Good Times with the Ryans: Kate's Baptism Day

We had Kate baptized at church last Sunday and were honored to name Ashely as her godmother and Matt Day as her godfather. It was a beautiful ceremony, witnessed by each of our parents, Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, Amy and Stevie, Ashely, and Matt and Beth. The gown that Kate wore is quite the heirloom. It was actually made for Amy, Sean's sister, to wear when she was baptized and Sean wore it as well. Beth kept it safely tucked away for all these years, only to bring it back out to be worn by Ryley, Emma and now Kate some 30 years later. So special!

Our minister at Wendell United Methodist Church, Rev. Ellen McCubbin, performed the baptism ceremony. Ellen was the associate pastor at Wendell UMC when we first started going there, but then she was moved to a church in Sunset Beach. She came back to serve as the pastor at Wendell about a year ago. She used a seashell given to her by some members of the congregation at Sunset Beach, to pour the water over Kate's head. She gave us the seashell as a keepsake of Kate's special day. She also presented Kate with a beautiful prayer shawl that was made by some of the ladies in our church.

Kate did wonderful during the ceremony, letting out only a little whimper a couple of times.

Sean and I are blessed to have so many wonderful friends. When we began considering Kate's godparents, choosing Ashely and Matt was a pretty easy decision. We have been friends with the two of them, respectively, since we were kids and our friendships have grown so much over the years. I know that Ashely will give Kate plenty of spirtual guidance through the years and will always be there for her (and us!). And Matt is so proud of his little goddaughter, already being protective and everything! Sean will probably be glad to have some protective reinforcement when she's a teenager!