Our First Communicant

Elizabeth celebrated her first communion on Saturday and I have never seen a little girl so excited. She counted down the days and then she counted down the hours. She practiced holding her hands correctly and saying, "Amen," with her goldfish almost every single day. She begged me to do more lessons with her in her first Eucharist preparation workbook. Watching her received Jesus for the first time as been an absolutely joyous experience.

Elizabeth and my mom began special preparations months ago on Elizabeth's dress. They perused dozens of first communion dresses online and using them as inspiration, designed Elizabeth's dress together. The whole process was such a joy for both of them: the designing, the sewing, the choosing of fabrics and embroidered details, the fittings--and the final reveal.

We even managed to use the occasion to get a family photo. I didn't get one at Easter so I didn't want to miss this opportunity. Gustin was so good during the entire first communion mass, but as soon as we pulled out the camera he turned into Mr. Grumpy.

I'm sure he's going to be teased for years to come about all the grumpy faced photos from when he was four-years-old!

Here's another photo from just before mass began.

He'll smile as long as he has his hands covering his face. Silly boy. You can't help but love this kid.

When I think back to Jonathan's first communion, I remember the intense feeling that my little boy had just grown up before my eyes. He even looked taller to me as he walked back to his seat after receiving the Body and Blood of Christ.

With Elizabeth, I will always remember the joy that flowed out of her so freely and abundantly and spilled over into the lives of her siblings, parents and grandparents. We are all so blessed to have this precious soul in our lives!