Lucas' & Macie's Baptism

Lucas' and Macie's baptism has been over 4 years in the making. Matt and I have been having this discussion since I became pregnant with Lucas. It hasn't been that we didn't want to baptize the kids, we always wanted them to be baptized. There have been a lot of issues surrounding baptizing them. The first has been in which faith do we get them baptized. I am Lutheran and Matt is Catholic. Another issue has been who will be their Godparents. This is a big issue because I have two sisters and Matt has a sister. We just wanted to make sure we didn't offend any of them because we love them all so much. And in a perfect world, they would all be their Godparents. The other issue is that our family lives all over the states and it is extremely hard to get them all together at the same time. We just wanted to make sure everyone was there for the event. Finally we wanted someone we knew to baptize them. It is a special event and we didn't want someone we didn't know to baptize our children. It seems like a lot of hoops to jump through to do something so special. 

So finally we decided that it was time to just bite the bullet and get them baptized this summer. We started to make arrangements. We decided on Catholic as the faith since it means a lot to Great Grandma and we are lucky to have her as part of Lucas' and Macie's life. In the Catholic faith you have to have Catholic Godparents so Matt's sister, Kim, and her husband, Wayne, would be the official Godparents. Luckily the Priest that baptized Lucas and Macie is a family friend and said my sisters could stand in as witnesses and did a great job of including them in the ceremony. Also, Father Franciso made special arrangements so that we could have just a family service in the time period when everyone could be there. My whole family and Matt's family were able to be there. It was like all of the stars aligned for us. We couldn't have asked for a better day to make this special moment in Lucas' and Macie's life memorable. 

My cutie pies all dressed up for the Baptism.

We were able to have the baptism at Matt's mom's church. It is a nice little church in Green Valley. I really love how it was just family. My kids are wonderful, but there is no way my kids would have been able to sit through an entire church service. Macie barely made it through the 30 minute baptism service. Trust me, Matt and I have a couple of bite marks to prove it. She just isn't one to sit still for more than 30 seconds. Lucas was perfect for the whole thing... Well, almost perfect. 

The altar. 

As we were getting everything ready for the big day, including finding the right outfits for them to wear. Obviously, they are a little too old to be wearing baptism dressing gowns. So my mom started on her hunt. She found Lucas the cutest white linen shirt and got Macie the cutest dress with gold string running through it. Perfect! Then my mom was going through some of my grandma's jewelry and found a cross that belonged to my grandma. She knew this would be perfect for Macie to wear and to have throughout her life. A nice tradition to pass on to Macie. Then she was looking through some of my grandpa's tie tacks looking for something special for Lucas to wear, but didn't have any luck. Then she found a box labeled, "For Linda's Grandson." This box came from my grandma's father. By the way, when my mom got this box, I was still in high school so obviously Lucas wasn't even a thought at that point. When she was looking through it she found a tie tack that had the initials L M. Seriously... Lucas Mason. Very weird, but perfect!

LM. Lucas Mason. We put it on the pocket of Lucas' shirt.

Macie's cross necklace from my grandma.

As we were waiting for everyone to arrive. Macie and Lucas were able to walk around the church and explore. This is what was really nice about not having their baptism as part of a service. It was really relaxed and intimate. Just what we wanted. 

Macie checking out her necklace.

Cousins Piper, Abby and Noah.

Aunt Lori, Uncle David, cousins Morgan and Makenzie.
It was nice to have everyone who we are close to be there.

Macie, Great Grandma and Lucas.

After being able to talk with everyone, we started the ceremony. Father Francisco did a great job of keeping the sermon personal to the family and talking about the true meaning of baptism. It isn't about the parents or grandparents and what it means to us. It is about the children and showing them that their is someone who will love them unconditionally and forgive them for their mistakes as long as they have faith and believe. 

Again, as we were getting ready for the baptism, we kept talking to Lucas about what was going to happen. That Father would talk a little bit, Lucas needed to be very quite and then Father would put a little water on his head. Lucas kept saying, "Just a little bit. Right?" Of course little man. Just a little bit. 

Here is Lucas getting a little bit of water poured on his head.
He did great!

Lucas' baptism certificate.

Then it was time for Macie to get a little bit of water our poured on her head. She had been waiting for that moment since Father poured the water into the basin. As he was talking she kept asking for "Water, please!" "More water." Girl LOVES water. When he poured the water onto her head, she got the biggest smile on her face! Adorable.

See that HUGE smile.
Made her day!

Macie's baptism certificate.

After Macie and Lucas got baptized and Father was finishing up the service, Macie wanted the water so badly. Father was so nice and said that Macie could play in the Baptismal font. This is why we wanted someone we knew. He is all about the children and letting them be children. 

Made her day. I may have gotten splashed a little, but well worth it.

This is where Father included my sisters. He let them light the Baptism candles. Makes me so happy that they were part of the ceremony. 

This is where Lucas had a little breakdown. He wanted to hold the candle!
Not happening little man.

Father Francisco, Lucas and Macie.

Uncle Wayne (Godfather), Matt, Lucas, Father Francisco, me, Macie, and Aunt Kim (Godmother).

Wayne, Shawna (my sister), Matt, Lucas, Father Francisco, me, Macie, Kim and Donna (my sister).

Us with Great Grandma.

Noah, Rylie, Lucas, Matt, Great Grandma, me, Macie, Piper and Abby.
Very special to have all of the cousins there.

My dad and mom, Matt, Lucas, Great Grandma, Matt's parents, me and Macie.

I love how Father encouraged everyone to take pictures even during the ceremony which I wasn't sure we were going to be able to do. He must know how important it is for parents to have pictures of these events in the lives of their children. Again, that is why is was so important to have someone we know and who knows us to be the one who baptized Lucas and Macie. It just makes it more meaningful to us. 

It was so nice to have everyone there. It is moments like Lucas' and Macie's baptism that make me realize how important family and faith are in our lives!