Happy Thanksgiving

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Gummy Bear

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Trick or Treat

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Blessing of the Animals

Today is the Blessing of the Animals at OLR, and I am soooo EXCITED! We're going to have a special  Mass and the whole school will be there. Gorilla is bringing his goldfish, Sloshy. Oliver is bringing a snail he found in the garden this morning. He named him Snail. I can't wait to meet all of the animal friends of my OLR Catholic School Family. They'll be mewing, and barking, and chirping, and slithering, and - well, who knows? I'm sure there will be some surprises.

The Blessing of the Animals is in honor of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, which was Tuesday, October 4. Saint Francis was a very holy man who loved Jesus so much that he gave up everything that he owned and went to live as a poor beggar, devoting all of his time to prayer and helping people in need. He saw God in the people around him, including the very poor and the lepers. He also saw God in God's creation, including animals. Saint Francis was very kind to animals, because he knew that God loved them. 

Saint Francis did so much good that many people began to join him, including his friend Saint Clare. Saint Francis founded the Franciscan Order. I found a web page created by some present day Franciscans at AmericanCatholic.org. They have posted some cool stories about Saint Francis and the animals, including Saint Francis and the wolf of Gubbio. Click HERE to vist!

First Day Check List

brand new backpack
brand new shoes and socks
good as new lunch pail
nearly new pencil box
brand new teacher
new desk (window view)
brand new school year
good old me and you
                                Reffie

Summer's End . . .

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Summer Vacation Update

Hi! How's your summer vacation going? MOST EXCELLENT I hope. Oliver and I are having a bear-ific vacation. Beaches. Pools. Parks. Libraries (gotta keep reading.)  Right now, we're both at Yellowstone National Park with the awesome Salvador family. WOW! A bear could really start to feel at home here.

Old Faithful is totally cool. Don't worry. Oliver is sitting on the sign, not the geyser. Gotta go. So much to see and do here. Thanks Salvador's! Hey - I think I just saw one of my second cousins heading over to our picnic basket! 

Be sure to let Oliver and me know what you're up to. I can post your vacation stories and photos right here. Bye for now. - Reffie