Marcie's Baptism

Marcie was baptized on Saturday, October 21st at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church here in San Diego. Deacon Ron did a fantastic job in a beautiful, private ceremony. Casey ran around the church, yelling to hear the echo of his voice, but it was hard to get mad at such a cute kid-- and it was just our family anyway. Marcie behaved well. She was a bit on the wiggly side, but that was okay. She is not a huge fan of having water poured over her head, even at bath time, so it was no suprise that she wasn't thrilled during the actual baptism portion of the ceremony.

I didn't really take any photos-- I did give my camera to someone to snap, and my sister in law Tram did video tape the whole ceremony, but I haven't looked at either. Instead, I downloaded my father in laws great pictures, and created a slideshow in Flickr. If you have never been to a Catholic baptism and would like to see what it's all about-- or if you have been to a Catholic baptism and you just want to see all the fun, click on any photo below to watch a slide show. The captions are below the photos!

Sorry these captions are here and not in the slide show-- that's one feature that seems to be lacking from Flickr-- but here they are:
1. Marcie before the ceremony, toddling around (while holding Mommy's hands, of course);
2. Marcie appearing anxious as she peers at onlookers;
3. Deacon Ron explains the importance of baptism and why we baptize children so young in the Catholic faith;
4. Marcie and Mommy pay attention to Deacon Ron;
5. Daddy and Marcie listen to Deacon Ron;
6. After trying to eat the book from which Deacon Ron was reading, Marcie decides to just stare at him;
7. Getting ready to pour the Holy Water over Marcie's head;
8. Pouring the Holy Water while blessing Marcie in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
9. Marcie loks a little mad- she's not a big fan of water being poured over her head;
10. Wiping Marcie's head to keep the water from dripping all over her;
11. Deacon Ron blesses Marcie with the Holy Oil;
12. Mommy and Daddy fix Marcie's button (Mommy thought they would do the HolyOil on the chest like they did with Casey, so unbuttoned the top button-- but Deacon Ron did it on her head!);
13. Aunt Jessica and Aunt Tiffany (Marcie's Godmothers) light the Baptism Candle; 14. Aunt Jess and Aunt Tiff listen as Deacon Ron explains that the candle light, like the Light of Christ, can be a beacon even in the darkest of times;
15. Marcie's Godmothers blow the Light of Christ in Marcie's direction;
16. Grandma S. hugging her grandkids-- plus her honorary grandchild, Casey's cousin Joey;
17. Grandma S. and Marcie;
18. Group photo of all those who attended the baptism;
19. Family photo with Deacon Ron (at least Jason is looking in the right place!);
20. Casey looking like he's ready to dive into the Baptismal Font (though he did manage to only use his pointer finger and to sign himself with a backwards cross each time he dipped his finger!);
21. Casey "performing" for us in the church, where he could hear his voice echo loudly;
22. Cousin Joey, Uncle Bryan, and Aunt Tram at the church-- Joey and Uncle Bryan even skipped soccer practice for the ceremony!