Cru's First Communion

Three Sundays and three Wednesdays ago, our little man started first communion classes.  It was not easy for those mostly five years to sit through those (sometimes LONG) classes, but we all (parents included!) stuck it out and beamed with pride as they took their first communion today ♥



Something about this picture ^^^ cracks me up!


























































They each  individually had to recite, "I believe, and I ask God to help me believe."





































































Each kid had to write a prayer saying why they are thankful for holy communion and Pastor read them during the service....

Dear God,
I am thankful for holy communion because it brings me closer to you.
Amen







It was also All Saint's Sunday....candles in remembrance of those saints we have lost....



Communion-ants helping bring the service to a close...

























































































































































































































































































It's a tradition that the Wednesday before first communion, the kids bake bread for Sunday and have a little wine tasting.  Cru was PUMPED to taste the wine!  We've caught him a couple times sneaking the last sips out of our glasses, so this was his chance to REALLY taste it.






































































After throwing it back, he let out a big, "Aaaa!" like that's so good....



































Then the taste must have settled, and he thought it was the most disgusting thing ever!

Pretty sure this is where my brother learned to drink (would drink extra wine when acolyting), so lets hope Cru continues to dislike the taste!



One last thing, back at our kids' big school fundraiser, Chet and I bid and won a weekend in KC....night at a fancy hotel, tickets to Chiefs game, and a gift card to eat.  I was pumped!  Chet said he didn't invite me.  We soon learned, Cru's first communion was on the same weekend.  I tried to convince Chet to still go.  He refused.  I started getting upset.  I told him Cru wouldn't be upset, and he should go have fun and do something for himself.

And then I witnessed this....



































And I realized, he's right where he wanted to be ♥

So thankful for this man.

So thankful for our boy!  He drives us all BoNNkkkkeRrrsSSS, but makes us SO SO proud!!! My heart burst with joy for him this morning!

Earlier this week, I unpacked the final bag from our Florida trip.

We went in July.

Later that evening, once kids were in bed, I looked at all of our Florida pics....missing our family like crazy, missing the beach (not necessarily the sand though), missing our down time when we got to just enjoy each other (most of the time ;)), missing it all.

Makes me sad :(

Makes me want to blog about our trip....

But this is all you get right now.

Because I'm too busy with this...

Florida post coming.  Not even going to tease you and say soon.  But it's coming :)

Yesterday, little sis and I spent part of our morning at the kids' school supervising the extra recess that the kids earned for selling Oktoberfest tickets.



No surprise that Everlee LOVED playing with the big kids!

I also wasn't surprised to see Cru thoroughly enjoy being chased by the girls.  Their little voices kept hollering for him, then one in particular seemed to catch him quite often....and not let go.

We happen to run into this girl later in the evening, her parents too.  So I mentioned watching them at recess to the girl's mom, and she said she believes her daughter has her first crush on our little man.  She must talk about him frequently at home, even tells her mom that when she grows up, her son's name will be Max Buchman (insert wide-eyed emoji here).

I'm documenting this story because quite frankly, you just never know.  If they do get married some day, they will have this ♥

One thing's for sure though, that sweet little girl better watch out for this sassy pants....

Reese's KC Birthday Celebration

We started the KC birthday tradition with Reese when she was five.  We all look forward to it every year!  This year, Evee joined the party!  Although I loved having her with us, I can't lie, she was a hassle.  We actually lost her in the American Girl doll store.  Finally, found her...in the bathroom...pooping.  Scared me to death!

Here's the recap of our trip...

We arrived Saturday evening just in time for dinner....



































Mine and Chet's (and my BFF's) favorite Mexican spot!

Followed by some evening shopping....our girl had gift cards burning a hole in her pocket!



































Evee....always touching, hugging, kissing, and talking to manikins.



Normally, our trip is up and back all in one day, but since we didn't leave until after Reese's party, we decided to stay the night.  Chet found us a very nice, centrally located hotel that would have been fun to spend more time at, but our priorities were shopping :)  So, sleeping...that's really all we needed our hotel for.  However, even while sleeping, it provided us with plenty of entertainment....



Turns out someone was smoking in their room and because of that, every guest saw every guest in their jammies.

Sunday was spent spoiling our girl, chasing Evee, and stuffing our faces!














































































































































































































































Daddy had cake waiting for the birthday girl when we got home ♥



































8!  8!  8!  How is our sweet girl 8???  I'll never forget finding out I was pregnant with her...shock is about the only word that describes it.  But God knew exactly what he was doing.  She gave us a hefty scare before she even came into the world, and I'm reminded often how our lives could have been SO different.  I will be forever grateful our prayers were answered and she came into this world healthy!  She's such an awesome, good kid....also loving, smart, compassionate, beautiful, freckle-faced, and oh-so very, very special ♥

Love you, Reesee!

8 is great!