Easter Vigil 2009

It's been a long time coming...but last night, Dennis, Lauren, and Emily all became a member of the Catholic faith. Dennis and I made the decision last summer to have the girls begin attending classes to learn more about Jesus and become Catholic. Dennis agreed to this as long as I didn't pressure him into becoming Catholic, as well. Although I never pressured him, I said many prayers every night. I wished for my family to be united in faith.

In September, the girls began classes with a wonderful teacher at St. Agnes church in Freeland. They set up the girl's classes different to work into our busy schedules, as I would also have to teach them from home to makeup for only attending classes every other week. The girls worked hard and really enjoyed learning more about the Catholic faith. They never once complained about any of the work, which makes me proud. Quite the opposite, they enjoyed this process and loved to talk about all they learned. After their last class, their teacher told me that she didn't think this was going to work in the beginning, but it worked really well and the girls did an amazing job!

Lastly, for Dennis' story: every November, Dennis goes hunting with my dad up north. This year our neighbor and friend, Mikel went up with Dennis. I've been told, repeatedly, that what happens at hunting camp, stays at hunting camp. I don't think I would ever want to know anyways:) Surprisingly, Dennis came home at the end of his week hunting to tell me that he too wanted to become Catholic! I was stunned! He had always been quite negative towards the Catholic religion, especially all the rituals. So, I don't know what my dad and Mikel said to him, but he felt it was important for our family to be united in faith,too. So, soon afterward he began taking classes every Sunday with three different teachers. He too, enjoyed learning all about the Catholic religion and was happy with his decision. For me, it was many prayers answered!

Dennis and the girls spent many hours preparing for this day, and they were so excited to have it finally here. It was a long service, but well worth it. They were baptised, confirmed, and then received the Body and Blood of Christ, of which I was able to give to them for the first time out of the chalice. I'll end this post with Emily's words on the way home from church at 12:30 a.m. On the drive home we were talking about the night, laughing and such and then Emily says, "That was fun, I want to do that all over again!" Stay tuned for a slide show with more pictures...