Emilia's Baptism

I love how you can see the water falling off her head in this close-up

Yesterday morning we had Emilia baptized. Pastor David Groen did the baptism, which was cool for me as he was my youth pastor for a few years back in the day. Pastor Sid Vanderwoud did Dominic's baptism last year, which was also special because he baptized my Dave a few years ago. 

Emilia wore a hand-me-down dress from Janine and she was definitely the brightest person at church yesterday. When we first got to church she was completely overwhelmed. She's normally a happy and social girl, but I think I handed her off to a few too many people she wasn't overly familiar with, and before long she started crying whenever someone looked at her. Poor thing. 

It was very special for us to see all the people who came to our church specially for Emilia's baptism. 

I got her settled and just held her during the first few songs. Dad was on worship and planned the service with some of my favorite songs in mind. Perks of being the worship leader's daughter I suppose!

When it was our turn to go up for Emilia's baptism, Pastor Dave said a few words and then invited us up. At our church we get to select a person to hold the baptismal bowl, so we selected Scott again. The kids of the church were invited up to sit close and watch the whole thing; a tradition I have always loved. While Dave spoke, Emilia excitedly flapped her arms and smiled; a nice change from her unfortunate attitude earlier on. 

During the actual baptism, Emilia was perfect. I don't know how we got so lucky, but both our kids were happy and quiet during their baptisms. I thought for sure she would cry! Especially with the generous amount of water Pastor Dave cups onto babies' heads. Dave prayed for us, and then we were presented with two gifts. First, a blanket crocheted by Desiree. It's a newer tradition that when babies are baptized in our church she crochets them a blanket. We actually received ours when Emilia was born, so it was a sneaky re-gifting, but the sentiment was there during the service. Second, they normally give a "Jesus Storybook Bible", but we already have two, so they gave us a book called "The Tech-Wise Family". 

After church, my mom had bought and set out some treats to celebrate the baptism with the church family. Both my kids had had it, and Emilia wouldn't stop crying as it was past nap time. Regrettably, we had to bow out before connecting with many people or even enjoying a brownie. We zipped home to put the kids to bed, and then had our immediate families over for a little lunch (also put together by my Mom). I don't know what I would have done without her. These things didn't even cross my mind - not like I had the time or energy to execute them even if they did!

Over all it was a beautiful celebratory morning, and we capped off the day with a SUPER FUN trip to the Pumpkin Patch. More on that to come.

A huge thank you to those who took and shared pictures with us, as we were focused on being present in the moment with our little family. 

Sorry Dave & Dom, my greasy hair bun got in your way ;)

Little beat boxer. This is how she sucks her fingers. Adorable.

 

Our church usually sings "May the Lord" after baptisms, and I texted my dad the day before to make sure they were planning to sing it. It has a little extra special meaning because it's the song I sing to Emilia every night before bed.

Dom was pretty stone-faced about being up in front of the church. Until while we were singing, he saw a car and a dog in the parking lot. "VROOM!!! VROOM!!! PUPPY!!!"