From The Archives
I wanted to tickle his feet.
They were too chubby to fit in shoes, so he went barefoot at his baptism. I remember laughing so hard when we tried to squeeze his feet into shoes.
Our First Grandson.
Stylish in a blue Hawaiian shirt that matched his Dad's.
On his baptismal day, I was asked to give the words of blessing. This was what I said.
THE BESTEST OF ALL BEST
Words of Blessing
Harris United Methodist Church - June 13, 2010
Family milestones have a way of bringing me down on my knees.
One of them happened on our anniversary last year. We were doing a conference call with Alena, during which she proudly declared, You are going to be grandparents.
Finally - after wanting to be grandparents, burning candles to our Lady of Impossible Conception (and we were not even Catholic)!
The prophet Isaiah's words came to mind. Those who hope on the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles. (Isaiah 40:31).
That was our best anniversary gift ever.
Exciting milestones followed soon after.
There was the sonogram of a fourth-inch blob resembling a gummi worm that was to be our grandchild. We deemed it The Best Photograph Ever, worthy of publication in the National Geographic.
We knew that the most reliable method to determine the baby's sex was childbirth, but Alena's obstetrician had declared on the baby's 16th week of development that it was to be a boy. That was a milestone.
Thru the ensuing months, the entire family - Vicente and I, and our younger daughter Iris - surrounded the expectant parents and the baby with prayers. We waited upon the Lord in trust, hopeful that this life growing in the womb, from the size of a grape to a giant watermelon, would prosper under God's grace and become strong.
Childbirth is like a vampire - it never strikes before sundown. So it was that labor pains began around midnight on December 7th, when all obstetricians in the state were still in deepest sleep. In TV dramas, childbirth takes about as long as an episode of Gray's Anatomy, but this one took about as long as a public television station's fund-raising marathon.
We had prayed for a miracle. Then God sent Reis. Christmas came early.
James 1:17 says: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly lights. Baby Reis was a good, perfect, and our best Christmas gift ever.
Today, we invite you to join us in the mighty chorus of joyful music, leading us sunward, in celebration of yet another milestone - the baby's dedication to become part of the body of believers in Christ.
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| From the Hughes family calendar, 2011 |
Our fervent prayer is for this child to be raised up on eagle's wings, secure in the palm of God's hand - that his dreams may take him to the corners of his smiles, to the highest of his hopes, and to the most special places his heart will ever know.
Friends in faith, may I present the parents - our children Alena and Patrick - and our grandson, REIS DENTON HUGHES.
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Always, our prayers and fair hopes for you
as you grow up,
our dear First Grandson!
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