The Krajicek Fundraiser was Great

The road was closed and the attendance was great for the Krajicek fundraiser this afternoon.

Being on site, it was not only a chance to enjoy a great meal, folks could also see the work that needs to be done so the house is truly handicapped accessible to make it easier for Jim and his family.

 and there was plenty of food!

Jim enjoyed and appreciated seeing everyone.

Thank you to the Knights and everyone

 who made this happen.

Prayer Service & Open House

Yesterday our school families gathered for a prayer service and open house.

Then families headed to the school ...

 ... bringing their supplies.

Students found their rooms, discovered their teachers and learned who else is in their classroom.

In a few classes, they 

began their homework.

There was even ice cream.

By the end of the night, there

 were a lot of supplies left behind.

Making Goodbye Sweet

My smart phone has been dinging a lot lately.

It’s the sound of emails hitting my account. And lately there’s been a lot of activity, with fellow eighth-grade parents responding to a call for donations for a parent get-together following the annual eighth-grade dinner May 8.

I like the sound of the dinging. It reminds me of school families’ willingness to help – always, for anything – and managing to have fun while they’re at it. The email responses began almost as soon as the initial request came in.

The phone’s dinging also reminds me that we have a lot of families at St. Columbkille who enjoy getting together and celebrating. In this case – the eighth-grade dinner and dance, and the separate parent party – are bittersweet. We’re seeing kids off to high school after years of developing friendships between students and among families.

This will be the sixth eighth-grade dinner for our family (with three more to go, God willing). The first one was amazing, but each year the event grows and becomes even better, thanks to seventh-grade parents who host the event and other eighth-grade parents who help ensure it’s memorable for the students. You have to experience the dinner to believe it. They go all out with the invitations, decorations, photo opps, food, service, slideshow and memorabilia.

Thank you to the creative parents who put on the event. And thank you to all the eighth-grade families who have been part of our lives during these formative years (for both the parents and students).

Thank you for making saying goodbye so sweet.

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

Celebrating Ceili

 Gail and John DeBoer were our Honorary Chairs

 as we celebrated our 2014 Columb's Ceili.

 The Schmid and Pokorny Families received the Spirit of 

St Columbkille Awards for being models of quiet Discipleship.

 It was a wonderful night to come together

 and celebrate as a parish family.

Fat Friday

Last night was Fat Friday. This was a great gathering of our parish family as the Knights of Columbus raised money for scholarships.