Luck o’ the Irish

The boys would indeed call themselves lucky today! 

It all started with finding this little plant on the shelf at Trader Joe’s:

It’s an Irish Shamrock.  I was surprised to see it had little white bell-shaped flowers and leaves that didn’t quite look like the clover growing rampant in our yard.  I always thought shamrocks and clover were the same… apparently they’re not.

We brought this little plant home to decorate our table and then sat down to read all about St. Patrick and the shamrock.

Looking at our own shamrock plant, the boys could see right away how St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the Trinity:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit to the people of Ireland.  We did a bit of internet research and learned that the fourth leaf on a four-leaf clover, which is rumored to be lucky, has been said by some to represent God’s grace.  Ryan pointed out that we don’t need a lucky shamrock to receive God’s grace, and he’s right!  We are indeed lucky as believers to be so blessed, not only today, but every day!

After our history lesson and discussion, we used this fantastic recipe from Laura at Heavenly Homemakers to made a lucky treat of our own:  shamrock pretzels!

These pretzels are incredible!  Easy to make and even easier to eat… every last one of them!  Instead of salt, we sprinkled them with cinnamon and green sugar in honor of St. Patrick and his shamrock.  While I believe we have found a tasty new St. Patrick’s Day tradition in our shamrock pretzels, we will NOT wait until the next holiday to make these pretzels again!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!