Candlemas & a baptism

Oh Blessed Day! Our little girl was baptised today on the feast of Candlemas (The Presentation of the Child Jesus/Purification of Our Lady.) Here is my dear husband holding our newest child of God, after her consecration to Mary over at Our Lady's altar.

The baptism was after the 7am Mass where we had a fully sung Mass for the feast and had our year's supply candles blessed. It was a very quiet baptism with my strength not fully back and my mum and our oldest boy stood in proxy for our dear friends, Scott and Chemai who could not be with us due to chickpox being in our household still and the fact they don't get their new van until next week, which will then hold their precious seven on board.

Our Lady of Victories is such a beautiful, Spanish style church that is high, atop a hill overlooking our city's river with almost 360degree views of the city. Here I am with my oldest and youngest daughters.

Couldn't resist this one...isn't he cute?

The two youngest boys in white, they enjoyed the morning immensely.

This afternoon I have set up a little altar for the novena leading up to the 150th anniversary of apparition of Lourdes.

Here is the baptismal gown, it was made from the left over material of my wedding dress, 6 babies ago. On the front is sewn a medal of Our Lady of Lourdes given as a gift to our little one, it has been touched to the rock at Lourdes itself.

Sandy's gift - a beautiful baptismal cup - for each child she has bought one of these pewter cups, with the child's name and birth date engraved on it, a truly precious gift.

Here are our year's supply of candles - pure 100% beeswax from QueenB - 40 candles for the year and one of them used as a baptismal candle today.

Two blessed candles already in our wall hanger, one by our Our Lady of Lourdes for the novena, so wonderful to light and smell these honey scented candles - and for the whole year to come!