As many as have been Baptized into Christ

"Many Years" to the Newly Illumined Servant of God, Joachim! And to his Godfather, Jason Huck!

It was a good baptism and churching. I have posted a couple of photos at the photoblog. If you were present and took pictures, please send me copies, thank you.

I was very pleased with the number of relatives that attended. Jaime and I are the only Orthodox Christians in either of our families but they came out in full force. The place was packed with people who didn't know where to stand. Thanks to all of them.

Our strategic feeding scheme didn't work out, so David was crying and hungry during much of the ceremony, but not terrible. There were a couple of times that it was clear he didn't understand that his Godfather is only good for spiritual food. Just before the immersion, while Fr. Michael was blessing the waters, we had to strip him and change his diaper so that he would have a clean one to be pulled off at the last minute. It took three of us--one changed a diaper, one pulled off his clothes, and one held a bottle in his mouth to try to calm him.

The actual immersing was great. Three times under and then a sort of startled silence like he was double-checking "did you just do what I think you did?!?!" and then a cry that I haven't heard before--loudly indignant. It was the very same tone he will use five years from now when he sobs to the bully on the playground "wait'll I tell my mommy!"

You will see in the churching photos the beautiful baptismal gown that he is wearing. Grandma Suzie made that, finishing it just a couple hours before this photo. By the end of the night he had christened the gown itself with just about every fluid a baby can produce. He has this new trick of pushing raw umber poo out the top of the back of his diaper. Nasty.

Because of extenuating circumstances, it was a slightly more stressful day than it needed to be but it ended well--an exhausted David and two exhausted parents resting in bed together content to let the Big World turn for awhile. A very good day. Thank God.