Jordyn's First Holy Communion & Confirmation

Sunday was such a Blessed day! We celebrated Jordyn's First Holy Communion & Confirmation into the Catholic Church. She was so beautiful as were all the rest of her group. In order to fully understand how this day came together, you must understand the turmoil it took to get her to this day.

At the beginning of April, I decided to start looking for dresses for Jordyn. Specifics I had were obviously, the color HAD to be white and I wanted it to be a very meticulous and beautiful dress. Jordyn rarely has the occasion anymore to be special and the center of attention so I wanted to make sure this day was absolutely perfect. I went to eBay and searched the sites. I chose several different styles of dresses and then let her pick the one that she liked the most. On April 11th, I purchased her favorite dress in a size 8 since that was what was being offered.

On April 12th, after putting on her Easter dress which I believe was a size 7, I realized that a size 8 would be much too large. I immediately emailed the seller and asked if I could get the dress in a size 7 instead of 8. Before they ordered it, she wanted me to send her Jordyn's measurements so I could get the absolute correct size. Within the next week, I took her measurements and she registered oddly. She had the height that would require a size 8 but everywhere else, she was measuring a 6!!! She's such a skinny little thing! We decided however that since the dress is designed to be full-length that we would get a size 7 so that it would be long enough and then we would just have it altered a tad to fit her in the waist and chest.

On May 1st, the seller finally received the dress from their supplier. At this point, we have three weeks before the big day! She sends it out and we received it May 5th. The minute we get it, we take it out of the box and try it on and as luck would have it, she was SWIMMING in it. It was huge!! I ran downstairs, emailed the lady and asked if I could send it back Priority Mail on the 6th and have a size 6 sent to me. She wrote back saying that would be great. Brad sent the dress out on the 6th with a Delivery Confirmation number saying they should receive it by the 8th.

On May 10th, I still had not heard anything from the seller. I email asking her if she had received the dress and if she had sent the size 6 out. She emailed me later that day asking if I had a Delivery Confirmation number. I was LIVID because the confirmation number said the dress had already been delivered on Friday, May 8th!!! On May 11th with only 13 days to go, this is the message I receive in my eBay inbox...

"Sorry to inform you that our supplier has already sold

out all sizes of this white dress because now is the

season for white communion.

So they've sold everything once shipment

comes in last time. We're going to revise all listings

as new shipment may not come in shortly.

Please advise if you can take other color as substitute. Thanks."

I could not believe it!! Why on earth did the lady think I needed the dress??? NO!! Of course I can't take another color!! And please tell me why she waited a full 6 days to order the size 6 dress when she KNEW that I was sending the dress back. She had the confirmation number to prove it!!! OHHH, I was so angry and to top it all off, she had already confirmed my payment of $90!! Well of course she did, why shouldn't she get paid for all this hard work of terrorizing me??? I wrote her back and told her...

"I HAVE to have a white dress as this is also for

communion and I need to have it no later than May 23rd.

If you cannot get me a size 6 dress by that date

then please send the size 7 back and we'll have to make due I guess.

Do you know when you might be receiving a shipment of these dresses?

I will pay for overnight shipping of a size 6 dress...

but this is an absolute MUST for me to get this dress

as I have no other options at this point. Thanks for keeping me informed."

Not wanting to wait for a response, I immediately started looking for other dresses but every single one I found just wasn't as beautiful. Oh and also by this point, I had already paid for an organza jacket for her to wear over the top of her dress...ANGRY!! The seller ended up sending the size 7 dress back telling me that she had "Refused" the package I sent and that it should be there within two days which would have been Wednesday the 13th. By Friday the 15th, I still had not received a dress! Here we were, one week away and no dress! We had shoes, veil, jacket and tiara...but NO dress! Our mail usually arrives by 2:00pm every day so by 5:00 on Friday when I hadn't received the dress, I ran to the computer to leave what very well could have been the nastiest email ever but decided one last time to check the same delivery confirmation number we had been given and see if it would tell me the return delivery status. The message on the phone said "Package was successfully delivered at 4:24pm on May 15th, 2009." WHAT??? WHERE??? So not only was our package over 2 hours late, it was delivered somewhere else...or worse, stolen from our front porch. We later found it on the back patio in one of our patio chairs....Thank goodness it wasn't raining that day!

So, we finally get the dress and rush it up to my Aunt's house on the 16th since she said she would try to alter it for us. Since she was limited with time, she did a quick fix and sort of "hemmed" an area that would work. The dress was so ornate that in order to do the job correctly, she would have had to take the seams completely apart and relocated appliques and such. My Aunt was AMAZING!!! We had forgotten to make little marks when we tried it on for her so she hemmed it by just guessing the correct size. On Sunday, the 17th, the dress was ready to be picked up! I couldn't believe it, all of that terror was gone and this was actually going to turn out okay.

Needless to say, the day was going to be great! I had ordered a cake from Sue Jacobs at Creative Cakes who had designed Bradley & I's wedding cake. She had the cake done on Saturday the 23rd and everything just fell into place. On Sunday, I woke up early and got myself ready. I was so anxious that I had Jordyn's hair done, complete with veil and tiara, by 8:30 am and Mass wasn't even until 11:00!!! She looked absolutely breath-taking. Here are some pictures of that most wonderful day!!

After Mass with her Jacket off

To show the back of the dress

The entire group of 14!

Receiving Communion for the very first time!

Jordyn with her classmate, Jacob Ketola

Jordyn and Jacob with another classmate, Jake Tatko

Jordyn with her Godmother & Sponsor, Wendy Kaschmitter

Jordyn with NaNa Rita


Jordyn with NaNa Maria

Before Mass....so Beautiful!!!

With Bishop Skylstad after Mass

Being Confirmed by Bishop Skylstad

Receiving a Blessing from Bishop Skylstad

Our little girl is growing up so fast

Jordyn Alexis Nielson

First Holy Communion & Confirmation

May 24, 2009

Sleeping Beauty

Every year, Father Tom puts on a school play with our kids. These are not your typical run-of-the-mill plays and when you're sitting there in the audience or working backstage, you have a hard time remembering that you are watching children. This was the fourth year for the play and the production was Sleeping Beauty. In previous years, Father Tom has done Jonah and the Whale, Cinderella, and The Wizard of Oz. Being a very well-read individual, all of these plays are Father Tom's adaptations of the books. For example, anyone who has read the true story of The Wizard of Oz knows that there are some differences between it and the movie with Judy Garland. These usually lend themselves to be more indepth productions. As well, Father Tom always adds characters so there are opportunites for every single person who wishes to act.



This was Jordyn's second year in the play. Last year in The Wizard of Oz, she had four smaller parts with only a couple speaking lines because she was only in 1st grade. This year, she had one key part with several scenes and a lot of speaking parts. I can only imagine what next year will hold. This year, the kids started practice on their first day back from Christmas break which was January 5th. They basically practiced every single day and on days such as President's Day when they didn't have school, there would be large 5 hour practice sessions!! Every year, ladies volunteer to make the extravagant, period-exact costumes and props. The gym is transformed into a wonderland. There were four separate productions this year which lead to an exhausting week but to see the joy in Jordyn's eyes is soooo worth it.



Jordyn was a servant to the King & Queen and she nailed her lines beautifully! As soon as I get the pictures uploaded, I will post them.

Halloween 2008

Witches, goblins, ghosts and more...

Left us with candy galore!!!

This was Kierra's first Halloween and we had a blast!!! Not only that wonderful milestone but also, Jordyn did not dress up as a princess this year, talk about drastic changes in the Nielson household!

Our Halloween started on Thursday the 30th with the Halloween Bash at the kids' school. This is done every year and it is fantabulous!!! The gym is open for a two hour block and it offers so very much. Kids of all ages as well as parents and this year, grandparents (wink, wink) dress up and celebrate. You buy tickets at the door at a wonderful 5 for $1.00 price (proceeds went to the youth group) and scattered all over the gym are games for the kids to play. You receive prizes for participation and even better prizes if you succeed at the game's purpose. There is also a cake walk. Father Tom is a very talented man. He once worked in a flower shop with I believe a family member and he learned to make gorgeous gift baskets, flower arrangements and somewhere along the line, picked up baking and decorating cakes and such. I guess when you plan to live your life in celibacy, you have to know how to feed yourself and why not go all out. Anyway, there is a cake walk at this Halloween Bash and Father Tom makes all the cakes for the prizes. The first year we went he had a cupcake walk and there were over 100 fanciful decorated cupcakes to give out...they were amazing. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that.

After about an hour into the party, Trunk-or-Treat starts in the parking lot. Parents pull their vehicles into the parking lot, decorate them up (there is a contest) and then distribute goodies to the "trunk-or-treaters". It really is nice not having to trudge door-to-door on an incredibly packed street. This year, they had a costume contest and Little Miss Kierra won her age group...when you see the pictures, you'll see why. My mom and I dressed up this year when we took the kids. She was St. Rita (fitting since she is named Rita) and I dressed up as a witch or according to some, dressed down...either way, it was fun!!

Halloween night, Brad and I took the kids to downtown Clarkston to go to the area businesses and scavenge for candy. They block off all of 6th Street and you just have a great time going from one place to the next in search of the mother load. We were about 3/4 of the way done and it started down pouring but that left us with a beautiful rainbow to enjoy! We decided we had had enough and spent the rest of the night seeing my Aunt and Brad's parents. All in all, it was a very fun holiday. So, without much further ado, I give to you our crazy bunch...

Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Sale

Hello everyone! It's that time of year for us...you know, the never-ending fundraisers!! We started our Cookie Dough Sale today and order forms and money are due November 4th. This fundraiser is going towards Holy Family School's general fund which helps pay teacher salaries, buy supplies and help with other bills the school has.

We are offering the "Original" gourmet cookie dough and other outstanding delectables from Otis Spunkmeyer and Red Apple fundraising families. The Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough comes pre-formed for your convenience and packaged in a resealable tub. All Otis Spunkmeyer products may be kept frozen for up to 12 months.

The ease of preparation makes these perfect for afternoon snacks, holidays and just when you need a little bit of comfort. There are 12 irresistible flavors to choose from and each tub makes about 36 delicious cookies however, I have known people to cut them in half and therefore make 72. We are also offering thaw and serve brownies and gourmet pretzels. Each tub is $15.00.

CHOCOLATE CHIP

Loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips

PEANUT BUTTER

Creamy smooth peanut butter for a moist, chewy cookie

WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT

Macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips

CARNIVAL

Our signature chocolate chip cookie with milk chocolate candy coated pieces

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

A unique blend of strawberries, cranberries and white confectionery chips

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK

Milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chunks and white chocolate chips

BUTTER SUGAR

Sweet creamy butter makes this a classic

CRANBERRY OATMEAL

Plump, juicy cranberry bits with chewy oatmeal, sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon

WHOLE GRAIN CHOCOLATE CHIP

Less than 30% calories from fat, less than 10% calories from saturated fat & less than 30% sugar

OATMEAL RAISIN

Bursting with plump juicy raisins

NEW CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP

A chewy chocolate cookie mixed with mounds of white and semi-sweet chocolate chunks

NEW CHOCOLATE & PINK

Chocolate cookie loaded with pink candy-coated chocolate pieces.

Purchases of this cookie help to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

ORIGINAL BROWNIE

These fudgy, dense chocolate brownies are topped with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Specialty chips are melted throughout the batter to create an extra-moist brownie. Comes frozen, just thaw and serve!

GOURMET PRETZELS

Comes frozen with salt and cinnamon packets. Just bake & serve. Makes 12!

You may purchase any of these items through me by sending me a message or giving me a call. All money must be submitted to be so that I may have it it to the school no later than November 4th. If you are interested in purchasing on-line, that is also available. To order online, follow these simple directions in order to credit Holy Family with your purchase...

ON-LINE SHOPPING

Please click Here to purchase items that contribute to our fund raising efforts.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP!

Holy Family Annual Bazaar & Turkey Dinner

It's that time of year again. Get ready for this year's Bazaar and Turkey Dinner for Holy Family School & Parish. Come enjoy the best turkey dinner in the valley, stick around for the wonderful raffle drawings and don't forget the Game Rooms including the cake walk sponsored by the PTA.
So come join us for good eats, good fun & great company, October 26th from 11am-5pm in the Holy Family School Gym.

For those of you who aren't aware of how the Bazaar raffle works, here you go. Each ticket is $1 and puts you in the drawing to win one of 27 grand prizes!! For those of you who live out of town, winner need not be present to win! The drawing will be held following the turkey dinner around 5:15pm. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket, please let me know. If out-of-towners would like to purchase them, simply tell me how many you would like, I will tell you your ticket stub numbers, mail me your money and I'll return your stubs to you. It's simple, easy and is supporting a good cause!

Here is the list of the 27 grand prizes....trust me folks, these are GREAT!!!

1. $2,500 CASH
2. A PIZZA A MONTH FOR A YEAR FROM FAZZARI'S FINEST
3. $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM FUCHS FLOWERS
4. $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM SCHURMAN'S HARDWARE
5. GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR PENDLETON THROW FROM LEE MORRIS COMPANY
6. $500 GROCERY CERTIFICATE TO CLARKSTON HEIGHTS FOOD CITY
7. QUILT STAND AND AFGHAN
8. $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM HAY'S PRODUCE
9. $400 CASH
10. AFGHAN
11. $25 SAVINGS ACCOUNT FROM THE LEWISTON CATHOLIC CREDIT UNION
12. $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM CLARKSTON HEIGHTS FOOD CITY
13. $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM RICK'S FAMILY FOODS
14. $300 GIFT CARD FROM HOME DEPOT
15. $100 CASH
16. $ALL SPORTS SEASON PASS FROM LCSC
17. $300 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM SKELTON'S CARPET ONE
18. 20#'s SAUSAGE
19. $100 CASH
20. $100 CERTIFICATE FOR SCRIP (If you would like to know more about this, email me)
21. $200 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR HAY'S PRODUCE
22. $400 GAS CARD
23. $100 CASH
24. $250 CASH
25. $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM EARLY BIRD SUPPLY
26. $125 GAS CARD
27. $150 CASH

Remember, if any of you are interested in attending or purchasing tickets, please let me know. Admission for the dinner is $9 for adults, $5 for grades K-8 and Pre-school age and younger are free.

For those of you wondering what SCRIP is, this is a WONDERFUL fundraising program which costs you no more out of pocket than you would normally spend on everyday purchases such as groceries and gas. In cooperation with hundred's of nationwide businesses, the SCRIP program allows you the opportunity to purchase gift cards from these businesses and they donate a percentage of your purchase to our school. For example, when I am heading to Albertson's to buy groceries, I pick up a $100 Gift Card from the school for $100 and then Albertson's donates 4% of that back to Holy Family. This is incredibly easy to do and also think about your Christmas list this year!! Gift cards make great stocking stuffers so why not give back to our school when you purchase them!! For anyone interested, let me know and I will send you more information.

Thanks to each and every one of you! It's with your support that we are able to keep this wonderful learning environment open for our children.