Celebrate good times

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Since Andrew was home (ill) from school & the girls were passed out on the couch, we decided to add to our St. Patrick's Day decor. These leprechauns are made out of toilet paper tubes, acrylic paint, & a little craft foam. Andrew wanted to use one of our extra wooden dolls, but I thought these turned out plenty cute. My friend Andrea introduced us to leprechaun traps last year & this is our version from an old lemonade can. Andrew's *tricky* sign reads: Do not climb ladder! The top is a piece of foam that just barely covers the hole, so that when they reach for the gold at the top, they fall in. Added to our shamrock ribbon on the curtains, Rebecca's shamrock Trinity creation on the wall, the rainbows on the backdoor, & other random green-ery, we looked pretty festive. We watched "Patrick: Shepherd of the Emerald Isle" & read a slew of irish library books. I made these shamrock pretzels to go with our corned beef & potatoes dinner... tasty. I found myself singing the version of the Irish blessing that my Dad's choir always sings most of the day. I remember it specifically at the end of our baccalaureate Mass & it always makes me smile. I wish you could hear it; it sounds so beautiful.

***

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

The sun shine warm upon your face

The rain fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again may God,

may God, may God hold you in the palm of His Hand.

*** St. Joseph is the patron for both Darren & Andrew, so we tried to up our celebrating a bit as well. I found a St. Joseph Memory game on the Internet that I could print off which was a fun addition to the morning table. It's all old paintings of St. Joseph with one of his many titles underneath. Great art lesson, too!