A New Friend

This is Anna, Gianna's new friend. She was our present to our daughter for her birthday early this month, and I'm blogging about her to let you know what a special addition she's been to our family.

Gianna takes Anna everywhere. She sits her at the table to join us for lunch, tucks her in with a pillow and a blanket at bedtime and buckles her seat belt in the car. Anna knows how to read a book, and how to play 'house'. She knows how to dust furniture and clean a doorknob.

Anna learned how to pray at a very young age. On her second day in our home Gianna asked me to teach her the Hail Mary. I happily complied. That same morning I overheard Gianna counselling, "Now Anna, you have to obey God every day. Even if you don't want to. It's the most important lesson you need to learn." (I instantly emailed her Godmother about that one!)

This morning Gianna spent half-an-hour teaching Anna about Good Friday, Easter and the Resurrection. Afterwards she asked me to make Anna an Easter dress to match the dresses I made her and her sister.

You know, I think I might just do it. I love five-years-old! Now I just need another baby. :)

My Only Mortal Enemies

I've always been somewhat perplexed by the teaching, Love your enemies, as I don't think I have any enemies. I'm quite sure there are people who don't like me, so perhaps I am an enemy to others, but I love, and even like pretty much everyone.

I can't say the same about my regard for certain garden creatures, however. Show me an aphid or a spider mite on my rosebushes or a snail on my hydrangeas, and I can be heard sharply scolding the critters before preparing my attack strategy. It's often something like, "You will not defeat me", "I'm stronger than you", "I'm smarter than you", "Stay out of my garden....or else".

Just for fun, here's some evidence of the "....or else".

Hee hee, love this last photo :)

Mission accomplished.

~

Golden Ribbons

If you've ever been in the state of California in March, you have seen this beautiful sight. Just before the onset of spring (or perhaps this is the onset of spring), these ribbons of golden mustard flower twirl on hillsides from Sonoma all the way down to San Diego. They cannot be missed. But their origin is far more beautiful than the flowers themselves.

When Blessed Junipero Serra came to Mexico from Spain in the 1700's and heard of the rich land and verdant fields in the north, he set about spreading his faith in a new direction. As he travelled through California he scattered Spanish mustard seed all along his path, establishing nine missions (which later grew to 21 missions) along his lush carpet of gold. Blessed Serra is largely responsible for the Catholic population in California.


I am so happy to see the mustard flowers again this year. They didn't bloom last March (in my area, anyway) due to the drought we experienced that winter. This year we've had lots of rain, yielding hillside upon hillside of Father Serra's gift to the land.

~

For more information about Blessed Junipero Serra and the California missions, go here and here.

~

(And while I'm posting this I think my husband would like me to tell you that I scraped up my calves while jumping over a four-foot tall prickly bush (wearing a skirt) to get the top photo above. I'm glad I did it - the shot was worth it, but I must really love my readers. :)

~

Sitemeter and St. Joseph

I love Sitemeter. It's fun to see where my readers are coming from, how they find Small Treasures and how long they spend visiting. I often get Google searchers typing in "redhead extinction", "stop redhead extinction", "redhead temper" and that sort of thing. But those that give me the greatest joy are the searches on Saint Joseph that lead people here. Second only to searches on adoption, our beloved family patron leads the most number of searchers here. Today a reader from Phoenix arrived upon googling "St. Joseph feast day moved up", from Front Royal, Virginia - "St. Joseph novena", and from Olsztyn, Warminsko-Mazurskie (Poland), a kind soul typed "things to do on St. Joseph's feast day". I hope these people found something good here.

God bless the internet. Have a blessed Solemnity of Saint Joseph today!

What's next....bi-location??

Like St. Joseph Cupertino (a family favorite for air travel protection), Madeleine's got the levitation thing down pat.

Update

At this time I'll have to put a hold on more orders for outfits. Thank you for your interest!

To those of you...

....kind readers who have asked me when I will open up my 'sewing shop' (ha! not really, but I like the way it sounds), I'm giving myself more time to gain expertise at the machine. I sewed buttonholes for the first time last week and inserted my very first zipper today, on a little Easter dress for Madeleine. Everything is turning out well, but I still have so much to learn.

In the meantime, if you have a particular request, I'd be happy to make something for you. Just send me an e-mail.

Saint Joseph Novena - Feast Day Moved

If you are planning to pray a novena to our beloved Patron of the Universal Church, of Fathers, of Families, of Labor, of a Happy Death, etc. - today or tomorrow would be the day to begin (depending on whether you like your novenas to end on the feast day or the day before). Please note that Saint Joseph's Feast had been moved up this year to March 15th, so as not to be celebrated during Holy Week.

In the words of Saint Teresa of Avila in her plea for the faithful to pray to our Holy Patriarch:

"Would that I could persuade all men to be devoted to this glorious Saint, for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God. I have never known anyone who was truly devoted to him and honored him by particular services who did not advance greatly in virtue: for he helps in a special way those souls who commend themselves to him. It is now very many years since I began asking him for something on his feast, and I have always received it. If the petition was in any way amiss, he rectified it for my greater good....I ask for the love of God that he who does not believe me will make the trial for himself - then he will find out by experience the great good that results form commending oneself to this glorious Patriarch and in being devoted to him..." --Autobiography, VI, 11-12

This beloved saint has aided our family in too many instances to count. He is a powerful intercessor indeed. I encourage anyone who visits here today to begin a special novena to the Foster-Father of Our Lord. Then spread the word. Share with others, either on your blog, with friends and family, or in the comments section here, how St. Joseph has interceded for you. For the only way I can think of to repay (however inadequately) such a saint is to spread devotion to him.

You can find a variety of beautiful novenas to our beloved patron here. I will have a short novena prayer to St. Joseph on my sidebar beginning today until his Solemnity on March 15th.

Saint Joseph, Foster Father of Jesus, pray for us!+++

Drawing

You should've seen the walls and floor when she was done. :)