A Beautiful and Magnificent Gift

"Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift. . . .We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship."       -St. Gregory Of Nazianzus, 4th Century AD

Such a great day was had on the day our little Linus was baptized! Filled with gift, grace, and all the other wonderful aspects of the sacrament of baptism.

To start, we were blessed to have family come join the wonderful and exciting time in our sweet son's life. This moment starts an amazing journey and we are so happy they came to celebrate it.

Papa Wooley and Nonna

Papa Ram, Nana, and Uncle Godfather

Our little family had so much to celebrate! We are so blessed to be able to call our church, home. And, not only are we blessed to call it home, but we get to share this beautiful home with our boys.

Our little family. Seph had just woken from his nap, so the little guy was a little out of it.

The lovely picture below is of our sweet Linus and his Godparents! We are so blessed to have this beautiful couple as our little one's Godparents. They are friends that we love so much. Friends that have been Christ to us in so many ways. Their beautiful faith lives have been encouraging to us and always filled with such love. We are so grateful that they will play a special role in the faith journey that lies ahead of our sweet Eli.

Godparents!

Eli and his Godfather.

Eli and his Godmother.

Throughout our lives, there are moments that we experience that are filled with so much goodness they are hard to capture into words. These moments are filled with love and sweetness. They are light and easy. There is a Presence that brings a peace that is so gentle and full. The moments captured below in photo are definitely a few of those moments. 

~~

"But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted." -Romans 6: 17

Sweet Eli was looking at his Godparents and smiling as the Deacon poured the water over his head.

"Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born through water and the Spirit." -John 3: 5

Our little one getting anointed - receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit! ...kind of a big deal.

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20

Dada and his boy.

"He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved..." -Mark 16: 15-16

Mama and her baby.

"...that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world."                    -Philippians 2:15

Dada, Mama, and our sweet Eli.

"That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11

~~~

So very thankful for the beautiful sacrament that truly is a magnificent gift; and for the awesome celebration that followed. All in all, a good day that we will always treasure.

For all that could not be present, thank you for the many prayers and generous gifts! You were missed but your presence was felt in the grace we experienced throughout the day.

7 posts in 7 days Challenge: This Moment

This boy. 

And this moment.

Welcome to the faith, sweet son.

We love you.

(7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge complete. Get on over to Jen at Conversion Diary to find others who did the same!)

7 Quick Takes Friday: Two link-ups in one week!

--- 1 ---

Who am ?! Well, definitely not a linker-upper. That is, until this week! I'm very new to link-ups, but I'm so glad I'm doing it because I have wanted to get more involved in the amazing blogging community that is out there. It's exciting to be able to become more apart of a network of amazing women that are beautiful and inspiring. So, YAY ME, for taking some steps to join the awesomeness and hopefully make some new friends along the way.

--- 2 ---

I need sleep. Sleep and I have always been amazing friends. That is, up until I had my first son. But, he kind of eased me in to things. He was a great sleeper. He was regularly sleeping 7 to 9 hours by 4 months. And, we exclusively breastfed! So, even though that was a tough time, it was manageable. Now, fast forward to sweet child numero dos, and we have a completely different story. I've convinced myself the little guy does not want me and sleep to continue our friendship.

Like I said before, sleep and I were always great friends, then firstborn happened. Our friendship was rocky, but we got through it. Now that second born is here, our friendship has been squashed. I still have hope that some day we will reconcile, but I just have to come to terms that it will not be any time soon.

God give me the grace to learn to function better as a mama zombie and all will be well in this household. Till then, I miss my dear friend.

--- 3 ---

I drink coffee. To help with the pain of losing my friendship with sleep. This helps. Mostly. But, it can be tricky since we are also exclusively nursing and I just don't know sometimes if it is that one cup of coffee that is giving my child fussy sleep. So, my limit is one. Maybe one and half if I accidentally pour a little more on those really sleepless nights. Or maybe, more like two cups? But that's it!

--- 4 ---

I really enjoy coffee. It's always been such a sweet time for me. Drinking a cup is just so relaxing. It's happy. It's delicious and all things homey. Drinking a cup over some girl chat with dear friends is also a favorite.

But, when a gnat decides they are going to crash my precious cup of coffee, I stare at the mean thing and wonder how could it possibly try and ruin my sweet time that I enjoy so much. Gnat's are rude, but the one that just landed in my cup of coffee (literally just moments ago) just took rude to a whole new level that I am not okay with.

--- 5 ---

Both boys are sleeping right now. Which is giving me time to write these really quick, quick takes. God bless them for giving me a few moments to just ramble and drink my cup of coffee (I took the gnat out and am still drinking it. Call me gross, but after last night coffee is more of a necessity, and I am in no shape to make another pot.)

Fingers crossed I can sneak in a shower once I finish up with these quick takes. My in-laws are coming to stay with us tonight and I'd rather them not see me in the I-haven't-showered-today (or maybe even yesterday either) mode.

--- 6 ---

Speaking of my in-laws, they are coming in town for an awesome event. We are baptizing sweet Linus, who needs to learn to sleep better at night! My precious baby will be joining our amazing Faith in such a beautiful way tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited! Who knows, maybe all the graces from the baptism will help our sweet sleep more peacefully?

But really, when we baptized Bigfoot, I cried because it was so exciting! So real, beautiful, and all things wonderful! Thank you Lord for the beautiful journey of faith our little Linus is about to embark on and for Your amazing embrace!

--- 7 ---

So, not only do I need to shower but I also have a list of to-do's I need to get done before tomorrow at 3 pm. I know I can do it. I just pray I can do so with a lot less of the crazy and a lot more of the joyfully/gracefully.

Mary, Mother of our precious Lord, be a mother to me now. Amen!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Feast day of St. Gerard Majella

Happy Feast day of St. Gerard Majella, everyone! Especially to all mothers and children (born and unborn). To learn more about St. Gerard Majella you can go here and here.

St. Gerard Majella, Pray for us.

AND, Happy day of Baptism to my sweet and precious Joseph! One year ago today you began a lifelong journey that we could not be more excited about. I wrote about it here and here.

We love you so much, sweetheart!

"He's baptized" - behind the scenes

Leading up to the day, I was pretty anxious. For anyone who knows me, I am not a planner of events by any means. I am not a natural host, but through attending girl’s nights and bible study, I’ve been able to have some practice. Sending out invites; definitely terrible about that. By the grace of God did I get those cards made, addressed, stamped, and in the mail. I mean really, anything and everything that happened was by His Grace. haha In fact, it’s these very times, that I can see His ever *abundant* grace at work. The need for to-do lists (which I never do btw), and for everything to go just right continue below - just keep reading.

There was the woman at church. The wonderful woman at our church helped me so much! All the things the Church needed in order for Bigfoot to be baptized; she made a list of and handed it to me. She helped me schedule it in a way that all the grandparents could attend; which I’m grateful for. The list she gave me reminded me of all the things I needed to get done or bring to her. She helped me figure out the best steps for Uncle Godfather to be a Godfather for our little one. She was always flexible and trying to make things work. And so much more. So, again, His Grace and Goodness through His lovely instrument at our church.

Party plans. Yup. I got nothing in this area too. Estimating how many people. How much food to buy? What food for adults, food for kids? Will we have enough for all to be filled?? How did this all happen you may ask? For starters, a wonderful friend lent her talent by creating another list (lol maybe I should force myself into list-making). She made a food list. Offered to help set up everything right after Mass. Her and her husband rushed over to the place where everyone would gather after the big event and helped set up. Along with her, some of my other sweet friends went over and also lent a helping hand. Prior to Mass, my in-laws picked up all the food once it was ready and dropped it off at the celebration location and made it to Mass on time. They also helped set up and clean up afterwards. My brother-in-law and girlfriend picked up the cake, helped set up, and clean up. Again, not me, but God’s grace working through the amazing people He has placed in my life. Do you see all the things I could not have done on my own!?!


Our little family :)

Are you seeing the pattern I’m laying out here?! Loved ones, strangers being His instrument, friends joyfully lending a hand, and then there’s me, GeekMan, and sweet Bigfoot. The three of us were able to soak up all the beautiful moments of love that took place throughout this special day. We were able to do so because of God and how he was working through all our loved ones and persons in the church in some ways that we could see and others we could not.

At the end of the day on Sunday, GeekMan and I were sitting in the living room after Bigfoot was night night and just talked about how wonderful our day had been. We were talking about how incredibly blessed we felt. And about how that day could not have been any better. We were filled with gratitude at the gift that was given us in our Bigfoot and in our vocation of marriage.

All I have to say is this little bundle has been filled with nothing but some really good stuff and we are enjoying every bit of it! :D

Below is a pic of Bigfoot’s sweet and large baptism shoes. So cute!

"He's baptized."

“Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

GeekMan looked over at me and simply whispered, “He’s baptized.”, with Joy in his eyes. The moment he turned to me, holding our precious Bigfoot in such a pure and holy state, all that I had been excited about all day and week hit me and I got teary eyed. My tears were that of Joy and happiness. The reality of what had just happened hit me like a ton of bricks. It hit my heart, my soul, and every part of me and I was filled with excitement and such happiness.

13 And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child ² will not enter it.” 16 Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. -Mark 10:13-16

People brought their children for Jesus to lay His hands on them. Jesus asked us to bring them to him so that He could bless them. GeekMan and I did just that. We brought our sweet Bigfoot to our Lord so He could bless him in the sacrament of baptism. Bigfoot left Mass on October 16, the Feast day of St. Gerard Majella, a baby cleansed of original sin by His Lord - He left there baptized and so very blessed.


GeekMan, myself, and Bigfoot were just soaking up the moment. Bigfoot did SO good throughout Mass. This being the first time we actually sat up front during Mass, we were a bit nervous. Lately, we’ve been those newbie parents sitting towards the back with an exit route in mind at all times in case Bigfoot decides to start letting out his ever so sweet and attention grabbing squeals. But not that day. Baptism day we were in the first pew where all the beautifulness (may not be a word but today I feel like it should be :)) happens. Bigfoot just watched and appeared mesmerized from the comfort of Daddy’s arms. It was so great!


Look at that baptized baby below! So precious! Bigfoot was so calm all up until it came time to get baptized (which was right around the time he normally would be taking a nap). You could tell he knew something was about to happen so he was trying so hard to fight his nap in a calm way up until this point. He held off as long as he could. Right before Fr. Jack was going to baptize him in water he got a smidge fussy, but nothing terrible. What was absolutely wonderful to see though was the moment the water was poured over his precious baby head he became still and calm; again mesmerized. And then once the wonderful Chrism oil was on his precious head, our sweet boy drifted off to sleep. Yay, Holy Spirit for being such a presence in that moment and throughout our lives. Bigfoot slowly but surely fell into his nap and remained napping the rest of Mass and he awoke so pleasantly for some pictures once Mass was finished.


This little one is such a gift from Above - we look forward to giving him the gift which our Lord has given us - our Catholic faith. And we’re so excited to be sharing this gift of Bigfoot with Uncle Godfather. He’s already such an amazing Godfather. Bigfoot and him were able to spend awesome quality time while Uncle Godfather was living with us during his PT rotation nearby. And we know that Uncle Godfather will do an amazing job in sharing his faith with our sweet little one all the days of his life.



St. Gerard Majella, pray for us.