Junior's First Holy Communion

We had another red letter day in the Pearl family yesterday, when our second-oldest son's firstborn (who was named after him, and thereby has the handle "Junior" here at the blog) made his First Holy Communion. 

Don't you love this idea?!  They can take a picture of him holding this
picture when he gets confirmed; and then holding the Confirmation
picture when he gets married (or ordained!).

Junior is the oldest of five boys (with a tiny sister in Heaven), and he is the most patient, caring, loving big brother imaginable.  I have watched him in action with the younger ones, and he will definitely roughhouse and wrestle with them because, well...they're BOYS (and I don't care what people say about the two sexes being just alike, without society's interference; boys love--and need!--to roughhouse!  It's in their nature and it's good for them).  But he never goes overboard and always seems to be aware of his superior size and strength; he instinctively holds back just enough that it's still fun, but not dangerous.  Junior is a leader and the younger brothers all look up to him.

This sweet young fella might be all boy (active and sports-obsessed and competitive, and not at all averse to getting dirty), but he also has such a tender heart.  We were with him and his brothers at their house not quite a year ago, when the call came from the hospital that baby #5 was another boy.  His eyes immediately filled with tears--not because he minded having another brother in the family, but because he wanted his sister Monica (who passed away in utero in 2019, but is still very much a remembered and beloved member of his family) to have a sister.  It took lots of gentle encouragement from everyone who loves him to convince him that Monica would be just as thrilled with another brother as she would have been with a sister.  He kills me, that kid.

I think of sweet Monica, who is no doubt a tiny saint in Heaven, looking down on her ragamuffin crew of little men and loving them fiercely.  Junior and his four brothers have a mighty intercessor and protector up there.  And when the occasion calls for it, they sure do clean up nicely.  She must have been very proud of them yesterday.

XO

Especially of her oldest brother, Junior.

We weren't supposed to take pictures during Mass, so I have no shots of our sweet grandson reverently receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist.  But Papa and "ReeRee" got a picture with him afterward.

It is the greatest joy on earth to have so many much-adored grandchildren, and to see them being raised in the Faith by our boys and their wives.  God is so good.  We are blessed beyond measure.

Happy Sunday, dear readers!

Princesa's First Holy Communion

One of the great joys of having so many grandchildren is watching them receive their Sacraments.  So many Baptisms!  So many First Holy Communions!  What could be more wonderful?

Last Sunday, our little Princesa, the second-oldest child of our middle son, received the Body and Blood of Jesus for the very first time, and it was a beautiful day.

First of all, the blog name I picked for her surely fits, for she did indeed look like a princess in her lacy white First Communion finery.

Our sweet girl was very reverent and serious while receiving, and then after she got back to her seat, she folded her hands and bowed her head in prayer.

Then she looked up, with a joyful expression on her face--just the sort of expression one should have after receiving Our Lord for the very first time!

Princesa had both sets of her grandparents there for this very special event in her life.  My husband and I count our blessings all the time, knowing that not every grandparent is as lucky as we have been (especially since our move to VA, which makes us practically neighbors to so many of our beloved children and grandchildren!).

Along with her parents and four siblings, and the aforementioned four grandparents, our sweet First Communicant had lots of other family members there to share her big day as well: two sets of aunts and uncles, ten cousins, and one of her dad's cousins (who is also local and came with her hubby and three kids). We actually managed to get a photo of our whole group, which is nothing short of a miracle.

Afterward, we all went over to son #3's house and enjoyed a celebration for her, along with a very good friend of hers who was in her group of First Communicants that day.

I made the cake.  Her other grandmother made some of her famous decorated sugar cookies.

It couldn't have been more perfect.  God is so good!

And in less than two weeks, we'll get to do this all over again, when son #2's oldest boy makes his First Holy Communion.

It's a wonderful life.  Deo gratias!

Grandparents' Day, a Confirmation, Cousins, and a Cake

Well, it hasn't been QUITE a month yet since I last blogged (almost, but not quite!).  I left off with this post, from May 19, which chronicled a grandson's First Holy Communion and a Mother's Day celebration.  Lots has happened since then...lots that I haven't written about but I'd like to get down "on paper" here before too much more time has passed.

I actually forgot to mention another special event that occurred in May in that last post: Grandparents' Day at son #3's kids' Catholic school, which took place on May 12.  Their school is only about a 45-minute drive from where we live (I've said it before and I'll say it again, this move to VA in 2017 was the best decision we could have made), so we were able to arrive early and snag the best seats up front in the gym/auditorium.  (That way, when the kids looked out to see if we were there, we were easy to find!)  It was wonderful, but a bit crazy: when you have three students (grades JK, 1, and 2) and only two grandparents, it's hard to do all the things you want to do with each one, as each grade level has a different schedule of events.  But we did the best we could and our grandchildren seemed extremely happy that we came.  (Especially our JK cutie, who was literally jumping and dancing with joy.)

 

You may recall that in my next-to-last post, I blogged about a trip out to Iowa for a granddaughter's First Holy Communion in early May.  Well, that same granddaughter (8) and her sister (10), two of our oldest son's six children, were scheduled to be confirmed on May 21--in the same ceremony, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, WI, by Cardinal Burke.  So we went on another road trip!  We drove out to Iowa first, to spend a couple of days with our son's family.  On Sunday, we went to a traditional Latin Mass at their parish in the morning, and then we car-caravanned over to WI with them afterward for the Confirmation.  Our 8-year-old granddaughter, City Girl, had asked me to be her sponsor.  Her sister, Little Gal, had asked her other grandmother.  What a special honor that was for Grammy and Nonna!

The two newly confirmed girls are in front,  one on either side of the cardinal, with their sponsors
 behind them. (St. Joan of Arc, pray for us!  St. Catherine Laboure, pray for us!)

One more interesting little fact: our granddaughters' mom Regina was also confirmed by Burke many years ago, back when he was a bishop.  

That will probably be our last trip to Iowa to see this beloved family, since son #1 has taken a job with a new company and a move to WI is imminent.  It's funny how you can get attached to a place so quickly.  They've only lived there a year-and-a-half, but I'm a bit sad that my husband and I will never visit them at their sweet little Iowa homestead again.  They've sold most of their animals (the cows, chickens, and ducks; but they still have the goats) and put their house on the market, and they're looking for a place to buy in WI.  We pray that the sale of the old house and the move to a new one will happen quickly and smoothly.

Doesn't this look idyllic, like something out of an old painting?  It's a dreamy piece
of real estate. (Hopefully some buyer will agree with that sentiment, sooner rather than later!) 

Let's see, what else has happened since I've been away?  Oh yes, over Memorial Day son #3, his wife, and their five kids made a trip to TN.  They met up with son #5, his wife, and their infant daughter (who live outside of Nashville), and they all stayed together in an airbnb cabin.  While my husband and I weren't part of that fun family vacation (which included visiting Dollywood), we enjoyed it vicariously through pictures.  We were so thrilled to know that two of our boys had met up with their families and were enjoying precious time together, and that cousins who'd never met before were forming new bonds.  (Although our youngest granddaughter may have to see these guys a few more times before she starts to remember them!)  That's everything to my husband and me, really.  Aside from wanting them to one day all become saints in Heaven (of course!), our one wish for our boys and their families is that they remain close to each other, long after we're gone.

It has become a tradition that sometime in mid-June, son #2 and his wife host a huge family blow-out party at their house, to celebrate the birthdays of their second-oldest son Jedi and my hubby.  After that backyard extravaganza, we head up to NY for the summer to manage our Vrbo house and enjoy the lake life.  This year, because our daughter-in-law Ginger is due to have baby #5 in mid-June, they were going to have the party at the beginning of the month.  But they ultimately decided to cancel, which to tell you the truth was a relief to us.  It's hard enough to be within a couple of weeks of giving birth, but add in a party for dozens of people (which always includes an amazing spread and a giant water slide/bouncy house for the kids), and that's just too much.  

So instead of that, Papa and I brought a little party over to Jedi last night, and we celebrated his 6th birthday a few days early. 

It has also become a tradition for Grammy to make cakes for all the
little ones.  Guess what Jedi is into these days?

Unless the baby decides to come earlier, Ginger is due to be induced on June 16, the Feast of the Sacred Heart.  She and son #2 chose not to find out the sex, and we can hardly wait to meet our new grandson or granddaughter!  We will be staying overnight at their house to watch their four boys while they're in the hospital.  Please keep our daughter-in-law and her baby in your prayers, if you could.

I used to dream that this blog would have all sorts of inspirational content, that it would be more about writing than just telling you what I've been doing and posting photos.  When I read Jenny Uebbing's blog posts, which don't come out that often and are always eagerly devoured, I'm just blown away by her WORDS.  (I love words!  I love to read them and to write them!  Speaking them is harder for me, so I'd rather write them.  But I digress...)  Uebbing rarely even includes pictures in her blog posts, but she doesn't have to.  Every essay is gold. 

This blog, on the other hand, has has become more of a scrapbook of my life than anything else.  But I'm okay with that!  As my 65th birthday approaches, I'm reminded more and more of how fleeting it all is, and I want to commit to memory every single precious moment with the people I love. 

And thanks be to God, there are many such moments.

A Beautiful Mother's Day and a Beautiful Life!

I am late with my Mother's Day post, but that's about par for the course for me these days!

We had such a special celebration last Sunday, because our oldest grandson, G-Man (who is the oldest of son #3's five offspring), made his First Holy Communion that day.  What could be better than spending Mother's Day seeing one of your precious children's children receive the Holy Eucharist for the first time ever?  It was beautiful.

This grandson of ours will always occupy a special place in my heart because of the four-and-a-half months we lived with him and his parents when he was a baby.  We were still living in NH at the time, and my husband was still working as an airline pilot.  So he commuted to work while I played the part of full-time nanny, so that our son and his wife didn't have to put the little guy into day care.  Our daughter-in-law had completed her three-month maternity leave from her job at UVA, and there was about a four-month stretch until the end of the school year.  She had decided that when that semester ended, she was going to quit her job and stay at home with the little guy.  We filled in that gap and it was a very special time for us--and of course, G-Man was often the star of my blog posts in those days, as you can see here.  

Oh my, reading over that old post has made me misty-eyed.  And also amazed at how surprising life can be, and how beautiful.  Two years after that post was written, we had moved away from NH and become Virginians--which we never would have imagined doing at that point.  (Best move ever: with three sons living close-by, we are no longer constantly in travel mode.)  G-Man has a little brother now who's just a bit older than he was in those old photos.  And he's often riding on my left hip and staring at my face, just like his big brother was in those photos from 2015.  Oh my goodness, it's like deja vu (all over again. Ha ha!).

After Mass, we went over to G-Man's house for a brunch with lots of beloved people: G-Man, his parents, his four siblings, and his maternal grandmother; son #4, his wife, and their four kids; and one of our boys' cousins (named after yours truly!), who lives in the area and has two delightful daughters.

We got a picture of G-Man with his grandfather (my guy, whom he calls Papa), his godfather (his uncle, our son #4), and his father.  All of his earthly fathers looking out for him, body and soul.

So that was Mother's Day, one for the ages.  

If you come here often you know that ever since we moved down to VA, the boys who live nearby come over to have a special Mother's Day dinner with my husband and me, without spouses or kids--so that we can relive the old days when they were just mama's boys.  (The gift of time spent together, which is my #1 love language.)  It's usually not on actual Mother's Day, because we want them to spend that with their deserving wives.  I've written about this tradition before.  Here's last year's post, which included a big surprise for me. 

Oh no, not again.  An old blog post, making me misty-eyed! 

Anyway, I usually only get three or four of my five boys at once, but I'll take whatever I can get!  I am so grateful for this tradition.  I didn't think it was going to happen this year, because everyone is so very busy with their kids' school and after-school activities, work, and other commitments.  I had said that we should skip it this year, and that our wonderful celebration for G-Man's First Communion was enough of a Mother's Day treat for me.  

But those boys...the Tuesday after Mother's Day, our VA sons (all three of whom live between 40 and 50 minutes from our front door) came anyway.  And we had steaks and baked potatoes, with cheesecake for dessert.  And we talked about the two brothers who were missing, so that it was almost as if they were there, too.  And we laughed. And it was wonderful.

I have the best sons.  Just sayin'.

I tell you what, I'll always be glad that I have this blog. It's keeping memories alive for me.  As the years pass, things tend to get blurry.  But all I have to do to remember exactly what I was doing and thinking and feeling during some moment in my life is to click on an old post buried in my archives, and I'm transported back in time.  It's a gift, this blogging thing.  I don't do it as much as I used to, but I don't think I can ever give it up completely.  I'll be 65 this summer; my memories are only going to get fuzzier with age.  I'm going to need to read the story of my life, and luckily, I'll know where to find it.

Deep thoughts about blogging.  Yikes, that's enough of that for today. 

A belated Happy Mother's Day, dear readers.  God bless you!

Falling Behind and Playing Catch-Up, as Usual!

When it comes to keeping this blog up to date with what's been going on in the Pearl family, I'm currently falling way behind--which is par for the course these days (months, years, what-have-you). Some people are just so good at writing regularly, and so fun to follow (Colleen and Madeline, you two blogging champs come immediately to mind!), but others of us seem to suffer from a constant state of blogger's block.  In my case, it happens because there's too much happening, too quickly, and so much I want to write about that I don't know where to start. Kind of like when you have an extremely messy house and can't figure out which room needs cleaning the most.

I have too much that I want to say.  And so I choose to say nothing a lot of the time.

Excuses, excuses--right?

I never even got around to blogging about our road trip to Iowa a week after Easter, to visit with our much-missed oldest son and his family (who lived nearby here in VA for four-and-a-half years, then moved away a little over a year ago--and boy, do we ever miss them!!). We hadn't seen them since November 2022, so too much time had passed! We were able to be there for the First Holy Communion of our firstborn's #4 daughter, City Girl. It was so beautiful, taking place during a traditional Latin High Mass at their parish.  She wore one of the two dresses I made back in 2019 for her oldest (identical twin) sisters. 

These dresses have now become part of this family's tradition.  I made one with a lace Peter Pan collar and the other with a plain neck and an extra band of lace embellishment at the waist; I wanted them to be slightly different so the twins could choose the individual style they liked best.  Sister Little Gal wore the one with the collar for her First Holy Communion in 2021.  And City Girl picked the one without the collar.  So each dress has now been worn twice.  

I dream of these dresses, made with lots more love than skill, being worn years from now by great-granddaughters whom I may never meet (although I hope to!).  I dream that they become my favorite sort of thing: family heirlooms.

Anyway--

Aside from celebrating this beautiful sacrament, we were able to become friends with our one-year-old granddaughter, who really doesn't know us very well, now that we only get to visit with her family a couple of times a year.  (Did I give her a blog name yet?  I can't remember.  If not, I think I shall call her Little Lady.)  She has big blue eyes ("lollipop eyes," as one of her aunts described them) and is just about the most adorable little person imaginable. But she spent most of the week we were there studying her Papa and me with suspicion from a safe distance, head down, raising her eyes to peer at us.  She warmed up to Grammy first, allowing me to hold her as long as one of "her people" was close-by.  Papa finally became her best buddy when we had to babysit for her and her four-year-old brother towards the end of our stay, because the rest of the family was going to her twin sisters' play.  The two oldest girls had parts in the chorus of the musical "State Fair," which was put on by their homeschooling group.  My husband and I went to see the opening night show on Friday, then we stayed back to watch the two youngest siblings while everyone else went to the Saturday matinee--and that bonding time with those little ones was truly a gift.

These girls, at not quite 12, kind of tower over me now, so they must be slouching
in this picture.  (I've been slowing shrinking while they've been quickly growing!)

"State Fair" is just wonderful, with songs by Rogers & Hammerstein.  And it is especially fun because the story is set in Iowa.

It was hard to say goodbye when we left; but we were fortunate to have the opportunity to drive our son to the airport about five hours from his house, as it was on our route back home anyway; this saved him a commute to work by plane and gave us that precious extra time in the car to chat with him.  (We did solve all of the world's problems on that drive, and even had some good laughs as well.)

Aside from the goings-on out in the Midwest, there's also been a recent Baptism, of Pearl grandchild #20; but unfortunately we were unable to travel to Nashville to attend it.  Our daughter-in-law's parents were able to be there, however, which is special because this is their first grandchild.  I've yet to see pictures of that sweet little girl, the youngest of our grandchildren (for now, anyway!), receiving her first sacrament.  But I've been assured that they're coming!  

Let's see, what else?  How about some recent VA news? 

Last Sunday we had son #4 and his family over for an after-Mass brunch.  He and his wife are the parents of triplets, identical twin boys and a girl, aged 5, and a 3-year-old girl.  Those kiddos love to come and play in our basement playroom (I've got a post in my drafts folder with my deep musings about playrooms, actually; maybe it's time to edit it and get it posted!  I bet you're thinking, "That sounds fascinating!”). That same night, we had Sunday dinner over at son #2's house.  He and his wife Ginger have four boys, aged 2 to 7, and another baby on the way, due in mid-June. Ginger is a great cook, so we enjoyed a delicious meal of Pioneer Woman steak bites, rice, salad, and homemade brownies with ice cream.  We stayed way too late talking, which we have a tendency to do when it comes to our kids.  (Isn't life grand when you not only love, but sincerely like, your kids?!)

Yesterday, son #3 had a birthday, and we were able to celebrate it with him by bringing over one of his favorite meals and his favorite cinnamon coffee cake for dessert.  I'm a broken record, so I'll add that we stayed way too late talking with him and his Preciosa after the kids were in bed.   It's so worth it, though, even though it means we don't get home and in bed until midnight or after.  We'll sleep when we're dead!

I don't know what's gotten into me today.  I'm feeling a little silly.

Anyway, I'd have to say that 37 is looking pretty good on this middle son of ours.  He is surrounded by lots of noise and activity with his energetic brood, and surrounded even more by lots of love.

God is so good.  Life is so full, I can't even imagine having time to get bored.  And VA is so ridiculously mild and lovely in the spring.  Everything is blooming and I am in Heaven, as much as one can be in this earthly life.  

Father Mike always says, at the end of each episode of his Catechism in a Year podcast, "I'm praying for you.  Please pray for me!" Ditto that, dear readers.

Okay then, until next time...which will hopefully be pretty soon! 

Welcome to the Church, Quartus!

There's a new little Christian in town!  Yesterday, the youngest of our 17 grandchildren officially entered into the Body of Christ through the sacrament of Baptism.  He was, as his oldest brother (5-year-old Junior) said, "very brave."  He didn't cry a bit, even when the water was poured over his head, and he was his usual adorable self throughout the proceedings. 

What a beautiful thing to witness, and how blessed we feel to be living close enough to be present for these momentous occasions in our grandchildren's lives.

I haven't named this newest Pearl (who has not just two but three beautiful saints' names) here at the blog yet; but his daddy took four years of Latin in high school, and he used to joke about naming his children Primus, Secondus, Tertius, Quartus, Quintus (as in First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth)...so since this almost 4-month-old little guy is the fourth-born in a line-up of four boys, I hereby dub him "Quartus."

There was a lovely family party afterward at Quartus's house.  His parents made the cutest bunting to hang as a decoration, with pictures of his adorable little noggin sporting priestly headgear, and his mom joked to me that she hoped it would be used at his ordination party someday.  (Is that a good Catholic mama, or what?)

It was a grand day all around.  Welcome to the Church, Quartus!

(Now head on over to Rosie's--to see what's shaking, and well, just because it's time for a Just Because Link-Up!)

The Baptism of Our Lord--and Our Youngest Grandchild

They both happened on the same day--yesterday--and what a glorious occasion it was!   Can you think of a more perfect day to have a child receive the sacrament than on the day we celebrate Jesus' Baptism?  The pleasingly plump little fella who now shares a baptismal anniversary with Our Lord is the third-born son of our second-born son and his wife Ginger.

With his Papa, my hubby, for whom he was named.

When we sent pictures from the ceremony to my husband's siblings (care of the oft-used family text stream), one of his brothers commented, "What a great day to be baptized," and then joked, "Was the priest's name John?"  It wasn't--but wouldn't that have been something if it was?

The little guy (whose blog handle shall be "Topper," I've decided) was born in late October and was initially going to be baptized quite a while ago; but he ended up going through a number of health crises, including RSV (for which he had to be hospitalized for over a week, and which led to some other upper respiratory infections), so it had to be postponed.  As it ended up being rescheduled to take place on the most perfect Sunday of the year for a Baptism, all was well that ended well.  (And he is definitely doing much better health-wise, although he's still battling a stubborn cough.)

This is what a newly-baptized Christian feels like: oh, the joy!

There was a big (by VA standards) snowstorm that started on Saturday night and continued all day Sunday, so not many family members were able to make it to the Baptism--including our oldest son and his wife, who were named Topper's godparents.  But Papa and Grammy stood in for them, and we were so grateful for the opportunity to see our littlest grandchild receive this all-important first Sacrament of Initiation, whereby he became officially united with Christ and the Church.

Topper wore the same christening gown and bonnet that his two older brothers, Junior (3) and Jedi (18 months) wore.

I made these garments out of some linen-and-lace pillow shams that my late mother-in-law had collected--very likely with the idea of making christening gowns for her great-grandchildren one day, so I feel like she and I created them together.  Mom had a lot of these shams, so I was able to make gowns for the families of all four of my married boys.  When our oldest son's wife was expecting our first grandchildren, twin girls (now 7), I actually made two each of two styles of gown and had her pick which ones she wanted for her babies.  That left two extras that I saved for future grandchildren, and I eventually made several more.  One went to son #3 and another to son #2.  When son #4's wife was expecting triplets, I knew she had a family heirloom christening gown for her daughter to use, but I was able to give her two more gowns for the boys (also identical twins!) to wear for their Baptism.  (Our four oldest boys were baptized in heirloom gowns from my husband's family; the only one of my boys for whom I made a gown was son #5, and I plan to pass that on to him when his first child is born.)

I've actually blogged about making all these christening gowns before, here, here, and here, if you'd like to visit those old posts.  (I guess you'd have to be a dyed-in-the-wool sewing enthusiast, or just really, REALLY interested in the making of christening dresses to do that...so you won't offend me at all if you're thinking, "I'm much too busy to be poking around her dusty archives!")

Enough about sewing; back to the subject du jour: here is a picture of Topper with his family, after his initiation into the Catholic Church.

As parents of grown children, my husband and I couldn't be more thrilled and grateful that our boys are fully and joyfully practicing their Catholic Faith, that they are welcoming children into the world with open hearts and passing on the Faith to them as well--and of course, that would not be possible if they hadn't picked the kind of women they have as their spouses.  All four of our married sons chose the most loving and lovable Catholic girls--beautiful inside and out--as partners for their journeys through life.

These are my girls.  I [heart] them.  I'm the luckiest M-I-L on earth.

Three of our married boys--sons #1, #3, and #4--met their wives on CatholicMatch.com (I've blogged about that before, too, but I'll spare you more links for now!).  Topper's parents didn't meet on the website; but they met because his daddy was a groomsman in his uncle's (son #3's) wedding and his mommy was a bridesmaid in that same wedding.  (Two of our daughters-in-law, Preciosa and Ginger, were dear friends in college who never expected that one day they'd marry brothers and have children who were cousins!)  So we joke that 3.5 of the matches in our family came from what son #3 once jokingly called "the family website."

Anyway, that's about it from down here in snowy VA.  I'm just feeling all cozy and warm inside my house, blessed beyond measure, luckier than I deserve.  I don't know how I got so lucky.  But I know that "to whom much is given, much is expected"--so methinks I better get to work and give back as much as possible, while I still have breath in me.

God bless my boys.  God bless my girls.  And most of all, God bless adorable Topper, the newest little Christian in my world.