and afterword...

Love this lady!  I knew she wouldn't be able to make it to the reception with 30 other people, so I gave her a sneak-peek at the (finally) finished product! Her reaction when I came down the stairs in this dress was priceless.  She made it all worthwhile- the late nights scrapbooking, practicing icing on cookies, the invitations, guest book, food planning and prep, family drama, sewing the waistline of this dress five times over, and of course countless hours of one-on-one religion training with my 7 year old.

Even Mark couldn't hold back a compliment when he wrote at school: "My Mom looked prettiest at my first communion."

Nothing could have prepared me for seeing my boy in full communion with Christ.  I had always told people I wanted it to be special for it and it was!  I remembered my own first communion/ confirmation in 1998 as a  culmination of hard work and sacrifice, but this was so much more!  For me it was about freedom and adulthood in the Church, taking that leap of faith to follow where the Lord was leading.  For my son it was the next natural step.  He will not feel the weight of his commitment until confirmation (2024).  Until then I leave it to God to lead my child as he makes his way along with path of faith.

Truly God worked marvels in my sight and Holy is His Name!