Blessed Baby

There have been many times in the past 10 weeks that I've felt completely overwhelmed by how loved this baby is. Not just by us, but by our entire family. I was reminded of this yet again on Saturday evening as he was baptized. Surrounded by family and friends, we spent a beautiful evening together celebrating this little boy as our very own gift from God.


St. Jude's has a heated baptismal font, and in our baptism-prep classes, they really encouraged us to consider full immersion into to the font. We figured he loves his bath so we'd give it a try. He did fuss a little while being dunked in the nude, but he really did well overall. Afterwards, he wore the gown that my mother, my aunts and uncles, cousins, and myself wore when we were baptized, and a darling bonnet that was a gift from his Godmother, Natalie. The bonnet becomes a hankercheif that will someday be given to his bride to carry on their wedding day. Inside the box that it came in said:


Preston's Godparents are my dear friend Natalie Pryor and Kevin's brother Christopher. They both serve such a special place in our lives and were our Matron of Honor and Best Man in our wedding, so it was fitting to have them play an important part in Preston's faith. He's such a lucky boy to have them as role models- what amazing people they both are!


After the ceremony, all 40 or so of us gathered at Grandma and Grandpa Erb's for a huge party. Preston was so exhausted, he slept a lot of the time, but when he was awake, he was happy and alert. He seems to adjust very well to being passed around which happens constantly to him in such a large family. I'm so glad that he likes being socialized and we think it's good for him to get used to big family events at such a young age. We had enough food for a small army and a darling cake as well. Grandma Judy was so kind to offer her beautiful home to host everyone! Here he is with great grandma Joan:



Preston of course recieved tons of baptismal gifts and special keepsakes, including this beautiful picture frame from Grandma and Grandpa Roberts:

The blue matches his room perfectly and the words bring tears to my eyes. It says, "You are the poem I dreamed of writing. The masterpiece I longed to paint. You are the shining star I reached for in my ever hopeful quest for life fulfilled. You are my child. Now with all things I am blessed."

Thank you to everyone who attended and for your prayers and loving thoughts towards Preston on this special night!