The Good Shepherd's Garden Party ~week 5

~ The Gardener Plants Paradise ~

(Please visit Jessica or Charlotte's blog for details)

Our garden party was dinner tonight.  At first it was just the six of us but, my SIL and family came over to join us.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures with them but I am so glad they were able hang out with us for some owl cupcakes and tea.

Side note:  My SIL is my husband's one and only sibling.  The two of them are quite close.  We home school our kids together, hang out together, and have taken a few vacations together.  It's lovely.  All 10 kids get along very well and act more like siblings themselves rather than cousins.  Now, my SIL is preggie with baby #7 so we are extra glad to have them come over to watch her tummy grow and wait for this new little one to join our fun.

Now off to the pictures:

~ Tree of Life's Leaves & Flowers ~

Revelation 22: 1-5

Isaiah 55: 12-13

We served Dare cookies both the Maple Leaf and Lemon Cremes.  I thought the Lemon Cremes were delicious, especially with tea.  We were having dinner so I also served a batch of Spinach Filled Ravioli.  I thought they looked like flowers and so did Rose.  The sauce was a simple white Alfredo and I had strips of roasted chicken in the mix too.  It was warm (the weather was a bit chilly) and good!

~ The Tree of Life's Fruit ~

Galatians 5: 22-2

My husband's sweet Nina (Godmother) sent me this basket of Edible Arrangements today in honor of Mother's Day in Mexico.  Nina Mary is a beloved lady, her generosity is unlimited.  Our family is very grateful and blessed for by her love. 

I was so excited to get these too.  It fit so perfectly for our party.

~ The Owl ~

Psalm 102: 6-12

These guys were a bit harder to do than I thought they would be.  I baked the cupcakes on Friday and thought the set up would be a breeze.  Maybe it was the little hands around me, over me, and under me that kept trying to lick the chocolate that made it harder...huh...could be.  Either way they turned out cute and I will be finding any reason I can to do them again.  The only thing I did different here was use a yellow icing I had on hand rather than a Reese's candy.

~ The Olive Tree ~

Genesis 8: 6-11

I didn't get the pictures of the Triscut Pepper & Olive crackers.  I intended to serve these crackers with Trader Joe's Kalamata Olive Hummus; my new favorite.  Time wasn't on my side for a trip to the store though.

~ The Palm Tree ~

John 12: 12-17

I used Jessica's palms taped to toothpicks and inserted into some sourdough bread

~ Roses and Lilies ~

Song of Songs 2: 1-7

Lucy made these.  She added different spices to the cream cheese, omitted the stems and made some peanut butter versions for Princess.  She did good.

These owls were probably the hit of the night.  When the cousin came over we had made extras in the hopes they would join us.  We were so happy they did!

Rose set the table for us tonight too

~ Our Garden ~

We started to work on our garden this past week too.  The plans are drawn and each child has their own idea of what they want to plant and where.  Rose requested to be in charge of Mary's Garden.  She has specific colors in mind and has put some thought into it.  Really cute!  Last week I took her to the nursery and she picked out a few flowers for Our Lady...

This is our before shot.  Sadly, I don't have the after yet.  We lost the sun and there was to much catching up to do inside.  Sorry.  I'll get the picture up in another post.

There is a squash growing by Mary that has sprouted and is growing to the surprise of the kids and myself.  No one remembers "planting" anything there.  It'll need to be transplanted though.

Have a blessed week everyone!

(Please check Catholic Cuisine for a look at more ideas and inspirations)