Raegan's baptism

Raegan, today you were baptized. It was beautiful to watch. We decided to do it when you were still young because we learned from when we baptized your brother. He was 8 months and very very talkative. You did so well. In fact I would say you slept during most of the ceremony. You were dressed so beautifully. You had your pearl and cross bracelet that your Grandma Judy bought for you, light pink bloomers, your Mary Jane socks, and of course your dress that I made from my wedding dress. I didn't do a perfect job but it was my very first article of clothing that I've ever made completely from scratch and I must say I was very pleased with how it came out. Simple. Beautiful. And simple. We are so excited to teach you about our faith. Today you were born again. You will have many special days, like your sweet 16, graduation day, your wedding day, the birth of your children, etc..I am just so happy that we were able to celebrate this joyous occasion with you. 

Your dress, your rosary, your candle, and your bracelet

Getting you dressed

Receiving your first blessing

Being baptized

Receiving your second blessing with the Chrism oil 

Your Godparents (my best friend Alyssia and your daddy's best friend Trevor)
lighting your candle.

See..you fell asleep

You and your Godparents

Happy baptism day Raegan! We love you!

 

Happy Easter (part2)

Saturday evening we went to the Easter Vigil at our church so Ryan could get baptized. It was such a beautiful moment. The Mass was wonderful (long but wonderful). Thanks to my mother-in-law for taking Nicolas out and trying to keep him entertained while the service went on. I forgot my camera at home (just my luck) but of course I had my trusty iPhone that took some low quality pictures. But pictures nonetheless. I am so proud of my husband for making the decision to become Catholic and to raise our children in the same faith. To be honest I was a little nervous in the beginning of our relationship when we first started talking about our future when he was not anywhere near religious. I didn't want our kids to throw at me "Why do we have to go to church and Dad doesn't?" Thankfully after learning more and more about our religion, Ryan felt his calling into our faith. When the idea of him being baptized first came up, I didn't want to push the idea because I didn't want me to be the reason. I wanted him to do it for himself and if not then for our children. So after the service, on our way home I asked him again for the what seemed like millionth time, why he decided to go through with it and his response warmed my heart. He explained to me that he has always believed in God. That there was something greater than our life here on earth. He went on to say that he felt more compelled to become Catholic after learning more of our beliefs of course, but also because he realized that the guidance of faith is important in children. We agreed when we got married that we would raise our children Catholic and he asked me Saturday night, "How could I expect our kids to know the importance of religion, if as their father, I didn't know it myself?"  I agree with him completely! I couldn't have been more in love with this man even if I tried! Here are a few pictures from the ceremony. (which by the way I felt so guilty that I had my phone out during service, but like I said I forgot my camera!)

The blessing of the baptismal water

My hubby getting baptized!

Receiving the Chrism oil. My Grandma is his Sponsor.

All the candidates with Fr. Art, Deacon Larry, and Sister Hannah-Mary

(sorry for the low quality) After Mass, Nicolas was SO delirious and ready for bed!

The Hunter and the Mother

As I've stated in previous blogs, my husband is getting baptized this Saturday. One of the requirements is to pick a Saint's name that closely resembles him. During class on Wednesdays he would look through a book of Saints and would always get overwhelmed with his choices. As the days drew near, he was starting to get worried that he wouldn't have a name in time.

Today he picked it! 

THE HUNTER. Saint Hubert Patron of hunting. Not the best name (or one that we're familiar with) but out of the three that he narrowed it down to he liked this one the best. My husband is a big outdoors-man. He loves sports (Saint Sebastian) and he loves archery (Saint Peter) but when I told him about Saint Hubert, the Hunter, he said "THAT'S IT!"

THE MOTHER. My Saint's name is Anne. I was very young when I went through catechism and I believe the only reason I picked her is because that's my mom's middle name.

Low and behold..she is the Patron of Motherhood, the housewife and pregnant women. (I actually JUST found this out today-horrible I know!)

I'm so happy our names resemble the both of our personalities. HE really does work in mysterious ways.