What can I say? The evening was fantastic. The Mass started with a lovely procession. All the children in the church, whether making their First Communion or not, were invited to bring flowers up to the front of the church where they were put in vases below the statue of Mary. The First Communion kids followed these and added their flowers. Finn was the final child in the procession. He had the honor of carrying a wreath made of flowers that would be placed on Mary's head. He was so excited to do that. Especially since Mackenna carried the wreath when she made her First Communion two years ago.The Mass was it's usual wonderfulness. Father did a great homily and asked the kids four questions. Three which St. Leo asked many years ago and a new one that he added. He surprised them by asking a fifth. Luckily the kids knew the answers. Father had drilled them for a couple of weeks! Finn answered the fourth question: Where else does Jesus tell us about the Eucharist? Answer: John Chapter Six The Bread of Life Discourse.
After Mass, we went back into the church for photos. There were no pictures allowed during the Mass itself. Father then pretended to give the host and then posed with each child so parents could get a picture for their scrapbooks! Once that was over we headed down to the Parish Hall to pick up the certificates, have a piece of cake and a gift. Then it was off to the dinner.
This is my friend Karen who is a chef extraordinaire. She makes the most delicious food and can put on an event like no other. She did Mackenna's First Communion at our house two years ago, but I took advantage of her having a place of her own and had Finn's party there. The best decision ever. No work on my part required. I just had to drop off the cake, favors and a container of toys for the kids to play with before hand. Definitely the way to go! She is a true blessing in my life!
A table of appetizers were set-up at the front. The kids loved the cheese pizza, but the adults were more partial to the smoked salmon lollipops. Everything, however, was very tasty. 
Here's the dinner buffet with the menu I wrote about yesterday. Talk about yummy!Finn's favorites were a big hit with guests young and old. Kids even went back for seconds which tells you how delicious and absolutely perfect the food was. My sister couldn't believe how much her kids were eating. Usually at family gatherings they eat a couple of bites then want to play. Not last night!
We got to bring home the leftovers and will have them today!
This was the sweetest part of the evening. Dessert! There was chocolate fondue with lots of yummy goodies to dip. Karen surprised us by making rice krispie treats on sticks. I love those things and had my share both dipped in chocolate and not. She also had sprinkles you could add which was such an nice touch and the kids loved. We also had a cake so lots and lots of chocolate! Sigh...
This is the First Communion cake. I was planning to have the same person who made Mackenna's cake make Finn's, but that didn't work out. So last weekend, while trying to write my proposal, I was scrambling to find a place that could do a short-notice First Communion cake. I was googling and calling and getting frustrated. It was too late for any cake makers to do it, but I found a couple of places that would do a cake with a cross on it. And then I stumbled across a local grocery store actually had a special decoration kit for First Communion. I drove over there to see the sample and ordered it. This is how it came out. Not back for Freddies! That's what we call Fred Meyers around here. Finn loved it. We ended up spending a lot less than we would have had we gone with the original person, too!A wonderful evening filled with faith, family, friends and food. It doesn't get much better than that!
How was your night?
