Families United

A Christening ceremony marks the entry of a young person into the Christian church, and basically consists of the people of the church promising to raise the child well and then the minister blessing the child and drawing a cross on her forehead with holy water. It is a special day for both families as well, and here you can see all of us (Kirk's side on the left and mine on the right) posing at the front of the church. The woman in white holding the baby is the church Minister, and next to her is Kirk's Grandmother. 

Smile for the Camera!

Rob was officially in charge of videotaping the ceremony, so I spent most of the service trying to be as inconspicious as possible as I snuck around taping things related to the Christening. Here the minister is having the kids get ready for the ceremony itself, which I'm sorry but I don't have any pictures of because I was too busy taping it. *^_^* 

Something Old

Charlotte was wearing my Grandmother's Christening gown, which means that it's the same gown her 95 year old great-grandmother wore when she was a baby for the same ceremony. As you can see it's quite long, I'm not sure why except that it was the style then, I'm not sure if new Christening gowns are also so long. The lovely woman sharing a moment with Charlotte is Kirk's sister-in-law Karin. 

Wow! Really?

Charlotte finds out that there's a party after the Christening. 

Christened Out

"Alright, enough of this Christening stuff. Can we just go home now, Mom?" 

Getting Ready

After the Christening we rushed home to get ready for the after-party, and Connie and I were enlisted to help set things up. Here we are with my mother and our friend Greg. 

Party Time!

Of course, Charlotte was still the star of the day even after the Christening. Here she is in my living room with her father, Kirk, and behind Kirk (in red and green) you can see Kirk's mother and father, and across from him is his sister-in-law, Karin. (Karin's husband, Kirk's brother Derek, is the dignified looking striped grey arm you can see in the foreground.) 

Let them Eat Cake!

Rob and Connie pause from rushing around to eat some of the wonderful desserts that my mother made for the party while nobody's looking. ^_- 

Hey Everybody!

Charlotte poses on my Aunt Elaine's lap, a happy girl having her day! 

Crayon Shin-Charlotte

A very tired Charlotte at the end of a very long day wearing the Chinese style hat that goes with a pink satin Chinese New Year jumper she was sent by Connie's Mom.