Yesterday was our much anticipated Back to School Feast.
To be honest, the day was a little chaotic and we didn't actually
sit down for dinner until 8:00.
I'm pretty sure idiot Satan was trying to stop us and discourage our
family from having this super important Christ-centered
evening because we faced several hiccups.
Mr. Nielson took the Little Nies with him to our lot in Siler City while
he crafted a temporary dining room table for our feast- and when I say temporary,
I actually mean a temporary top. Mr. Nielson has been crafting,
designing, and welding amazing legs for this table for some time.
Someday we are hoping to cover it with live-edge wood.
Someday.
He built a top made of unfinished super heavy pine.
It actually turned out beautiful and I am happy to have a
and the legs are incredible; Scandinavian, and sleek.
I spent most of the morning at three different grocery stores getting supplies
for dinner and before I knew it, it was already 2:00.
I rushed home and cleaned up my house while waiting for Mr. Nielson
and the Nies to come home and deliver the table.
They brought it in, set it up, and left me to go play at the river while I
I set the table, started dinner and cleaned up the house.
I loved it.
Later The Little Nies came home just as I was sweeping the floor.
Everything was ready, but the sun was setting and we all needed a shower.
I was feeling a little overwhelmed and worried the feast would be a bust.
Finally, around 7:30 when we were all cleaned up and dressed in our best,
I led the children into the dining room where candles were lit and goblets filled.
I showed them to their chairs and they seemed
really happy and very pleased.
At their place setting sat their beautiful glass star and some other goodies.
This year is a little different because I decided to invest in some really
elegant and heavy-duty crowns for all of us.
I think from now on we will just reuse our crowns for every feast
instead of creating new ones like I did when they were younger.
We sat down and before we ate, I offered a prayer over the meal and evening.
I was emotional as I prayed to God thanking him for our family and
for our experiences- all of them:
the good and bad, the hard and the fun since our last feast.
A LOT has changed since last August. I thanked God that we
were all healthy and thriving in a new life here in North Carolina.
After the prayer and before loading our plates with food, Mr. Nielson
held up our new framed theme from a scripture
in the 13th chapter of John in the Bible:
"A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another.
We read it together and talked about what
the theme will mean to our family this year.
We stayed up talking until almost midnight when I finally asked one
of the girls to bring out the chocolate cake I had made.
Mr. Nielson started the dishes and Lottie was long asleep in my lap.
It's hard to think that maybe Claire will have just one more feast before she
graduates, and then who knows what life will hold for our family.
One thing is certain, the Back to School Feasts will continue on no matter what.
I cherish these special family nights as most special and beautiful.
There is nothing better, nothing more sacred, and nothing
more important than family.
This whole week I will be posting more about our Back to School theme,
our feast, the menu, and ALL the big and little details.
Today all FIVE of my Little Nies are going to school.
It's a big day for ALL of us!
