Baptism

On Sunday, December 16th, we stood up in front of family and friends and promised to raise Eli in the church and teach him about the love of Jesus.  What a wonderful day it was.  The topic of Pastor Buono's sermon was joy and what incredible joy we have because God sent his son over 2000 Christmases ago to save us.  In the midst of the tragic school shooting in Connecticut, the promise of eternal life was one of welcome relief.  Relief that no matter what ugliness our baby has to face in his lifetime, he will always and forever be protected. 

Aunt Katelyn, Uncle Cole, and Uncle Kyle have promised to help us.

When you start to think about it too much, the task of protecting a tiny, innocent life can overwhelm you with fear and inadequacy.  So this Christmas, I will try my hardest to remember that the 'reason for the season' is to celebrate that we don't have to be overcome by that fear.  God took care of that a long, long time ago when he sent his Son as a tiny, innocent baby boy who probably cried and pooped and drooled all over everything just like ours does :)

So blessed to have so many family members attend the baptism.

The beautiful baptismal gown that Eli is wearing has quite the story to go with it.  This gown was first worn by Grandma Jane's grandma.  That is Eli's great-great-grandma, and it was over 135 years ago.  Since then this gown has been used to baptize Jane's mom, aunts and uncles; Jane, all of her siblings and many of her cousins; Ryan, all of his siblings and all of their cousins; and now all the members of the youngest generation.  Eli is the 10th great-great-grandchild to wear this gown, and, if we've counted correctly, the 50th person.   This gown has been shipped all over the country for family members from Oregon, Nebraska and Kansas to wear.  Even after all of this love, the gown is still in beautiful shape and ready for many more baptisms.  It will be pretty neat to see how long this tradition lasts. 

Jane, Ryan, Cole and Eli are all a part of the tradition.