These are so unique!!! (They're people!)

I posted my Wordless Wednesday-Our Lovely LEGO Creations last week and I know that many families LOVE LEGO like our family!  Besides the fact that they get all over the floor and they hurt like C.R.A.Z.Y. when you step on them, LEGOs are really great classic toys that help encourage imagination and fun for all ages!

I am grateful for the member on the Workbox Yahoo group (I'm also a member of the Catholic Workbox Yahoo group)  who shared this link that has LEGO building instructions for Easy, Intermediate, and Hard Levels.
http://creative.lego.com/en-us/Familytime/buildinginstructions/BuildingInstructionsmonthly.aspx?month=August&year=2010

Here is the finished LEGO fish from the Easy Level in the August 2010 Archives:  Cute huh?



There are instructions for each month of the 2009 and 2010 years and each month includes instructions for the 3 different levels!

I know that my children don't always have the EXACT types/color of LEGOs that the instructions call for, but that's OK because they get creative and build with what they do have and they have come up with some wonderful creations using the instructions as a guide.

I feel like I hit the "LEGO jackpot" because I know these fun LEGO activities will keep my children entertained for awhile!  So after I printed out the different creations, I put them in page protectors and I will place them in a binder so I can keep the instructions all together in one place.  Then I can easily take them out of the binder and slip them in my children's workboxes for our homeschool.  Here are a few that I have already printed out and put in page protectors: 


Children (and adults) can build a fish, watermelon, turtle, robot, school bus, lion, lioness, lion cub, globe, ice cream cone, clown, etc. etc. etc.  There are lots of fun creations to make!

For some time now I have been searching the LEGO website, knowing that somewhere there were LEGO building instructions for children in their archives, but I could not find them for some reason.

FYI:  After I saw the link from the Workbox Yahoo group, I went back to the LEGO site homepage and wrote down what to click to eventually get to the building instruction link.  It's not very easy to locate the instructions if you don't know what you are looking for (at least it wasn't an easy find for me) so I thought I would list them here for easy reference:

Go to LEGO homepage
Click on "Products"
Click on the 2nd "Products" page until you see "Bricks & More" at the bottom
Click on "Bricks & More"
Click on "Family Time"
Click on "Building Instructions"
Click on "Monthly Building Instructions"

Now I see why I had so much trouble finding the instructions :)

Anyway, I hope you find the LEGO links and this post as useful and as fun as we have!

Since starting my blog in June 2010, I have received so many beautiful blessings because:

...sharing my faith, family, and other areas of my life that I am passionate about brings joy to my soul. Yes, I am blessed and blogging has been a way to document all the good Lord has done for me!

...all the wonderful emails in my inbox and comments left on my blog are great blessings on my blog journey!

...I have been inspired and encouraged by other bloggers and I hope my blog will also be a source of inspiration and encouragement for visitors that stop by once or daily. It's always a blessing to be encouraged and to inspire others!

...I love to meet other people and hear their stories so blogging has been such a great way to connect with others around the world and learn something new after I "meet" them on their blog and through their blog posts.   My family and friends (in and out of blog world) are true blessings!

Another blessing that I have received since blogging is that Marie at The Things We Find Inside and Raphael & Dawn at Just Married with Coupons and Lisa at All things Gale and Carmen at Closer to Lucy all think that my blog is "award worthy"!  Each blogger gave me the same award within 2 weeks of each other!  

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about blog awards.  We all want to know that our blogs are being read and followed and are blessing others in some way, but is it necessary to have blog awards to recognize this?  But, on the other hand, it is fun to share some blog blessings through these awards and pass on the love to other bloggers.

With that being said, I am flattered and grateful that I have been nominated and awarded my first blog award from Marie, Raphael & Dawn, Lisa, and Carmen.  There are so many wonderful blogs and to have fellow bloggers name my blog as one that deserves recognition is a blessing !  Be sure to visit Marie at The Things We Find Inside , Raphael & Dawn at Just Married with Coupons  , Lisa at All things Gale and Carmen at Closer to Lucy !



So here are the rules for accepting this award...

1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen.

 So I am passing on this award to the following great blogs: (in no particular order)

1. Anna-Marie at Life's Adventure
2. Lynda at My Heart's Desire
3. Kylie at Our Worldwide Classroom
4. Jen at Following the Footsteps
5. Amy at Together For a Reason
6. Adriana at and baby makes three
7. Ann Marie at The Domestic Jock
8. Tammy at Mommy Life with 5
9. Jen at Forever, For Always, No Matter What
10. Ginger at Ginger-Snap-Shots
11. Jenny at A day in the life...the little things
12. Angela at Blog Mommas
13. Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii
14. Lacy at Catholic Icing
15.Tiffany at A Bloggy Mom


Thanks again, Marie, Raphael, Dawn, Lisa, and Carmen for this lovely award!   The best part about getting this award is that I am able to tell others about the 15 blogs that I have listed above.  Sharing lovely blogs via my blog is a great blessing for me!

If you have been following my blog for a little while now, you know I traditionally post my (Organization) System Saturday post each Saturday.  However, because today's date is Saturday, 9-11-10, I will be reflecting on 9 years ago today...

Where was I when our world and country were forever changed with the tragedies that occurred on September 11, 2001?

I was living in NC and our first child was only 16 months old and I was dropping her off at a Mother's Morning Out program.  I was 8 months pregnant with Baby #2 (we didn't find out that our 2nd was a boy until his birth) and I was looking forward to going on errands for a few hours while my daughter enjoyed some play time with children her age.
When I dropped my daughter off,  I remember my friend mentioning that a plane had just crashed into one of the Twin Towers in NY.  My initial thought was this was a terrible accident.  Then when I was shopping in a children's store everyone was talking about the news coverage.  By this time I called my husband who happened to be home sick from work and I'll never forget him telling me all that was happening so close to home.  "The towers just collapsed," he exclaimed, and like most of the country we were in shock, disbelief, confused, and saddened by what was taking place. 



A few years ago, I found a great children's book about this sad day that Elizabeth Foss at In the Heart of My Home recommended. It is called The Little Chapel That Stood by A.B. Curtiss. 

Here is the product description from Amazon:

Product Description

St. Paul's Chapel, dwarfed by the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center right across the street, stood strong after the "giants around it had come to a fall" in 9-11. Not a pane of glass had been broken. On 9-11 St.Pauls became a service dept immediately. Firemen hung their shoes on the old iron fence as they "pulled on their boots and raced to the Towers, climbing melting steel to flaming showers. Oh, what gallant men did we lose who never came back to get their shoes."
This historic chapel was built in 1766. When George Washington was inaugurated the first president in New York City, he walked down Broadway to St. Paul's to offer his prayers for the new nation. Alexander Hamilton lies buried in the churchyard nearby. 

So if you have children that were too young at the time to even realize the sadness and severity of 9-11, I highly recommend this beautifully illustrated book that takes such a heart-wrenching and complicated topic down to a level that children can grasp.




Angela over at Domestic Divapalooza is asking: Where were you on 9/11? What were you doing when you heard what was happening? What were you thinking? How has 9/11 impacted your life? Never Forget 9/11. Share your story. Click here and be sure to go to her blog page and contact her if you would like to share your story.

One of the fun things about blogging is visiting so many great blogs and "meeting" new bloggers from all over the world!  One way to get introduced to more wonderful blogs is through blog "hopping".  This is where bloggers can add their blog address to a Linky list to make it easier for bloggers to visit your blog,  post a comment, and become a new follower if your visitor chooses to follow your blog via Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs, and/or your Facebook blog page.
So today I am taking part in the "Friday Blog Hop!"  hosted by Nicole at Mama to 3 Blessings and Melissa at Home Grown Families. Be sure to check out their posts today and link up to register your blog for the hop!

I'm #66 on the Linky List and if the Friday Blog Hop brought you here today, thanks for stopping by!  I love "meeting" new bloggers so be sure to leave a comment on this post and let me know if you are following my blog with GFC/Networked Blogs/my Facebook blog page.  Be sure to leave your blog link so I can come and visit you and follow you back!

In the Catholic Church, our Blessed Mother's birthday is traditionally celebrated on September 8 each year on the Church's calendar.  One of the many reasons I love being Catholic is that our Church celebrates Mary throughout the entire year with lots of  Marian feast days.  Mary did have such an important role in salvation history by having the privilege to cradle Jesus in her womb for 9 months and raise our Savior, it's always nice to give her honor on more days than just at Christmas time when we celebrate Jesus' birth.

There are so many wonderful Marian Feast Days in the church throughout the year and celebrating Mary's birthday is one of our family's favorite.  My children love birthdays and celebrating our Blessed Mother's special day is definitely a birthday party our family doesn't want to miss!   Each year our homeschool group gathers for Mass on September 8 and then we have a birthday party for Mary.

Each year we create an edible rosary, which is always a hit with the children.

We say a decade of the rosary with the children and parents then sing "Happy Birthday to Mary!".

Here are some photos of the rosaries our homeschool group has made for Mary's September 8 Feast Day:

Last year on Sept. 8, 2009, our rosary was made with the traditional sized "Our Father" cupcakes and small "Hail Mary" cupcakes.  We put my Mary statue/vase in the center with flowers in it.  Then we placed candles in the "Our Father" cupcakes.


This year on Sept. 8, 2010, we simplified our rosary by using Hershey kisses for the "Our Father" prayers and cupcakes for the " Hail Mary " prayers.  We gathered at a local park for this year's celebration and  it was windy so we couldn't light candles as we sang "Happy Birthday".  We did say a decade of the rosary together and as each child led a "Hail Mary" prayer, they took one Hershey kiss away from the rosary.  After praying and singing everyone loved eating the extra cupcakes parents had made and the Hershey kisses.

You can check out how others make edible rosaries over at Lacy's blog at Catholic Icing.

As mentioned in the first link of this post, "the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated in the Church at least since the 8th Century."  Wow! since the 8th century!?!  I didn't know this! Our family and homeschool group will continue to keep this special and fun tradition alive each year as we gather around our edible rosary and sing "Happy Birthday to Mary!"