Coat of Arms

Today we were studying the Coat of Arms of Canada. I learned alot. I sometimes wonder what I actually LEARNED in school, even though I was an avid student. To borrow the words of a very endearing author, "What DO they teach in those schools?" *grin*.

After studying the Canadian Coat of Arms in detail I gave my daughter the assignment of making a coat of arms for our family and told her that if she could come up with the motto and maxim, I would help her translate it into Latin. I urged her to think of the things that define us and when she brought me her Coat of Arms I bawled like a baby. I have tears springing to my eyes again as I just try to type this.

She gets it. She really gets it. And I am not talking about the Coat of Arms. I'm talking about who we are. Where we come from. Where we're going. What we stand for.



The cross of course is the emblem of our identity. We live through Christ. The Living Word is our firm foundation. The quiver of arrows is our family, with seven arrows, for seven identities. The earth (bottom half) and sun (top half) that encircle the cross show that we live on earth, but are destined for heaven and as such are called to be a light on earth. The Italian and Canadian flags on the arms of the cross show our family's national heritage. I told her she could pick a motto and also some individual words that she thought should/would define our family. She picked "In Christ we Trust" as our motto and the words faith, hope, love and joy.

A+ from this Momma. I couldn't be more impressed or moved.