Monday, June 15, 2009

FIRST SACRAMENT

Preparations began months ago with the registration class. We then thought of the guest list and creating a menu. Last week was full of errands to craft shops, party stores, and grocery stores. What took hours to create lasted a brief moment, but a very important moment it was. On Sunday, Hannah Noelle celebrated her Baptism and was welcomed as one of God's little children. Family, close friends, and colleagues came out to witness this special once-in-a-lifetime day.

The weather was perfect and the morning was hectic. I woke up and ran around the house doing this and that. Although I had to-do lists in hand, the minute I thought of something, I jumped to it so that I wouldn't forget. As systematic as I usually am, I just needed to get things done. "Immediate results" became my middle name. My husband and I got all the appetizers complete (including smoked salmon rounds, crab dip with artichoke and jalepeno, and sausage rolls), got changed, and finally, dressed our little princess. In a white gown and a toothy smile, she really did look sweet.

The ceremony lasted about an hour with time at the end for pictures. Deacon Michael was amusing and kept the crowd entertained. We got there early so we scored the front row and made a lot of meaningful eye contact during his sermon. Yes, we knew why we wanted our daughter to be baptized. It's not only because we are both Catholic teachers, it's because we want her to be a part of the faith community. We believe in God and want her to follow in Jesus' teachings. We want her to learn that there is someone always watching out for her even if it's not us.

We were the last ones to leave the church because we took so many pictures. Some of our entourage made it back to our house before we did and then it was more running around. Bring out the warm hor d'oeuvres, put out the veggie dip, turn on the coffee machine, and all those other things we couldn't do earlier. Guests ate, mingled and had a good time. It was a couple of hours that flew by quickly. In fact, we actually forgot about her Baptism cake until a couple of families had left (sorry) and near the end of the afternoon, we opened her gifts. Our "Thank You" giveaways was a DVD slideshow set to music about Hannah's first seven months of life. Hopefully it'll be as meaningful to our guests as it is to us.

At the end of the night, we took our immediate family and Hannah's godparents out for Japanese food. More food? Yeah, it's typical of us to celebrate with grub (LOTS of it) and today was no exception. Another couple of hours later and the long day wound down. Hannah was snug in bed by 9:30pm and the recycling was by the curb.

Although Hannah is too young to know that this was a special moment in her life, we have plenty of pictures for her to look through one day and we'll explain it all. She had loving family members that came out to wish her well. Her grandparents and great-grandmother spent the entire day by her side. Our good friends came to give her hugs, kisses and special Christening gifts. Her loving godparents supported this important day from the first meeting to the end of the night. Most importantly, she is now blessed with the spirit of the Catholic faith.

4 comments:

Marina@EBMR said...

Its so important to lead our children in the ways of God. Thank God Hannah is blessed with God fearing parents!

Cheryl said...

Congrats Hannah! Too bad the other Hannah (my daughter) couldn't meet you like originally planned on July 12 -- we still have that date for the baptism :)

Yvonne, one day we will have to meet- I keep hearing about you at the library but we never seem to be at the same place at the same time.

Hannah's hair looks awesome-- way better than Jim Carrey :)

Hip Teacher Mama said...

Thx Cheryl! Yes, we'll definitely have to meet soon. Wow, I'm spoken about at the library?! :) Ha ha, clearly my husband has to stick to his day job, but I am getting used to her hair.

Martha said...

It was so wonderful to be a part of Hannah's special day! She is a true angel who will most certainly grow up with a strong faith in God thanks to her loving parents :)