Hannah's First Holy Communion. . .

Hannah, our oldest, celebrated her First Holy Communion at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Hinckley, Leicestershire this past Saturday, 24th June after a long & thorough preparation--that girl of mine knew exactly what she was doing!!  There are 6 other girls and 7 boys in her communion class; most of them are her classmates and some are her closest friends here in the UK.

Getting her dress was an interesting process; we had gotten one that we brought home and decided was too much. . .it was fancier than my wedding dress.  The ladies at the Catholic shop very graciously exchanged the dress for something a little more like what Keith and I envisioned!  Luckily Hannah liked the new one. . .and I let her get fancier shoes than she was going to be able to get, so she was all for it!!

  

Trying it all on for Daddy.

Father Frank held a special Mass just for the Communion, so we were able to spend the morning at home relaxing.  Daddy made pancakes & eggs--we painted toenails & fingernails.  Then we got everyone dressed and got Hannah's hair and veil sorted. . and then it was off to church!  The kids had a small rehearsal with Father Frank and Mrs. Quinn (their teacher and mum to one of the boys receiving communion) and I had to set up our table for the get-together after Mass. 

Hannah wanted Subway, Doritos, and my little chocolate chip cookies for her celebration meal!!

And the nerves were setting in. . .  all of the kids were so sweet in their nervousness!

Georgia-Cailin-Hannah-Sabrina-Carys-Hannah-Holly-Kian-Jacob-Oliver-Oliver-Michael-Toby-Seamus

It was one of those tough relocation moments for all of us.  Each child was assigned a pew for their family to sit in; ours, understandably, was empty except for the five of us and Hannah's prayer partner.  Had we been in the States, we would have needed more than one pew for the 22 members of our immediate family, plus any other Brummels & Butlers that might have joined us.  (They were with us in spirit & prayer, though, I have no doubt!)  Bless Hannah, though, she is so positive. . .she just keeps talking about being surrounded by her family the first time she receives Holy Communion in the States.  I am so proud of the young lady that she is becoming; I see her Daddy's strength of character in her more and more every day!!

Hannah & her good friend, Carys

The families met in the parish hall after Mass to have a cake for all of the kids, and then some of the families stuck around and had a meal.  Each of us brought our own food & drink, etc.  It was a little chaotic at first, but it was nice to be able to share the day with friends.

Hannah with her prayer partner, Mary.  Each year, Father Frank asks older parish members to pair up with each of the kids in the communion class.  They spend some time together in the weeks leading up to First Communion, and the prayer partners pray for each other.  Mary was also standing up with Hannah and our family when she received Communion.  Hannah and Mary have gotten together a little bit and hope to spend some time together this summer--it is Father Frank's hope that friendships can bloom across the generations!

Cailin, Carys, & Hannah

Cailin, Carys, Hannah, & Neve (a friend from their class at school). . .I couldn't decide which picture I liked the best, so I put them both in!

Hannah with Father Frank

I got Hannah her own little cupcake since there was a big cake for all of the kids--which Hannah didn't get a piece of :( 

Father Frank arranged for a professional photographer and videographer to be at the Mass, so hopefully I will be able to add some pictures of Hannah during the service.

We are so proud of our girl and how full of faith she is; I am constantly reminded of just how good God is when I see the Holy Spirit in Hannah's smile!!

Trains & The British Museum. . .

Today, we went to The British Museum in London.  (I'm thinking it might be difficult for me to write about something from today. . I am used to posting about something 4 months after it happens! :)

We headed down to London by train (20 min to station/50 minutes on the train), and since the weather decided to be somewhat pleasant, we were able to walk to the Museum.  On the way, we cut through Tavistock Square--a little park in the middle of a block. . .the girls played a game about sharks getting them and then gave up on that to chase the pigeons.

 
On to the museum. . .and I don't know if you are getting Maggie's pleasant and excited mood from this picture, but she couldn't contain her positive attitude! HA!

Here's the lobby:

 This is Amenhotep III. . .from about 1400 BC.

And this is the Rosetta Stone. . .196 BC--tool used to decipher/translate Egyptian hieroglyphics.  I kept laughing at myself because the only thing I could think of was the language programs.

The Ancient Egypt collection was pretty good. . .I think the kids' enjoyed this section of the museum the most!

 

 Once again, the multi-media tours were a big hit with Hannah & Maggie--these were especially cool because they had a touch-screen with a stylus!  Here they are checking out the mummies.

Surprisingly, the girls weren't creeped out by this next one!  I thought there was something really compelling about it.

 

 

 

 Shawl made of gold. . . so comfortable.

 The only picture I got of Charlotte at the museum; she wasn't feeling very good and slept most all the afternoon.

We went back out of the museum to eat lunch. . .ate at El Mexicana--the food was good (burrito, tacos, nachos, and. . .potato wedges), but Keith and I wondered if that was proper Spanish grammar. . shouldn't it be La Mexicana? 

On the way back, I saw this. . .the Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.  Ironically in honor of this Englishman!

A few more Ancient Egyptians. .

On to the Romans and a statue of Venus. . .Hannah got a little giggly about the Roman statues. . fortunately, most of them had lost their. . .well, appendages, so we didn't have to have too long of a conversation about them!  :)

 This is the Nereid Monument, found in Turkey.

 The 2012 London Olympic & ParaOlympic gold medals!

 This one would have been a sweet sister picture if I had: A-caught them straight on and not pretty much cut Hannah out of it. . .and B-if they weren't pushing and fussing at each other while Maggie was holding part of a tool from 3500 BC!  Needless to say, the lady running the exhibit was slightly freaked out!  But, the Brummel girls recovered nicely and got to hold this 5500 year old relic.  Amazing!

 Keith might look like he is "appreciating" the art, but he is really just giving me a look for giggling with the older two about the "tooshie"!

 Michelangelo's The Epifania cartoon 1550-5.  This was in the gallery outside the Picasso exhibit--couldn't take pictures of Picasso's sketches.

My little "dum-dums" (Night at the Museum)

 Hannah & Maggie thought this little guy looked like Steve, the monkey, from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. . I can see it!

 I admit that I made them pose like this. . but it pretty much summed up how they were feeling. . it had been a full day of museum and they were ready to hit the gift shop and head out!

Caught the train back home and stopped at Subway for dinner, where my little Charlotte got sick all over the floor of the bathroom. . .so it was a really great family day out. . just not a very happy ending to the day.  We are a little worried that she is getting more and more sensitive to motion-sickness.  This is the second time that a journey (first time was the car in Wales--this time the train/car) has ended in her getting sick.  Keeping my fingers crossed that it was just a coincidence!!