I'm ashamed to say that we haven't really celebrated All Saints' Day in years. We go to Mass and that's it. In Belgium, my lame excuse has been that we have no other families with whom to share it---but honestly, by the time we make it through Halloween, I'm just too tired to come up with anything else. A few weeks ago I suggested that we dress up as saints for Halloween this year, thinking it could be a great way to evangelize and to ease my guilty conscience. But my oldest balked, and I can't exactly say I blame her. We are sort of oddballs in our little American community as it is, being the only ones who homeschool.
Probably thanks to my guardian angel, I just couldn't shake the nagging feeling that we should do something. I've been so inspired reading about all of the All Saints' Day parties and costumes on my favorite blogs. And I have to admit, I kept wondering, what am I going to blog about tonight? How can I have announced to the world yesterday that we celebrate Halloween and then make it painfully obvious (by a lack of posting) that we do nada when it comes to such a sacred Solemnity as All Saints'? Just not right.
So...around 3pm (have I mentioned I procrastinate?), I announced to my thirteen-year-old that we would be having our own All Saints' Day party tonight and asked if she would help me come up with some costumes. At times like this, having a Sanguine for your oldest is a very good thing. She excitedly took charge and planned the entire evening. It was a HUGE success. We even had a couple of extra kids from the neighborhood join us. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.
We began with a Parade of Saints as we sang a rousing rendition of When the Saints Go Marching In.
We introduced our roles by reading from the Picture Book of Saints by Rev. Lawrence Lovasik.
We ran out of time for the games Elena had planned---but no one seemed to care.
Who says Saints don't know how to have a good time?
Who says Saints don't know how to have a good time?
(Elizabeth and Anne just lost it here...because Joachim was losing it in the rear.)
Our Litany of Saints included St Agnes, St Joan of Arc, St Anne, St Joachim, St Elizabeth of Hungary, St Rose of Lima, Bl Kateri Tekakwitha, St Joseph, St Therese, St Cecilia, St. George (not here yet) and St James the Greater (behind the camera).
We may not have had a big homeschool group to share the fun, but in the ever eloquent words of Danielle Bean...we are our own party.
Much thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for being such good sports!
And just in case my favorite saint is reading this from Heaven...Happy Birthday, Boompa!
5 comments:
What a blast! Your party looks like such fun. I can't believe you put together such great costumes without any preplanning! You put me to shame sister. :)
>So...around 3pm (have I mentioned I >procrastinate?), I announced to my >thirteen-year-old that we would be >having our own All Saints' Day party >tonight and asked if she would help me >come up with some costumes.
Absolutely unbelievable! What an incredible party! I so admire your spirit and sense of adventure--the kids are obviously loving everything and brimming over with excitement!
Here I am, the bleary-eyed 2 a.m. blogger, beaming my way through these wonderful photos.
I'm going to smile my way to bed now. Enjoy your morning coffee, Diane; you're probably having it as I type!
This is SO GREAT! Sometimes your Guardian Angels just KNOW BEST! Love the pictures and chuckled heartily at "Joachim losing it in the rear"!!!! HAHAHAHA! Whoo-hoo!!
And, Margaret, what are you doing up at 2 am???
A belated, but big, smile on my face here.
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