Communion Photo Shoot

As you know, MadHatter had her first Communion last Sunday (click here to see the pictures).  I knew that the day of the ceremony was going to be hectic and I probably wouldn't have time to take her portraits so a few weeks before the actual ceremony I helped her get dressed, drove her to the church and captured this very important moment in time.  She was so happy to pose for me (I am not kidding when I say that almost all of the poses she thought of herself) and she looked absolutely gorgeous...though I am not sure what happened to the baby girl we baptized seemingly yesterday.
I hope you enjoy them - I know we had a lot of fun together doing them...

First Holy Communion

For the past 9 months, MadHatter has religiously been attending RE classes at our St. Thomas Church here in the city center.  RE stands for religious education  (I'm pretty punny, aren't I?) and the classes prepare the children for receiving their first communion.  It is a pretty intense period as the kids are expected to learn the 10 commandments, understand the difference right and wrong, define what is a sin and even be able to explain what their conscience is.  They also have to prepare a reading that they do in front of the congregation, memorize the Act of Contrition, the Hail Mary and Our Father, and learn how to properly make a confession.  Like I said, it is pretty intense.

Throughout the entire process, MadHatter has really taken ownership of her education.  She has been studious, and interested, and very involved in the learning.  She practiced her prayers and learned her readings and did her homework without any much prodding/reminding/pleading from us.  She learned to apply what she learned on Sunday's to her life outside of the church and she became an integral part of her church community.  B and I were very proud of how she took on this huge undertaking and never once complained or asked to skip class.  In fact, she was usually disappointed when we had a week or two off for holidays.

This past weekend, all of her hard work paid off.  She participated, with her whole class, in receiving her first communion, the 3rd of 7 sacraments.  The first was her baptism, which MadHatter was lucky enough have celebrated in her Papa's church back in Caracas when she was still a baby, and in April, she completed her second sacrament, The Act of Penance, by reciting the Act of Contrition and making her first confession.  (I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall to hear what an 8-year-old considers a sin).  On Sunday, she completed her third when she took communion in front of the congregation.

She was a bit nervous that she and her communicants would be the center of attention for the whole service but the nerves were offset by her excitement.  She could hardly contain herself as we got her ready.  And as we were walking through the streets to get to the church, she couldn't stop smiling at all the people that paused to wish her luck and take her picture.  She was a sight to behold.  And when she met up with her friends, you could almost feel the energy buzzing around them - they were very ready for this!  And they rocked it.  The ceremony was sweet and went off without a hitch - well, except for the fact that the wine was spilled all down the front of MadHatter's dress.  Thankfully it was white wine. 

Congratulations on your big day! We are proud of you beyond measure.

A, MadHatter and L-M are all in the same grade at ISP.  I am so glad that they got to do this together.

Congratulations to all of the Communicants!

Fun on the Farm

This past Saturday, we were lucky enough to be invited to celebrate the 7th birthday of a good friend.  As J is a lover of animals (especially piggies) and is very active in pony vaulting her party was held at the farm that she rides at twice a week.

We held the guinea pigs and rode the horses (even trying our hand at pony vaulting).  We even got to groom the horses!  We learned some new dances, painted a silk scarf and fed the horses and baby piggies.  We celebrated with cake and a very special happy birthday played by sax.  What fun we had!  Thanks for including us J - we hope 7 brings you nothing but joy!