The Baptism

It appears as though the birth story will not be reviewed by Hubs until after taxes are completed.

priorities. priorities.

James' baptism was on March 17th.  It was held in my parent's backyard with about 45 people to witness the miracle of new life.  We were blessed with absolutely beautiful weather.

Planning it felt a little like planning a mini wedding.  I found out what all the buzz about Pinterest was, and let my imagination get to work.  I was fortunate enough to have some help at my parent's house, and since I'd been kicked out of my own home in order for Hubs to record, I was there a lot.  I made a rag wreath, cake pops, modge podged cups for favors, and hung chinese lanterns.  My mom was a total and complete rock star in prepping her home, and garden, and helping me with all of my projects.

The ceremony and baptism were done by Hub's and my youth minister from high school.  He also gave the message at our wedding.  We credit him as our match maker.

The Godparents / Sponsors were two of our cousins.  In our families Godparents were an aunt and uncle (or two aunts in my case), from each side.  Since we only have one sister each, we opted for cousins.  We hope that our cousins will have similar relationships with our children as we did with our aunts and uncles.  To us a Godparent is a helper for when we fail to be leading James in faith.  They are someone that will be specially invested in James' growth, not just in faith, but in character and all aspects of life.

The Godfather is Hubs' cousin "B Macaroni" who is currently in his first year of Med school.  He is hilarious, and we had such a fun time having him stay with us.  B Mac's mom is Hub's godmother.

The Godmother is my pseudo cousin "LT," who is 3/4 of the way through her tests to become a CPA.  Her mother and mine have been best friends since grade school.  My mom is LT's Godmother, and I am LT's younger sister's Godmother.

James wore the family baptismal gown.  The gown was made by Hub's great-aunt to be a family heirloom, and Hubs was the first to wear it.  Every grandchild on that side since Hubs has worn it, and their initials and baptism date are all embroidered on scallops at the bottom.

It was a lovely day, and we were surrounded by so many amazing people that love us.  The only thing I regret, is that James was a sleepy, sleepy boy by the end of the ceremony.  He was hot, and a little overwhelmed by all of the loving arms that wanted to hold him.  I should have excused him from the party, but kept thinking he'd just fall asleep in someones arms and be content.  I have a little bit of mommy guilt that he really didn't have such a stellar time, but live an learn.  Being brought into a new life connected to death and resurrection can be exhausting!

Here are some pictures taken by my dear friend Sarah.  You can check out more of her work here.

And now for some of the details:

The flowers were from Millie.  I got mastitis (you'll hear about that fun time in my forthcoming post "Adventures in Breastfeeding") 4 days before the baptism, and she had bought me these, along with making me the tastiest chicken broth ever.

The spread was all gluten-free: look at how amazing that fruit and cheese look.

The favors were little plants.  They had a dual meaning.
1. They symbolize the new life that James was given
2. James' middle name is Francis, and my favorite quote from St. Francis of Assisi is, "Where there is hatred, let me sow love."

The cake pops (also gluten free) were my first foray into crafty baking, and they were delicious.  There were way too many left over, which means I ate waaay too many the following week.  I may just have to treat myself to some for my birthday!

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As a side note: It kind of kills me that these posts are no where close to chronological order, but I know if I don't just post whatever is the most convenient at the time, I'll put off posting and be a super lame blogger.