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Baptism Flashbacks

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
We visited a new church last Sunday.  A priest who was a friend of ours back when Will was a toddler is the pastor at a neighboring church and we decided to go there for Mass this past Sunday.  It was so nice to see Father Phil.  He baptized Harry 11 years ago.  Funny thing...At Harry's Baptism, when Father Phil asked what name we give this child, I said."Harrison Reed." And father Phil (who knew us) said, "I baptize you Hamilton Reed."  I have always joked that Harry was baptized by the wrong name.  I tease him that when he gets to heaven, St. Peter won't be able to find his name one the list:)

Another lil funny story....  One day back then, we invited Father Phil over to dinner.  It was the first time we ever had a priest over to dinner.  Well, Father Phil was very, very, very late to dinner (like 2 hours late).  And this was back in the days before everyone had a cell phone so we did not know how to reach him. Harry was an infant and needed to go to bed. We were flustered and dinner was overcooked. I vividly remember sitting on the front porch wondering if we should just go ahead and eat or keep waiting.  He eventually showed up and never offered any explanation for why he was so late. We never asked either. When we sat down to eat, Will wanted to say the blessing.  So we let him.  He then proceeded to say the HaMotzi  (a Jewish blessing) as he was enrolled in a Jewish pre-school at the time. Dave and I were quite embarrassed but Father Phil thought it was great!

So, Sunday was so nice.  The church was so warm and welcoming. We got to catch up with Father Phil for a few minutes. And we heard a great homily about letting go of fears that paralyze us (hello, I needed that one) and what keeps us from being more loving.  Also, a little baby was being baptized and it reminded me of the Baptisms of my 3 babies.  In fact, I got a little misty reminiscing.

I did not blog back when Will and Harry were baptized so I wanted to share a some pictures of theor Baptisms.

Will was 4 months old when he was baptized.  My sister, Dawn is his Godmother.  I remember wanting to get him a gown but Dave did not go for that so I got a lacy white "boy" outfit instead! LOL!

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GO ahead, make fun of my 1997 hair!

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Will was a beautiful baby!!!
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Will was baptized in the church that Dave and I were married in.

We had a party at our home after Will's Baptism but I don't have any photos really.  I have a photo of the petit fours:)
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And this one of my nephew, Austin who is a month older than Will.
Austin is on the left (he lives in CA so we don't see him nearly enough) and Will is on the right.

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  I have a feeling that a roll of film from the party never got developed.  I cannot imagine that I would not have taken any pictures.  Dawn, if you are reading, do you have any?

Now onto Harry's Baptism....Harry was also about 4 months old ( I think).

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I did get him a nice long traditional gown.  I am sure Dave still was none too thrilled but I did not care.  I think all babies should be Baptized in a beautiful gown.  How cute is he?!

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Harry was baptized in our current church which makes me so happy. And that is father Phil up there and Harry's Godparents.

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Look at how Will is squeezing Harry's lil neck in the one above.  He has him in a choke hold and poor Harry's face is all red.  Obviously, I had no idea he was squeezing so hard! This is Dave's brother and his (former)wife and our niece and nephew who are now in college!!!!


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These are Harry Godparents (Miss Cathy and Mr. Scott). They are still some of our dearest friends and just moved back to Houston this year.  We spend time with them every single week.  They are like family to us.  Look at lil Harry's smile.  He was such a happy baby.


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We had a small party for close friends and family at our house.  I think it was very casual. We had a pool and I think the party was mostly outside. I remember having Shrimp Etoufee and Cajun food for adults (catered) and hot dogs for kiddos.  Again, I have only a few photos.

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Look at Harry smiling up at his Godfather! Love this.  Harry adores and looks up to his Godfather, Scott to this day.  I so wish this photo were a better quality.


Kate was baptized on her actual first birthday. It was such a special day!  She had been home exactly 2 months.  

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Kate was such a ham!  She was pulling at Harry's hair...

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Will wore his silks form China!

 I love this photo of the boys watching their sister.

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This is one of my best friends, Staci holding Kate as she is baptized.  Staci and her husband, Long are Kate's Godparents.

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look at that little foot....so cute!

My favorite ones from Kate's Baptism though were when the priest in Virginia put his hand up to pray over her and she put her hand up too.  It was so precious.

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She also tried to read along in the Bible...

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I love Harry's face here.  (I was very lucky that my good friend, Bagel took all these photos for us!)

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We had a big party to celebrate Kate's Baptism, first birthday and joining our family.  It was the first time many of our relatives got to meet Kate.  I blogged all about it here and there are lots of photos.  I had better cameras by then and friends that took photos:)

Hope you enjoyed the little walk down memory lane. I know I did.  When I look back at the boys baptisms, it almost seems like another lifetime.  I wish I had more photos and I wish I could remember more from those sleep deprived baby days.  It is all kind of a blur.

Lent begins in hours and I am 7 bags in!!!!  I am WAY ahead of schedule.

14 comments:

  1. BRAVA! For writing about your faith.

    I just peeked into my google stats and saw that out of the first 50 keyword searches that led to my blog today, 42 of them had the words "Lent, Kids, Explain" or some variation of those included in the search.

    Clearly... not enough people are writing about Christianity.

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  2. Such sweet flashbacks -- adorable!! And your hair looked great at each baptism -- if only I had such nice hair!

    Great job on the 40 bags!!

    janet

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  3. Hi Kim,
    I adore the photos from my kids' baptisms, too. My husband and my oldest daughter were baptized together and it was such an amazing day for us! There is an older gentleman in our church's choir and he takes the most beautiful photos of events during church. He takes them from the choir loft, such a great angle, and he sent them all to me. They are stunning.

    Anyway, I am actually writing because I am Methodist and my brother's family is Catholic. I am the Godmother of my oldest niece and I have to admit I am really unsure of my role. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure it out when they asked me and I think I am doing fine, but can you share with me the roles of your kids' Godparents. Why did you select them and what do you expect from them? I try to be a great role model to my niece and I remember her Christening anniversary each year with a small gift. In our church we don't really use the term Godparent, but we enter into a covenant as a church member that we will be part of the child's upbringing in the Christian faith. This was just on my mind as my niece's Christening anniversary was last week. I guess I just need some reassurance that I am a good Godmother (ha ha).

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    1. Amanda,

      Such a good question and actually a great reminder because I think I slack as a Godmother sometimes:(

      I chose people to be Godparents based on a few things. First and foremost they were good Christian role models. To me that is the real role. When my sister asked Dave and I to be Godparents, she told us that she really admired the way we were raising our boys (we did not have Kate yet) and she hoped to raise her son that way too. I will never forget that.

      Secondly, I chose people who a very regular part of our life. I wanted people that I thought my kids would have a close lifelong relationship with. I wanted to choose people they could go to if they felt like they could not come to us.

      I try to make my godsons feel special my remembering them a few times throughout the year. I will admit though that some years I do a better job at this than others. Last year, I think I forgot one of my Godson's birthday. I feel awful about that!

      My kiddos send their GodMothers and Godfathers a card on Mother's Day and Father's Day. They sell Godparent cards for those days.

      I guess I really hope that the Godparents will foster a special relationship with that child. For example, one of them lives locally and I would love if they would single out their Godson once or twice a year and maybe take him out to breakfast and just spend one on one time with him. He adores them and I know that would mean a lot to him. Unfortunately, both of my Godsons are long distance but when I visited my friend Staci (who has 4 kids) I bring my Godson a special gift and I took just him out to breakfast and to the bookstore. I so wish I saw him more.

      My Aunt Rose was my Godmother and while she treated all of us well...she always had a special little gift for me growing up. I specifically remember a dime store, plastic pretend make-up kit she gave me when I was probably Kate's age. I felt so special and so loved. I know that sounds silly but it is true.

      Sorry to go on so long. I hope I helped:)

      Kim

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    2. Thanks so much for your response. I sent her the bible verse about faith, hope and love and these glass magnets from Etsy

      http://www.etsy.com/listing/77215820/glass-magnets-faith-hope-love?ref=sr_gallery_37&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=faith+hope+love+magnets&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade


      Last year I sent her a gratitude journal. She is eleven and it seems to get a little harder each year.

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  4. I think your 1997 hair was much better than most hair in that era, at least it was much, much better than mine! My mom got a beautiful gown for daughter to wear for her baptism and both our boys wore it, too. I don't think my husband was overly thrilled. My hope is that one day my grandchildren will wear the same gown. Abby, like Kate was a little older (11 months) by the time she was home and baptized (on our 18th anniversary). I bought a white, frilly dress for her in Guangzhou that she wore. One of things I love about being Catholic is the tradition surrounding baptism, it's such a special day. I appreciate the special attention you give to your faith on your blog. Good luck with your lenten obligations! I'm going to pray the rosary daily and I'm using your idea to purge the house of junk. Thanks for sharing your baptism photos.

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  5. Beautiful post, Kim .. all 3 of my boys were baptized in the same church by the same priest. Such special memories .. and yes in fancy gowns too! ;)

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  6. This is so so beautiful... some day you're going to really appreciate putting this into a blog post. I smiled the whole way through reading it. What precious children you have. God is so good.

    Isn't it wonderful to have memories? Really, what would life be without pictures? They trigger memories that live forever.

    Jill

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  7. (hee hee) Poor Harry:) Tough being the middle kid....getting choked and getting your hair pulled! They are all so great! What wonderful memories for all of you and I love how relaxed Kate was, grabbing for the book and feeling so comfortable with the Priest!

    P.S. It is TYPICAL behavior here to be 2 or 3 hours late for dinner with absolutely no explanation whatsoever. It is the strangest thing and I will never get used to it. Because here's the thing, if I am cooking and they are coming to my house and they actually for the first time in their lives come "on time" I won't be ready. So I always have it ready.....and it is always a mess by the time they arrive. I told Greg in the future we are just going to grill hamburgers and hot dogs and I will make cold things that sit in the frig. ha!

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  8. These photos are so, so sweet, Kim. Thanks for sharing. Loved the shot of Kates sweet little foot.

    Gin =)

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  9. Hi Kim,
    This is off-topic, but I just posted a question on my blog, and would love your feedback, if you get the chance. Thanks!

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  10. I enjoy reading your blog - your kids are adorable.

    I'm not one to comment usually, but I have to say I found myself reading this post all the way through hoping to find out why that priest was 2 hours late to dinner! Priest or not, being two hours late to a dinner invitation with no explanation is RUDE.

    Just my 2 cents.

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  11. What a fun flashback post! Kate looked sooo cute on her baptism day. Our kids wore a gown that has been in the Leader family for 100 years! It was just precious, however, Carson was a stuffed sausage in it!

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  12. i love this post!! i love traditional gowns for baptism as well. all of the kids have worn a gown that was on my dad's side of the family that is over 150+ years old. isn't that amazing? i need to get on the ball with Grace here soon, thank you for reminding me!!

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Thank you for your kindness.