Ava wore my 1974 Christening gown. She kept trying to eat the long ribbons during the ceremony! :) I went to Belk and bought a little pair of white silk shoes for her to wear and keep.
We awoke December 22nd to a beautiful, sunny morning. Believe it or not, it was stangely warm enough in December to wear short sleeves! This was the morning of Ava's Christening and Ben and I began to get everything ready to go to church. When we arrived, friends and family and our dear friend, Patty, who introduced us to Ava's birth family, had all gathered at the church. My grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, was able to come, and I was tickled that she could be there.
Video cameras and cameras were handed out, and Patty, me and Ben went into a Sunday School room and changed Ava into my 1974 Christening gown. I took it to the cleaners the week before to get the 70s off of the lace collar! :) Everyone was so excited to see this long-awaited day in our family! I sincerely wanted to find every face of those who have walked this long journey with us and supported us and petioned the Lord on our behalf. There are SO many. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You were the body of Christ for us when we were barely hanging in there. We're forever grateful.
Here's me and Ben in the moment!
Our Pastor reads the meaning of the Christening as we listen. I am so overjoyed in this picture!
Pastor Jerry takes Ava for a stroll down the aisle...Notice the long ribbons!
My family gathers to celebrate with us! My grandmother, Ruthie, is pictured in front.
Our little family with Patty, who introduced us to Ava's birth family while I was working at Sweet Celebrations Bakery.
A picture with Pastor Jerry.
Posing with Ava's great-grandmother, Ruthie.
Posing with Ava's grandparents, Mimi and Papa. Ben's folks were unable to make it but were rejoicing with us! We saved the ceremony video to show them when they visit in January.
After the church service, Mommy, Daddy and Ava Faith pose for a family picture. Next, we went to Courtyard Grill for lunch with my family and opened gifts. Thank you, everyone!!!
A Christening or baptism in the Methodist church takes place early on in a child's life to allow the parents to affirm their Christian faith and promise to raise their child with the knowledge of Jesus Christ until the child makes the personal decision to invite Jesus into his/her heart. We met with Pastor Jerry a few days before and discussed the meaning behind the ceremony and why were were doing it. My greatest prayer for Ava is that she will grow up to define herself and find her indentity in what Christ thinks of her, not in what the world thinks. The world has so many opinions, doesn't it, and it's loud. I know now that we live in this world, but we are not of it. Now that I'm in my 30s, I've realized that the world can be a harsh place to journey in, but Jesus is always with us and making us stronger. I pray that Ava will grow in this knowledge, and Ben and I promised to do all that we can to help her on this journey. As we said the words and pledged our faith, I was so aware that storms and doubts and questions will come to Ava. How I want to shield her from those storms, but I know full well now that they are going to be necessary for her to grow. Ben and I promise to be there when those times come.
I've heard the words of Christenings countless times as we've watched baby after baby being baptized. When we walked up there to begin the ceremony, I just wanted to freeze time and find every face that had been praying earnestly for us and petitioning the Lord on our behalf. I was now a momma and Ben was a Daddy through the miracle of adoption.
The ceremony was beautiful surrounded by Christmas lights and the Advent wreath, and Ava was sprinkled with warm water. Next, our pastor took her and walked her down the aisle for the congregation to see. Again, this was a moment I have been waiting for for a very very long time. I wanted to shout to all who were there about our story of adoption and how God redeems our struggle for His glory and give us the treasures of darkness in His timing. All of that waiting and pew crying and sobbing just vanished as we stood there and watched Ava.
I'm preparing to upload several pictures. It will take me some time to get them in the right order! As I have a lot of catching up to do with you guys, we'll start with December 22nd and go from there. It was a glorious Christmas season!
Ava's dr. appt. is at 5:10 today. She's napping quietly as I write this with her humidifier blowing full blast! I'll feel better having taken her to the dr. to be checked out. She had a mild temp this morning of 99.5. I think it might be the croop or a mild bronchial infection.
Enjoy the pictures! I'll be back soon to post Christmas celebration pictures with friends and family!
