Yesterday’s giveaway was so much fun — I loved reading about all your favorite cards in the Annunciation Designs shop! I just had Rafflecopter pick a winner and the lucky lady is …
Lynda!
Congratulations Lynda!! And I hope the rest of you are able to take advantage of the 20% off coupon code until the end of August (Nomina20) and get all the beautiful cards you love!
[UPDATE: I forgot some key details!! The giveaway runs until midnight tonight and I’ll announce the winner tomorrow!]
It’s here! 😍🎉😍🎉
What a great way to continue yesterday’s celebration of the Feast of the Assumption! Mother Mary for the win!!! 🙌💐💕
Elayne from the Etsy shop Annunciation Designs is a Sancta Nomina reader and mama to the incredibly handsomely named … B3n3d!ct K0lb3! (Alt characters used for privacy.) I’ve often said that a B first name can be hard to pair a middle name with because of the possibility of problematic initials, but K0lb3’s an awesome middle name to pair with B3n3d!ct — I love it! And what powerful patrons that little boy has!! He is set!!
Elayne brings the same faith-y finesse and sensibility she used in naming her little boy to her shop, which features her beautifully hand-lettered and painted Catholic greeting cards — and I mean Catholic! Like her Vocation Card! And Priest Ordination card! 😍 I mean, come on. If anyone’s going to need cards like those, it’s all of us! And her other cards are equally meaningful and so loving — birthday and baptism cards, wedding cards, thank you cards, encouragement cards, even a miscarriage sympathy card, which is just so perfect for when you want to say the right thing and just don’t know what the right thing to say is. ❤
I’ve never seen cards like Elayne’s — certainly not in any store that I might run into to pick up a card for an occasion — they’re just so exactly right! So I’m beyond thrilled to run today’s giveaway for a $30 credit to her shop!
In order to enter, click this link for the Sancta Nomina+Annuncation Designs Rafflecopter giveaway! You’ll be asked to leave a comment saying which of Elayne’s cards you like the best — I’m excited to see lots of love for this mama’s beautiful work!
And I don’t know if any of you have taken advantage of the discount I told you about last week that Elayne’s offering Sancta Nomina readers, but if you don’t win the giveaway today don’t forget that you can get 20% off anything and everything in the shop until the end of August with the coupon code Nomina20! Time to stock up y’all!! 😉 Happy entering!!
You guys. It’s sooooo hooooottttt here, and humid, and awful, and my kids and I and the air conditioners are all tired and cranky! 😓😭
I’m looking for ways to remain cheerful, and doing this little teaser post about a giveaway I’ll be doing on Tuesday is just the thing! 🎉🎉🎉
Annunciation Designs has gooorgeous hand-lettered and painted Catholic greeting cards (I myself am a happy customer!), and the lady behind the art — one of you wonderful readers, with an amazingly named little one 😍 — has generously offered to give away a $30 store credit!
I’ll tell you more details — and her little guy’s awesome name!! — on Tuesday, and in the meantime go ahead and browse her shop and whet your appetite, and if you just can’t wait until next week, she’s offering the Sancta Nomina readers 20% off anything/everything in the shop until the end of August with the coupon code Nomina20!
There. I’m feeling cooler already. 😎 Thank you all, too, for all the great comments about Olympic names and adoption naming practices — they’ll be so helpful for upcoming posts. Have Friday y’all!!
The mama who thought she might be miscarrying was, unfortunately, right. She thanks us for our prayers, and I ask you to please continue to pray for her and her family as they grieve the loss of their baby. ❤🙏
I received an email from a mama who is afraid she may be miscarrying — she’s asking for prayers, please remember her and her little one tonight. ❤🙏
The winner of yesterday’s giveaway of beautiful soap from Robin’s Soap Shoppe is the very lucky lady:
Ellen J-S!
Congratulations!!!!! (I’ll email you!) And thank you all for sharing your favorite Ann- names, it was fun to read them all!
Happy Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne!! 🎉🌹🎉🌹🎉🌹
Today’s the last day of the Novena to St. Anne, which I offered for all of you. ❤ I was particularly struck by these words from the prayers for yesterday:
“… O Saint Anne, you whose name signifies grace and mercy …”
She’s such a great saint, and the perfect patroness for the blog!
I wanted to do another little giveaway for you all as a way of celebrating this feast day, and I’m delighted today to be giving away handmade goat milk soap from Robin’s Soap Shoppe!
Robin is an Army veteran and single mom (as she told me, “I very proudly served my country for eight years, and now three of my children have or are serving as well”) who struggles with debilitating anxiety and arthritis. She’s been making goat milk soap for years — I’ve gotten it for my own home and for gifts for family members and friends and my boys’ teachers at Chrismas — it’s beautiful, luscious soap and I’m delighted to be giving away today:
One “Icky Yucky Hands & Super Gardening Soap – lightly scented” bar (approx. 5 oz). Robin says,
“When you’ve just finished making a huge mess in your kitchen and your hands are beyond yucky, this is the perfect soap! If you’ve been outside, working in your garden, this soap is wonderful for getting the ickies off your hands. If you enjoy getting your hands dirty, this is your new favorite soap. Layers of lavender buds, rose clay, kelp, coffee grounds, calendula – an amazing soap that smells pretty darn good, too. Scented with rosehips and jasmine. 100% naturally colored.”
(That one’s my own personal favorite!)
One “Baby Yourself with Lavender” bar (5-6oz.). Robin says,
“This is a 100% goat milk cold process soap that is lightly scented with lavender … Goat milk soaps are just scrumptious for your skin! Baby your skin and enjoy the light scent of lavender, too. ❤ “
And two of these “Mint Chocolate” 3 oz. flower clusters. Robin says,
“Oh.My.Word. The most perfect dark chocolate paired with the most amazing mint. I had a feeling this one was going to be good, but, oh MY, it is just scrumptious!!“
So four soaps in all! One Icky Yucky Hands bar, one Baby Yourself with Lavender bar, and two Mint Chocolate flower clusters. Is it weird to want to say Mmmmmmm about soap?? Because that’s what I always want to say in regards to Robin’s soap! I’m so excited for whoever of you wins this!
This Beautiful Soap from Robin’s Soap Shoppe Giveaway will be for today only (until midnight tonight) — just click on that link to enter and for fun, I’d love to know what your favorite Ann- name is, and/or if you’ve heard any interesting or unusual Ann- variants! (But it’s not mandatory — you can enter without doing so. 🙂 ) (And if you want to place an order of soap on your own, whether you win the giveaway or not, I know Robin would appreciate it!)
I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed feast day! 🎉🌹🎉🌹🎉🌹
I follow Maggie from Saintly Heart on Instagram (she’s also on FB, and this is her web site), and she was recently telling me about her boys’ names, which I just love, so I asked her if I could share them with all of you and she said yes! Woo!
Her handsome boys are named:
Blaise Emil (after St. Blaise and Servant of God Emil Kapaun)
Savio Michael (after St. Dominic Savio and St. Michael)
Sooo handsome, right?! I’ve never seen Savio used as a first name before, but I like it!! Maggie writes,
“My husband and I are huge Saint lovers … We love sharing the faith when people ask us where’d we come up with those names. Most people think ‘Blaze’ as in fire so we get to catechize there and then our little Savio gets the most unique questioning and we get to share about the sweet St. Dominic Savio then!“
I love love love the idea of evangelizing through names — I think it’s one of the most fun and easy ways to do so, and it can really make a difference to those who hear the stores of how the names were chosen and to whom they refer.
Thanks to Maggie for sharing!!
Savio Michael (left) and Blaise Emil (right)
One of our dear readers has asked me to ask you all to pray for her — labor has stalled and she’s being induced. She’d also really like to be able to sleep, so if you could include that in your prayers that would be great! ❤ 🙏
Happy 4th of July everyone!! 🗽🎆🗽🎆🗽🎆
At Mass yesterday I was so struck by the lyrics of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, especially the first verse:
“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.”
And these lines in other verses:
“He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet”“Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel”
“In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]”“He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave“
So moving and beautiful!! (Full lyrics here.)
Also, our dear reader Grace (red hair) visited the St. Anne Shrine in Arvada, CO yesterday and told me she said a prayer for all the Sancta Nomina readers! How wonderful! She took this picture of Our Lady, and said how she loved that the rosary looked as though it were made of real/dried roses.
So lovely! Thanks to Grace for the prayers! 💒
Okay! Moment of truth! The winner of the St. Anne peg doll + gift certificate from SaintAnneStudio is …
Lee T.!
Congratulations!!!!! 🎆🎉🙌🌹(I’ll email you!!)
I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day!! 🗽🎆🗽🎆🗽🎆
(I’ll post this week’s consultation tomorrow).
Sancta Nomina 