Baptism

This past Saturday (July 10), Lauren was baptized at St. Bonaventure during mass. We missed having my family there but it meant a lot to us that all of Aaron's family could be there to witness such a special event. When Alyssa was baptized, it took place after the mass, but Lauren's was a part of the mass. It struck me how at every turn there was a special prayer for her or for us throughout the entire mass. There's something powerful about having an entire congregation of people praying for your child and your family.

Lauren was awake through part of mass and then she fell asleep shortly before we approached the baptismal font. Even when Father Bob poured the water over her head, she didn't scream, just shivered from the shock. Alyssa was left to her own devices during much of this part of the rite because everyone else was either up front or taking pictures, she made several trips from our front row pew to the font where she wanted to see what was going on, but she didn't want to sit still too long. On the last of these trips, however, she brought up her crackers and sippy cup. You have to wonder what the rest of the congregation and the priest were thinking. They might have been saying their own special prayers for us - that we might teach our child how to behave during mass!



After mass we had a dinner back at our house to celebrate Lauren becoming part of the Church. It was very informal as most of the house was packed. We ate off of paper plates with plastic silverware and cups. Aaron grilled dinner - a little salmon, chicken, and pork chops (what was left in our freezer!) and Aaron's mom brought the side dishes. We laughed though because we still had to open a few boxes to get serving spoons, can openers, etc. It was a fun day with family!