Baptism and a Well Stocked Diaper Bag

Today, our daughter was baptized.

Before I get to this though, I must first tell you about the importance of a well stocked diaper bag.

Lesson One - Never leave home with checking your supply of wet wipes:
The diaper bag plays an important role in our lives now - a role that we never thought existed. Recently, we were at a fundraiser for the Conservation Council of NC and Emily needed a diaper change. Dan decided to take diaper duty so I sent him to the restroom with the diaper and the container of wipes. The fundraiser was at the impressive Cardinal Club in downtown Raleigh - with no convenient place to change a baby in the men's room. Dan improvised and set her on the ottoman in the siting area of the restroom. Not surprisingly, Emily had of course done #2 and Dan opened the wipes container to proceed clean up. Dan only had one wipe! Dan tells a pretty funny in person version of the story, but it ended with a wad of wet paper towels, with him on his knees hovering over the ottoman trying to clean Miss Emily up. When he returned, he handed her to me and simply said, "She is going to need a bath tonight."

Lesson Two - The Diaper Bag can carry more than just dipaers:
Emily went to her first baseball game on May 31st. This was a fun day - Mudcats v. Smokies (Cubs AA team). Emily didn't much care, to be honest with you, but I am sure she appreciated the fresh air. Usually, at the ball games, you are allowed to take no beverages and no snacks in because you are forced to pay the ball park price. But, when it is in your diaper bag, nobody questions it. So what was in ours...peanuts, popcorn, water and a Diet Mountain Dew. The essentials. Oh yeah, we did have diapers, wipes (fully loaded) and a bottle - but why waste the bottom of the diaper bag when you can cram your own snacks in it, too.

Now..on to the business at hand...

Our daughter was baptized today. I didn't cry like so many of our family and friends, but it was emotional for me. Why didn't I cry? I don't know. Especially when I can cry at the drop of a pin these days. But I didn't. Perhaps because I was busy being the mother. This morning, I woke up at 5:15 am to feed Emily at her demanding, then I took a shower and proceeded downstairs to check the to do list. Dan's family stayed with us so they were busy to work already on the things we had discussed the night before. Seeing that all was in order, I went back upstairs to finsh getting ready, feed Emily before we left for church, get dressed, get her dressed, take pictures and get everyone loaded in the car by 8:00 am.

We arrived at church and saw many of our family and friends including, of course, Emily's Godparents Donald and Lori. When we were first thinking about who would serve as Emily's Godparents, we immediately thought of Donald and Lori. I wondered if we should pick relatives, although Donald and Lori are as close as relatives get without actually being related. But these friends have been through so many milestones with us. Donald officiated our wedding, counseled us before our wedding and Lori has been a spiritual beacon for us (for me in particular). The first time that Lori prayed with me was on the day of my wedding. I had prayed with Lori before this at mealtimes, etc, but this was the first "personal" prayer. I was on the phone, concerned because we were running late for pictures for the wedding, with emotions running wild and stress filling every inch of my being, Lori prayed for peace with me. This is the first time in my life that I remember praying for peace. I had prayed before for God's will to be done, but never for peace. A calm came over me at this prayer and I knew that all my prayers from that day forward would be different. And they were.

During the baptism, Emily received the sign of the cross over her forehead and over her heart and during this part, she smiled. While my head tells me that this was only a coincidence, I have to believe that it was God smiling upon her and upon us today. In so many ways I wish that the entire church could have seen this, but in retrospect, it was a moment I am glad to have shared with her Godparents.

So many people have been instrumental in our lives - helping to shaper who we are and we are so grateful and blessed that these same people are a part of Emily's life. Our prayer today is for peace - peace in knowing that God will take care of us through all of our days, peace in knowing the love that God has for us and our daughter and peace for our friends and family.