Birthday and Baptism

A couple of weeks ago, Jack turned 8 years old. I can't believe he's 8! I actually made his cake this year and we had a small family gathering. He requested chocolate, and didn't even notice that the cake was a bit lopsided....I was in a hurry and didn't level it. I added mini chocolate chips to the side when he said he wanted it "really chocolately." We are still hoping to have a couple of his good friends over to go see a movie or swim, but it's been hard to schedule.
Here's Poppy (Dennis's dad, Ralph) with Sam at Jack's birthday gathering.

I often think about the kind of kid I was when I was his age, because I have fairly vivid memories from age 7 on. I really remember my 8th birthday. It was a few months after Mama June passed away, and my new mother-to-be made my cake for me which was a very special thing for her to do. I had asked for a camera, and when I saw the wrapped box, I burst into tears because the box size did not match a camera size. It never occurred to me that the box should be bigger than the camera. I was such a pill! It turned out to be a camera, and boy, did I feel bad! Dad must have been very tolerant, because I don't remember being punished for my awful behavior.

Today we also had a special day because we baptized Sam. It was a beautiful Mass with great music (Dennis's parents both sang in the choir) and Father John, our priest gave a wonderful sermon on what our purpose in life is. Dennis's sister Diana and my sister Ingrid and her husband Jacob were Sam's godparents. We can't believe we had enough kids for all of our siblings to be godparents! Sam was wide awake during the ceremony, but didn't make a peep. He wore a gown that all of our children have worn, and I hope will be an heirloom that their children can wear, if they so choose. I have had the slip underneath embroidered with each of their names and baptismal dates, and will do the same for Sam.

Rachael has been talking about Sam's baptism for weeks. She has learned alot about baptism and other Catholic practices during religion at her school and was very interested in everything leading up to the actual ceremony. She seems to have a very special bond with Sam -- he lights up when she speaks or sings to him -- and I expect they will be great friends some day (I expect this for Avery, too, but for now, I think Sam just tolerates her!).





After Mass, we had brunch at our house with lots of family. Pop (my Dad, John Bill) held Sam, who fell asleep during Pop and Poppy's long conversation. We really enjoyed our time with our family, and this will be a day I will never forgot.

On a side note, when I was picking up the hams that we had for the brunch, there was a wonderful quotation painted on the wall of the ham place. Dennis and I have been having many conversations about the economy, the future of our business and family, and these tough times. I called him immediately when I saw the quotation, because it was so timely for us, personally. It said:

"Write your worries in the sand. Carve your blessings in stone."

How very blessed we are!