Marianne Elizabeth Ita

Marianne received the sacrament of Confirmation this weekend. I can't really wrap my head around having a child old enough for me to write that sentence, but time marches on whether we want it to or not.

As mentioned previously, Marianne asked Mary to be her Confirmation sponsor, and chose St. Ita as her patron saint. The class had a retreat on Thursday, and a couple rehearsals leading up to the day, all of which helped to alleviate her nerves. Still, the first thing she told me when she got up Saturday was, "I'm not going..." though she knew full well she was. The poor girl. I prayed hard during the mass that the Holy Spirit would pour out his gift of courage (fortitude) on her, along with all the other gifts of the Spirit.

Curls, courtesy of cousin Sara. So glad she was able to take over and save me the time! Plus, she knows way more about these things than I do.

I only have a couple photos of the event, also courtesy of Sara who braved the packs of parents up front to snap them, but I'm hopeful I'll be able to update soon with more. A couple of class dads who are wonderful photographers appeared to be stationed on either side of the church, documenting the mass in great detail. I look forward to them sharing their photos!

Nathaniel was asked to be an acolyte. It was his first time serving at a mass with the bishop (not counting as an altar server in high school). I like that the altar servers, lector, acolytes and ushers all tend to be family members of the students. It makes it a very family-oriented celebration.

 

Mary said that when Marianne walked up to be confirmed, she looked pretty terrified, but she got through it. Shortly after, I discovered she was one of the three students carrying up the gifts. She hadn't bothered to tell us she'd be doing so. That's very like her.

My parents, my grandma Sara, Aunt Carolyn, Sara and Elizabeth all drove up to spend the weekend with us, celebrating. We had a lunch reception after mass. We did everything possible ahead of time, then my mom ran the final set up just after mass, while Mary and our family went down for the little cake reception in the church basement, and the photo ops with Bishop Conley.

I chose fire colored flowers to lend some color to the party, and filled vases with red, orange and yellow candies to supplement the beautiful cookies I ordered for dessert.

If you're local, and you need really lovely cookies, check out Cara Bella Cookies. Cara is the sister of a friend of mine, and her cookies are gorgeous and delicious. (I was not paid for this ad, I just love cookies. We used her for Rachel's baptism, as well.)

Lunch was pulled pork and shredded beef sandwiches, veggies, a Waldorf-style salad and chips. Simple and yummy. I cooked up crock pots full of meat a few weeks ago, then froze it for the party. I don't know quite what I was thinking, but I made enough for a small army. There was plenty left for lunch the next day for us and our out-of-towners, and for several additional meals for us. Sweet! Pulled pork tacos, here we come...

Cousin party! I only set up the one table for the kids. The rest of us ate on our laps, and I had some wooden tv-trays scattered around so people could set down drinks and plates.

We were extremely flattered to have Bishop Conley stop by after a lunch reception given for him and the other priests at the rectory. Nathaniel had dropped him a note inviting him, but saying that of course we understood he probably had a full day. He replied that he'd have to play the afternoon by ear. When he popped in for a brief visit, we were surprised and honored. What a special gift to Marianne, to receive an extra blessing from the Bishop on her Confirmation day!