Virginia's Baptism

I mentioned that last weekend we celebrated Virginia's Baptism.  It was a really sweet little celebration, and I've shared some pictures below if you're interested....

 

 

 

 

Our church has a Baptism service for babies on the Saturday afternoon before Easter.  We decided to have a little luncheon before the service to make it easier for out-of-town guests to get back on the road after the service.  It was a rainy and chilly day, but it was so nice seeing family.  We had a really simple little lunch.  Our menu couldn't have been easier - probably because I pawned the cooking off on all of my guests.  My parents brought ham sandwiches, good family friends brought deviled eggs, and Heath and Andy made chicken salad.  My grandparents brought our favorite caramel cake - it's not a celebration in our family without it!  All J.D. and I did was heat up quiche, set up the bar, and add a veggie tray and a fresh fruit bowl. 

After the luncheon, we all battled the rain and headed to the church.  My poor parents were responsible for dressing Virginia in her huge gown, getting her loaded in the car and getting her to the church in the rain.  (Bless them!!)  J.D., Heath, Andy and I had to go early for rehearsal.  The service was a sweet Easter Baptism that focused on 9 beautiful babies.  Some were crying, some were fussy, some were babbling, but it didn't matter because everyone there had a baby.  It was really small and nice.

Virginia wore a really special gown that was actually my great great great grandmother's gown.  When I was born, my grandmother had it made into a Christening gown, and my cousins and I have all worn it.  It's over 100 years old and even though it's huge (and slightly more dingy these days) it's really beautiful.

Last thing, I wasn't sure what to do for a centerpiece.  It was primarily family coming to lunch and I didn't want to fuss over any details of the day.  My mom and her friend suggested I just take a pot to a nursery and have them plant a flower that I could then reuse in the yard.  I'm so glad I went this direction.  I picked out a hydrangeas, the nursery didn't charge me anything other than the cost of the plant, and they created the centerpiece.  In a few weeks, I'll take it out of the pot, plant it in the yard, and think of Virginia's baptism every time I see it.

~Mary Keller

p.s.  Heath was on camera duty but her battery was dead!  Most of these are iphone pics; so, our pictures are pretty bad!