Orion's Blessing Day

In our church we don't baptize babies, but we do give them baby blessings, to launch them forth with a good start in life.  This past week Sunday we blessed baby Orion, and it was pretty perfect.  Orion was happy and content throughout the blessing, and Marcos was joined by 21 men who are close to our family, who channeled their love and affection, power and blessings to our son, to add to the love, affection, power and blessings that I channel to him every day.

I love these photos of Orion in his blessing outfit, which my lovely Aunt Katy sent when he was born.  He is so nibbleable in his Hanna Andersson stripes.  After the blessing we had lunch with our out-of-town friends who had driven a stretch to be here for Orion's special day: My Tutu's dinner-in-one casserole, breads, salads and the most amazing desserts that our friends brought to share.  The clubhouse we rented for the occasion had small dining tables, and in the middle of each one we placed jars of vibrant tulips decorated with ribbons and rocks.  The lunch was calm, peaceful and a great time to catch up with friends and enjoy good food.  I'm left to describing the event because we took a grand total of zero photos.  But I stopped beating myself up for that mistake a long time ago, so moving on.  

And finally, the blessing.  I won't include a word-for-word version here, but these are some of the highlights:

• Orion was given the name of Marcos in honor and memory of his grandfather.  He was blessed to live a life of integrity like his grandfather did - a life of truth and honesty in all his doings.
• Orion was blessed to be serviceable like his grandfather - to see the needs of others and act to fulfill those needs.
• Orion was given the name of Orion as a symbol of our (Marcos and my) love.  He was blessed that our love may guide him surely, like the stars in the heavens.
• Orion was blessed with the courage to defend righteousness and to do always was is right in his heart.
• Orion was blessed to follow the example of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and to be a peacekeeper.
• Orion was blessed to remember his grandmothers and their devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Orion was blessed to be happy.

A baby blessing is a simple thing, but it is so beautiful.  In preparation for Orion's blessing, I talked with Gigi about what was going to happen, and she asked if she could have a "big girl" blessing.  I thought, why not?, so the next day we found Gigi's baby blessing from July 25th of 2010, and Marcos read it word for word as he blessed her again with all of the things he had felt moved to say the first time.  It was meaningful to review her blessing and see how much she's grown into the beautiful girl we were hoping she would become.  We hope that Orion's blessing will be a guide to him throughout his life as well.