Memories from Anna's 1st Communion

Anna had a wonderful day yesterday!! The day began a little late and I'm glad we were able to get there on time. They wanted the children an hour early. I couldn't imagine Anna staying in the hall by herself with children she didn't know so Craig said he would stay with her.

He said she was doing fine until they asked the kids to line up. Anna refused to get in line. He was trying to gently pull her towards the line but she started crying and said she didn't want to go. They were only lining up to practice receiving and bowing. But she thought they were lining up to leave!!

Craig finally said he would just get in line with her and she lined up to practice. That was the only time she was nervous or cried. The rest of the day went smoothly!!

They came into the church 15 minutes before mass and sat with their parents. Anna was happy to see me as well as her grandparents, aunt/uncle, and cousins.

While they were in the hall, I was in the church saving a pew. I had the three little ones with me. *sigh* Isabelle was singing in the choir and my parents didn't arrive until 30 minutes 'till. Considering the three smaller ones were in church for a whole hour before mass even started, they did marvelous. Of course I kept whispering in their ears to behave or no cake later on. LOL! Catherine had to be taken out twice and she could be heard saying, "I pwomise I listen. I wanna my cake! I listen! I listen!" My poor mother was in charge of her since the communicant could only have two parents in the pew (no siblings). But I saved the row right behind us so we could still be together.

Anyways, the mass was beautiful and the homily was inspiring. I had been feeling disappointed two weeks ago that I hadn't picked Pentecost for Anna's 1st Communion. Imagine my surprise when I realized yesterday was the solemnity of The Blessed Trinity. How appropriate!!

I choked up when Anna received the Eucharist. And almost laughed when I saw her try to keep from frowning after receiving the Precious Blood. She wasn't ready for the taste! LOL!

After Mass Anna surprised us by jumping into the group picture. Since we hadn't paid for one, Craig took a quick snapshot. Actually all the parents did. I'm glad I didn't pay for one. But I can't wait to see the picture of her receiving the Eucharist. Those pictures should be arriving in about 2 weeks.
After the group pictures we took some quick pictures with Fr. Jan. Catherine was exhausted by this point and didn't want to cooperate with picture taking. I told my father-in-law to just take them. "Just ignore Catherine and take the pictures! I don't care how she looks!" Actually, she doesn't care for Father Jan. He knows this and asked to hold her right before the pictures. This really upset her. He was trying not to laugh in the photos.

When we were leaving the church Anna said, "Every Sunday I've always wanted to go to communion. I can't believe I get to go every Sunday now! Its nice that I'll get such a special snack during mass. My stomach sometimes growls during mass."

Such deep thoughts! LOL!

So the pictures were taken, Catherine's diaper changed, and she settled in for a quick nap on the way to Macaroni's. It was a small gathering of just my sister's family, my parents, and Craig's parents. But it was perfect! It was so nice to not have anyone exhausted from driving in from out of town. We stayed for over 2 hours and must have been the rowdiest table in the place! Good thing we were there during non-peak hours.

Enjoy the pictures.

Craig's parents and my favorite in laws!!

My sweetie with my father. Craig and my dad are hilarious when they sit next to each other!

My two favorite men!!

The "promised cake" that got me through mass.

Anna with her Abuello and Grandpa.

Anna with her Grandma.

Anna with Abuello and Abuella, my parents.

Don't ask me why I'm holding olive oil! LOL! I think I meant to pour some into a dish?? Click on the picture to see my sister. She didn't want to be photographed but we snuck her in!!

Anna with her uncle and two cousins.

Opening Presents:

Anna was the envy of her sisters with her last two gifts. My sister gave her an angel waterglobe. My mother gave her a jewelery box with a picture of Our Lady of Grace on the top. It plays "Ave Maria" when wound up.