Molly Grace's First Holy Communion

April 29th was a day filled with joy when Molly  Grace received her First Holy Communion!  Having seen five older siblings experience this day, she was so filled with anticipation and excitement!  Father Girotti, rector at our parish, Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral, was so present and offered such wonderful formation to these first communicants throughout the entire school year.  We are so thankful for Father Girotti, Religious Ed Director Connie Demuse, and for the service of Molly Grace's teachers, who helped prepare her for this very special day!

Oh, how I love our beautiful cathedral!!!  Don't these kids look radiant?!  Father Girotti gave his orange homily, as he does for each first communion, hence, the oranges in the children's hands.  It is a beautiful story which illustrates how something tangible can remind us of something invisible.  It is a beautiful reminder of how Jesus is truly present, although not seen, in the Holy Eucharist. 

Here's the gang, looking very holy indeed...

We had the Delaney/McKillen gang with us to celebrate the day, minus Moira, who was still in Steubenville, studying for her finals.  Here's Patrick and Anna...

Grandpa D...

Grandpa and Grandma D (unfortunately, we didn't get pictures with the other grandparents, or Mike and I)

Enjoying the orange with Grandpa!

This Little Two Year Old...

.....found his dad's electric razor.

Yep. I don't have much more to say about that...

Easter (2012)

This was the quietest Easter I can remember!  Moira stayed at FUS and spent some Easter time with the Steubenville Delaneys and Heusels.  The grandparents couldn't be with us this year either, so it was a smaller group with only the GB cousins joining us. 

Eileen, Bridget and Colleen went to the Vigil Mass at the cathedral, which was so beautiful, as always.  Mike and I took the younger kids to mass in the morning.

And of course the Easter Bunny made his visit, to the delight of the little ones...

Saint Patrick's Day (2012)

With Saint Patrick's Day being on a Saturday, that meant extra jigging' for this family! I believe we had a total of eight performances throughout the day....

At the Parade

Seamy boy

Bridget dancing at Lambeau

We had Moira with us!

Erin, sportin' her dance socks

Eileen

Teresa, always workin' the crowd

Most of the dance school

Erin, MG and Seamus

Molly, Shannon, Eileen, Elizabeth, Caroline, Kaitlyn and Keelin

Gaelic Storm!

In early March, Eileen and a few other Heritage Dancers had the opportunity to dance on stage with Gaelic Storm at the Meyer Theater here in Green Bay. She also wore her new new solo dress for the first time!

Here they are, waiting to perform...

And the performance....

Always a Great Time With Father Eric!

We always appreciate our time with Father Eric. Whenever he can squeeze in a little time in his busy schedule for a visit, we drop what we are doing and enjoy time with this amazing priest and friend. Father is pastor at St. Paul's at UW Madison.

Father Eric with his Godson, Seamus!

World Down Syndrome Day (2012)

The International Down Syndrome Coalition for Life (IDSC) put out a beautiful video this WDS day. Erin and I were thrilled to be a small part of this message, and we pray that many hearts were moved. There is a disconnect between what the world thinks our lives are like when we have a child with Down syndrome (quite evident from the 90% abortion rate after a prenatal diagnosis) and what our lives are really like. It is my hope that many will understand that parenting a child with Ds is just as amazing as parenting a typical child. Erin brings us so much joy and fills our hearts with pride. I am thankful to have been a part of the IDSC for Life from the beginning. Check out our website: http://www.idscforlife.org/



Here's our picture...