All posts by RaisingAdmin

Wife to one. Mother and educator to five active boys and two sweet girls. After 20 years in the education field as Youth Minister, Master Catechist, DRE, Retreat Leader, Elementary Classroom Teacher, Testing Chairperson, and Reading Specialist, I began a beautiful journey into the life of a home educator for my own children. A journey that began in 2008, after the birth of our fourth child, and the our eldest began middle school....it was only going to test it out one year had turned to ten! We are just an ordinary Catholic family living a fun, crazy, but lovely extraordinary life, by the grace of God!
be fruitful and multiply, blog hop, link up, we follow the rules

Be Fruitful and Multiply – BLOG HOP!

Leave a comment

A friend of mine shared this article on National Catholic Register, “Snappy Answers for Stupid Questions About Your Big Family” written by Simcha Fisher.  I loved it so much that I shared it on Facebook, which sparked some discussions, and it gave me an idea. 

I have to state here that of the main reasons why we love being a big family is that we like to follow the rules.  The Lord himself said, “Be fruitful and multiply!” – Genesis 1:28.  Therefore, I thought it would be fun to host a blog hop of sorts that listed TEN REASONS to be thankful for our BiG families.  Want to hear more?

Here’s the Blog Hop Logo:

Want to join us?  Okay first, the rules:

1.  You have to just totally LOVE big families.  It would be helpful if you have at least four kids yourself but if you don’t, it’s okay.  For the record: Adopted, step-kids, etc. all count…the main thing is that you have at least 10 positive things to say.

2.  You have to believe in the Bible passage, “Be fruitful, and multiply” Genesis 1:28

3.  You have to post on your blog, your top ten reasons why you think big families are a blessing.

4.  Link up to us below so we can visit your blog and see your post.  Please visit our friends and leave them a comment!

5.  Add our adorable “Be Fruitful, and Multiply” button in your post or on your side bar.  (the code is below)

6.  Also, if you visit someone’s blog in this Hop, please follow their blog through Google Friend Connect (or other blog following tool)

WHAT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A BLOG, you can still participate.  Here’s how:
1.  Make a list of at least five reasons you love BIG FAMILIES.

2.  Leave us a comment on this post.

Have fun!  I can’t wait to see everyone’s post. 

Here is the button you will need to add to your blog (medium size):

Photobucket

Or a smaller one:

Photobucket


For those of you new to the blog world:
What Is A Blog Hop?

A blog hop is a list of blogs that you can “hop” from one to another very easily. It is a great way to increase your traffic, gain readership, increase subscribers and increase twitter and facebook likes. A blog hop usually starts with a blog host. A blog “host” lists a Linky (list of links to other blogs or posts) on their page, along with the Blog Hop rules. There are 2 parts to a blog hop:
1) Each participant adds their info to the Linky so others can see it.
2) Each participant re-posts the Linky on their blog to promote the blog hop
(http://www.wikihow.com/Blog-Hop)

Time to LINK UP!:
Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!
catholicism, papa ben

Papa Ben – We Love YOU!

Leave a comment

Papa Ben {Pope Benedict XVI} is awesome!  He is well read, well educated, and truly a Theologian!  I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of guy I want heading our Church!  In just one week, he has taken the world “by storm” by stating, God-forbid, truths about our Catholic faith:  Watch Michael Voris’s report on this from the Vatican.  {just five minutes and worth it}.

I’m following the lead of my Pastor, Shepherd, Christ here on Earth, the Pope…and being “insensitive” by being really Catholic!  God bless you Papa Ben!  Thank you for sounding and being VERY Catholic!  We Love YOU!

If you love Papa Ben, like our family does, give him a nice shout out on this post or on your blogs!

Blessings,

Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!
build-a-bear, promotions

I Want that Lamb! {Build-A-Bear Cutie}

Leave a comment
Build-A-Bear
New May Promotions Now at Build-A-Bear Workshop®!
For those of you that are Build-A-Bear fans and looking to buy one for a gift:
Personally, I would love to get the little lamb in preparation for the Feast of the Good Shepherd this Sunday, isn’t it adorable?

If you’d like to place an order via our blog, we do get commission as an affiliate of Build-A-Bear, please click on this button:

 
Build-A-Bear

Shop Build-A-Bear Workshop® Online! Customize Your Stuffed Animal Gifts with a Voice Note, Outfits & More!

Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!
CCC of America, CCC Review, dvd, giveaway, guadalupe, juan diego, winners

Juan Diego Messenger of Guadalupe DVD **WINNER**

Leave a comment

The winner is entry #4, Judy (Benmakesten)!!! Congratulations Judy!!!! Go visit her blog and congratulate her! 🙂 Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway and thanks to CCC of America for offering this wonderful DVD to a lovely Catholic family!

Judy, please e-mail me with your mailing address so that I may forward it to CCC of America! 🙂 raisinglittlesaints {at} gmail.com

Blessings everyone!

Don’t forget we still have an open giveaway on RLS for $25 from Baby Boutique which ends on 5/15!  Hurry and enter today!

Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!
Catholic Faith, catholicism, Domestic Church, easter. eastertide, family, Good Shepherd, home, home making, Immaculate Heart, liturgical, Our Lady of Fatima, sacred heart, Traditions

Our Faith in the Month of May

Leave a comment
Welcoming the Month of May!
This Month we Honor:  Our Blessed Mother!
Papa Ben’s Intentions for this month:

Feast Days this Month {click on the words to learn more about this Feast}:

1:  Divine Mercy “Quasimodo Sunday” = Indulgences Attached To Divine Mercy Devotions
2:  St. Joseph the Worker
3:  Sts. Phillip and James
6:  First Friday:  Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
7:  First Saturday:  Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
8:  3rd Sunday of Easter
10:  Optional Memorial of St. Damien de Veuster, priest
12:  Optional Memorial of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, martyrs; Optional Memorial of St. Pancras, martyr
13:  Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima
14: Feast of St. Matthias, apostle and martyr
15:  Good Shepherd
18:  Optional Memorial of St. John I, pope and martyr
20:  Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, priest
21:  Optional Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
22:  5th Sunday of Easter
24:  Pope Benedict XVI has designated today as the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.
25:  Optional Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, priest and doctor; St. Gregory VII, pope; St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, virgin
26:  Memorial of St. Philip Neri, priest
27:  Optional Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop
29: 6th Sunday of Easter
31:  The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!
mother's day, motherhood, vocations

Happy Mother’s Day!

Leave a comment

“Dear God, give me the grace to appreciate the dignity of motherhood, which Thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me, and to fulfill its duties according to Thy Will. By my prayers and good example, may I lead my husband and my children closer to Thy Sacred Heart. Make me a devoted wife to my husband and a good mother to my children after the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Almighty God, I thank Thee for the blessed care and protection with which Thou hast embraced my family. I humbly submit to Thy decrees and resign myself to Thy Divine Providence. I grasp Thy guiding hand, and I shall never follow my own ways lest they lead me astray. Thy good pleasure shall be my happiness; Thy commandments shall be my only rule of conduct. Thy Will shall be my will, and Thy service shall be the object of all my desires.

Lord, grant me peace of mind because of my trust in Thy Providence, an unwavering and cheerful courage founded on my faith in Thy tremendous love, faithfulness to duty resulting from a constant awareness of Thy presence, and a firm hope of eternal reward.

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I implore Thy blessing upon my family that we all may serve Thee faithfully in this life and deserve to be reunited in the eternal happiness of Thy heavenly Kingdom. Amen.”

Happy Mother’s Day to all of friends!
Love,
Erika, Cristina & Kristy!

Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!
catholicism, Confirmation, Sacraments, Teaching Tip

Teaching Tip: The Seven Sacraments

Leave a comment
I am always on the look out for wonderful resources to teach with especially about our faith.  Since I am a technology junkie, I just totally loved this slide show my friend Richelle shared with me today.  I wanted to pass it along to you since I love sharing:

I really like the way they present the Sacrament and then how they break it down to the very essence of each one!  I will definitely use this with my son who will be making his Confirmation next year.  Hope you like it as much as I did!

Blessings,

Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!
award, friend, homeschooling, katie, mother of the year

Mother of the Year – Votes Needed

Leave a comment

Okay my dear Catholic friends…I need your help!  One of my dear friends is due this coming Sunday, that’s right on Mother’s Day, with baby number SIX!  I’ve nominated her for Mother of the Year locally and she made it to the top Ten Finalists!  She is number six on the list, her name is Katie K. and she is one awesome mom, wife, and friend.  Please help her win the VERY deserved prizes {valued at $1,500}.  Voting starts today Monday, May 2nd and ends on the on a local blog and I need help getting her votes. 

Look at all the goodies this Catholic Homeschooling mommy could win:

“The Mother Load” includes:

  •  $400 gift certificate from Uppercase Photography
  • Two Winston-Salem Symphony Kicked-Back Classics subscriptions (up to a $240 value)
  • Family subscription for the Winston-Salem Symphony Discovery concerts for kids ($75 value)
  • One night’s stay plus dinner at the River House Country Inn – ($300 value)
  • $100 gift certificate from Village Tavern
  • $79 gift certificate from Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa
  • $50 gift certificate from Lowe’s Foods
  • $50 gift certificate from Dinners on the Porch
  • $30 gift certificate from The Bee’s Nest
  • Plus an additional gift bag with gift cards and tickets to the following:  Thirty-One Gifts, Feeney’s Frozen Yogurt Bar, Hip Chics Boutique, Itsy Bitsy Paper, the Winston-Salem Junior League’s Boo-tique Holiday Shopping Event, and GoosiePie Monograms

 
Katie with her husband, Mark, and their six beautiful children {one in utero}.

I know we all lead very busy lives…but it would mean the world to me if you would take about 5 minutes to visit their site, read about my wonderful friend Katie K. and scroll to the bottom or the top and vote for her!  or just Click Here! {I’d love to know if you did.}

Thank you and blessings,

Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!
baby clothes, Clothing Review, giveaway, kid review, shoes

Baby Clothes Boutique {Review & Giveaway}

Leave a comment
{Our Review}
As a mother of five, finding the right everything is key…especially when it comes to clothing and shoes!  Organizing these two key elements from storage to laundry to daily wear is key.  So when I find the right item, I am in love and I want to buy it in all the sizes available – no kidding!  So when I volunteered to review for My Baby Clothes Boutique I was excited yet apprehensive at the same time.   But let me tell you mommies, you will not be dissapointed.  I was given the option to select something from their website to review and I’m glad I chose wisely and practically yet adorable! 

So what did I get?  The cutests little baby shoes ever!  Mommies of little ones, you know how hard it is to come by the right shoe for your baby…they are either too heavy, too hard, or too something!  Well, let me share what happened with our new little shoes!  Our little Dominic was in the pre-walking stages at exactly 12 months old.  As a mommy I knew he had all the mechanics to walking but he just wouldn’t do it.  I have no idea why but my guess would be that he wasn’t confident enough to do it (mind you he climbs up and down two flights of stairs in 2.4 seconds flat).  Anyway, by the afternoon of the day he started wearing these little shoes, he was walking!  I’m not kidding or exaggerating! 

My mother-in-law calls them the “magical walking shoes” because really he started taking more steps and by day three Dominic was walking!  YAY! 
Their real name is Navy Fisherman Shoes and not only are they cute but they are soft, and gentle on a new walker’s feet.  What I thought was reallly cool was the cork sole inside of them, giving our little baby extra cushioning as he takes his first steps.

{Our Rating}
We give these lovely little shoes:

{The Giveaway}
The lovely people over at My Baby Clothes Boutique is offering one of our Raising {& Teaching} Little Saints reader, a chance to win any item on thier website worth $25!  But wait, there is more…they don’t charge for shipping – ever!  So it really is a lovely item from their website for $25! 

If you are like me, when I got to their site, it was hard to select just one item!  In addition to the shoes, they have the cutests tutus, baby headbands, baby clothes and baby hats from newborns to 4T!  –
So what do you have to do to win this?  It’s simple:

REQUIRED: Visit My Baby Clothes Boutique, come back and leave a comment with which item you would love to have for your little one = 1 entry.

BONUS ENTRIES (1 entry each):

1. Like My Baby Clothes Boutique and RLS on Facebook.

2. Follow My Baby Clothes Boutique and  RLS on Twitter.

3. Blog subscribers for their blog & Newsletter subscribers

4.  Follow us with Google Friend Connect (click the follow button on the right).

5. Tweet about this giveaway. {you may do this daily 1 entry per tweet}

6. Post this give away on your Facebook Status with a link to this post {you may do this daily 1 entry per status}

7. Share this on Facebook (just click the FB button at the bottom of this post).

8. Subscribe to our RSS Feed or via e-mail (place your e-mail addres in the box on the right).

9. Blog about this giveaway (just don’t completely repost it…add a teaser and a link back to us).

10. Vote for us on On the Fence and Top Mommy Blogs.

For each item that you do listed above, please leave a comment here telling us what you did. Remember, each item you do is an entry! Also, if you already subscribe to any of these listed, please leave a comment, “I already follow you on Google Friend Connect.”

SUPER BONUS ENTRY (= 5 entries):

Read another post (that isn’t a review or a giveaway) and leave a comment. Come back here and tell me where you went (the title of the post).

Official Rules:
One winner will be chosen via random.org. Only entries that follow the above rules will count. Entries close May 15th, 2011 at 11pm EST. Winner will be announced on May 16th, 2011. US ONLY!

About My Baby Clothes Boutique, our Sponsor:

My Baby Clothes Boutique – your online baby boutique for designer baby clothing, children’s clothes, baby hats, baby headbands, baby shoes, and much more!

We feature the most fashionable and trendy clothes and accessories available. Our mission is to bring you a distinctive selection of designer baby apparel for your little girl or boy. We take pride in offering high quality, comfortable and unique children’s clothes. I hope you enjoy browsing our large selection of cute clothes, dresses, baby outfits, and baby gift sets.

We offer seasonal clothing and accessories for newborns, infants, and toddlers. Your baby will be in style with our hip clothes for spring, summer, winter and fall.

Our sets are also the perfect gift for a baby shower. Give the mommy-to-be a designer baby outfit and matching hat or headband and you will be a big hit at the baby shower. Add an adorable hat or beautiful hair bow and your baby shower gift will never be forgotten.

 
Best wishes,

 
 
Disclosure (ah, yes, the fine print): Special thanks to My Baby Clothes Boutique for partnering with Raising {& Teaching}Little Saints on this giveaway. My Baby Clothes Boutique, has provided us with the any item from their website for up to $25.00 for our contest. I was compensated with one item from their website for under $25.00 for offering this review and awesome giveaway!  Thank you!

Thank you for following Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints! Visit us again soon!