Elliot's Baptism!

Elliot was Baptized into the Catholic Church on January 9th, 2016!

Baptism is important to Catholics. For us, it is one of the seven sacraments instituted by Jesus, and an opportunity for an outpouring of grace upon our little one as he begins his life as a baptized child of God. We believe that in Baptism, the stain of Original Sin is washed away and an indelible mark of belonging to Christ is placed upon the one receiving the sacrament. We as parents have the sacred duty to nurture Elliot in the Church's teachings and to set a holy example for him to imitate. The Catholic faith will provide him with much-needed spiritual nourishment for his personal growth, in soul, mind, and body.

Arranging the Baptism had taken forever because our parish required a form to be filled out by the godparents - and I wanted my sister (who lived in Nebraska) and my brother (who lived in Louisiana) to be godparents. They had to get their parish priests to sign the form for them. And as both of them were super busy - my sister with her master's program and my brother with the Air Force - it took a while to get the forms back to me. But once they did, Jeff and I set a date with our parish, sent out invitations, and whipped up a little reception for after the Baptism. It was a lot of work, but a lot of people were able to come and witness Elliot's Catholic birthday! Jeff and I were so proud of our little boy and our first forward steps into life as Catholic parents!

In the meantime, Elliot is getting a very "rounded" education. He has a lot of toys that he loves to play with, and we play all kinds of music for him! He watches momma cook and clean in the kitchen and watches daddy play WoW and Fallout 4. I am currently reading "The House at Pooh Corner" to him, and we count to twenty and sing our ABC's. Sometimes, when momma needs a break, I let him play in his gym and relax with a cup of tea and an ASMR video. Or Pinterest. Sometimes both (I multitask). Every day is a new discovery!

Elliot fascinated by his toy truck

This past week Jeff had a close childhood friend pass away in a car accident. It made us both realize the value of life and how terrible it would be if we lost each other or Elliot. The bible tells us that our lives are like the blades of grass; here today and gone tomorrow; they wither and fade with the passing seasons. We can't know the future or how much pain we will have to endure. I dread losing people close to me and don't like to think about how much heartache I will have to suffer in losing them, as I know I inevitably will. It's no wonder that our culture indulges in "eternal youth" to take our minds off growing old and leaving this world! But as Catholics we cling to the hope that we will be united with our loved ones again in heaven, and that if we live our lives for God, to the fullest and with love and generosity, surely we have nothing to fear from death. As the saying goes, there is a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Today we have our first snow day! We here in Kansas have finally been hit by a snowstorm. I went out to buy groceries on Sunday and of course EVERYONE ELSE WAS THERE. They had practically cleaned the shelves of the Ranch Wheat Thins. I had to do with a box of regular. Incidentally, I was not there for the snowstorm; I was there because our house was totally devoid of foodstuff. Okay, not totally devoid, but it's hard to subsist on a can of kidney beans and some cocoa powder packets.

Soon I will blog about some of my projects that I'm doing! I am making a denim skirt, a mantilla, and matcha lip balm. I'm so excited! I have so many things I'm getting up to. I'll post again as soon as I have pictures (and results)!


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