Baptism x 2

Greetings!

Today we welcomed Jonas and Elsa as newly baptised children of God. We were so blessed to have Rev. Nancy Connor lead the small service that we had at the house. With Jonas and Elsa still being so susceptible to illness we opted to have the service at our home to keep their lungs safe. Nancy also was the reverend for our wedding so it was such a joy to have her be part of both events. (She reminded us of the foot race that took place at our wedding as a sudden and brief storm hit at the conclusion of our August '04 outdoor wedding service.)

Elsa and Jonas were champs. They both gave half smiles as the water was poured on their heads. They patiently sat for many photos and lots of hugs and kisses. What a great day! Jen and Ron Aviles and Karl "Godfather" and Alison Hoseth served as godparents. Grandparents on both sides were on hand to cheer them on! The gowns that Jonas and Elsa were wearing were crafted by hand by Grandma Jeanne.

The last picture of the kids is of them in outfits that we bought when we first found out that we had twins enroute. It was very special to be able to have them wear these first outfits on their baptism day.

The last picture is of the baptismal banners hand-made by honorary Grandma Kathy. Our friend Sara took some great photos of the kids with the banners that we will post another time. In between the banners is Great Grandpa Morgan's bib.

During Elsa and Jonas' first few weeks at the hospital, we had many gracious offers to baptise them in the NICU. We kept holding out hope that they would be able to be baptised at our church or home. We knew the baptism was more important than the location but we were just so hopeful that we could have them both surrounded by family and sponsors and tons of delicious snacks. What a blessing!

We could ramble on and on but hopefully our JOY jumps from the page and from our hearts.

God Bless,

Jonas & Elsa & Mari & Dan