Maggie Clare's Baptism Day! The Smells and Bells and Delicious Cake.

I hope you like lots of pictures of sacraments and cake because you're about to get a million.

First up - The Background Details.

Eric and I are very intentional when it comes to things of the faith.  Everything is very meaningful for us.  I thought I'd share a little behind the scenes information.

Thank you to Annie Borrello for photographing the Baptism for us.

Location - 

We had Maggie baptized at our parish where I have worked and together we have volunteered for over nine years.  We were married here. Evie was baptized here.

Godparents -

After much prayer and discernment Eric and I chose our siblings to be the Godparents.  Eric chose his sister, Leeann.  I chose my brother, David.

Baptismal Gown -

Maggie's dress is the same one Evie wore.  It is made from Eric's maternal grandmother's wedding dress.  Eric's mother was also married in this dress.  After Leeann decided not to wear it, we learned of this idea to pass down wedding dresses by having them made into baptism gowns.  Brilliant idea.  Eric's mom also had a pants, vest and bow tie made for Luke + future grandsons. 

Priest -

Normally Deacon Dennis is our go-to guy for family sacraments.  He did our wedding prep, married Leeann and Dan, and married David and Paige.  He baptized Connor, Zach and Evie.   But his son, Fr Dennis, who has been a close friend for over nine year, is finally ordained a priest.  He owed us some Sacraments :)  We were thrilled he could celebrate Maggie's big day.

And now, The Main Event

We knew Maggie's gown was going to be big on her, but not so big that we needed to roll it and binder clip it in the back to keep it on her.  She looked like a baby stegosaurus. 

We began the baptism outside the chapel.  As parents and Godparents we committed to raising Maggie in the faith.  We each put a cross on her head.  Then we processed into the chapel.

My cousin, Hilary, proclaimed the Word of God.

Evie sat with her Godparents (Sam and Katie) until it was time for the Rite of Baptism.

Fr. Dennis gave a brief homily on the importance of community.

And then we began the Rite.  Evie was crossed on her head and heart with the oil of Catechumens. 

Then Fr. Dennis blessed the water.

Maggie was incredibly peaceful and calm as Fr. Dennis baptized her in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Then it was time for the Chrism. Oh the delicious smelling Chrism.  It's rubbed all over her forehead, just like it will be again at Confirmation.  I love that our faith is so multi-sensory.  (Chrism is just one of the many smells and bells.)

Next she received her white bib to signify her new clothing in Christ. (The bibs are hand made as a gift from women in our parish)

The baptismal candle was lit from the Easter/Paschal candle as a reminder to keep the light of Christ in our hearts.

The Rite concludes with a beautiful blessing over the Mother, then the Father, then the Godparents, and finally the faithful (all the folks attending).  I really need to make a print of the blessing because it's such a great reminder of our duties as Catholic parents.

I don't know if everyone does it, but one things our parish does is fill a holy water bottle with the water from the children's baptism for the parents to take home and bless their children whenever they would like.  We have a bottle for each of the girls now. (When I remember) I like to bless them before bed.

Such a blessed day.  We're so thankful for our family and friends who could celebrate this special day with us.

As we were helping Fr. Dennis clean up the last thing to do was blow out the Easter candle. The two boys were taking turns trying to blow it out. It was hysterical. 

Let them Eat Cake.

My parents were so gracious to host a party at their house after the Baptism.

We feasted on delicious lemon and raspberry cake from Cakes by Darcy.  (OMG delicious)

My parents ordered flowers from the florist who did Sam and Katie's wedding (he works at Kroger. I kid you not)

 And I made cookies, of course.  (People asked how I had time to decorate these.  Let's just say my house looked like an F3 went through it. And Evie watched A LOT of Dora)

It was a blessed day.  We had a fantastic time celebrating our sweet girl's Baptism Day!  Thank you, everyone!