The Good Shepherd Garden Party ~week 4

The Wind and the Sea Obey Him

(Please visit Jessica or Charlotte for details)

Our party started a bit slow.  We were enjoying a quiet Sunday in the backyard.  There were those that laid back on the trampoline to watch the birds, some chose to read in the sun and others opted to take a nap in the breeze.  We were almost "too" still to get up and have our party.

But, how could we NOT.  We had to continue the end of the week culmination of our daily readings.  I changed some things up a bit though, just to fit what my family was in the mood for.  I hope you enjoy and have yourselves a blessed week 5.

~ The Boat, The Mast, The Sail, The Net & The Fish ~

Matthew 8: 23-27, Ezekiel 27: 4-7, Acts 27: 33-44, Mark 1: 16-20

John 21: 4-8

 We put these five symbols together to make a whole scene of the ocean.  Since the portions were small they all fit nicely and the kids were able to connect the symbols easily.

~ The Barbecue ~

  John 21: 9-14

We were in the mood for some good ol' carne asada.  Our barbecue had all the fix ins for making either tacos or tortas.  I chose to eat a torta.  Lemony Ranchera cut meat, home made guacamole, some pico de gallo and roasted jalapenos.  It was so DELICIOUS. 

~ The Leviathan ~

Psalm 104: 24-30

We didn't do any cupcakes but used pudding cups and sour worms to make the ocean (pudding) and the creature creeping out just enough to say "hi".

Doesn't she look like she is enjoying her torta?  Too cute.

(for more ideas and peeks at what everyone else is doing please check out Catholic Cuisine)

The Good Shepherd Garden Dinner ~ week 3

~ The Heavens Tell God's Glory ~

(For details please visit Charlotte or Jessica's blog)

With a overloaded fun filled weekend, we had our Garden Party as dinner just this evening.  We also took advantage of the 90 degree weather outside to eat enjoying the outdoors. 

Having spent the better part of this weekend enjoying God's creations...the clouds, the winds, flowers, and mountain sides in the distance this dinner was such a nice way to bring it all together.

We added these books for week 3, reading about...

...the sun, rain, clouds, and winds

To get dinner on the table we made tonight's Good Shepherd's dinner a family affair

They were all a big help!  There isn't a picture of Max or Papi but, they were as helpful as the girls.  Though they did sneak pieces of fruit from Lucy; from time to time.

~ The Sun ~

Psalm 19:1-6

Like many others we've had our fill of cake and cupcakes.  And, with a birthday in a few days (Rose is turning 6) we opted to serve a bowl of sweet pineapple for the sun.  I think the kids thought it just as sweet as if it was a cupcake.

~ The Cloud ~

1 Kings 8:2-11

They got to eat these created clouds using the whipped topping after some time in the freezer.  Rose stated that she couldn't believe I was letting her eat this sweet treat after her rainbow dessert from dinner.  She thinks her momma has gone a bit loony.  But, she is enjoying it while it lasts.  Too funny.

~ The Rain ~

Matthew 5: 43-48

I didn't get a picture of our rain.  We served a pitcher of water for the rain.  Not to creative here but, it worked.  I mean water-rain-rain-water...the kids got it.  Here is the cool part.  The water was pretty cold so Rose and Max noticed water droplets running down the pitcher.  Both started to yell with some excitement...

"Hey it's raining down the pitcher...how cool!"

That made the dinner!

~ The Lighting & Hail ~

Job 28: 20-26

Job 38: 28-30

Thanks Ms. Charlotte for creating and sharing these lightning rods for our drinks.  The kids really liked these.  And we used the crushed ice for hail.

Since we were having dinner we also used the lighting and thunder pasta that was suggested.  I did add a few things to ours...a bit of Alfredo sauce.  Since my "honey" prefers red sauce and some meat in his pasta I also added this to our dinner.  I liked the contrast in colors on the dish though.  It looked good and tasted better!

~ The Wind ~

Ezekiel 37: 7-10

O.K, we did have the cupcakes on the table.  You can see them in the picture of the table. 

But, as I stated earlier we were out and about this past weekend.  Sunday we drove out to see the California Poppies in bloom.  This area gets pretty windy.  At one point the kids just kept noticing the Heaven's from the Good Shepherd.  Through out the hike we heard,

"Hey mom look at the clouds...momma the sun look it's the sun...it's the wind"

So, we took a picture of the kids against the wind.  They all thought it very appropriate for our Garden Party.  I agreed.

~ The Rainbow ~

Genesis 9: 12-15

We served a rainbow parfait for dessert.  A little bit of blueberries, kiwi, and strawberries within the yogurt was yum-O and healthy.

The end result...

We had such a lovely dinner! 

These two little ones opted to eat on the trampoline.  They had there own little Garden Dinner.

Thank you all for inspiring such lovely memories!! 

For a look at more please visit Catholic Cuisine.

The Good Shepherd Garden Party ~ week 2

"Welcome to the Lord's Table"

For information you  may visit Jessica's blog

Our second week proved to be as busy as the first.  We've had a series of tragic events around us so, my spirits this week have been pretty low.  But, Saturday morning Max remembered our tea.  He looked up and yelled from across the room...cuz walking over to me was just way to hard lol..."Momma, our tea...when are we going to have it?"

so

~The Table and Chairs~

We had our second party with the Good Shepherd early Saturday evening.  It was a pretty evening too, making it all the better to be outside.  Lucy and Rose set the table and put our cushions back on the chairs.  That was the extent of decorating the chairs.  But, they did a lovely job with the table.

~The Bread & Pot of Honey~

All I did here was put together buttermilk biscuits into the shape of the lamb.  He came out really cute and my little ones thought it was the "coolest".

For the honey I didn't make the honey butter but opted to use some Cactus Honey from our local "bee farm".

~The Wine~

Max began to make the Grape Wine as suggested by both Jessica and Charlotte.  But, the poor boy poured the juice into a container we use for decorations.  It has a hole on the bottom and isn't made to hold liquids.  Thus, we had grape juice running over the counters and none left over to make the wine.  Luckily, I did have some sparkling cider on hand.

Good enough...

~The Fruit~

We didn't use the 12 fruit salad instead, we used what we had on hand.  Some of our favorites...kiwi, pineapple, strawberries and melons. 

~The Milk~

I think you need to just look at that boy's face to know what a hit this was.  We waited until after we had our fruit and tea (or cider).  Each made there own version of a sundae and proceeded to eat with delight as they jumped and flipped on our trampoline.

We had our party after a late lunch.  So, this menu worked for us.  Next year I may incorporate a main dish so that we can have it for lunch. 

For a look at what others are doing please visit Catholic Cuisine

As I mentioned above there have been a series of "bad" news going around.  May I ask your prayers for the following people:

My friend Yvette. 

Her cancer is back after 20 years of living cancer free.

The Horey family

Patrick Horey

Patrick will be put to rest on the same day as his birth, April 21st.

For the repose of Lincoln's soul

Thank you ladies!  Your prayers are greatly appreciated

The Good Shepherd Garden "Tea" Party ~ week one

The Good Shepherd's Garden Party

(details)

I didn't think I could pull it off.  My mom was due to arrive mid-morning for a visit and babysitting help. Lucy had a softball game at 11 and I had to get ready and pick up a friend 40 minutes away so that we could drive another hour or more further, to meet our husbands by 6:30pm. 

Seriously, I thought I had bit a little too much than I can chew for even contemplating the Shepherd's Garden Party.  But, the kids already knew about it and offered to help.  They really wanted to do this for my mom too.  As a "surprise" treat for her.  How could I not do it.

I owe a huge hug to both Jessica and Charlotte for the menu plans, shopping list, and ideas!!!!

With a little help from these two girls...

We were able to treat my mom and have our Garden Tea with our Good Shepherd

I wasn't able to 'decorate' and the original thought was that we would have our Good Shepherd Garden Parties outside.  The time I had just didn't allow for it.  But, it was fun to have my mom with me as I prepped and made the menu.  She was clueless as to what I was doing.  We live about 3 hours away from one another and my mom stills works...so I don't get to see her as often as I like (sniff sniff) and she doesn't get to often see what the kids and I do.  So, as I went along making the list of eats she was confused.  Then she was "impressed".

* The Shepherd's Crook *

I had to make mine using crescent rolls since I couldn't find the premade bread sticks at our store.  But, they worked out fine.

* Individual Shepherd's Pie *

The picture doesn't do these little goodies justice.  I did follow the recipe as suggested by Jessica & Charlotte and they were good.  So good that I plan to serve these as little appetizers for an up coming party.  Kids just ate these up!

* The Gate of the Sheepfold *

I had the kids make their own gates which the older kids liked.  The younger ones started out o.k but wanted my help to make a straighter gate.

* God's Sheep *

Popcorn is a favorite around here.  These fluffy reminders of sheep didn't last long enough to be put into a sheepfold...

* The Ewe and the Ram *

My little ones desperately wanted to decorate the faces and though the older ones thought they looked a bit more like puppies than an Ewe or Ram I thought they were the most precious.  I didn't have the large marshmallows (a certain someone got into the bag and they have disappeared from our pantry) but they would have made better ears for sure.

(I loved Charlotte's Ram...very cute!)

* The Wolf's Paws *

We used Pepperidge Farm Tahiti cookies, melted chocolate and little white chocolate chips for the claws.  After, assembling these cuties I did place them in the freezer so they could set.  Great tip!  But, because they were in the freezer we almost forgot them. 

Even though I was totally a bit rushed we had a lovely afternoon.  I didn't get to make the Lamb's Wool this time around...there is always next year.

The kids are already excited about week 2...how cool is that!