contains 13 lessons.  Lesson 1~ Simple Lines (Free) Lesson 1B~ Shading Objects that have Corners (Free) Lesson 1C~ Shading Round Objects (Free) Lesson 2~ The Czech Cat (Free) Lesson 3~ The Hungarian Insects  Lesson 4~ The Haitian Gecko  Lesson 5~ The Dragonfly from Ecuador  Lesson 6~ The Chinese Dragon Lesson 7~ The Owl from Bali Lesson 8~ The Kitenge Tree Wall Hanging from Tanzania  Lesson 9~ The Plate from Nepal Lesson 10~ Four Suns with Four Faces Lesson 11~ The Sheep from Wales The lessons provide parents and teachers with a power point version of the lesson, a video version of the lesson, and a warm-up lesson. Some of the lesson will have printable pages to go along with the lesson. 

The lesson vary in length depending on the art lesson being taught. I would say most are about an hour long. My kids favorite lessons so far has been Lesson 4: The Haitian Gecko and Lesson 10: The Sun with Four Faces.

Each lesson is done exceptional well. The instructor is calm and encouraging. He goes through each step and explains different techniques for the student. he video can be paused at various points so the students can work on their art work.

Under the art lessons tab, parents are given a variety of additional elements to add to their art lesson. You could easily make it into a unit study. For example, in the Haitian Gecko lesson, students are encouraged to learn about Haiti (geography), Geckos (science), various books are encouraged for additional learning (literature), and suggestions for an artist study.

What we thought of ArtAchieve?
ArtAchieve is amazing or as my kids joked IT'S EPIC! Both Michael and Therese enjoyed this program. They both agreed it has been their favorite art curriculum so far. The projects are taught well, easy to understand, and the projects are a lot fun to do. I liked having the option of a power point lesson or a video lesson. A video lesson allows older students to work on the lessons by themselves. This is perfect for a busy mom. The additional lesson ideas for a unit study are great. My kids even suggested ordering the next few levels and working through them next summer. It would help pass the boring days of summer.  I loved how they recommended the use of music during the art lessons. When I studied art in high school and college, many of my teachers played music while we created our master pieces. Over the years, as my kids worked on their art lessons, I often played classical music to help their minds stayed focused on their work. Playing music can be a little tricky if you are watching the video lesson though. The supply list is great. This was extremely helpful. I love that I could print it out, check off what we already had, and then take the list with me when I went shopping. All the supplies were extremely easy to find at our local stores.  I would love to see the program on DVD's. It would be helpful for those of us with limited internet (or folks with internet that tends to go out). They could offer the videos on a DVD and the printable worksheets on a CD for the computer.  Want to learn more about ArtAchieve? Visit their social media pages! Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+ Instagram The Schoolhouse Review Crew were reviewing the Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. If you want to see what other great lessons ArtAchieve has to offer stop by to see what they have to share.

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

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Living Like a Saint~ St. Teresa of Avila

"We always find those who walked closet to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials."

~ St. Teresa of Avila

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Traveling Thursdays~ The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Hello and welcome to our weekly field trip. This week, I am sharing with you our trip to the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Our local Catholic homeschool group was thrilled to visit this beautiful place. We even received an educational tour for our group that taught many of us some new  details about Mother Seton's amazing life. She might have been small in size, but she was very large in her beliefs and abilities She was a very courageous woman,

"We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life. We know that He give us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty."

~Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

The National Shrine to Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is located in Emmitsburg, MD. The grounds are breath taking and the views are incredible. It is settled in a valley between the mountains.

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, or Mother Seton as she is often referred to, was the first American born saint. She was canonized on September 14, 1975 in Saint Peter's Square by Pope Paul VI.

She was a wife, mother, widow, and a teachers.  She was instrumental in providing Catholic schools for young Catholic children in the United States.

The National Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton offers visitors a wonderful selection of museums and buildings to visit. The Seton Shrine Museum is a wonderful exhibit of her life. You starts your tour with a short film that introduces you to Elizabeth Ann Seton. You will see letters, illustrations, and various items from her life. The exhibit allows visitors to see what life was like for Mother Seton and how she endured so many hardships during her lifetime. The museum also has a wonderful gift shop where you can find plenty of books, rosaries, and jewelry. 

The Basilica is breath taking! It was created in a french architecture style. The mosaics throughout the Basilica are stunning and awe-inspiring. You can spend hours just looking at each beautiful piece of artwork.

In the Basilica, Mother Seton's remains are entombed. Her remains rest in a small copper casket behind a beautiful marble wall. Here at the Alter of the Relics, the faithful can pray and leave their intentions for Mother Seton to intercede on their behalf.

Since this year is the Year of Mercy, the Basilica had a Door of Mercy. This was a wonderful way for the kids and I to celebrate the Tea of Mercy.

We were lucky enough to attend noon Mass at the Basilica.  

We toured the grounds of the shrine too. We had a full day after touring the museum, visiting the gift shop, Mass, and lunch

On the grounds, visitors can the Stone House built in the mid 1700's. It was the first house built and shared by Mother Seton and the girls she educated.

The White House built in 1810. This is where Mother Seton spent her last remaining days.

Saint Joseph's Cemetery 

When we first headed to the Shrine it was cloudy, windy, and started to rain (think downpour). We thought our day as going to be ruined. After some prayers, we were greeted with a warm,sunny day God truly blessed our vocational field trip.

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

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