Fr. Joe's Ordination

The last year I worked as the Youth Minister at my church we had a seminarian named Joe. Joe was in seminary and served at our church for about a year and a half as part of his studies.  While he was there I was officially not the youngest person on staff! (He is five months younger than me!)  Joe has a great voice and sings in a couple of vocal groups.  He loves kids and youth of all ages, and most of the kids at my church remember him as "Pirate Joe" from the Johnny Depp looking character he played at Vacation Bible School one summer!

On Saturday Frances and I were honored to have the opportunity to attend his ordination to the Priesthood.  We left early Saturday morning for the trip to Richmond. We stopped in Charlottesville to pick up Louisa and arrived at the Cathedral with plenty of time to look around and admire the view. 

The Mass took about two hours, but there was so much ceremony to it that I didn't really notice.  There were four men being ordained and there was one section of seats dedicated to each one. We sat in Joe's section behind the seats reserved for family.  We had a pretty good view of everything that went on.  Frances enjoyed it all as well. She stood on her pew for a better view for some of the parts.

I had two favorite parts that I want to be sure to remember:

One part of the Mass had the four priest-candidates kneeling in front of the altar. The Bishop came by each one to lay hands on them.  Behind the Bishop came all the priests in attendance.  Louisa leaned over to Frances and we had this conversation:

Louisa: The Bishop is laying his hands on Joe just the same as someone laid hands on the Bishop when he was ordained as a priest.  

Me: After Jesus was resurrected, he laid his hands on the disciples and commissioned them as His priests. After that, those men laid their hands on other men and so on and so on all the way until now.

Frances: oh

Me: It's like a great big game of telephone all the way from Jesus!

Frances: OH! {and her eyes got all big as she took in the meaning}

After Joe received his new vestments, he turned to face the congregation.  The joy on his face was indescribable! The congregation was clapping and cheering.  His parents were in the front row ahead of him. I was far enough back, that I couldn't hear the words; but I had a very clear view of him say, "I'm a priest!" with a huge ear-to-ear grin on his face. I mentioned to Frances that it was little bit like a wedding-that Joe had committed his life to God and was promising to serve Him all his life. It was very beautiful.  And the best part about this whole story is that Joe's first priestly assignment is at our church. I am excited to have him back and I am excited for the witness that he will bear (especially to the youth of our parish who knew him "before.")

The men were proclaimed to be "worthy of the priesthood" by the Bishop.

There were several points where the Bishop said different prayers over each man.

Joe receiving his new vestments.

Being welcomed and congratulated by the Bishop.

Me, Frances, Fr. Joe, and Louisa after Mass!

CONGRATULATIONS FR. JOE!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Altar Server edition

Frances' First Communion

On Saturday May 12th, Frances made her First Communion. She had been asking about it since Kindergarten, so she was thrilled when the time finally came.  I was honored to be able to help with the preparation classes for First Reconciliation in the Fall and First Communion in the Spring.   All in all there ended up being 99 kids receive their First Communion this year!

 

I made this dress with some help from Gloria at Ragtime Fabrics.  Frances was so happy with it, and I am quite impressed with myself. It's nothing too fancy, but it represents my first zipper. Her head piece is from the veil I wore at my First Communion.  I had the tulle replaced more than 10 years ago, so I could wear it in my wedding.

 Papa came for this special event! He looks so proud!!

 Frances with Fr. Tom.

 Mommy, Daddy, and Frances in the Mary Garden afterward.

 My kiddos-Henry, Frances, and Benjamin

After Mass we walked to a restaurant downtown to celebrate. Lydia and Emily held hands with Frances as they walked down the street. It made such a precious picture!

Weekend Recap

We had a busy weekend that is leading up to a busy week.  Hold on tight, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!!
Friday night we went to the movies here on campus with the Washingtons.  They were showing Monsters, Inc. which I don't think Henry had ever seen.  The kids sat in front and we sat a row behind them. It's a really cute movie and the kids and I really enjoyed it. Benjamin made it all the way through the movie this time, but he did come to it in my lap about 3/4 of the way through.  I had brought his Bumbo seat so he could sit by himself if he wanted to. After the moive we drove to the top of the parking garage for the second highlight of the evening! The kids love doing that. We don't even get out of the car, so I'm not sure why it's so exciting, but it's free and they love it, so WHY NOT!

Saturday morning we took it easy. I made pancakes and used our new Star Wars cookie cutters on them. They cam e out okay, but there was some trial and error in getting the batter to not stick too much to the cutters.  The kids enjoyed their "spaceship" pancakes and we had a enough left over to save for Sunday morning so Ken could see them.

 Saturday afternoon we played. I gave Benjamin a box while Frances and Henry played dress up.  Note to self: find some boy dress up clothes STAT!!

We had a program at church Saturday night, so I loaded up the van to take the kids to the Saturday evening liturgy. Ken surprised us by getting off from work in time to come to Mass with us. After Mass we went over to the social hall for dinner and a Lenten program. The dinner was delicious!  I went back for seconds on the meatballs and Benjamin ended up eating half of the serving! We played a trivia game (that we won!), made pretzels together, and created a Lenten "Handy Reminder" by tracing out hands and gluing the cutout on paper and then decorating them with our Lenten observances.
The original plan was to sleep in on Sunday and not do much else, but Henry's cold headed south and he spent the entire night coughing, so I was up off and on with him. I decided to go ahead and take him to the doctor's office on Sunday, and he is back on his steroid medications.  The good news is that he slept through the night last night with no coughing, so hopefully he will be on the mend quickly this time around.

First Reconciliation

Frances had her First Reconciliation last night. I had a little chuckle because she woke up yesterday morning so excited about it!  She had classes over the past month or so and learned about God's Laws (AKA 10 Commandments), the definition of sin and our need for forgiveness. She also had a chance to practice going to Confession and had a good giggle at some of the sins they got to pick out of the bag!
She tried explaining Confession to Henry, but he is a bit too young to understand. I tried explaining and didn't get much farther.  Yesterday we had this conversation in the van on the way to pick up Frances:
Me:  Henry, tonight is a special night for Frances. I want you to be on your best behavior.
Henry: What is Sissy doing?
Me: Tonight is when she has her First Reconciliation.
Henry: Is that when she talks to Fr. Tom?
Me: Yes. She will talk to Father about her sins.  Do you know what a sin is?
Henry: No.
Me: Sins are the things we do that make God sad.  Do you do things that make God sad?
Henry: No.
Me: Really? Are you sure??
Henry:  {yelling} NO!!
Me: Did you know that yelling at your Mommy makes God sad?
Back seat of van:  {crickets}



Anyway, we picked her up and grabbed a quick dinner. (This time we were running late through no fault of my own.  This time. Honest!)  The service was a nice one and very kid-friendly.  Other people were allowed to come, but Fr. Tom catered to the kids who were confessing for the first time.  They had the prayers written out on the handout (which was probably great for some of the adults, too.  Ahem) and three stations just for the kids to start out at so they could go first.  They even had the screen and kneeler out for the kids that wanted to try it that way. Of course, Frances did.  Afterwards there was a nice cross necklace for each child.  The priests blessed the crosses right after the absolution and the kids got to wear them home (or play Cat's Cradle with them while waiting for their Mommies to go to Confession).

From Drop Box

She was so happy after she came back to sit with me. I wanted to get a chance to chat with her more about the experience, but her brothers were being...um...they were being little boys.  I did get to overhear her talking to a friend about it and apparently she was "kinda nervous" but once she got started it was "pretty fun."
So proud of you and the wonderful girl you are growing up to be, Frances!

From Drop Box

Thankful Thursday

I have gotten somewhat out of the habit of posting my Thankful Thursday, so I am going to try and get better about that.
Today I am especially thankful for:

• Our newly Confirmed youth at church. This group is just stellar! When they wrote their letters explaining why they wanted to be Confirmed, I just cried. They get it. I was showing off to Ken this morning, telling him that this is the first year where I know each kid well enough to recognize them by name off the street. It seems every year we get a couple of kids that have never participated in anything at church before, but not this year. The newly Confirmed are: Amanda, Caroline, Kathryn, Emily, Zach, Devin, Francisco, Maria, Adrian, Elizabeth, Kory, Greg, Gina, and Tanner.
• My church family. Everyone pulled together last night to make things flow smoothly. I didn't even know where my kids were for half of Mass because they were sitting with other people. The reception went very nicely and everything got cleaned up really quickly. I love the way we work together to get things done!
• Surprises! Let's just say that the homily last night was a big surprise. I was very pleased.

Hess' Corn Maze

I planned a trip this year to Hess' Corn Maze for the teens at church. We had three other families come with us and they each brought a few extra kids along. Ken, Henry, Frances and I were able to stick together in a group to ourselves. The teens split up into their own groups and set out through the maze on their own. We went through the corn maze with varying degrees of success and then set off for the other fun things that they have there. There is a straw bale maze with different tunnels to crawl through. They have a cute wooden cow set up with udders that you can actually milk!

There are old fashioned water pumps with gutters that you can race ducks through (with a convenient "napping table" set up just behind it!)and

a great big slide built into the hill.

Did I mention the orchestra area? It has lots of metal objects suspended from a wooden board. You can bang on the objects and make up a song about whatever you choose!

P.S. Just as I turned the camera off, she added "and Grandma" to the end of her song. So don't worry Grandma, you were in the finale too, I just cut you off. Sorry!!

Thankful Thursday

It has been a very busy, but fulfilling week. I told someone yesterday that if I can get through October 5th (Frances' birthday) then I might be able to rest-but only for a day or two because then the Christmas madness will start. I am trying to really reflect on thankfulness this week and dig deep. I feel like I have used up all the "easy" ones and that is actually good. Thinking hard about thankfulness could never be a bad thing!

This week I am thankful for:

• My co-workers at church. Especially Valerie and Louisa. Louisa has put together a religious education committee and Valerie and I are the only members (as of right now). We get together every few weeks to talk about our work, but also to do a book/bible study. We are reading In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership . It helps us to reflect on our duty to be servant leaders. It has also prompted some really deep discussion. We talked a lot about personal stuff yesterday and it felt very cleansing-it also helps us to know each other more deeply and work together better as a team.
• 5:30 AM. I know you won't believe me if you know me, but I am thankful for 5:30AM. Henry is still breastfeeding in the morning and before bedtime. This is the indefinite stage for us. Frances nursed this way until 17 months when I had to be out of town for a weekend and didn't think pumping was worth the work. She didn't complain when I put her to bed that week without nursing. It is just part of her nature to be easy going. I was sad that it was so easy to wean her. Well, Henry and I have spent two or three weekends apart. I pump while I am gone, and he either takes a bottle or not-but when I get back, we pick up where we left off. He doesn't ever ask to nurse during the day-he is quite content with a sippy cup (and he LOVES lemonade-just like his mommy!). But at night, once he is in his pajamas, he starts banging on my chest and he is ready to settle in for the night. Lately he has been waking up early (I need to push back his bedtime a little bit). It has been anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30. He doesn't so much as cry, but yell out. At 4:30, he will go back to sleep, but at 5:30, not so much. And neither will I at that point. So I get up and get him out of his crib. I feel his cold little legs against me because he always kicks his blanket off. We go out to the couch where I can snuggle up with him and my green fuzzy blanket, and he nurses. The house is quiet and dark. His legs warm up as they lie across my stomach. I can listen to his snurglley breathing (I just made up that word-I think you know what it means). He nurses until he goes back to sleep and then sometimes I just hold him. I know that all too soon (even now while he's awake) he won't let me hold him anymore. Sure I can pick him up, but I can't just hold him. This is our time and I am thankful for it.
• I am also thankful for me. I am trying to think of how to write this with the correct mix of humility and pride. It has been on my mind a lot lately and I am not sure how to write it. I said part of this in my book study yesterday and mentioned how it makes me feel silly. But here is goes anyway. I am proud of myself lately. Sure I still mess up and do stupid or unkind things, but lately I have stood up for myself in a few important ways. I have taught my preschoolers some things that make me proud. I have made a difference in some people's lives. Is it a "mom" thing or a "woman" thing to always try to hide in the background and pretend that you don't matter? Maybe it's just a "me" thing, but today I am feeling pretty thankful for who I am and what I do. In the youth ministry world, we joke about "9th grade boys" as being the silly, immature, epitome of who we are trying to reach. Last night, Ken and I took the kids out to eat. As I was walking into the restaurant, I saw one of my teens (a 9th grade boy!). Well there is a rule in youth ministry about letting teens acknowledge you first in public, so you don't embarrass them (or something like that), so I was ready for a smile and a nod; but this young man jumped up off the bench and gave me a hug! Then he said to his mom, "Look who's here!" At that moment I felt very proud to be an adult who can get that kind of positive reaction from a teenager in public. Teachers and ministers sometimes complain that they don't feel like they are accomplishing much, but this week I feel like I have made a difference.

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping...

...Into the future! I lost another week?!!? How does this happen. Last weekend was crazy busy because of the Diocesan Youth Council retreat in Abingdon. I am excited because we have a really awesome group of young people to work with this year! We drove home Sunday afternoon in time for me to turn around and rive over to church for our religious ed kick off. I think the night went rather well and I am glad to have things underway.

My mom wanted to make sure I posted a few pictures from when Henry and Frances stayed with them last weekend. These are the pumpkins that my brother, Alan, grew. They are huge!!

They spent a lot of time in the garden picking grapes, blueberries and raspberries. My mom commented several times on what a good eater Henry is. And he is, especially in contrast to Frances who has a very small appetite and eats very slowly.

He got a new a hat as well. Yes, that is the potty seat! I couldn't use any of the other pictures because they all have Frances in the background...p**ing. :)

This has been a good week, but busy. I have been spending a lot of time on getting things ready for church this Sunday. I am really excited about the way our program is turning out this year. Things are going well at the pre-school too. I am up to nine kids in my class-three boys and six girls. They usually get along really well and LOVE circle time in the mornings-especially the message time we do.
There was a fire at the ABC store across town which has created more work for Ken, but today he doesn't go into work until 4:15, so we had a nice morning of cleaning house and hanging out. The kids are sleeping now, so hopefully when they get up we will have the chance to do something fun.
Please pray for Frances and Henry who both have the "coffes" (That's what Frances calls it when she has a bad cough.) I have been giving them their allergy medicine as well as some breathing treatments. This happens about once a season, and it can be a miserable two weeks for the two of them (and consequently mom and dad too). They don't sleep well, or eat much or behave well at all.

Sherando Lake

We have lived in and around the Shenandoah Valley for about 10-12 years depending on if you count the years I was in college. Countless times we ave driven past signs for Sherando Lake, and not stopped. Well, yesterday that changed. Ken and I both had the day off for Labor Day so we decided to look it up and check it out. We are furious with ourselves that we didn't go sooner!!
For $8.00 we gained entrance to the park. After that everything was free. There is a really nice picnic area with tables and grills. We had lunch in this area and met some friends from church having a HUGE cookout. They had brought their own grill on a trailer! It was a monster!!!
After our lunch, we walked over to the swimming area. There is a nice sandy beach all along one side of the lake. We put out our mat and went down to the water. Henry wanted nothing to do with the water, despite this experience. He was terrified of the sand and the water. In fact, if you said the word "sand" to him he would start crying and clawing at you. (I tested it out a few times...) Frances, however, went straight in. She and Ken played in the water while I visited with some other friends from church that we met. Henry just sat on the mat and held on to me. I think part of it was due to the fact that he was tired. but I will not lie and say I wasn't disappointed. After a while, Ken and I switched and I got to go down to the water with Frances. It was cold, but no too bad after I finally got in. Then we built some sand creations up on the beach. Frances did not want to leave, but of course, we had to.
We went and checked out the campsites they have. They look very nice. We promised ourselves that we would head out there to go camping sometime (probably next summer). I can't believe this treasure has been 45 minutes down the road and we've ignored it all this time!!
PS I have no pictures because I washed my memory card in the washing machine (apparently that's not good for them). I am hoping to remember to buy one soon!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Oh, I can't wait until I have a house big enough for all my stuff.

2. A gallon of milk is the first thing I see when I open my refrigerator.

3. I never leave home without my purse, cell phone and kids.

4. If I were a condiment, I would be Miracle Whip because I like to add a little kick.

5. Inconsistency is really high up on my list of pet peeves.

6. The last thing I thought of before I went to bed was the fact that tomorrow (as in today) is "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-Fil-A and I am taking 25 kids from 3-10 there dressed as cows so they can have free kids' meals. I must be insane!!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include meeting the New York Capuchin Ministries group at church and Sunday, I want to go to church and spend time with my family!

Our Boston Friends

Tonight the Boston Appalachian Service Project (ASP) group showed up. They brought 93 teens and adults who are on their way to Lee County, Virginia for a week of service. The group stays overnight at our church on their way from Boston. We have traditionally hosted them with dinner, so several members of the parish provided side dishes and dessert. I grilled hot dogs and ordered pizza and BEHOLD! a feast.
This group has been staying at our parish for quite a few years and most of the adults have stayed consistent. Many of them remember Frances from when she was a baby and they all enjoyed seeing Henry again this year (he was only 4 weeks old last year!).
Frances entertained the group while we were waiting for a few more vans to show up. She got hold of the microphone and very sweetly sang "Twinkle, twinkle little star." The whole crowd got quiet to listen and then gave her a standing ovation. Then she sang "Baby Shark." A group of girls in the middle knew the actions and acted out the song with her. She had quite a good time showing off!!
A friend of mine borrowed my memory card for my camera, so no pictures just yet. When Chris emails me her pictures I will come back and add some in.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Holidays in the summer are always late nights.
2. Cheese sandwiches are my favorite things to grill. Truly, I don't grill things-that is my husband's domain, and I LOVE it when he grills!
3. My thoughts are not very coherent right now because I am a few hours behind on my sleep.
4. Spending time with lots of different people is what I'm most looking forward to this weekend!
5. My favorite book so far this summer is The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket.
6. Waking up without an alarm is the best way to begin a day.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to fireworks, tomorrow my plans include hosting the ASP group from Boston and Sunday, I want to go to church and then relax!

There were four in the bed and the little one said...

Well our morning certainly started early enough!! Frances wet the bed at about 5:30am. I told her to change her panties and come get in bed with us. So she turned on the light to look in her drawer and Henry started crying. Ken went in to check on him and of course, he had wet the bed also! So at 5:30 this morning we had two half dressed kids in the bed with us that thought it was playtime. Nobody went back to sleep.
We got up early to go to the early Mass. After Mass we met up with Julie and Paula's family to get ready for the senior brunch. I think it turned out rather well. We had about 35 people attend. We served fresh fruit, sausage and pancakes. For the pancakes, we had regular syrup and strawberry and blueberry syrups. We also had fresh blueberries and strawberries, walnuts, pecans and almonds, and whipped cream.
We got home about 1:00pm and everyone else is taking a nap. I don't seem to feel tired in the afternoons, so it's usually hard for me to take a nap. We are supposed to go to Shayna's graduation party after everyone wakes up.

A busy Saturday

Today was quite a busy day, but it started out very nicely. I slept in until 7am!! Frances and I woke up at about the same time. She was excited to watch a new Rapunzel video I found for her. Henry slept VERY late today. I think he woke up around 8!! We all had breakfast and then played our new favorite game: Cinderella. How to play? I set the timer for 15 minutes and we clean the house like Cinderella for that whole time. Frances plays very well and I get to get a little bit of the house cleaned.
I had to meet Paula at Costco to buy supplies for the Senior brunch at church tomorrow, so I headed out with the kids. We bought our supplies and then I delivered them to the church. They were just finishing the yard sale and Fred invited me to look through all the stuff that no one bought. There were a ton of Fisher Price toys!! I packed the car as full as I could get it and headed home. Frances put on her bathing suit and helped me wash all the new toys and we went in for lunch.
Heidy met us at 3:00 to pack up the toys to go to daycare and then head over to pick up the food we got through Angel Food Ministries. You should seriously check this group out. The food we got was awesome. I am very excited about the apple pie. Frances likes the chicken nuggets (they are just like the kind at Burger King). While we were dropping off the food at the day care, Rolando invited Frances over to swim in his pool.
We went home and fed Henry and headed back out. Frances and Rolando played in the pool while Heidy and I laughed at them. Henry went in the pool twice, but he got splashed in the face and then he was done with that! They had a really good time and then Heidy made us all dinner. Henry fell asleep in the car on the way home because he was so exhausted and now Frances is playing with a toy castle that I said she could keep from the yard sale.
It was an exhausting day, but in a good way. Heidy took pictures of the kids, so hopefully I will be able to post some soon.

Goodbye 2007!

It was a good year and it is almost over. A list of the highlights of the year:
Henry arrived! He was somewhat late, but well received. We are completely in love and delighted at what a wonderful big sister Frances is.
Ken and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. If I remember correctly, we took Frances and 2-week old Henry to see Shrek the 3rd!
Frances started dance lessons and has now gone through two cycles. She loves the classes and her teachers. She sings and dances all the time and is happiest in a princess dress or leotard. Speaking of Frances, we took her to a Wiggles concert this Fall in Roanoke. She LOVED it and still talks about it now. The tickets were a gift for her 4th birthday. I cannot believe that my "baby" is 4-years old! (And finally potty trained!)
Henry is sitting up, eating baby food, and getting ready to crawl. He likes to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. His teacher at school said he actually crawled a few steps a couple of weeks back, but we haven't seen him do it again.
Ken was promoted at the ABC store and is now the Assistant Manager. He has been more working more hours than he had previously, so we tend to see him less often. Then nice thing about this job is that the store is closed Sundays, so we usually have that day together (even if it is mostly taken up by church activities).
I am teaching a class of very young 4-year-olds this year, one of whom is my own daughter. That part has worked out much better than I thought, but is not totally without it's problems. I do truly enjoy spending the day with my daughter. And I can still nurse Henry whenever he gets hungry.
Youth ministry is going well. We have made some successful changes in the program this year, and some kinks are still being worked out. I am truly blessed with a wonderful group of catechists to work with.
As we end this year, I am happy to say that everyone is healthy and well-provided for. We have much more than we need or deserve and I hope that we can continue to remember that.
May God keep blessing you in the coming year!!