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Thursday, November 29, 2007

Le Baptism

Because I can't really focus on International Law while waiting for our lawyer to call with the results of the DCFS expert determination, I thought I'd post a picture of the baptismal outfit. As I wrote earlier, we weren't sure we'd be able to fly to Houston, so I never bought anything for the baptism. Landon was supposed to wear JP's baptismal suit, but his head and belly were too big. His godmother offered to buy him one and this was the adorable result:

He also had white knee socks and little white sneakers, but all the pictures on Sunday feature JP and I too prominently to post them. This picture was taken Wednesday when he was modeling the different options. Thank goodness he seems to really like having clothes put on him- there was a lot of pulling stuff over the head going on that day!

The baptism itself was really wonderful. It was performed by the same Pastor who baptized a few of my cousins, confirmed me and my siblings, and married JP and I. Landon was perfect during the church service right up to the point we had to come up to the front for the ceremony. He then decided he was starving and proceeded to tell the entire congregation about it. Luckily, the water that was eventually poured over the top of his head distracted him from his hunger and he gave everyone a giant smile. He's totally going to be a swimmer- he loves water. He listened carefully to the children's message (we were in the front pew, so he was able to see all the little kids up close- he was probably relieved to discover he wasn't the only mini person in the world) and never made a peep during the sermon.

I realized how much I've missed my old church. We've been bad about finding one here in Chicago. This is partly because I was spoiled by my amazing church back home which my family has attended since it was founded in the commons area of a local middle school. It's Lutheran, but a very contemporary Lutheran (the church "band" has electric guitars and a drummer) and I haven't found anything that fits me nearly as well. The other reason (or excuse) is that 1L was so demanding I didn't really have time and now we're just in the habit of sleeping in on Sunday morning. JP grew up Catholic and attended Catholic school until college. He's not particularly religious, so he's fine with us not being Catholic or raising our kids in the Catholic church, but he's also not going to be the one out finding an alternative. Once we get to Austin I really want to try harder to find a church home. I think it's important for kids and I miss it for myself. Some of my best friends today were in my Sunday School classes back in elementary school and I loved the Sunday morning church routine growing up (if we got up for the 8am service, that routine involved donuts). Beyond the spiritual aspect, it's also just the best way to meet other young families and offers an amazing support system for whatever life throws at you. And life can throw some pretty crazy stuff.

13 comments:

  1. What a perfect boy, perfect outfit.

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  2. So when are you entering him in the "Cutest Baby in the World" contest???? :)

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  3. AWWW...He is so adorable. Although his Christmas picture was really, really cute too. You can tell that baby is loved and cared for. I'm glad he was so good in church.

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  4. cuteness! i cant focus on my term paper either so i was like hmmm time to check on LL =))
    when we moved to austin from minnesota we started attending First English Lutheran which is right next to the UT campus, it was also convenient for me once i started at UT because I lived at Scottish Rite and if i felt like going to church that morning it was a short, nice walk!

    also it was right down the road from Trudys on 32nd street so I had the option of trudy's margaritas after church hehehe =))

    stay warm,chica!

    x0x0

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  5. ps i saw your "away" message on your google status and at first i thought you were referring to Landon with the snoring hehehe

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  6. Adorable little guy!
    You don't know me from rocks, but I'm in Chicago (got to your site from Amalah) and would recommend Willow Creek Chicago if you'd like to try something pretty contemporary. It's at the Auditorium Theatre downtown, and not too early (9:45 for music, service at 10).
    Praying and thinking of you today. Hope you get good news soon.

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  7. Awwww! He is so cute, LL!

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  8. LL- I've been following your whole ordeal and have been brought to tears many times in sympathy. But the sadest part for me was always that despite the many many prayers being said on your behalf, your blog doesn't mention your own prayers or faith. I know that finding a support system up north seems like the up side of this whole nonsense, but I have a feeling the real up side is you finding God and church again. My prayers are always with your family, and Texas eagerly awaits your return!

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  9. you're coming to austin? good for you!

    i hear there are lots of good churches around here that keep up the 'keep austin weird' slogan. i've spent a few years recovering from church, but now that sparky is on the way, i've been craving that kind of community again. i'm about to start scouting out the episcopalians and presbyterians and lutherans nearby. i'll let you know if i find anything good!

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  10. pee ess, landon is so incredibly beautiful. he's got such a soulful smile.

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  11. Aww, too cute! Send me pics of everyone when you can please!

    Good luck studying for your final. If up there is anything like down here, hardly anyone else in your class has done the reading either and they're just starting to crack down too, and they have other finals to worry about. So you're probably not even that far behind!

    I'll keep an ear open for good Lutheran churches down here. We've been trying out various Episcopalian ones over the years.

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  12. He's adorable!!!

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  13. Absolutely adorable!

    I totally get the church issue, too. I didn't find a single church that I enjoyed attending while in law school. I felt like I was always looking for a new church, but when I look back, I probably only attended church 1x every two or three months. Now that I've found a church I love, I can't imagine my Sunday morning routine being anything else. I pray you find the same thing when you're done with law school.

    In the meantime, give yourself some grace. You're in one of the most difficult seasons of your life - on multiple fronts. Don't pressure yourself into trying to be perfect or to starting new routines. Just give yourself the grace that God pours out on you daily. And I pray you continue to feel that grace each and every day.

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