The Books I'm Going to Read This Summer (Basically, I'm Delusional)

I identify myself as "a reader" but the truth is, I used to be a reader.  I rarely read anything independently or for myself anymore, meaning I read to my kids and for my kids.  But because reading used to be a big part of who I was and what I did, I still believe that I read a lot.  Especially in the summer.  I get all sucked into the must-read summer reading lists of bloggers and I start ordering books from the library like I did in the old days.  I genuinely believe that I'll be reading what I take out of the library in the coming months.  I maintain a fixed and false belief (that I am a reader) even when confronted with facts that speak otherwise.  That is the definition of delusional.  And that is me.  

The past several summers I have done very limited reading.  Experience tells me I will not read these books this summer and yet...

I can't let go of the fact that I'm not a reader anymore.  I just can't admit that it isn't a priority for me anymore or that it's not possible for me right now.  

So here it is the first week of June and I have my summer reading list all lined up!!!

Abandonment to Divine Providence, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, SJ

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas, Stephanie Barron

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor 

Bruno, Chief of Police: A Novel of the French Countryside, Martin Walker

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, Marie Kondo


What are you going to read this summer??

A Gently Structured Summertime

We do well with structure.  Even in the summer.  There, I said it.  If we have too many days in a row with no routine or plan or advanced expectations, things can go south pretty quickly.  I lose my patience quicker than usual, and the kids are less likely to keep themselves occupied and play well together if they've been left to their own devices for days and days in a row without order or routine.  

So... summertime.  I've been gently structuring it for the past several summers with much success.  And the measure of success here is sanity saved.  Sanity is important, especially during the months of squirt guns, mud pies, and sunscreen in the eyes.  Another of the benefits of coming up with a plan for the summer is that I'm less likely to let all the days slip by without accomplishing some of the things that are best accomplished while the calendar is free and clear.  

I say that I "gently"  structure the summer and that I have a "flexible" plan of what I'd like to accomplish, because after all, it's still summer vacation.  And childhood is, to a great deal, lived out in the freedom and possibility and adventure afforded by summer days.  We definitely try to balance things here, because structure is good for our family, and freedom to explore and play are good for the souls and characters and bodies of my kids.  (In fact, I do pretty well with a little exploration and play, too!)  

I've spent some recent evenings jotting down my thoughts for the summer.  Here's what we're going to do...

BOOKISH PLANS -- 

Read aloud time - hopefully every day, but more realistically, every other day.  The boys and I will read The Last Battle to finish The Chronicles of Narnia this summer!  The girls and I will read Little House on the Prairie.

      
We're going to listen to a few things we have on Audible too... The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright,  The Moffats, by Eleanor Estes , and a few other books that all the kids can enjoy together.  (Need some budget listening ideas for the summer?? Here's my list of classics under $6 on Audible.)
   

Summertime Author Binging. (picture books from the library) - During the year, we often book binge by topic, but during breaks I love to to author binge.  If we've enjoyed a picture book by a particular author or illustrator, we'll request everything we can by that author from the library and read through all the books.  We've found a lot of treasures and family favorites this way, so I'm looking forward to sharing with you some of what we uncover this summer!

INTENTIONAL ENTERTAINMENT / SCREEN TIME --

There are plenty of rainy days and hot evenings in summer that are perfect for family movie viewing.  Last summer we weren't very intentional about what we watched and it felt like a missed opportunity to do some special memory-making.  

Last summer we read about the American Revolution and had watched a few episodes of Liberty's Kids .  We're in the process of finishing that series now.   If you don't have Liberty's Kids, stop reading this right now, click here, and go buy it.  Right now.  It's great and it's only $5 for the complete series.  I'm serious.  

We're not huge Disney animation fans here, but I'm thinking about letting the kids watch Tangled after hearing some good reviews from friends.  We're also planning on our first family viewing of The Princess Bride which I'm very excited about!  (Incidentally, it too, is also only $5 on DVD :) )  

When the boys and I finish reading The Last Battle, I think we'll get the audio version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for a refresher, and then let them watch the movie for the first time.  Until now we've felt it was too intense and scary for them, but I think with some advanced prep, they might be ready for it this summer.  I have similar thoughts about the original Star Wars Trilogy, too.  We may watch them with the boys, with lots of pausing to explain and discuss.  Haven't totally decided on these yet, though.  Still mulling...


CRAFTY ACTIVITIES and SUCH --

A few summers ago I picked out five or six projects from Pinterest, bought all the supplies at the beginning of the summer and we did one project every other week or so.  I might try this again - the best part about it was having all the stuff already on hand.  When a day arrived and it "felt" like a crafty day, I didn't have to sit at the computer trying to find some project to do and I didn't have to run around like a crazy person trying to find materials because I had all supplies for the projects I had pre-selected. 


SUMMERTIME BINGO --

No part of this is my creation.  My dear friend introduced me to summertime BINGO a few years ago and today I typed out our third summer of BINGO boards.  A lot of what I have on our boards comes straight from her - even the rewards are her idea!  If she ever gets a blog (*hint, hint*) you can be sure I'll give you links to the source of all this genius.

The awesome thing about summertime BINGO is you get to decide what your kids will focus on over the summer -- Math drills?  Practice tying shoes?  Helping with younger siblings?  Physical fitness?  Piano practice?  BINGO cards can be customized for each child.  And if a child completes a board early in the summer, a second board can be customized to focus on different things during the rest of vacation.  

Our boards don't include too much school work since the kids will be doing lessons over the summer anyway.  I tend to focus on helping a little extra around the house, playing with siblings, and independent activities.  

Here's what we're working with this summer... (sorry for the ghe-tOH photos and lack of printables, etc...  I just wanted to get this post done with so I could start on my crocheting for the evening ;) It would be awesome if you're reading this on a big screen and you can actually decipher some of the ideas...)

ENRICHMENT and TRADITIONS --

June - we do strawberry picking and jam making

July - we do blueberry picking and jam making (and make blueberry muffins for the garbage men)

August - we go to the County Fair on the first day when it's cheap cheap cheap.  It's our thing :)

all summer - explore and splash in creeks, keep our tiny herb and vegetable gardens, take nature walks 

this summer we're going to use some of our CSA bounty and learn how to make our own pickles!  

and finally, SCHOOL LESSONS -- 

We've always done lessons through the summer and I suspect we always will.  We usually take a few weeks off here and there, and when we are doing school, and daily lessons are short, so don't worry - they're actually getting plenty of free time outside despite the list you see here :)

Everyone will:

* Re-listen to Story of the World, Volume 1  The boys covered this in history over the past year, so we'll listen to it again to hopefully "cement" some of it, and also because it's good and the kids love it.  We typically listen to this when we're in the car. (Maybe start Vol. 2??) 

* Review and master the songs and maps for the Middle East/Southwest Asia and Southern Europe.  Begin to learn the song and map for the British Isles and Western Europe.  

* learn some Latin Prayers (this was on my plan for last summer but we never got to it.)

* Memorize two new poems for Popcorn and Poetry Night (PPN 2014).  This year, I'm using these poetry CD's as well as the books I mentioned in this post (PPN 2013).
      Classic Poems for Boys 
      Classic Poems for Girls  
      Favourite Poems for Children 


Individual plans:

FOR AARON
- Math (finish Math -U- See Gamma book)
- Handwriting (including letters to his pen pal)
- Start All About Spelling, Level 2


FOR DOMINIC
- Math (finish Math-U-See Alpha book, drill facts, and please God, please, start Beta.)
- Handwriting (with this insane pencil gripper he got from an O.T.)
- Reading (still using and loving the Books to Remember series from Flyleaf Publishing)
- begin to memorize the grammar chants from Shurley English, Level 4


FOR RUTH:
- Math (continue in Math-U-See Primer)
- Handwriting 
- Continue working through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
- begin to memorize the grammar chants from Grammar Songs  or First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Audio CD (haven't decided yet)  


I've also selected some new Apps for the kids to use this summer - you know, for all that learning-disguised-as-fun that parents are into these days.  Summer is the perfect time to try out new Apps and learn new games.  Buuuuuut, you'll have to wait for another post for those juicy tidbits!  I promise to share all my favorite educational apps and games soon :)  

Do you provide any structure to your summer?  What do you have planned for your kiddos this year?  

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and shopping to support my Amazon addiction my family :)

Summer -- Time to Ramp Things Up, Homeschool Mom!

Dear Friend and Fellow Homeschooling Mom, 

I was flattered that you turned to me in your recent confusion and uncertainty, but I admit I wasn't too surprised to get your Facebook request for summer activity ideas for kids.  You're not alone.  Every year around May I start to ponder the changes that we'll make now that the end of the official school year is nigh and summer is nearly upon us.  

Summer brings a lot of changes for homeschooling families, and it's the moms who typically have to make the most adjustments to survive.  It's not just the temperature and humidity levels that are fluctuating -- schedules change, expectations change, work load changes.  School year to summertime can be a tricky transition to navigate, so don't feel like you're alone in your confusion about how to handle these next several weeks.

First and foremost, it's important to look back on the past year and take stock of all you've accomplished in your homeschool.  For the past nine months or so, your primary responsibilities have included lounging on the couch in your pajamas, checking Facebook, keeping your sleepy eyelids open just enough to determine if what's going on around you is Instagram-worthy, scanning Pinterest for recipes involving chocolate and peanut butter, perusing homeschool curriculum catalogs for all the latest get-smart-quick materials for next year, and texting your friends to set up homeschool mom get-togethers (for socialization's sake).  

And your children have been working hard too.   They've had a very busy year of unschooled interest-pursuing and free range adventuring.  

It's no wonder you feel like you're ready for a change come June!  Your reports to the school district are due soon and you're starting to piece together the picture that is the last year - you've hardly done anything at all!!  

So, come on!  Get out of those pajamas, get off that couch, and get your family ready for the best summer vacation yet!  

Here are some of the things I suggest focusing on to get you and the kids out of the old homeschooling rut:

ALARM CLOCKS make for Early Risers!  And I'm not talking about a gentle-approach alarm clock.  It's the summer; the sun doesn't waste any time rising in the summer, neither should your kids.  It's up an at 'em.  An alarm clock like this one should prove that point.  There's no lounging in bed when this baby is buzzing.  Not only will your sweet little ones be startled from their pillows, they'll also get in their first task of the day - precision hand-eye coordination practice.  

CHORE CHARTS for efficiency and self-discipline. Focus on products that emphasize responsibility, duty, and household contribution.  Don't waste your money on chore charts that offer the opportunity to earn credits, or promise rewards, or have visual incentives like silver star stickers, or offer suggestions of "praise words" for encouragement.  Chores are work.  Work done well is by its very nature its own reward.  If your children absolutely must have some sort of reward or incentive to complete their household work you can remind of the obvious: Dinner.  Dinner is the incentive to get your chores done.  

RIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:  You've spent a lot of the past year letting your kids be kids.  They've done plenty of sensory playing in the sandbox, inventing new and interesting hopscotch games, and wrestling in the basement without any clearly defined rules or boundaries.  It's time to reign in that child-like energy and enthusiasm and teach focus and technique.  Put away the pogo sticks, Sit n' Spins, and dodgeballs and consider real options like pull ups and squat thrusts, or perhaps weight lifting, or using something like these for a "sensational calorie-burning, coordination-building, leg-strengthening workout."

INTENSE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT:  This is where you probably really have to ramp things up after the school year comes to and end.  The summer affords mothers and children copious amounts of free time to dedicate toward expanding educational horizons and delving into new topics hard core.  Leave behind your expectations of getting caught up in the math book, neatening up on handwriting, or regularly reviewing spelling words.  (That's what you were supposed to be doing during the actual school year, after all...)  My recommendation is to do your kids a favor and get them ahead.  Everyone knows that kids today need to know how to speak a foreign language, or three or four, to be successful in their future careers.  Check out the programs for really useful languages like Farsi, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.  OR, solidify your child's prestige and your family's future wealth by schooling your child in a nearly extinct language, like Mulluckmulluck or Ho-Chunk.  You truly can't go wrong with those options.  Summer is also the time to get your liberal arts kids STEM-ed.  Calculus for Kids, Pre-Med for Munchkins, and Quantum Physics for Your Cuties are some programs you might want to consider.  

LIMITED SCREEN TIME and EARLY BED TIME:  Following my guidelines for a successful summer break will leave your kids little time for TV, movies, and video games.  You will have given their brains and bodies such a healthy workout, they'll practically be begging you to go to bed early in the evenings.  It's not uncommon for kids on my summer system to flat-out refuse screen time even when it's offered to them from 8:00 - 8:07 on Tuesday evenings.  There's just so much positive learning, character development, and physical conditioning happening that most students come to appreciate the detrimental side effects of entertainment.  (Plus they're burned out from all the Liberty's Kids and Bill Nye they were force fed during the year...)  An  early bedtime will ensure that your kids are ready to be up and at 'em again the next morning and it affords Mom the two to three hours she needs to prep for the next day's lessons before she hits the hay herself.  

It's really quite simple.  You've been doing the "homeschool" thing for the past year and now it's time to do the "vacation" thing.  So, if you've started counting down the days till summer, be sure you start planning out the ways to make summer count ;)  

Happy June!  

Crochet Afghan Repair

Remember how last year I made my first crochet blanket?  It was my first large-scale project, and I love that blanket.

Back in March, the unthinkable happened.  One of my children pointed out that it had a hole in it.  A man-made hole.  Who are we kidding... "child-made" would be the appropriate terminology in this case.  Someone struggling with curiosity and self-control snipped my afghan with a pair of child-safe scissors, which, if you were wondering, most certainly are sharp enough to cut yarn.  

I almost cried, but I didn't.  I had already had some other discouraging news that day and didn't feel like crying (or yelling) about something that was done and done.  My face visibly showed my sorrow to my kids though.  I silently folded up the blanket and put it in the first bag I could find - an ALDI bag with handles.  That was probably my first post scissor-disaster mistake.  But I was in shock and wasn't thinking clearly. 

Today I decided two months was long enough for that thing to sit around, damaged, and totally useless.  I missed my blanket, and even though I was nervous to try the repair, I'd certainly never use that afghan again if I didn't at least try.  

I only found one Pinterest item on repairing crochet blankets that suited my needs and I dove in...  I pulled the blanket out of the bag.  UGH!!!  It stunk!  It smelled like urine.  Why did I leave it that bag all those weeks??  Why didn't I sniff the bag before I put my handiwork in there?? (really?? ;) )  Why did that bag smell like urine in the first place??  (that's a stupid question with a mostly obvious answer that is better left unspoken...)

The first thing I did was the scariest part.  I had to make the hole bigger.  I carefully picked out stitches, trying to leave the row above the damaged row as in tact as possible. Once I had pulled out all the loose threads, I pulled out each end of the hole so that the "tails" were long enough for me to work with.  Here's the original hole and then the expanded one...

I tied on a new piece of yarn and tried to figure out the best way to replace the missing row while connecting it to the row above at the same time.  

I'm sure there's a better way to do this than the method I ended up using, but here's what I did...

I inserted my hook in the loop of the last stitch, then before beginning the double crochet I put it through the two loops hanging down from each stitch in the row above.  Hard to explain, but the arrows here point to the loops I'm speaking about.  

Once the hook was through those, I did yarn over, insert hook, pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through the first two loops, yarn over and pull through the four loops on the hook (two of which are the bottom of the stitch from the row above.  This completed the row while anchoring it to the row above.  If I were ever to try a repair again, I might try to just crochet the damaged row first and then slip stitch it to the row above as the means of attaching them...  I don't know...

Finally, I made sure to securely tie off the ends and weave them in very well.  

The results aren't pretty, but I really don't care -- my afghan is usable again!! (just as soon as I Febreeze it, or toss it in the dryer with a scented dryer sheet or something...)  I don't know why I didn't do it sooner; it wasn't as scary as I had made it out to be in my head. 

Today's a bit of a chilly day, so my plans to celebrate my first successful repair involve hot tea, a new episode of Gran Hotel, and cuddling up in my first crocheted and first repaired blanket!  

"Pondered All These Things In Her Heart" (Embrace the Ordinary vol. 21??)

It has been so long since I've joined Gina for week of Embrace the Ordinary.  But I'm living my ordinary life every day here, so I might as well celebrate it with a blog post :)

There was a time a few months ago when I stepped away from Facebook for two or three weeks.  I only checked it occasionally, and commented on friends posts and photos, but I didn't post anything myself.  

The things I usually post are the silly things my kids say, the exasperating things that they do, the milestones they reach.  I remember a day when Clare said something out-of-this-world cute, and my first thought was, "I'm putting that on Facebook."  I was about to do it right away but stopped.  When did it become a need in me to remind the world how adorable three year olds are?  And my three year old in particular?  

Why was I so compelled to convince everyone how funny, wonderful, cute, etc... my children are?  Isn't the most important thing that I embrace those things?   The quiet moments at home  - when they flub a word, fall on their bum, or put pencils in the freezer to see what will happen - those don't have to be for everyone.  Those sweet moments, the silly faces, the baby's first words, the bear hugs and tender kisses, the hysterical things they say ----- they're for me.  

I thought immediately of Mary when at the Presentation of our Lord, heard the the words of Simeon and "pondered all these things in her heart."  I spent the next few weeks trying to let go of my need to "share" all the Facebook-worthy childhood moments and instead "ponder them in my heart."  

After a few weeks of intentionally keeping the sweet moments for myself, I started to feel like I held a secret treasure deep in my mother's heart.  I had a renewed appreciation for my children and all their antics and all the life and love and joy and craziness they bring to our home - and it wasn't measured by the number of Facebook "likes."  It was a fullness of my heart and a spirit of gratitude for the gifts that my children are to me.  

So... in a funny twist whereby I end this post about "keeping things to myself" and "pondering them all in my heart," I share with you two sweet moments that happened during those few weeks.  These little videos are perfectly representative of the type of moments that I've been holding dear.   I'm sharing these with you as a glimpse of the ordinary moments of motherhood I've been embracing.  But I still have a treasure trove of ordinary moments that I'm holding close -- they're just for me to ponder and love <3

I was cooking dinner and stepped out of the kitchen and couldn't find James when I came back in...

The house was a disaster, dinner was taking forever to make, and Clare was just drawing and singing Soon and Very Soon...

Ten Things of Thankful (my first one, but it's the 100th week!)

I've been reading Christine's blog, A Fly on Our Chicken Coop Wall (doesn't that name just make you want to go see what it's all about?!), for the past few months now and have come to look forward to her Ten Things of Thankful each week.  It's an opportunity to intentionally seek out the good and to be grateful for the blessings that might be otherwise overlooked.  

I'm so happy to join in this week, and even though it's my first time linking up, it's Christine's 100th week of hosting!  So head on over and check out all that she and many other lovely bloggers have to be thankful for!  

[one] I'm so in love with the way spring just explodes so gloriously each year!  And we haven't even had that much rain and mud this year!! -- knock on wood... or laptop... or whatever.)  

[two] I already wrote about this but it's worth mentioning again... I'm so grateful for the joy and privilege of celebrating my oldest son's First Holy Communion last month.  It was a wonderful experience!

[three] I get to go to a blogger's conference next weekend!  It's a tiny, mostly informal affair, but I get to go and meet friends I've only known on-line so far.  Despite my hermit-like introverted tendencies, I'm actually looking forward to it!

[four] It's sort of hard to believe it, but I've been on the Trim Healthy Mama journey for two months now!  I'm so incredibly thankful for my husband who has been so supportive.  He's also been quite the sport when it comes to searching for heretofore unfamiliar food items in the grocery store - like liquid aminos, apple cider vinegar, and coconut oil.  Thanks for being awesome, Babe!  

[five] for warm weather and kids being kids outside...

ummm... not sure why this photo looks like this instead of portrait-style and regular proportions...
but you get the idea :)

[six] for friends who, on the not so warm days, have opened the gym at their church for  our kids to run around, be with friends, and expend energy.  Such. a. blessing.

[seven]  for time spent with good friends on a hike, and finding a spot to swing on vines... because vines were meant to be swung on :)  

[eight] for the wonderful employee at JoAnn's who didn't blow off my inquisitive children when they asked about the embroidery machine, and who spent lots of time letting us watch and teaching us how it worked... 

[nine] for my sister who works hard at healing me of the "takes self too seriously" syndrome.

sister.  me.

[ten] for reminders all around that God is good, life is blessed, and it's worth taking the time to really consider the bounty we have been give. 

My *First* First Communicant (How He Received Jesus and I Was Granted a Desire of My Heart)

My oldest child received his First Holy Communion last month!  The best and most important thing about that day was obviously the gift of Jesus himself, given to my son in the Eucharist for the first time.  Obviously.  My heart was overflowing with emotion - joy, pride, humbleness, gratitude -  at the immensity of the intimate moment between my Lord and my son.  But my heart was filled with a different kind of happiness as well, for we were able to celebrate his First Communion in the way that I had long desired.

The story sort of begins several years ago when I had very emphatically urged my husband to agree with me - we had to change parishes.  I had my "serious" reasons for leaving and he had his "serious" reasons for staying.  I couldn't persuade him and eventually made my peace with the fact that this was a decision for him to make as the head of our family.  I would follow his lead in obedience and not pester him about it again.  I had no idea at the time that remaining in our current parish would play a role in having a future prayer of my heart answered...

Because then the story begins again last year when we were given permission, albeit hesitantly, from our parish Director of Lifelong Faith Formation to prepare Aaron ourselves for his First Confession  (as opposed to sending him to religious education at the church.)  At that time I had also asked if there was any chance he could receive his First Communion that year as well - a year earlier than usual, as our parish reserves First Communion for third graders. Sort of selfishly, I suppose, I wanted my children to be able to receive the sacraments when we thought they were reasonably ready, not according to the parish timetable based on age instead of individual readiness.  It seemed to me that my request was evaded for a while and then eventually denied, and I was given the impression that it was a decision that came from our new pastor.  I was disappointed, but didn't pursue it, primarily because Aaron himself didn't seem too eager to jump from one new sacrament into the next, but also because we liked the new pastor, and felt that perhaps we were being called to practice patience and dying to our own desires through deference and obedience to his leadership.

  

While it still nagged at me,  it had become an issue about which I could do nothing.  Within the course of the next year there was a new Director in the Faith Formation Office, and we received the letters reminding us of all the expectations and meeting dates, etc... for the kids receiving First Confession and First Communion in the new year.  I grumbled and rolled my eyes, and grudgingly went to the first scheduled meeting for parents of the First Communicants.  My husband and I had decided, after all, that we would defer to our parish on the matter of the sacraments and would honor the decisions our pastor made on the matter.  In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have been so grumbly about leaving the house for that first meeting - you know, modeling cheerful obedience and all for my kids ;)

To make a long story short (sort of), that meeting proved to be an answer to prayer.  The new Director surprised me with his encouragement, faithfulness, and enthusiasm, but he really got my attention when, toward the end of the meeting he said something like, "And if you're out of town the weekend of the First Communion, that's not a problem at all.  Fr. M__ and I agree wholeheartedly that our parish operates on a "readiness model" and your sons and daughters will be able to receive the sacraments when they're ready.  If that's not the scheduled First Communion weekend, that is fine."  What?!?!?!  Did he just address one of the deepest desires of my heart in a let's-wrap-up-this-meeting off-handed remark?  I introduced myself to him afterward, assured him I'd love to hear more about that "readiness model," and told him I'd be in touch.  I'm pretty sure I went out to my car in the church parking lot singing God's praises out loud that night -- our pastor and I actually wanted the same thing for my children!   

Both Aaron and Dominic have since received sacraments according to their readiness.  Dominic made his First Confession the first weekend of Lent and Aaron received his First Communion the first Sunday after Easter.   Both occasions brought me so much joy, for in addition to being occasions of immeasurable outpouring of grace upon my sons, the sacraments were celebrated just how I believed was perfect for our family.

Since we homeschool and provide our own religious instruction at home, the 40 some other children in the First Communion class were not friends of Aaron's.  I think making his First Communion among a crowd of children he didn't know would have been much less meaningful for him and our whole family, than perhaps for the other boys and girls who were excited about receiving the sacrament with their friends.  I was much happier having Aaron surrounded at his First Communion by the men, women, children, and families we see each weekend at Mass.

That morning before Mass (Divine Mercy Sunday, no less!), our pastor greeted us and told us more than once how much he was in favor of families "presenting their children for the sacraments" before the community and celebrating in this way!  He chatted with Aaron and our other children, congratulated Aaron and fed his excitement a little before Mass began.  Father announced at the beginning Mass that it was Aaron's First Communion and invited our family to go up before the rest of the congregation for Communion.  Aaron received lots of love and congratulations from the community afterwards.  He received a card from our Mass friend, Mrs. Trudy, and even was given some small cash gifts from people we don't know very well!  We took his picture with the pastor and our deacon.  We had a small brunch at home afterward to celebrate, much like we do every Sunday after Mass, but this time there was cake!  And that was it.  As far as I was concerned, it was perfect.  Aaron was ready to receive the sacrament, and he did in a way that suited our family, and was special to him and our community. 

I am still praising and thanking God that it happened this way.  I couldn't have planned it better.  Truly, there was no planning involved; it was an answer to prayer that was a also a lesson in obedience and patience.  

There was no pious prayer-hands posing for this kid ;)