The Big Day

Another milestone was reached today when Nicholas received his first communion. I must confess, it brought tears to my eyes. His out-of-the-norm quiet voice reading from the altar, his baby soft hands  motioning as he sang Taste and See, and his animated face tasting the wafer and wine for the first time were sentimental moments never to be forgotten.

It seems like every time I turn around, we are back to this day. Every other year for the past six, one of the kids has partaken in this joyous event. The pictures below show each child's special day, starting with Katie, then Andrew and finally Nicholas. My how they have grown!

May 2007

May 2009

May 2011

Confirmation here we come (in a couple of years).

A sneak peek of what's to come

"One of the things I love about you, Mom, is you're special quality to love."

"You're the most beautiful woman in the world."

Yes, my baby says those flattering, melt-your-heart words. He's good that way. You know- smothering the female gender with compliments. I think he learned early on that sweet talk gets positive responses. Plus, he has an outgoing and lovable personality. Together those qualities make for quite the ladies man, I'm afraid. Just look at this:

Nicholas struck a pose without any prompt from me. Partly because he loves his new suit, but mostly because he's my future movie star. And Saturday, my baby is growing up one more way: he's receiving his First Holy Communion.

I have to tell you that this year has been... hmmm... entertaining? Because with first communion comes first confession, and Nicholas tackled that one in his cute, precious way (which was to be first in line and tell only the things he's done three times). He barreled out the door like a sly fox, smiling and strutting with a gleam in his eyes. I'm sure he gave the priest a high-five.

The culminating activity happens Saturday. My youngest will dress the part with pride, eat the bread expressively and drink from the cup with joy. He also gets to participate in a reading on the altar. I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day present than witnessing this spectacular event.

Stay tuned. More to come...

A Proud Moment

We were so proud last Saturday when Andrew received his first holy communion! He looked so handsome in his suit and read so well in front of a full church. During one song, all the kids stood at the end of the pew and sang to us, using sign language to go along with the song "Taste and See." It brought tears to this proud mom's eyes. Here is a poem I wrote about the special event:


Happy parents, friends and family
gathered together to proudly see,
their sweet young girl or boy
receive first holy communion with joy.
Flowers decorated the altar and pews
and everyone dressed in their best shoes.
Together they prayed in reverence
and watched with glee the innocence.
As each one took the bread and wine,
the choir sang glorious tunes divine.
After the service, all went to the hall
to celebrate with cake and pictures for all.
The day was a tremendously fine event,
one not to be forgotten; a proud moment.