I was overwhelmed by the turnout for his baptism. I invited all of our family...aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc...thinking "I know it's far for them to travel but we'd love to have them join us". EVERYONE MADE THE TRIP! What a feeling of love and support!
In order to make life easier for the family that traveled into town, we had lunch at our house first. We were able to eat and enjoy each other's company before we all caravaned over to the church.
When we arrived, I got the wee man dressed in his snazzy outfit with the help of my sister, also J's Godmother. We put the cheesy hat on just for the picture. :)
I was a little nervous once we got started because J was so tired. He didn't get a good nap that morning and as expected, was passed around like a sack of potatoes. He loved the attention and was totally content in everyone's arms. But once we got to the church, it was quiet and we were standing still. Not so good.
Thank goodness I had packed a bottle! It did the trick and kept him happy for a little while. But then...uh oh! We had to pull it out for just a second while the deacon did a blessing on his chest. My sister's eyes say it all...UH OH!!
But whew!! We stuck it back in and all was right again. :) Z stroked his hair to get J to settle down. Such the helpful brother. :)
All through the baptism M and I played "pass the baby". Anything to keep him quiet and content, right? The unspoken rule: If you're not holding the baby, you're keeping close tabs on the big boys.
M held J as the holy water was poured over his head. J didn't make a peep, he was so good, and M even managed to baptize the sleeve of his suit pretty good. :)
Then the brave deacon called all the children up to the water to talk to them about making the sign of the cross when they enter the church. It's a way of renewing your baptism each time you enter and leave the church. The kids loved being involved and it was a great touch!
Then we lit the candles to signify the light of Christ. I've held onto the big boy's candles and brought them with me. We lit all three candles for all three boys.
It was a little tricky getting the big boys to hold the candles so we only kept them lit for a minute but I liked the significance of having all of them lit together.
By this point we were nearing the end of the baptism. The big boys had done a great job standing quietly and were still holding their candles. I looked down to see A turn to Z. Z smirked, A smirked and slooooowly they pointed their candles at each other. A terse grunt from me and they slooooowly turned away from each other. Yup. I saw it all over their faces...they were going to use them as light sabers.
Afterwards we took a few family pictures. Here we are with Deacon Murphy. M has known him for a few years, before he was a deacon, so it was extra special to have him do the baptism for us. Oh! And as you can see, it was very special and meaningful for little A. Yes, he's doing his best cross-eyed face.
Little J and his godparents, my sister and my dad.
And all the family members that traveled to be with us for this special day. We even had some great friends show up!
What a special day! Filled with love and support for our little J. It was overwhelming...but in a good way...to have everyone with us. We are so thankful that everyone made the effort to be here, I just can't say it enough. J is a loved little wee man. I pray his life is filled with many, many blessings.
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