Brief but beautiful

Today was a very special day for all three of us - today was Calvin's baptism.  In the Presbyterian church the sacrament of baptism takes place within a normal worship service immediately following the offering, so we fed Calvin during the sermon so that we'd have a better chance of him being happy and alert during the actual ceremony.  There we were, parents, godparents (Ann and Curtis), and ministers, gathered round the font with a very alert and happy Calvin.  Throughout the reading of the charges Calvin was completely taken by the speaking minister, gazing directly at his face with a look of befuddled concentration - the congregation seemed to be holding back giggles.  Even cuter, however, was the broad grin Calvin gave him a couple of times when he paused in his speaking - and the congregation stopped holding the giggles back.  The sweetest moment, however, was the walk of introduction when, following the administering of water, the congregation sings a hymn (this time, a hymn written for Calvin by his father) and the minister walks the child through the aisles for the church to meet their newest family member.  Calvin seemed to know it was his moment to make a good "first" impression, and, as the minister held him high and faced him towards the people in the pews, he gazed out at all those people with his best "you have to love me" look - and, so we were told, many of them cried.  We know we did.  It was a moment that we had been eagerly anticipating for, well, three months, and now it is over.  It's amazing how fleeting the most important points in our lives are; this one lasted for less than ten minutes, but it was as beautiful as it was brief.

We are very blessed to have such an accepting and loving church, and equally as blessed to have such supportive families.  The day was made all the more special by the presence of so many family members - all four grandparents, as well as Cortney's Aunt Wendy and Uncle Jack, and her Aunt Cookie (who happened to be visiting from Washington), Calvin's Aunt Ann, who is doing us the honor of being his Godmother, and Patty and Uncle Curtis, who is doing us the similar honor of being his Godfather.  Following the baptism we continued our celebration of this wonderful new life by going to brunch at the Gandy Dancer, where we even got to talk to Cortney's cousin, Kate, via phone connection all the way from the Netherlands.  We all laughed and had a wonderful time.  Calvin is very loved indeed.