Sam’s Baptism Day

This is a post about a family,  photographs of a mother and a father and their sweet little boys on the day their youngest was Baptized.   But it is also so much more.

When you look through these photographs you won’t realize that this day started in Sam’s grand mother’s cottage which is on the bank of Mill River in Prince Edward Island.  It is right across the road from his Great Grandmother’s house, a sweet little farm house that looks quite like the house that Anne of Green Gables lived in.  Well, it is Mary and not Anne who lives in that house, and while you won’t find any raspberry cordial in her cupboards, there are always lots of the best molasses cookies that you will ever eat.

You won’t realize that Sam and his mother and father, along with his handsome brother Leo have travelled from their home in Rhode Island so he, like his big brother a few years ago, could be baptized in the church where his grandparents were married in 1970.  The very same church where his great grandparents and their parents and their grandparents went to church; where countless ceremonies have marked beginnings (baptisms), middles (marriages) and endings (funerals) in our family.

You also won’t realize that Sam’s other grandmother is here as well.  She also lives in Rhode Island and this is her very first visit to Prince Edward Island.  She travelled all the way here to see her littlest grandson be baptized, the little boy who shares the name of his grandfather, who (I’m sure) was smiling down at us (Along with all the his other grampy and grandfathers, as sadly the time that they were able to live among us was far too short).

You won’t realize that there are cousins in these photos who haven’t seen each other is many years; and that their children met each other for the first time this day.  As cousins do, they instantly became best of friends and spent the afternoon playing together as their parents did a generation ago. You won’t see the friends who came to take part in this day.  The people who gave up their summer weekend and bravely joined us for the day and greatly added to the “specialness” of it.

You also won’t see any pictures of the baptism ceremony.  Nope – not one.  I was the (proud) godmother and couldn’t take any photos during the service.

You also won’t be able to smell or taste the food which is too bad.  As our waistlines attest, there is always a lot of food at any of our family get togethers.  My mother loves to cook and always makes sure there is an over abundance of good things to eat on any given day, so you can be assured there was a lot of food and that it was very good.

You will see photos that were taken in a restaurant but you won’t realize what an amazing place it is and how special the people are who run it.  Sam’s dad travels each summer to the Island for work and this sweet family have adopted him as one of  their own and always greet him with open arms and the most delicious island food.

You won’t hear the noise.  We seem to be a “fruitful” bunch and, (thankfully) there are always an brood of little chicks near by.  When you have children you have noise- lots of it.  You have laughter; lots of it. But there is often mass confusion, lots of running, and some crying.  You have crumbs on the floors and spilled drinks and dirty shirts.  But this is good, so good and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

What you will see are lots of pictures of my adorable little nephew.

I wanted to capture each little look, each adorable expression.  Years from now most of us will forget (except for his mama because mamas never forget) how his eyes lit us when he looked at you.  I didn’t want to forget how his little tongue was most always stuck out.  How he always had a smile on his sweet little face.  How he scrunched up his little nose when he tasted cake for the very first time and how proud he was of his newfound skill of being able to stand when holding on to someone’s hands.

And to this little boy’s family, this means the world.

xo