Reese's Baptism

Sunday marked an important occasion for our beautiful girl; her baptism. We decided to have her baptized in the Catholic Church because it is important to me to instill faith in her very young. One of my favorite scriptures ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God’" (Luke 18:15–16), really makes me think of Reese -or all kids- when I think of it. They are so innocent and precious and all that Christ asks is that they come to him unhindered. So before we mess it all up, we thought we better take the step to get her involved in church.

As our friends and family arrived at our house my heart began to feel two sizes too big. Here were all the people we loved the most ready to celebrate a big day for our girl. They were here because they were as proud to be part of her family as we are. That really was one of the best parts of the day; the look of pride on every one's face. Especially The Hoyt Family (Mary, Eric, and Clara Jean); Reese's Godparents. Dustin and I both caught Mary beaming a couple of times and that meant so much to us.

Off we went to the church where we all sat down, some more nervously than others. I didn't know what to expect, not because I'd never seen it or done it but because I am a control freak and didn't plan the ceremony myself. But as church started and Father Ken asked us what we asked from the church and asked the Godparents if they knew how important their role was I couldn't help but get choked up (raise your hand here if you are surprised), we were there asking for God to bless this beautiful girl. We walked in and as everyone turned to look at the beautiful baby I felt so proud to be her mom.

The actual ceremony was very quick, a short 5 minutes, most of which I can't remember. But really, who remembers the actual ceremony of their wedding or their high school graduation either? Father Ken did a beautiful job of getting Reese right down in the water without making her too mad. She was anointed with the chrism oil, a lot of chrism oil, and it was over. Quick as a wink, but very nicely done.

After the service we all headed home for lunch. We were scrunched and not everyone had a comfortable seat. There were kids laughing and adults talking and maybe a couple of times, a baby crying. It was exactly the kind of Sunday, Father's Day, baptism day that I hoped for.