Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary again this week for Seven Quick Takes. Mine certainly won't be as entertaining as hers, but alas...
- Yesterday when the baby woke up from his nap, he got up and opened the door all on his own (he sleeps on the floor), ran down the hallway to the living room, and shouted "BOO!" at us. It was sooooo cute!
- I pulled this DVD out today, I do each year around Holy Week (for the kids). It is so beautifully done, in a cartoon sort of way. Really. If you are Catholic, Christian, whomever. Check it out. I will be honest, I always tear-up at the end when I watch it with the kids, a beautiful depiction of the Easter story for even the youngest viewers.
- Today is the Feast of St. Gemma, and being a Friday it was also Show-and-Tell. I checked with her teacher in advance and Gemma was able to bring her St. Gemma (First Class) Relic to show her class. Pretty neat.
- I am enjoying our Lenten Cross Readings with the kids so much. I made the cross and icons and everything three years ago, and it was way above the kids then. I almost got rid of it, I'm so glad I had the foresight to hold onto everything. This year I correlated about half the readings with our Children's Bible (the other half just from our NAB) and it has been just great. We do our readings each day at breakfast.
- The weather today is so gorgeous...baking Feast-day cookies (per Gemma's request) and playing outdoors are on the "to do" list this afternoon.
- We finally found a protein shake that we like AND has an acceptable ingredient list. Check out Designer Whey. This is my sanity saver most mornings (because if I do not eat breakfast, I turn into a bear. For real.)
- I read several good articles this week. Portraits of Reconciliation was a beautiful reflection on the Rwandan Genocide, 20 years later. And I really liked this Catholic Mama's take on modesty.
PEACE OUT!!!
For his Feast Day last year, Kolbe's godmother gave him a Brother Francis DVD entitled Let's Pray. I couldn't tell you how many times Kolbe has requested and watched it (he enthusiastically refers to it as his "ball-ball DDD"); he really really likes it. I like it too, the songs are catchy (the Our Father actually still brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it), the animation is bold yet simple, and the message is aimed perfectly at the 3-5 year old crowd, with its explanation of what prayer is and why we pray. It also talks about how we can pray through our "doing", and tells the story of St. Therese, who did little things with great love (cue music).
I recently contacted Herald Entertainment to inquire whether they had any DVDs available for bloggers to review and they sent me a copy of Born into the Kingdom along with a companion coloring book. This DVD was similar in length (less than 25 minutes) and format to Let's Pray, and covered the story of Creation, original sin and its consequences, finishing up with the gift of Baptism. While we've read the story of creation numerous times from various Children's Bibles, I don't think we've ever watched it, so I appreciated my children being able to experience the story in this way. Plus, when we read the story of creation, I don't always follow it up by talking about Baptism, so I really like how that was all tied together for young minds who might not otherwise draw those conclusions. I found it a little odd that they depicted Adam and Eve hiding because of fear without mentioning their nakedness, but I suppose I can understand why they did that, being television and all. I also didn't particularly appreciate their analogy of Baptismal Grace being like going to the doctor to get a vaccine when you are sick (for various reasons...even my hubby commented on that from the other room as he listened along), but overall though the big pieces of the salvation picture: Creation, the Fall, and salvation through Christ and Baptism were woven together very well in a way that was probably a bit over my three-year-old's head, but still very age-appropriate for preschoolers and even K-2 I would think. I particularly liked the catechesis it provided as it walked step-by-step through the Rite of Baptism.
This DVD would make a GREAT Baptism Anniversary gift, or present for an older brother or sister in anticipation of a new sibling's arrival and/or Baptism. Of the two DVDs we have viewed, Let's Pray is definitely my favorite, but they are both well done and I look forward to viewing more of the DVDs in this series with my young children.
