Matt with Father at Father's 25th Ordination Anniversary Dinner last night. Father jokingly said, "I will only pose with him if i can stand on something so that he is not so much taller than me these days!" Matt was six when Father came to our parish and Matt has served 751 Masses under Father's guidance since that time. At Confirmation, Father was introducing Matt to the Bishop saying, "This is our head altar server who is going to be priest someday, he just doesn't know it yet." Matt replied, as always, "I have not ruled that out." We have grown to love and appreciate Father over the years and were very happy to get to celebrate with him at the Mass and Dinner last evening. (I am chuckling as I look at this photo that Father had a name tag on...if anyone needed a name tag any less at any event, I cannot think who it would be!)
READING: Jane Austen's novels as I watched the movie Becoming Jane (twice actually because I always get more out of a second viewing). There were a few places in the movie that made me think along the lines of where she inserted this or that in this book or the other, so I just figured I would indulge and give them all a quick read again. (Okay, I confess...I read them all every couple of years as I just love a good happy ending.) I know you are all surprised, as I rarely read novels, but I am thinking this might just qualify for that little New Year's Resolution about me reading something "identifiable by the general public with no redeeming value or quest for higher knowledge," and I so love doing something once and counting it toward at least two goals. Today is Emma.
LISTENING TO: Bachman Turner Overdrive...blast from the past...forgot all about them until recently.
COOKING THROUGH: Pasta salad, pasta salad, pasta salad...didn't cook for anyone this week...well, I did cook for the Guerin Staff Appreciation Luncheon, but the priests all ate at Father's 25th Ordination Anniversary Dinner at the Ritz last night, along with hundreds of others...we all had a GREAT time. It was like a big family gathering (we have been members of this parish for 24 years and Father has been at the helm for the last 10, so it was really fun to get to celebrate his anniversary as a parish). (Photos, can click to enlarge, are Matt with Clarine and Arnie (his Confirmation sponsor) and Matt with our neighbors, the doctors Jim and Drayton (like we don't see them enough at home, but we don't usually take photos, so this is a nice one.)
FAV NEW FIND; Three new knitting items: Sewing Gauge, Safety Pins With No Coil (so the thread does not get tangled in it), and a Stitch/Row Counter...gadgets to make the whole process more easier and fun. And, yes, I can hear you all laughing as you ALREADY knew about all these things. I'm a newbie, remember??? Loving it, loving it.
FAV THING TODAY; Well, yesterday...the entire 25th Anniversary Ordination Mass, celebration, etc. It was all wonderful. But my favorite part, hands down, and there were many favorite parts, mind you, but my favoritest of the favorite (and yes, I know "favoritest" is not a word, but I like it anyway), was watching Matthew serve the Mass as the head altar server. As I was watching him, I could see him at 9 and 10 and 11 and 12 and 13 and 14 and 15 serving so reverently and beautifully. Last night he was taller than all the priests in attendance (about 100 of them...so many I couldn't count without saying, "Okay, everyone line up and number off..." and I wasn't about to do that). I was actually doing fine in the emotion department until Matt was incensing Father and then in turn, the other priests. I felt a huge lump in my throat and my heart was full of every good emotion possible at the sight: Matthew in his altar server robe, standing on the altar, incense bowl gently swaying back and forth toward the priests, each of them bowing in unison...no camera...I will just need to remember this one in my heart. Definitely a Favorite Thing. (Photo is of Matt and Father Brian D., a priest who was at our parish for three years and had a tremendous amount of influence in training Matt to be the excellent altar server that he has become...Father D. put a lot of time and effort into making our servers really wonderful. He now has his own parish in Hamilton County, so we get to see him occasionally, which is very nice.) And where, you might ask, are photos of Mark and Alex from last evening...well, Mark and Alex parked themselves at a table near the refreshment table and chatted from that venue...eating munchies and sipping sodas...and Matt and I motored about chatting with everyone, so the camera didn't capture as much as I had hoped as I always take about ten photos, and then forget I have the camera in hand...someday I will do better about this...hopefully.
SCRAPBOOK PAGES THIS WEEK; None..yikes, spent all my craft time knitting instead...oh, I am so addicted to carting this knitting everywhere...why did I not think to do this earlier? Oh, right, I was homeschooling and I carted books, papers, etc. with me everywhere and worked on those in odd spare moments of waiting, etc. A different season of my life now.
GOING TO: Three-day swim meet Friday, Saturday, Sunday...also Matt has an IYC concert on Saturday afternoon, so he will need to exit the swim meet after his last morning event, don his tux, and slide into the venue for the concert barely dry. Looking for us? Check the pool as CSC hosts the meet, so that means we work as well as watch. Good times...please keep a few good thoughts for good times, especially in that 100 Backstroke, as Matt is so close to the Junior National time and is working especially hard for that one.
PRAYING FOR: Last night I chatted with so many people, and heard so many prayer requests, that my head is reeling from it all...so this week, just pick something near and dear to your heart, and pray...and please join me: go out and do something special for someone for no apparent reason whatsoever, and this time, tell them I sent you and to play it forward. Have a great weekend!