Because She is Born of Water and the Spirit - C's Baptism

Infant baptism can be a bit of a controversial subject but I'm Presbyterian and that's what we do. I know it doesn't mean that C now has a free pass into heaven but we understand it more as God grafting her into His family and that one day C will have to make her own decision to follow Jesus. Not only do we, as parents, promise to raise her up in the Christian faith but our congregation also makes a covenant to support us, as parents, and to love C. It's pretty awesome! 

Mark and I were also asked if we would share our faith stories during the service which was something we hadn't done before. That was also powerful. I was able to really think through my life and focus on some tougher times that I've just glossed over in my memory but in reality were a major moment of surrender for me. When I was working on my testimony my minister referenced Luke 14: 31-33 and encouraged me to think of a time when my will was at odds with God's and when I finally decided to surrender to Him and His plan for my life. Again, it was pretty awesome!

C's baptism was also an opportunity for us to celebrate with family and friends so we invited people back to our house for lunch. What to feed 20+ people when we just had K's birthday party less than a month ago? Well, soup and buns of course. 

The Menu

1. Italian Turkey Soup

2. Tomato Basil Soup (I need to ask my mom for the recipe so stay tuned...)

3. Chicken Noodle Soup

4. White and Whole Wheat buns with butter (no cold cuts this time as we were trying to keep costs down)

5. Caesar Salad (we still had salad dressing and croutons left over from K's birthday, so why not?)

6. Red Velvet Cake (store-bought, on sale from the Real Canadian Superstore)

7. Vanilla cupcakes (I have a nephew with a chocolate allergy)

8. Vanilla ice cream

9. Italian Soda, Coke, Sprite, and Water to drink

This menu worked really well. We had a little bit of soup leftover. We froze some and are planning on eating the rest for lunches this week. We had way too many buns since I bought a large bag from Costco but those we froze, too, and may work well for garlic bread. 

The Decor

1. God Bless Clare banner - I bought this from Target for K's baptism and have been able to reuse it multiple times as it wipes off with water. Although, I may need to use a magic eraser soon to remove the chalk pen residue. I'm trying to improve my chalk lettering so I used this pin for my alphabet inspiration. 

2. I am a Child of God printable and a picture of my darling girl - You can download this printable for free here. I put the picture frame on a cake stand because we had a bunch of crockpots in front of it and I needed that cutie to be seen!

3. Tablecloth - I used two dollar store table cloths. The pink was leftover from K's party and I folded a white one into thirds and put it in the middle of the table. 

I tried to keep it simple since I have the tendency to go overboard and with two kids, I just don't have that time anymore.

The Gifts

Our church does something quite special for baptisms. It was my mom's idea so that make it extra special. A blanket is given to the child to remind them that God wraps them in His love. Here's a picture of C with the blanket my mom made. It has minky on the back so it is extra soft and cuddly.

My sister and her family also gave C this Jelly Cat bunny and this book, "Little One, God Loves You" by Amy Warren Hilliker.

C's baptism was a beautiful day in so many ways but the most important thing for me to remember is that God has loaned this beautiful, smiley girl to us and I need to be thankful and cherish each moment with her.