Here are the few little activities we did today to celebrate Candlemas Day, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (which is also the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary). We started last night making our royal icing "flames" for our edible candles. Here is the royal icing recipe I used:
2 egg whites
2 tsp. lemon juice
3 cups powdered sugar
food coloring
When the "flames" were hardened and dry this morning, we assembled our "candles" using Little Debbie's Strawberry shortcake rolls (yummy!). We cut the snack cakes in half because they were too tall to stand up by themselves. Using the remaining royal icing, I made the snack cakes look like they were dripping wax and then inserted the frosting "flame". The kids seemed to enjoy these "candles" better than last year's treats. We will probably do this one again next year. 
Our home school group was invited to attend a neighboring parish's celebration of Candlemas. First, Father blessed the candles, then we processed to the church. Along the way, the kids held candles. We stopped to pray and recite a psalm response at each corner of the church. The older kids did great. However, things went terribly wrong with the little ones. R singed her eye brows and dripped hot wax on herself repeatedly, while B started to burn the pew in front of us once we got into the church. At that moment, the baby started to cry, needing to nurse, and my cell phone rang! Note to self: Do NOT let anyone under age 6 hold their own candle next year and remember to turn off the cell phone! 
Despite the difficulties initially, the rest of Mass went much better (once the candles were extinguished). Father's homily was great. He did a wonderful job speaking to the kids about the importance of this feast and the reasons for the use of candles throughout the Christmas season and as a powerful symbol for Christ. Father also spoke about other culture's traditions related to Candlemas. Though, it didn't go as smoothly as I'd like, we probably will do it again next year. After all, I am a glutton for punishment. Only during times of trial, do we fully rely on God . I know that I never would have made it through that Mass without some Divine Assistance.
When we arrived home, we prayed our Chaplet of Divine Mercy and then made more edible candles. This time out of Starburst candies. Once you get the candies warm enough, they become similar to play dough. It was a very good lesson in following directions and sculpting. Overall they did very well at listening to my instructions. This was the one time I didn't mind them playing with their food.
I hope you enjoyed our pictures. God bless.
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