A Happy Firsts Party!

On Sunday, we celebrated Cupcake's first birthday and Bigboy's First Holy Communion. He received this wonderful sacrament from the hands of the priest who baptized him and for whom he is named. It was a very exciting (and emotional) day (for Mommy). 

Here they are, 8 years ago, at Bigboy's Baptism and then after Mass on Sunday. 

Why do kids grow so fast?

Our two celebrants!

Those eyes... they melt me!

Green or brown? We still aren't sure which way her eyes are going to go.

 Cake inspired by Jessica's daughters' cake. He wanted blue roses in honor of Our Lady.

 We had our in town family over to the house for a luncheon of BBQ pork sandwiches, PB&Js for the littles, potato salad, fruit slaw and cake.

 I made a backdrop for the cake table using a piece of muslin I had in my stash and some pretty scrapbook paper.

 The party was primarily celebrating Bigboy's First Holy Communion but I did set out Cupcake's little cake so that her special day wasn't forgotten.

We also made cupcake pops for the cousins to take home as a little treat.

 She changed out her the lovely dress that Baby Matthew's mommy made for her and ...

into the party dress her dear Godparents sent.

 And then later on, after a much needed nap when the party was over, she changed out of everything but a diaper and a bib and enjoyed her teeny tiny birthday cake with a teeny tiny cupcake on top. Jessica found this idea and pinned it on Pinterest. It's an upside down mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup frosted to look like a cupcake. A sweet tribute to our teeny tiny little Cupcake girl!

Mmmmmm...cake!

 

Veni, Sancte Spiritus!

The scent of chrism oil still lingers on her forehead. Inhaled in deep breaths, it magically whisks me back to that time that feels so long ago when I held all of her in my arms and drew in that delightful aroma mixed with baby powder and white lace. 

And the longing stirs...

 Shortcake with her favorite heavenly friend and now, Confirmation patron, St. Francis!

 Check out the sandals! My little Franciscan!
(She only wore them for this picture in the yard.)

The Bishop gave an excellent homily that reinforced everything we had been teaching her in her preparation. It's so nice to get backed up by a Bishop! Confirmation is not graduation from religious education! It doesn't meant that the child now knows everything about the faith and is an adult in the church. It is the completion of the reception of the Holy Trinity beginning with God the Father's love in Baptism followed by the reception of the Real Presence of God the Son in Holy Communion. Confirmation means being sealed with the gift of God the Holy Spirit and promising to be a witness of Christ's Gospel to the world. Even though it was late and very crowded in the tiny little church, His Excellency was lively and engaging and seemed really delighted to be there!

Today, well... we're pretty exhausted. I think a trip to the library might be all we can muster so that we can collapse on couches and call it a day!

Sacrament of Baptism Coloring Page

I made this coloring page a little while ago but couldn't figure out when to post it so I'm posting it now for no particular reason. If you, or someone you know is having a Baptism party, you might want to print some off to keep little ones busy while everyone enjoys the celebration.

Sacrament of Baptism Coloring Page

Ordination

Bishop: Do you know them to be worthy?

Abbot: After inquiry among the Christian people and upon the recommendation of those responsible, I testify that they have been found worthy.

Bishop: Relying on the help of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, we choose these, our brothers, for the Order of the Diaconate.

May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment.

Saint Augustine, pray for us!
Saint Philip Neri, pray for us!
I love this picture with the walker in the background while a novice prepares the vestments for the newly ordained!

Waiting in the wings

The newly ordained deacons receive the stole and dalmatic, symbolic of their office.

Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.

Smiling, happy Abbot shaking hands.

Keeping it real

Remember the post about my new clipboard? How's it working? Well...did you see #1 on my To Do List? (If you don't know what a Quiltie is, here is some more info.) Here they are:
The one in the back is for a sweet baby named David who is going to be baptized today! Yeah! The bandanna side is red and purple with a retro Route 66 theme on the flip side. The other one with all of the cute little cowpokes is for my godson in Ohio. He is not yet a year and I hear it gets pretty cold up there. He's got 6 older brothers to play cowboy with so this print was definitely made for him! The bandanna side is red and denim blue...the only respectable colors for real cowboys!

As different as day and night

After trekking halfway across town to go to confession and Mass this evening we thought a little treat was in order for the troops who were starting to droop and wilt in the back seats. After all, they had been in their Sunday clothes for well over 5 hours now the poor tortured souls!

We decided to stop in at a local burger joint that was hosting a classic car show. Never having been there before, we were quite unaware that the retro decor extended to the old fashioned milkshakes that were served in fancy schmancy fluted glasses!!

Overheard in the booth while we were waiting for the food to arrive (yes... they served us the milkshakes first and yes, we will be going back):

The Professor: How 'bout we wait to drink these when our food comes?

BigBoy: (diving in) How 'bout we say "Hip Hip Hooray"!?!

Always

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Hello again!

Hi there! How are you? I hope everyone had a wonderful Pentecost and Memorial Day.

We had an amazing weekend that was filled with so many special moments not even a deluge of rain could dampen our spirits. I will be blogging about all of our fun over this next week, but I wanted to begin with the most memorable one.

Sunshine received her First Holy Communion this past Sunday. She was beaming!

She had been very nervous a few weeks ago due to a notion she had that she would have to stand up and answer questions in front of everybody (like St. Bernadette in the movie). She calmed down quite a bit when she realized all she had to say was "Amen". Father usually likes the parents to kneel on either side of the First Communicant, but Shortcake asked if she could be next to her sister. Never having had a sister myself, I couldn't refuse this sweet display of filial affection. I was on her other side just watching with amazement. The tears snuck in when we were back in the pew and I saw the smile on her face. She was radiant!

Sunshine with our pastor.

The cake table

The menu consisted of mini-Denver Omelet quiche, smoked salmon spread with bagel chips, veggies, strawberries with cappuccino mousse and white grape cooler punch.

Fruit cocktail was a special request of Sunshine's.

I highly recommend the Cappuccino Mousse recipe. It was very easy and tasted delicious!

We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating with family and friends. A flooding barn, a master's thesis and a beautiful new baby decreased our numbers by about 6 (good excuses all!) Thank you to all who came to help us commemorate this special day.

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UPDATED to include the recipe for Cappuccino Mousse. This is the original recipe although I have used white chocolate pudding instead of vanilla and it tasted great! Also below is the recipe for Denver Omelet Quiche. I baked mine in muffin tins to make them "mini".

Denver Omelet Quiche

6 eggs
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 C. diced ham
3 C. frozen hash brown cubes with green peppers and onions
4 oz. Colby Jack cheese (1 C. grated) or any white or blended cheese

Mix all ingredients together and bake with or without crust at 350 degrees until done. Approx. 25-30 minutes (less time required for muffin tins). Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.