I guess it's one of the perks of being the pastor...Jonathan and I were talking about how it was about time to baptize Lydia. I asked when he wanted to do it; really it could be any time at all. He said, "How about Easter? That would be cool."
And it was!
Remember those matching Easter dresses I sewed? Lydia didn't wear hers to church. Instead, she wore the family baptismal gown.
(By the way, we didn't leave Hannah out of the pictures. She's there (above), behind the baptismal font. You can just see her elbow below the flowers.)
This is the gown that Hannah wore when she was baptized. And I wore it too, although not when I was a baby. It was my wedding dress. I cut it up (gasp!) and in the ultimate refashion, made it into a wee heirloom.
I know that some people are horrified that I would dissect my wedding dress, but when I got the dress, I intended to make it into a quilt. I still want to, and while the best parts of the bead work went into this gown, there is still a sizable amount of fabric waiting to be stitched into a lovely quilt. As a matter of fact, instead of a guest book at the wedding, I had everyone sign pre-cut cotton squares with a fabric pen. Those also sit, pressed and waiting to be the quilt's back. One day, it's going to be a really neat remembrance of our wedding. Maybe a ten-year-anniversary project?
The dress is sewn from a purchased pattern, which apparently I don't have any more. When Hannah was baptized, it was very hot, so she didn't wear the jacket. I tried to make it as unisex as a wedding dress can be, and in a large-ish size, so it would be suitable for girls and boys of a variety of ages (and sizes). I don't know whether or not any future grandchildren will wear this, but I wanted to make sure that all of my kids would fit.
The actual baptism was a very nice event. The real perk of being the pastor is not choosing the coolest day, but being able to baptize your own child. I was able to baptize Hannah, and so today was Jonathan's turn. We told Hannah she had a very big job of being the Big Sister, but she wasn't fooled. Thrilled by the chance to get up in front of the whole church and show off a little, she stood on tip-toes and peered at the water, did loop-the-loops around the font, and finally settled in the front row next to a friend.
Not to be outdone, Lydia almost toppled a flower arrangement before she pulled off Jonathan's lapel mic right in the middle of the prayer. But not a tear was shed, and she even seemed to enjoy the water.
Well, on to Easter. We did all wear our matching dresses to the church Easter egg hunt.
Hannah was thrilled by the amount of candy that was strewn about, just waiting for someone to pick it up - like manna in the desert.
Lydia took the first opportunity to snitch Hannah's basket and see what all the fuss was about.
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