A Blessed Day

On Sunday, Hunter was officially welcomed into our church community with his baptism at the family friendly "Harmony" service. I love that our church offers this option. Sometimes the Episcopal church can be a bit stuffy. That's one of the reasons I think I like it - all the traditions are so familiar from my Catholic upbringing. I don't mind that we Episcopalians feel compelled to sing every verse of every hymn or all the standing and kneeling. The ceremony, the order is all the same as the church I grew up in. But its intimidating to bring squirmy kids into mass in the main church. Most Sundays we go to the service in the auditorium. Kids are encouraged to take a prepared bag with crayons and activity pages. It is not uncommon for the attendees to have Barbies, matchbox cars or pretzels in tow. If Lily feels moved to get up and dance in front of the band, she can (and does!). So when Father John offered us the chance to have Hung baptized in this much less formal setting, we jumped at the chance.

And what a blessed day it was. Although Grandma Duda was unable to travel and Godmother Samantha's and cousin Steven's flight was cancelled from Chicago, Aunt Debbie "came off the bench" to stand in as proxy and my bother David is the Godfather. Of course there were the requisite Marlon Brando impersonations all weekend. Friends and family joined us at home for a Vietnamese feast (thank you Lynne at Ben Thahn!) after the service and Hunter had his first official party just for him! He was so excited to see the cake with his picture on. Publix did a fabulous job as always with the cakes. Jim and Vicki brought Hunter a motorized motorcycle which really made him happy. Everyone enjoyed seeing the cousins together.

For me, the best part was watching Hunter at the table with Father John as he prepared the Eucharist. The kids are always invited up but this Sunday, Hunter and Lily practically ran to the table. Hunter cracked everyone up as he seriously copied all of Father John's movements in preparing the bread and wine. How many Sundays over the last 2 years did I sit in church and dream of this day? How could I have guessed that this amazing child would be up front and center shouting out the Lord's prayer in the best English he can muster with a huge smile on his face? Father John shared with the congregation a little of the process we endured and there were many congratulations. It really is nice to be part of this community. God truly has counted every hair on this child's head and watched over him every day until he was with us.

Leaving church I said a special prayer for the 2 Dong Nai families still waiting - may they too soon have their babies in their arms.