Thursday, May 9, 2019

Cora's First Communion

Cora Clare 

Cora had her first communion on April 28, 2019.  She was very very upset prior to this day about having to wear this dress (that Minette, Brittany, Megan, and Marissa all wore) and I wasn't sure how it would go.  But that day she decided to make the best of it (like Cora always does) and she was sweet as can be and oh so proud of herself!  We are proud of her too.  She worked through a workbook with Gil and I and learned all about the Eucharist (thanksgiving!).  We had it at Briar Cliff again like Jude's.  And after she had made chocolate chip cookies that she passed out to our family.  All grandparents came plus the Picks and Alissa and twins.  Thanks Baby Bryn for waiting a little while to be born so Grandma and Grandpa Ridenour could be there!



The kids...

the family
Body of Christ!

MY birthday!

So I was thinking recently that I always post about the kids' birthdays, but never about my own!  I turned 37 a few weeks ago and as I was thinking back on my past birthdays I couldn't remember much about any of them...sad face!  I actually really love birthdays because it is about celebrating a person's life just for the sake of their life!  Not for anything they accomplished or anything they can do or have done.  Just for being them.  So anyway, I am going to try to start recording my birthday and even Gil's birthday (even though he hates his birthday!) and maybe even other important days like Easter that I just did or Mother's Day coming up or most important:  OUR ANNIVERSARY!

So let's go!  Like I said, 37 this year.  I recently commented to some friends that we are almost 40 and I immediately took it back.  WE ARE NOT ALMOST 40!  But the thing is I have been looking forward to 40 ever since I realized that the older I get the more myself I am and the more I don't care so much what other people think.  And I am looking forward to living into that more and more.  Anyhoo, back to my birthday.  It was a crazy week and a crazy weekend.  My birthday fell on a Saturday and Gil had a Briar Cliff event that morning plus probably field work that night and then Cora's first communion (oooh another big event!) was the next day.  Also, my cousin Tori's MS walk was in Sioux City that morning too.  So we decided to do the Briar Cliff service project together and take Jude and Cora along too.  We had to get up extra early, but it was so worth it because we spent about two hours learning about hunger and packing meals for an organization called Mercy Meals.  It was a great thing to do as a family and so good for the kids to learn about hunger and living conditions in other parts of the world.  It ended up being a cold rainy and windy morning so the MS walk actually got cancelled.  Plus no field work...which meant a trip to Target!!!  I did have Gil and Jude and Cora with me, so that put a damper on it (my husband with me in a store makes me nervous!), but I did end up finding a cute pair of jeans plus a new shirt and cardigan.  Then we grabbed some Chick-fil-A on the way home and had the rest of the afternoon to relax at home together.  I think I made Gil watch an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisle with me that night.  I started it the night before when Gil was somewhere...???  Oh yes, the night before he had a mass at Briar Cliff for the president's inauguration and then he took Jude to see Avengers: End Game for his birthday present.  They had a blast.  Anyway I started watching this new show on my free month of Amazon Prime and it is awesome!  By the creator of Gilmore Girls, need I say more?!?!

So that was 37.  Not too shabby!

Oh, I have no pictures.  No one takes a picture of you opening your zero presents or eating your non-existent cake on your 37th birthday:(  However, Gil got me a beautiful plant for the planter, my mom and dad got me some spending cash for the trip to San Diego I just went on, and John and Carolyn got me a Target gift card.  Thanks all!  Oh, and we had root beer floats that night.  Yum!