A Half Dozen -

"Catchings Up"

(Early April, 2013)

First, Easter Celebrations Pictures...

1) We had the big Holy Thursday Mass at our parish with procession last week, of course.  Michelle went to Denver to spend Easter with my parents and siblings (and a slew of her friends), so it was only Theresa, Cathy, and Anna adding Davis voices to the choir (and they sounded lovely!).  As you see below, Anna did double duty, though, also participating in the procession...

  bringing up the rear behind William -- who, being the shortest by far, led the rest of the processors...

 right behind Gabriel -- who was serving as torch bearer -- on his very first outing as an altar boy!

Here he is, on the right, next to the altar rail.  

We were so proud of Gabriel; he did a great job!  Perfect, in fact.
But, still, after all these years, and four altar server sons besides Gabe --
who all started out as torch bearers -- it still amazes me that they trust these
 little guys to walk around carrying fire...
Their Guardian Angels are very much on guard, no doubt!

2) But, really the biggest news in the life of Gabriel this spring, is that he was finally
able to become and altar boy because he received his First Holy Communion
on Palm Sunday.  

Unfortunately, due to a ridiculous comedy of errors, this is the only picture -- taken with my phone after Mass.  Gabe didn't care, of course, whether I got pictures or not.  He was properly disposed! But, this Momma was a a twitter of a mess because neither of my cameras worked for the occasion.  ARGH!  I'm over it now, yes.  And the lingering impression of the Big Day is sweet.  I'm ashamed I was upset at the time! Gabe is such a good little guy; he was focused totally on what was important.  He's already working toward Confirmation now -- has his saint picked out and everything.  :0) There's no stopping this little  Catholic; he's already a soldier of Christ!

3) Fast forward to Easter:

Here they are -- the kiddos, after Midnight Easter Mass, which ended somewhere around 2:30 a.m. (Ugh.  Yaaaawwwwnnnnn...) See how chipper they all look, though?  Dan and I did not look so chipper.  (You'll notice we're not in the picture....)

But, the reason the children are looking so bright-eyed at 2:30 a.m.?  You can see it at left. The Easter Candy Bar.  We set all the goodies out Easter eve and everybody enjoyed from 2:30 a.m. Easter, until this morning when I bagged up what was left to freeze or store.  We'll take a little out once a week or so until it's gone.  Maybe.  It's not like any of us needs this stuff.  We started on a sugar rush in the wee hours of the morning Sunday that may last us until the 4th of July.

4)  After being complete sugar-sotted pigs and slugs (sligs? pugs?) for a couple of days, we decided we needed to clean up our act on Easter Tuesday, and had a Pride and Prejudice marathon (the long A&E version), with a tea party at the intermission.  Here, as promised earlier, are a couple photo clicks I slipped in between scones and English Breakfast tea...

Good job on the pinkies, Anna!

Cathy, scone baker par excellence! Also served: tomato
basil and chicken salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, blueberry scones with
lime curd and mock Devon cream, and coconut vanilla cheesecake.
It was all yummy!

All the tea party goers (minus the photographer and the little boys who were banished
to the back room with their own goodies for a "man party," wherein they wrestled
on the school room couch, watched Abbot and Costello, and got scone  crumbs
all over the floor.) L-R: Anna, Theresa, the Child Jesus, Cathy, and June.

And in other news...

5) This guy is coming home:

We are glad to get the Dominic-themes of the
house soundtrack back again, regardless. :0)

Because he's had a relapse of ill health, Dominic will be driving back to Colorado from Omaha this weekend. He's been unable to kick the Epstein Barr virus that's been plaguing him, and he's missed more of his classes than he's been able to make at the seminary, so we all agreed that it would be best in the long run for him to head home for another extended rest cure. We're determined to kick this thing once and for all through the rest of this spring and summer, and are looking at this "cure time" as just a slight setback.  Dominic says he has every intention of re-entering the Religious life again as soon as he gets a completely clean bill of health.  It's a difficult cross for him, this delay of all his hopes and plans, but he (and all of us) feel the hand of God in all of this.  Please keep Dominic in your prayers -- body, mind, and spirit?  We're so happy to have him home -- but then, we'll be so happy for him to leave and get on with his real goals!

6) And this guy is leaving home:

Apparently, Paul did such a good job in his training mission in Jordan the last time around, that the Marine Corps had to have him out there again.  Darn him for being so good at what he does!  He's taking his men back to the desert this Monday night, leaving Nicole and Gavin (who's two now -- and all of it!) back at Camp Pendleton.  This excursion is supposed to only take a month or so. We're all hoping that's true.  Since he returned from Afghanistan last summer, he's had to leave his family every six weeks or so for a month or more out on assignment or training exercises.  It'd be awfully nice for the Paul Davis family to have a decent length of time to enjoy one another, for heaven's sake!  Anyway...  Prayers, please please -- for his safety in that always-tense part of the world??  And that God will be good and get him home soon -- and for more than a month or two this time around?