Meera Grace is Baptised!

Meera's baptism was Sunday! We made a big celebratory weekend of it in Connecticut with my parents and a few of our closest friends in the whole wide world. This baptism weekend had been planned for awhile, and we all agreed that despite everything happening in my family it was important for us to go through with it. Actually, we all agreed that because of everything happening in my family it was extra important to go through with it. We needed an up-lift... and leave it to Meera to uplift us. Meera Grace, full of grace, full of infectious deep boundless joy. This girl knows how to make a person feel that there is good in the world. Seriously. And it was time for her to be baptised. It felt so perfect in every way. Driving home Braydon said something to the effect of, "It just feels so good now -- to know that she is baptised -- it just feels content and complete somehow." And I agreed. It just all felt so right. And that was/is a good feeling.

Beth, a camp friend of mine since we were in Junior High, and me and Braydon's dearest friend, is Meera's Godmother. She is also the pastor of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. We have a lot of wonderful history together and she's the absolute perfect person to be Meera's Godmother. We all gathered at Beth's church for Beth to baptise her Goddaughter herself. It was really special and beautiful. Highlights of the weekend were:

• Meera's first experience of the ocean. It seemed perfectly fitting that she'd go to the ocean for the first time on the weekend of her baptism. She liked it. Thank goodness (since the rest of her family adores it).
• Saturday morning at the beach. It was a cold fall day, but K & O had no problem swimming -- fully clothed -- in the frosty salty waters. A fisherman guy walking by shouted out to Kyle, asking him if he was cold. Kyle shouted back, "No!" The guy said, "THAT KID IS NUTS!" And we couldn't have agreed more. It is not everyday that you see two four year olds splashing in the waves in late October in New England. While other people were bundled up with parkas and hats, there were K & O... swimming. On the way back to Beth's house I said, "That was fun!" And Beth chimed in, "That was exhilarating!" ;0
• Skipping rocks & collecting shells, of course. And a special moment when Beth and the boys looked for a shell to use in Meera's baptism. They found the perfect oyster shell for Beth to use to pour the water over Meera's head. Kyle tested it out on Owen's head a few times to make sure it worked right. It was done sweetly and the whole moment-- just watching Beth with the boys as they prepared for Meera's baptism-- just felt really special for me. The boys (especially Kyle) were all about Meera's baptism. He (K) continues to be extremely religious (and continues to pelt us daily with religious questions that we find extremely difficult to answer).
• Saturday afternoon at Jessica, Paul, and Sammy's house with Beth and my parents. A gorgeous fall afternoon. The kids had a blast playing with MorMor and MorFar. Leaves galore. Food. Beer. Good, good friends. Who could ask for more?
• Beth's hospitality and our wine-and-conversation.
• A Saturday night sleep-over for K & O with MorMor & MorFar! They got to spend the night with them at Carin Peterson's house... this was very special for them to get to do.
• A beautiful baptism ceremony. It was a challenge to keep K & O from going completely crazy during the service, but we made it through it without any major catastrophes (although it was a very close call at one point when Owen almost tipped over the baptismal font and the sacred water). In a very sweet moment, though, Owen -- the ever-concerned-and-protective-big-brother -- lovingly and gently held his hand over his sister's head as she cried out from the water being poured over her. It was so Owen. Especially so Owen to do something so sweet like that after just about knocking over the baptismal font. That's Owen.
• A great Sunday dinner at Beth's house afterward... including Beth and her parents; my parents; Jessica, Paul, and Sam (Jess and Paul are Kyle and Owen's godparents); Roxann, Clifton, and Catherine (Catherine is me and Braydon's goddaughter); Carin and Tom Peterson (my surrogate grandmother). The noise level was up there (with four very spirited kiddos running wild together and one newly baptized four-month-old). The grill was grilling (steaks with my mom's gorgonzola butter). The cheesecake was deliriously good (Carin-- I think I love it even more now than I did when I was a kid). The sun was shining. And the Party of Five left SMILING.
• A wonderful, wonderful celebration of Meera. The first of many, I'm sure.

Lots of photos below!!!