Cory's Baptism Day

Saturday February 16th at 3:00 pm –  Cory and his cousin were ready to share their baptism day.

The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful.  It was sunny and nearly 80 degrees in Southern California.  {We should have taken our family pictures outside, especially since the lighting was so terrible inside.  All well, I am just impressed that we at least managed to capture a few photos of the event since there was a lot going on behind the scenes .}

Cory is at the age where he does not like getting his picture taken. He doesn’t like holding still or having more than one picture snapped.  Throw into the mix an energetic 4 year old and a wiggly 21 month old, and you end up getting a lot of outtake pictures – tongues being stuck out, somber and smile-free expressions, noses being picked, etc.  At least we will always remember these fun and silly phases.

These family pictures were the best of the bunch.

Our family of six with Randy’s parents.

Our family of six with my parents.

This is my favorite picture of Cory on his special day.  I love the look of contemplation my mother-in-law captured when she took this photo. So sweet.

While those who participated in the baptism ordinance were drying off and getting dressed, the rest of us watched a slideshow presentation I created of Cory and his cousin.  It was set to instrumental music and it contained over 300 pictures of the two of them, from birth to age eight.

Putting it together was a labor of love, but it was definitely worth it.  I was somewhat unprepared for all the emotions I felt as I pored through old photographs of Cory – him as a newborn, him learning how to walk, him giggling unrestrained as a preschooler, him showing his love and passion for life.  Re-seeing him progress in these early stages of life seemed to strengthen the love I have for him. I am blessed to be his mother, blessed to raise such a sweet and determined spirit.  Those feelings were a tender gift given to me from the Lord, and they were just what I needed to feel at the time.

Cory with his Great Grandma (my dad’s mom) in June of 2005.

After the baptism, we all gathered at my parents’ house to eat, gab and celebrate.  There were nearly 70 of us there, both friends and family.  Here are a few snapshots of the fun:

Keri and her cousin doting on the baby of some close friends.

Keri and one of her many aunts!  (There are seven of us girls in my family!)

Grandma love!

Gourmet s’mores cupcakes my sweet sister lovingly made.  Scrumptious! …  I wish I had one in my hands right now!  I loved the graham cracker crust and the rich chocolate layers!

My entire family has not been together for over two years, so we made sure to get a picture of all 28(!) of us.  My family is something I treasure and cherish and I am beyond grateful that we were able to celebrate this sacred milestone with them!

P.S.  And of course we missed most of Randy’s family who couldn’t join us.  We are glad we were able to spend some quality time with them last summer (a blog post for this trip is still in the works).  Here is a picture of all 23 of us on his side.

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