Baptized With Love

My little Lu is a baptized baby.  It was one of those few "fabulous moments" over our Thanksgiving vacation.

In all honesty, it was my favorite day and my favorite moment of the entire five day trip.

Both Jack and Maggie were baptized in our home town in Florida.  It seemed only fitting to do the same for Lucy.  It was the same church Clay and I grew up in {many years apart}.  It was also the same church Clay and I were married in. And happily the same priest who did the honors.

But, the most wonderful part {and I truly mean this} was having both sides of our family there to rejoice in Lucy's special day.  Lucy may not have realized it at that moment through her tiny sleep deprived eyes, but I will be sure to tell her one day.

Much love {and holy water-which she didn't care for} was poured over Lucy on Saturday, November 24th at 3:30...right in the middle of the Florida State/Florida game.  And I note this, only because if you know my husband, that was a giant sacrifice.  A sacrifice of unconditional love.

I was honored that my cousin, Joel, {whom it is so wrong to only give him that title...he is and has been so much more to me throughout my life} and his wife, Catherine, graciously accepted the duty of Lucy's Godparents.  They traveled many miles, from California, just to be with us for this fabulous moment in Lu's life.

For that I am forever grateful.

What a lucky {and loved} baby our Lu is.

Here is the guest of honor.  I told you she was tired.  Pretty much the entire trip at that.  And this was even before the ceremony started.

I would like to claim that the quality of the following pictures is poor because I had to pass off my camera.  But, I'm sure they would have looked this even if I were behind the lens.  I am just grateful to have them.

Lucy handled most of the baptism pretty well, considering all she had been through the three days prior.  I, on the other hand, had to hold back many tears {of joy} as I watched my youngest receive the grace of God's love.  The reminder was overwhelming.

I passed Lucy off to her Godparents for the pouring of the Holy water.  She made it clear that Momma's arms is where she wanted to be.  Monseigneur Hunt even recommended that, "Lucy would like her Mommy now".  Once in my arms she was content again.

Jack was given the all important responsibility of holding the Baptismal candle.  He was clearly terrified of the fire.  But for me, it was another proud moment.

We took as many family pictures as we could following the ceremony.  Clay was anxious to get home to catch the end of the game and Lucy was anxious to get to her crib.  Understandable for both.

This is the Dumbacher crew.  The only one missing was Jon.  That was a tough one to handle.  He was busy trying to graduate from college...one more semester.   But, on a brighter note it was the first time we had all been together since Clay and I's wedding.  Love how Lucy brought us all together once again.

This is the Cibula crew.  The lovely family I married into.  We had a few causalities on this side too due to the game. {no seminole loving family could turn down tickets:}

Here is my Lucy and her gracious Godparents...I promise she really does love them.  I blame it on the exhaustion because normally she is just fine with anyone holding her.

She settled into Uncle Jim's arms for a few moments.  It took a lot of bouncing and walking though.

And speaking of bouncing, Maggie was all over the place.  She was eating up the love of all of her family and cousins.  Poor Jack was just going through the motions.  My little guy was feeling the effects of his Motrin wearing off.

We returned to our condo for the after Baptism party.  Lucy and Jack hit their beds, each asking me to do so in their own way. And Maggie snuggled up with her Grampa to watch the game.  Maggie was certainly the life of the party.  One for three on kids celebrating.  That's life.

Lucy joined the party after a much needed nap.  I actually had to wake her so she could show her face, get a bath, and her last feeding of the day.  I think she may have slept through the night had I not.  She spent a few celebratory minutes in her family member's arms {without crying} and then she was off to bed again.

My Maggie enjoyed the solitary attention, sweet treats {from Santa's visit} and running wild with cousin Halle.  For her it was the perfect way to end a vacation.

For me it was a sigh of relief and joy.  We survived  nearly a week away from home.  And we were coming back with a baptized baby.

Upon returning home, Lucy was back to her angel baby self...graced by God's love.