a dozen years

The best way for our sweet tween to celebrate her 12th birthday -  baptism.

I think baptism Sundays are one of the many reasons we love Island ECC. Those being baptized invite friends and family and cheer as each and every baptism takes place. It's beautiful.

The youth have two Sundays per year dedicated to baptisms, while the adults of the church have six per year (baptizing 10 or so people at all three services on those particular Sundays).

The one thing (prior to Taylor's baptism) I FAILED to notice in this church's baptisms was the presence of gifts and flowers. So, as the service was due to begin and I saw a sweet friend with flowers in her hand, so I asked, "Oh, who are the flowers for?" She looked at me with a quizzical smile and said, "For Taylor."  I wanted to yank those right out of her hand and claim them for my own!
As is normal for my relationship with my kids, I was apologizing.

And, as you see in the photo, other people brought more than flowers (not her lame mother, of course). We just brought the entertainment (Claire).