Ordination

This last weekend was packed full with blessings! The Ordination to the Priesthood finally arrived! Our friends Brian, John, Brady, and Gregg were all ordained Catholic Priests. They have all been preparing for at least 7 years for this day, and we were all so excited that it was finally here. I am so very proud of these men and humbled by their willingness to embrace and answer God's call for their life.

The Ordination itself was beautiful, but the Cathedral was PACKED and we ended up having to stand in the back. We were so happy to be a part of their day but we weren't able to see much. Archbishop Chaput gave a beautiful homily and we were glad to have heard it. We left for Denver early Saturday morning and first headed to our friend Shannon's house so we could drop Tavian off. (we knew the ceremony would be long and we knew it would be better for tavian to stay with shannon and get a nap in). Well, the ceremony was long...very long. I had only eaten a small bowl of cereal that morning so we had planned to stop on the way to church, since we knew I would still meet the fast because of the long service. Well, as usual, we were running late and there was no longer time to stop. After standing for about an hour and a half, I was starting to realize that I needed to get some food asap. I was sad to leave early, but I really felt like it was necessary. We grabbed some food from across the street and headed back. Unfortunately the ceremony ended up lasting more then 3 hours so Cole and I had to leave before it was over because we had told Shannon we would be back by then and because we didn't want to be away from Tavian any longer. We are so glad we got to witness such a beautiful moment in history, but it was unfortunate we couldn't stay until the end because I had really wanted to congratulate and say hi to everyone afterwards.

My friend Breanne is close with all of these men as well, so she went to the ceremony as well, and then came back with us to Shannon's house to hang out. We had some short relaxation time, and much needed girl catch up time, before Cole, Tavian, and I headed to the newly ordained Father Brian Larkin's reception. It was such a beautiful reception and the best part was finally getting to see Father Larkin and congratulate and celebrate with him and his loved ones.

Smiling with the newly Ordained Priest, Father Brian Larkin!



It ws special because I got to inform him that he now has a very special Baptism to perform in early December :)  He was very excited for us!!!



We headed back to Shannon's that night, put Tavian to bed, and then Cole, Shannon, her husband Austin, and I played games until midnight. We are so thankful for such wonderful friends in our lives and they always welcome us into their home with such love and we always have such a blast together. Our games usually get pretty competitive and can be very physically active, but it is always filled with tons of fun! It was worth being tired the next day!!! :)
Sunday morning we went to our last engagement, which was Father Larkin performing his First Mass. Watching him, by and with the grace of God, consecrate the Eucharist was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I was pretty much crying the entire mass through. I wish I could have gotten more pictures/video, because there were so many beautiful moments! I wish we could have gone to the other priests massses, but they were later in the day and evening and we knew we needed to get Tavian home. Shannon ended up watching Tavian for us during the mass as well (she truly is a God send) and it worked out great because we were really able to participate and give our full attention to everything!

Such a beautiful moment!!!

Receiving our first blessing from Father Larkin.  So special!

Breanne got her first blessing from him too!

Love you friend!  So glad we got to experience all of this joy together!!!

Tavian loved all his special time with Shannon...she is such a blessing to us!!!



Thank you for everything Shannon, can't wait to plan another get together soon! :)

So yes, it was a very busy weekend, but who can complain when surrounded by so many blessings??  Thank you Lord for these amazing men and the beaufitul sacrament of Holy Orders!