Perfect End

Here is the main food table just before food began to arrive on Saturday night.
We ended up having so much food that we had to open another table to receive the rest of the scrumptious dishes that people brought to share. Here I was so worried there would not be enough for people to eat and I brought 2 hams (that I don't eat), 2 cakes, blueberry muffins, and a ton of grapes!

Here is the beginning of the dessert table. There were cakes, pies, candies and brownies!

The Hall was set for 60 guests and we had used the service for 70. Gigi, the man who the party was for, ended up having so many guests that we ran out of dishes! People were dining on salad plates. It was such a beautiful evening for him. The parishioners gave him a sweet farewell in the sanctuary after the dinner. I think that was so that some of us could "clean up" as quickly as possible after the dinner. Hey believe it or not 4 of us cleaned that room in about 30 minutes! We had all the dishes, silverware, coffee cups, saucers, wine glasses, salt and pepper shakers, butter dishes, center pieces, table linens, wine bottles...I mean every thing magically whisked away to the kitchen that is ACROSS THE COURTYARD,where my incredible husband began washing dishes with me. My children were all there and behaving so amazingly well. All of them were being seen and gently heard. But the best part was about to come. When the goodbyes from the church were concluded, the people were very somber and some were leaving with tears in there eyes because someone so special to their heart was relocating to another country, you hear my son "look you guys! Lightening!" Up in the center of the courtyard the sky was filled with a beautiful electrical display. There were ooh's and ahh's from all the adults. Then came the rain. Big bursts of pounding rain. Becca, Michael Jr and a couple other children went out and jumped around in the rain making quite the show for the older parishioners! It was nice for the evening to end a bit more on a up note than all the sadness that it was ending on. Maybe that was God's little gift.

Changing the subject entirely...
We got home late from the party, went to Mass Sunday morning, then came home and did this.

Michael pulled off all the boards from the forms, okay that is not as easy as it sounds either. You have to take out the screws and the nails. Some of the boards are buried in the cement and you have to break them or cut them down to the ground, most of the time both. Then you have to stack your lumber and then pick up any screws or nails on the dirt. It is very time consuming. I only got to help him out a little.

This is what we ended up with!
Footings!
Whoo Hoo!
:)
We were happy.