God Bless Lily!

Saturday evening we had Lily baptized and it was such a special evening! We started the night by going out to dinner at a neighborhood Italian Restaurant. The food was delicious and it was great to all be together!

Daddy thinks I look like a fairy princess in the dress Aunt Sheila gave me. I wore this beautiful dress to dinner.

Hail, hail, the gang's all here...except for Aunt Sheila and Maggie...we missed you!

Yummy!

I was raised Catholic, Tony's family is Baptist, and we were married Presbyterian. When we talked about where we wanted to have Lily baptized the answer was simple...where we feel most at home - Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf. Tony and I have been active in this church for many years and absolutely love the minister, Rev. Dr. Peggy Johnson. Peggy is quite simply an amazing person. Peggy is a kind, selfless, loving, funny, caring, "real" person with a deep and abiding faith in God. Peggy truly leads by her example. She has a kind of inner beauty and peace that draws you to her and makes you want to know more about where her joy comes from. I imagine if more religious leaders were like Peggy all churches, temples, synagogues, etc. would be bursting at the seams with members!

We then needed to decide who to ask to be Lily's Godparents. We asked our friends, Laura and Rich, and they happily accepted. I have been friends with Laura and Rich for a very, very long time. We were friends back when our budgets were so tight we'd pool our money to buy a 6-pack of beer and play board games all night because we couldn't afford to go out. Together we've shared amazingly happy and terribly sad times and our friendship has withstood it all.

When Tony and I started dating I was almost more nervous about introducing him to Laura and Rich than I was to my own family. What would I do if they didn't hit it off? Well, I didn't need to worry about that. The four of us always have so much fun when we're together. We only wish it could be more often!

Buying Lily's baptism outfit was an experience. I started by going to a fancy children's boutique and looking at outrageously overpriced baptism gowns. A snooty woman...in hushed tones...told me that it is "customary to have your child baptized before they reach this age." Gee, thanks for the tip.

Many of the gowns I looked at were priced anywhere from $180 - $450. I just couldn't do it. There are many people in the world that don't make that kind of money in a month and I'm going to spend it on an outfit Lily wears for less than 30 minutes? I don't think so! Instead, I bought a simple ivory silk dress at Baby Gap. Yes, you read that right....Baby Gap.

Don't I look absolutely precious?!

The baptism service was simple and beautiful and Lily was as good as gold. Lily let Peggy hold her and didn't cry when Peggy poured the water on her head. (You were right Aunt Teresa...Lily was an angel!)

After the baptism we all headed back to our house and sat out on the patio. It was such a beautiful night that we sat around for hours just chatting and enjoying each other's company and the beautiful weather. By the way, Lily went to sleep in her crib as soon as we got home. No, she didn't stay there all night but she did make it for about 5 hours!! Maybe we should have her baptized every day!

Doesn't Christina look just beautiful for my baptism?

Sadie, I sure am glad they took that bonnett off me!

Me and my cousin Charlie. He's Mommy's Godson.

My cousins: Ryan, Jamie, and Katie. Jamie is Mommy's Godson, too!

Let me get this straight...Adam, Ben, and Sam are all Mommy's Godsons and Aunt Lala and Uncle Rich are my Godparents?! I'm so confused!

Snuggling up with Nai Nai.

Um...Dad Dad, do you think they'll ever stop taking pictures?