Gemma's First Holy Communion

Gemma's First Holy Communion banner.  All the children get to design and make
their own banners (our last name was along the bottom) and they are
hung in the gathering space of our Church the week of First Communion. 
Gemma did the design all on her own, and we worked together on the actual banner.

Our sweet daughter celebrated her First Holy Communion last weekend.  What a glorious, grace-filled day!  The day started with breakfast and some presents from mom, dad and brothers.  Kolbe picked her out a card all on his own and a Mass/prayer book whose front matched her invitations.  Aaron and I got her a reliquary for her St. Gemma Galgani first-class relic she received several years ago from a priest friend of ours.  Both boys colored/drew her Holy Eucharist pictures, all on their own.  So sweet!

Gemma's dress was the same dress that my flowergirl wore (almost) ten years ago, and it matched my wedding dress, so that was pretty special.  My alterations gal worked her magic on it and it turned out so beautiful.  I found her veil at our Catholic bookstore and it was actually attached to a barrette so that made that end of things so easy-peasy.  Some curled hair and we were good to go!  Mass was at 10am so we had plenty of time to get ready and make it to Church with time to spare.  Our sweet neighbor brought Gemma a bracelet to wear with her dress before Mass (and extra tables and some beautiful flowers with which to decorate)!

This was the extent of our "decorations".  Several pictures and other items from Aaron's and my First Communions, Gemma's baptism items (her prayer book from Kolbe is standing up right by her arm) and some items she made at school in preparation for the sacrament, including a paper altar and priest and her golden clay chalice.  I was so glad Sams had one bouquet of sparkle daisies left (I had spied them a few weeks ago when we were there), and the pretty statue in front of the flowers was painted by our beloved cloistered Carmelite sisters. 

When we got to church we had time to snap a few pictures with friends/teacher and get a family photo.  As you can tell by the family photo, it was taken exactly 3.82 seconds before Clement decided to go on strike and pitch a very long (very.long.) screaming fit to express his dislike downright hate for the fact he had to sit with Grandma and Grandpa during Mass (even though we had talked about this all week and he had been very excited about sitting with them).  Oh. My. Stars.  It was humbling (and a bunch of other things), and I am so grateful to my parents and sister for juggling him during Mass, because the way they did the reserved seating didn't allow us to have siblings in the pew with us. All the first communicants were seated in order in their pews up front, and the parents were in the same order behind all the kids and then went up and joined them for the reception of Holy Communion.  Gemma had the opportunity to receive under both forms and it was so special to get to witness and experience this together with her, just as we did her Baptism.

My sis took some "professional" pictures after Mass that I'll share at a later time, but here is a great shot my dad got on his camera.  At home before Mass I kept on having no idea what to have her do with her hands when I took pictures.  Then I got to Church and saw other people taking pictures and was like, "duh. fold them."  Obviously a first-timer here. 

We had a luncheon at our home (our very small home) afterwards and were so grateful for the gorgeous weather the day held.  We have some great outdoor space in and adjacent to our property and were able to put it to good use!  We were so grateful to celebrate such a special day with so many family and friends.  Almost all our immediate family was able to make it!  The second grade teachers even stopped by for a bit!

The flowers are the ones our neighbor brought (from her yard!) and the Rosary was also made by our dear Carmelites.

Clement's favorite part of the day was the water cooler.  (Because clearly, it was not the Mass.)  Don't be fooled by the fact that he is taking a drink. Our neighbor won't have to water his lawn for the next month after all the cups he dumped out over there.

I don't know what we would have done if had been cold and/or rainy.  Seriously.  So grateful for a beautiful day.

The jumper cables and hedge-trimmer in the background
add such a classy touch, don't you think?!

As I said on Facebook, it was such a grace-filled day.  Experiencing the Sacraments oneself is obviously a very beautiful thing, but watching your children experience the grace and love of God in such a special way is truly a gift.  God is good...all the time!

Journal: shoes, confession and the letter F

TODAY

Out my window: sunny and cold.  It was dreary and colder the first part of the week.  Come on, Spring.  That is all.

Around the house: Goodness, let's see.  Shoes.  I needed new tennies, I realized the ones I have, have been around since I was pregnant with Clem...four years ago, and are definitely on their last leg, errr, foot.  I decided to just stick with the Adidas I like, I have worn this shoe for around a decade now (for every day wear, I wore something else when I ran, many MANY moons ago).  I deviated once and regretted it.  Well, they don't carry them in store anymore, and Amazon had a pretty good price, although I am amazed how the price has fluctuated from day to day and size to size.  Weirdness.  It's seriously worse than the stock market.  So I ordered a 10, which is what I've always worn in this shoe and got them and they were clown-ishly huge. The customer service rep took pity on me because all the other sizes (aside from 10, because....?) had free returns and generated a free return label for me.  And I ordered a 9.5 that had free returns, thank goodness....because they they were too big as well.  So now I am waiting for a 9 to come in the mail.  I really hope they fit, this is turning into be a little more involved than I intended it to be. #firstworldproblems

My brother signed us on to his GooglePlay subscription (think Spotify) and it's been fun starting to use that and listening to more music (myself and with the kids).  I have a little xBoom speaker now but am thinking of getting something that is bluetooth for the house.  I finally synced my phone with the bluetooth in the van and that's pretty slick. Surprised the kids with Happy when I picked them up from school last Friday.  They were jazzed.

Not much else of note.  I am starting to get an itch to do some Spring cleaning, but I know it's too early and if I do it now it will probably need done again when Spring actually does roll around.

 

The kiddos:  

Gemma had her First Reconciliation last night.  It was a beautiful experience!  It was all the 2nd graders in the parish (school and PSR) and they invited parents and siblings to go as well to show support and example for the kids.  They had five priests (three in addition to our pastor and associate).  It started with a brief ceremony: Bible reading, short homily and prayer and then on to Confession!!  Gemma was pretty nervous, but she was definitely ready and OH did she have a priceless smile on her face when she came out.  It is so wonderful watching her grow up.  God is good.  I got her a little Divine Mercy key chain to put on her backpack so she remembers God's mercy each time she sees it, and we met up with some friends for ice cream afterwards.  It was a memorable evening.

See below for updates on the boys.

In the kitchen: Finally, after over 2.5 years of breakfast causing an absurd amount of angst, I have made a breakfast menu so the kids know what to expect each day.

Monday: egg circles

Tuesday: oatmeal (or Cheerios)

Wednesday: honey-butter bread

Thursday: scrambled eggs and toast

Friday: honey-butter bread 

This has made mornings immensely smoother, and cut out all the whining, arguing, griping and short-ordering if I did remember to ask about breakfast the night before.  Soon, the kids will be old enough to fix their own breakfasts, but for now this seems to work out better than anything else we've tried.

Gemma has started making lunch for herself and the boys on weekends. **Cue heavenly chorus.**

I should be meal-planning for next week but I am blogging instead.  

Learning:  Today was the 100th day of school for Kolbe.  He was so stoked he popped right out of bed this morning when he remembered!  They do some fun things in the kindergarten class to commemorate the 100th day, it was neat seeing him so excited.

Clement continues to really enjoy preschool.  If I have the time and patience for it, he will spend 1-2 hours a day working on little things I find for him to do, often begging me for more when I say we're finished.  I have been using the art line over the fireplace to display his weekly letter stuff.  Letter F this week.

 

Reading: Our stack of F books includes favorite like Bread and Jam for Frances, Hide and Seek Fog, One Frog Sang, Rainbow Fish and Feathers for Lunch.

Watching: Season Finale of The Curse of Oak Island the other night.  We'll see what next season holds.  We are sneaking up on the end of this season of Gold Rush (sniff), but before we know it, it'll be baseball season again!

Bringing me joy: Confession, for myself AND seeing our daughter experience the mercy, grace and forgiveness of God as well. 

Thinking about: Lent.

I've really been enjoying this song by Casting Crowns lately. 

Peace out! 

Journal: preschool for Clem

TODAY

Out my window: nice. nice nice.  The deck door is open at 5PM letting fresh air in!!!  This has me so ready for Spring, but everyone I talk to seems to insinuate I'm crazy for not thinking we have more Winter ahead of us.  People!!  Whatever the case may be, I am very grateful for the outdoor play this little break in the cold weather has afforded us.  Winter (or the children) may not kill me after all.  We shall see...

 

Around the house: I decided it was time for Clem to start Letter of the Week preschool at home with me.  Both other kids started the September they were 3, but Clem is six months behind them with his Summer birthday and just didn't seem ready this past fall.  Lately, though, it has been apparent that he would probably get a lot out of it so I decided (semi on a whim) this past Monday to go for it and he really loves it so far!  I am going a little non-traditional though and we're not doing ABC order.  Gemma was appalled.  I have used this handwriting book (highly recommend) with all three kids, and by he time they started it (in their 4s) I thought they were all just a little too old for it, so I went ahead and started it now with Clem and we'll use it for our LotW guide.  He already loves and is very familiar with the wood pieces, so adding the book is a very natural next step.  It introduces the letters in order of ease in writing them.  Vertical and horizontal lines, then curves, then diagonals, etc.  Our first four weeks are L, F, E and H.  I may or may not have picked up over 30 books from the library this afternoon.  I LOVE any excuse I can find to check out good books, and this is a great one!  Checking out ones for him to enjoy as well as ones geared more towards the older kids.  Good times. Picture books are my favorite.

 

The kiddos:  Well, I'd say I updated on Clem enough above!  He had his 3.5 year old pictures taken (see side-bar), and for whatever reason has (finally!!) decided he is no longer two and has started telling people, "well, you know, I'm three-and-a-half now."  Funny kid.

Gemma is preparing to make her First Reconciliation next week!  So exciting!  Helping her prepare has really helped re-orient my relationship with this Sacrament as well.  It's been good.

Kolbe seems to have leveled out after getting all the bad holiday and birthday food out of his system.  We are back to being fairly careful with his diet and just realizing that occasionally (especially with school-related events. and holidays.) he just takes a hit.  Sigh, it's so frustrating for us and him. Kolbe has been building lots of legos lately. 

In the kitchen: This past week we had grilled meat with green beans and potato casserole, fajitas, tacos and lots of leftovers.  Creamy tomato tortellini and salmon turnovers (store-bought and re-heated) tonight.  Next week: French dips, crispy chicken salads and pesto chicken with boiled potatoes and steamed carrots.  I have gotten into the bad habit of leaving Friday up in the air (you know, in case the dinner fairy decides to come...) so we'll see what we end up doing late-week.

Learning: It is Catholic Schools Week!  We are so, so grateful for the Catholic education available to our children with the Catholic school system we have in our diocese.  I seriously do not know what we would do if we didn't have these Catholic schools as an education option.  There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't have a very deep sense of gratitude that this integral part of our children's formation (religion and education and so much more) is so richly provided for by the generosity of so many.  God is good.  Abundantly good.

We've started using the First Communion Catechism (which is an adaptation of the Baltimore) at the breakfast table, and the kids, all three of them, have really surprised me with how much they are getting into it.  I've always bemoaned the fact that we don't do much memorization, so this helps with that plus it teaches such solid theological concepts!  Win-win!!

Reading: Bible.  Trying to get a "chapter" of The Imitation in before the kids are up on days that I'm able. Not much else currently.  Mr. Popper's Penguins with the kids!  The chapters are the perfect length for the breakfast table.

Watching: the usuals.  I won't bore you with our nerdiness.

Bringing me joy: Grace.  Good people. Fun conversations. Preschool lessons with Clem. A good meeting (who knew such a thing existed?!).  The sacraments.

Thinking about: Confession, sin, grace, forgiveness. etc.  Please say a prayer for Gemma (and all of us) as she prepares for her First Reconciliation.

Pictures to share:  

Baptism anniversaries!

Food-for-Thought round-up: July 26

Emotional Security - This was just a good reminder.  Nothing earth-shattering, but I'm glad I read it.

Some thoughts on Humanae Vitae and NFP - I don't really want to start a big debate about this, I've witnessed enough Facebook threads on this topic of late to make my head spin.  SO many strong (and often misinformed) opinions, whew.  But this article (and I actually didn't read the whole thing) did provide some good information I thought.  And if you have never read Humanae Vitae, two words...read it.

Mercy and Confession - I am so grateful for the opportunity for regular confession and Spiritual Direction.  This article had some good, concise nuggets of wisdom about the Sacramental Grace we receive from Reconciliation.

Sexy Little Girls - Sigh.  I hate this trend.  I can hear my daughter telling me "we don't say 'hate' mommy," but this is an instance where I will unashamedly say it.  I got a Penney's ad in the mail the other day and I seriously couldn't tell what age the kids were in the ads because the style of clothing made them look so much older than they probably were.  It was just weird.  And I'm not even talking modesty strictly.  I mean, yes, modesty is an issue, but some articles of clothing, even if they are modest, are not intended for a five year old girl to wear.  I didn't completely identify with everything the author said (perchance it was her atheist perspective??)  but she made some good points.  

In the parenting category:

• Going Against a Toddler's Will - I liked this, especially the distinction between "soft" and "hard" rules.  So many parenting methods are so big on "consistency" no matter what, and that has always bugged me, as I do believe different things carry different weights, and also that you have to pick your battles sometimes depending on things like tiredness, hunger, etc. This was a good read.
• Truths About Consequences -  Some of the "consequence based" parenting styles I've seen and read about just seem so arbitrary to me.  This summed up my disdain for that approach to discipline quite succinctly.  I thought some of her model conversations were a little wordy and/or forced, and not exactly what I'd say, but I agree that consequences are often simply a euphemism for punishments, and that we teach our children much more effectively through our own example and secure relationships with them than through rewards and consequences.
• The Sweet Spot - I'm not there yet.  Not really even close.  But I liked this article a lot and thought maybe some of you out there could relate and appreciate it now.  Maybe I'll come back and read it here in 5-7 years....