Baptism, part 2

The weather in Chicago on Sunday was just beautiful- warm and sunny. Even so, for some reason we dressed the triplets in their snowsuits.

What? You can't tell that's Finn on the left? (With him, the ever stylish Macy James!)

You never know if/ when a cool gust of wind will blow in, right??

And okay, I may have been just a little up tight about getting to church on time.... but we made it! Fifteen minutes early even.

The service was beautiful and inspiring and I just felt so thankful and so lucky that God has blessed us with these boys.

Carter Paige

Everett Owen

Finley Joseph

After the service, we celebrated with a brunch at home.

I got out the good china, which sadly we'd never used! One set was given to us when we got married, and the second set we purchased while living in the Philippines. We'd gone to a Noritake warehouse and spent hours upon hours digging through dirty plates, trying to sort out the gems from pieces that were cracked. It was at least 90 degrees, unbelievably humid and we were filthy by the end of the day. But we got a great deal! During that tedious process, if someone had told me I'd be using that china to serve brunch five years later on the day my triplets were baptized, I would have thought they were NUTS! 

After brunch, we gave each couple around the table, a picture of the triplets in their baptismal outfits with a personal note written on the back about the difference they have made in our lives. I hope that every time each person looks at the picture, they will know what a true and significant difference they have made in each of these babies lives. We would not be where we are today, without their love and support.

Instead of gifts for the boys to open, we asked our family to consider making a donation to the March of Dimes organization, specifically supporting nicu families. Our experience of the nicu was that our boys were relatively healthy during their whole two week stay, they almost always had friends and family up there to give them love, and we could easily travel to and from the hospital to see them. We also knew that Colin was in great hands at home. But for many families, their nicu experience involves far sicker and more premature babies, lengthy stays, long travels and extended stays in hotels far from home and support systems. The March of Dimes works to support these families by providing information, comfort and resources in a variety of ways. A story book that Colin got from the March of Dimes is still one of his favorites! Lately I keep thinking of the verse, "To whom much is given, much is expected." Man have we been given a lot. Three healthy babies, a well adjusted 2 year old and an incredible support system. I hope that as our boys grow up and develop a faith, giving of their time, talents and resources will always be central. We thought that their baptism day would be a good time to try and demonstrate this.