May Crowning!

On May 8, we had our parish May Crowning.

Please indulge me while I take my notes here for next year.

The weather was windy and chilly. We might have had more people come had it been sunny. Still, I think there were probably about 100 people there. We did it right after the 9:00 Mass on Saturday. I purchased probably 160 or more flowers for the procession. 100 probably would have been enough. Some people did bring flowers from home as we had suggested in the bulletin announcement.

We distributed flowers to those who needed them in the back, by the baptismal font. When people had their flowers they lined up in the center aisle. Three people were helping to pass out the flowers and that seemed a good number.

An acolyte led the processions with a crucifix followed by two candle bearers. They stood in front at the center aisle. Two banner carriers were behind them.

Deacon Dan and Deacon Lou came in from the side aisle and then stopped in the center to say the opening prayers. The crown carrier (a First Communicant girl) the First Communicant boy, and the Crowner (Confirmand girl) were sitting in the front row. They came forward with the crown on a pillow for the crown to be blessed. They then stepped to the side to let the procession begin. These three then brought up the end of the procession and Deacons Dan and Lou followed at the end.

We started singing several verses of Immaculate Mary and then sang Bring Flowers of the Rarest (the traditional may Crowning song). After she was crowned we said the Litany of Mary and concluded with Hail Holy Queen.

Several women assisted with the placing of the flowers in the vases which had been set out and filled with water the night before. Seemed to go well.

We crowned the large statue of the Blessed Mother which stands on a tall pedestal in our church. We used a metal portable stairway which Angie H. (mother of the crowner) did a fabulous job decorating with blue satin and white tulle.

We again ordered the crown from a florist in Hawaii, graciously arranged by Mary O. Is this not a gorgeous crown?

It's actually what is called a hakulei and is strung on a cord like a lei, only smaller. The flowers were exquisite and I love the way it lays so nicely on her head. Half the cost was for the Fed Ex shipping. But she is so worth it! The crowner went to near the top of the steps. The First Communicant boy went up a few steps. The crown carrier then lifted the pillow for Luke to take the crown and hand to the Confirmand who placed it on Mary's head as we sang the words, "Oh Mary we crown thee with blossoms today."

We had refreshments in the JPII room afterwards, planned by Maria F. who did a fabulous job. Cheese and crackers, brownies, cookies, lemonade, coffee, and tea. Lisa M. donated a beautiful full sheet cake all decorated for Our Lady. She also brought in her own lovely large statue of the Blessed Mother complete with real eyelashes. Lisa placed this statue on the table in the narthex with the programs and then moved it afterwards to grace us in the room with the refreshments.

The participants stayed for some time, having refreshments. Kids gathered together in little circles sitting on the floor. There was an occasional crushed cookie and a plant that was knocked over spilling a little soil on the floor. Why do I mention this? Because it warmed my heart that this was a family-friendly event and I felt it was just as our Blessed Mother would want it.

We had lots of help afterwards cleaning up (Dell, Mike, Ken, Maria, Lisa, and some of our kids) We vacuumed, etc.

It all went quite smoothly. Seemed to be a lot of spiritual warfare beforehand, but the crowning itself was without glitch, I thought. At the moment Hail Holy Queen ended the power went out in the church. I mean exactly at the moment it ended. It felt like some little powerless demon just wanted to stick his tongue out, not having been able to spoil any of our efforts to honor the Queen. It came back on within minutes. teehee.

I may write more about the planning in another post. Mary, Queen of Peace, we love you. Please help us always to "do whatever He tells us," as you always did.

Cedar Point!!

Wooohooo, Cedar Point has wifi! Well, at least in the little donut shop by the entrance.

Drove here with the the members of the GR physics classes who are no doubt all out defying gravity already.

For those of you not from the Midwest of USA, Cedar Point is a crazy amusement park producing more rides all the time, each one looking more and more like something you couldn't possibly ride without causing brain damage. I don't even like to watch them, partly because it scares me to see my own children thrown through space and partly because even just seeing them makes me dizzy.

Cedar Point has the world's largest collection of roller coasters. Yup. 17 roller coasters. Count 'em.

You might be able to tell that I have real lack of enthusiasm for thrill rides. I don't understand the appeal of scaring oneself. There's enough in my life to trigger adrenaline without taking myself to the edge. But there are clearly lots of people who do enjoy the whole experience.

It's rainy here. A lot of the coasters are closed at the moment. The kids are probably a little disappointed.

But I'm happy. I'm dry and with wifi. Good stuff. Think I may find Jim now though and buy him lunch.

No time!!!

For once in my blogging life I have LOTS to write about.....but no time to write it. Every single day there is something extra I need to do or somewhere I need to go that takes a few hours. And you know what that can do to a mom's schedule. I'm struggling to keep up on the laundry. I often have no time to make dinner. I have not been to Curves in several weeks. And you know how seldom I've been posting on this blog!

For example, this week I met with my daughter and the Banquet Manager at the Michigan Union to finalize details for the reception. This was a two hour meeting and then we met John and had lunch while talking about the plans.....lots of fun. LOTS of fun!

We also had a parish-wide baccalaureate Mass and dinner for this year's graduating seniors and their parents. Parents were asked to speak for a few minutes honoring their graduating son or daughter. This is a really nice parish tradition that means a lot to the seniors. It's an opportunity to publicly affirm them and bless them. I love it.

Tomorrow I will meet with my daughter's future mother-in-law to go over some pictures she's putting in a video for the shower she's giving.

Today I drove my son's madrigal's group to the University of Michigan hospital where they were giving a concert. Then we stopped at McDonald's on the way back to school. It's really a nice experience to drive for a high school field trip--- at least with this group of kids. You don't have to keep track of them. They know where they're supposed to be and they're there. They don't do stupid things or misbehave. They know how to be polite.

There was also an investiture Mass at the school this morning where the graduating seniors received their graduation gowns and NHS stoles.

Tomorrow Lizzie's play will open at her school.

Last night was my monthly night to feed my dear friend Deanna who is suffering from ALS.

You get the picture. A mom's schedule is full even without special events. In a week like this something has to give.

Hope you're all doing well. Hope to catch up soon.

Woohoo! Big Day for Mary

It's been almost two years....

She diligently followed Dr. Kim's instructions.....

If Dr. Kim said wear the rubber bands all the time, she wore them all the time.

Once she forgot them and called to ask if I could bring them to school for her...

Why was she so conscientious about this? Well, she's conscientious about everything, but in this case, she really wanted to get those braces off!!!

She has been literally counting the days for a long time....

Yesterday she went in like this...

And she came out like this....
Congratulations, Mary!!! How about those teeth?

BP-- archenemy of the people?

Is BP the archenemy of the American people? From the rhetoric coming out of the White House you would think that BP had committed an act just short of terrorism.

Whatever happened to trigger the fire, etc. on the oil rig we can assume at least for now that it was an accident. BP is indeed taking responsibility and, to my knowledge, has agreed from the beginning to pay for the cleanup.

So what is with this "keeping a boot to the throat" talk coming from the President? "Boot to the throat??" Like BP is some kind of corporate thug that needs to be violently coerced to honor its responsibility? This is just so reminiscent of 60s shallow, ignorant, emotional, rebelliousness. Big business is, of course, presumed to be evil and oil companies the worst of the worst. I expect more intelligence from the federal government. Of course, these expectations have not been met since the new administration took office.

Additionally, how do we know that terrorism was not a part of this accident? Nearly a mile deep in the ocean. Clearly, the cause of the accident is going to be hard to determine. Until we know for sure the cause, why is there a presumption of guilt on the part of BP? If this was a terrorist act then it could be argued that BP is not financially responsible for the clean-up. Are businesses responsible for acts of war that result in massive damage if there is no negligence on the part of the business?

You know what I think of BP? I'm happy for the cheap gas they have for sale around the corner from my house. Should they pay for the cleanup of the spill? Of course, if it is their fault.

But I don't see how this inflammatory rhetoric ("boot to the throat") will aid in the cleanup efforts. Wouldn't it be better to join arms in cooperation than to throw out words that can only breed antagonism?

I'm back.

So sorry to disappear for a week without any warning. I was just very, very, very busy.

Three kids involved in the GR production of Guys & Dolls, one in the chorus, one doing music, and one with a lead role. I thoroughly enjoyed the performances and will post photos soon.

Anyway, I ran myself so ragged I've gotten sick. I'm lying in bed right now, cough, laryngitis, congestion, exhaustion. I didn't even take Lucky for a walk today (although others did:-)

This month may turn out to be the busiest month of my life. There is the usual, crazy year-end stuff-- spring concerts, recitals, orchestra concerts, two plays this year, our parish May Crowning which I'm heading, a bridal shower, wedding planning, a high school graduation, a grade school graduation, and three different field trip I'm driving on.

Yeah. A little too busy. So God, in His graciousness, has given me a relatively minor illness to get me to slow down, rest, and regroup.

I think I will probably have to take it easy tomorrow too. Things can indeed get done without me.