Alec John is baptized.

Alec was baptized this Sunday and it was a beautiful event.

The enormity and wonder of the whole day really hit as we were pulling away from the reception site: it was late afternoon, cold and crisp outside, and the light was just gorgeous. The sky was gray and the palest of pinks and blues, almost otherworldly, and everywhere you looked was a gleaming white from the snow that had fallen the day and night before. All five of us were in the car, totally sated from a day spent focused on our little boy, this bundle of love and smiles and warmth and miracles, baptized by his uncle, sponsored by his aunts and uncles, celebrated by his family and friends, now a true child child of God's.

Everything went really smoothly. The service was exciting and breathless for us; my brother did a great job, as we knew he would, and I think it was a pinnacle moment for my parents to see one of their children baptizing the other's child. Even though we were in front of a church filled with 200 people, the moment when Brian was holding Alec felt intimate and loving. There were a lot of us up in front of the church: Alec, his parents, his two sisters, his uncle who baptized him and his four sponsors (Aunt Jaime, Uncle Michael, Aunt Michele and Uncle Jimmy) and it felt like we were all surrounding him with love and security and pride.

After the service, we took lots of pictures and headed out to the reception site. The room was decorated for Christmas and looked beautiful; it had windows on two sides that provided panaramic views of the golf course and beyond. Everything was gold and green and wood, and there was even a warm fire in the fireplace. The food was delicious and plentiful. We got to visit with our guests as Alec slept and then when he woke up, he tolerated being passed around to both adults and kids.

The time passed quickly, as it always does at big events like these that you spend months planning and anticipating. And then it's over and you are left with pictures- both on paper and in your head- of little moments that you will never forget. Smiling at my brother when we handed over Alec to be baptized. Walking into the reception room. Hugging a family member. Talking with a good friend. Pulling away from the country club, seeing that sky and hearing Christmas Canon on the radio and feeling incredibly blessed and full.

May God bless you richly, Alec, and always keep you in His care. Thank you for coming into our lives and know how much your family and friends love you and pray for you.