Annika's First Communion

This past Saturday was a BIG day for our little girl. After months and months of preparation, she and three of her friends received the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion.

Our dear, dear, dear friend Fr. Fred guided the kids' preparation and very clearly set forth his expectations. The kids, for their part, worked their tails off, both independently and as a group, to understand what they needed to know. Fred expected them to not only know the information, but to understand it and be able to talk about it with ownership. It wasn't enough for them to parrot the data ... he needed them to own it as their own. (Yup - that's a Jesuit for you!) :)

Everyone arrived bright and early Saturday morning at Bellarmine for the sacraments. The kids looked amazing in their bright whites and practically exploded with excitement. Once assembled, Fr. Fred walked each child through the sacrament of Reconciliation one by one. Then, we gathered as a larger group to celebrate mass and the kids' First Holy Communion.

I cannot begin to fully express how much it means to me that Annika received her first Communion in the same chapel that she was baptized in.... from the same priest who baptized her. It added so much to a big day for our little girl that there was this sense of continuity ... of family. Fr. Fred said mass with such genuine love and admiration for these kids. He spoke of them being the future of the faith and how each and every person needs to develop his or her own conscience and then own their decisions. He spoke of Jesus' welcoming nature and how important it is to love all and cast out none. (YEAH JESUITS!!)

 After mass, we had a little reception in a room near the chapel, complete with a lemon cake I made that was topped with a chocolate cross that Eric whipped up. (Creative, isn't he??) The gathering eventually spilled outside to the sun-soaked Bellarmine campus, where the kids ran around, climbed trees, and generally made themselves at home. Bellarmine is one of my homes in many ways, and the fact that we have celebrated so many important family moments there drives that feeling even deeper into my being.

By looking at the photos below, you may notice that she wore two dresses. She wore a new dress (no sleeves) for the Reconciliation part of the morning and then changed into the dress worn waaaaaay back in 1982 when I received my first Holy Communion. (It was also worn by my sister's girls when they received theirs.... again, loving the connection and togetherness!). The reason for the two dresses? We weren't sure if the original one would survive a trip to the cleaners, so had a backup dress. Fortunately, it did make it through and looks brand new again!

Annika in the Orton Hall chapel

Annika, Nina, and Karla

Our cutie pies

Annika all ready for her big day

Fr. Fred celebrating mass

Fr. Fred and the kiddos

Karla, Nina, Annika, and Jayden

Lemon cake w/ chocolate cross

First day of the 2015-2016 school year

It is official! We now have a 2nd grader and a kindergartener. How time flies!!

I woke up the kids at 7 and when I poked at Conor, he immediately requested "1 more minute of sleep, please." I then poked at Annika, whose eyes popped open and she proclaimed, "Is it time for school yet????" Ironically, this is the polar opposite of how they both normally wake up.

After ushering the kids through the morning routine (breakfast, brush teeth, load backpacks, get dressed), we took some rather windy first-day-of-school pictures and then were on our way to school and the chaos that ensued.

Annika was practically clawing at the car door as soon as we were on the school's campus. She could hardly wait to see her friends and get the fun going. Conor was a bit more apprehensive and was very content to stick closer to me. It was incredibly loud and chaotic under the school's pavilion, so him sticking close was anything but a surprise.

Eventually, we got the green light for the classes to go into their classrooms. We stopped in the 2nd grade room first and got Annika all settled in for the day. The fact that she and her little bff Madeleine got to sit next to each other was the icing on the cake for Annika. I had to giggle that I had to direct her away from walking into the 1st grade room out of habit as we walked down the hallway to her new classroom ... old habits die hard! As I left her, I told Annika I was leaving so she didn't think I had disappeared... what I fool I was. She didn't bat an eye and gave me a half wave as I left ... she was far too busy socializing to care that I was leaving her.

My next stop was taking Conor to the kindergarten room. We found his hook and got his backpack/coat hung up and then ventured into the classroom to find his desk. As soon as we entered the room, Conor's little bff Emilio shouted out Conor's name, which made Conor smiled from ear to ear. Seeing familiar faces around the room was exactly what Conor needed. His desk is right next to his church buddy (Caitlyn), which was probably pretty perfect for him. A familiar face right next door. Before I knew it, the parents were being ushered out of the room and it was time to give Conor a quick peck on the cheek. I wasn't sure how he was going to do with me leaving, but he did really well. Not a tear or sign of fear on his face. He wasn't looking overly comfortable yet, but that'll come in time. The kindergarten teacher (who Annika also had and who is MARVELOUS) had pictures for the kids to color waiting on their desks, so he was too busy working on his project to care that it was time for me to head out. Whew! :)

Before I close, I want to say how blessed we are to be part of such an amazing school community. Our kids are surrounded by good kids who are true friends to our kiddos. The teachers and administrators are the epitome of caring, nurturing, and dedicated ... the perfect trifecta! The last piece of the CKS puzzle are the other parents; we know that there really is a village involved in raising our kids and many of those parents are key parts of our village; they are friends to us and wonderful role models for our kids.

I can hardly wait to hear about their first days and hear all of their thoughts on how things went. Such a fun new chapter in their lives!

Conor: All spiffed up in his new uniform

Annika: Social butterfly extraordinaire 

This perfectly sums up part of our morning

And this sums up the other part of our morning

All ready for 2nd grade

Watch out kindergarten, here come Conor!