Sundays in the park with Rhys

It's great fun to hang out with Rhys, Mom's friend Elise's baby. He's 7 whole weeks younger than us but he's cool anyway. These are from a month or so ago, when we had just started walking.

And here we are last weekend, swinging and checking out the cool toys at Rhys' local park. We're walking full-force now!

Rhys swings.

Luke checking out the scene.

Luke chooses a horse.

Andre and Rhys now

See how far we've come since last winter!

Andre and Rhys then.

After speaking in tongues and spinning our heads all the way around a few times, Mom and Dad finally caved in and gave us our blessing ceremony. We had a great time, and we are very relieved, even if it was one of those wishy-washy, non-demoninational deals. For those who came, thanks for your blessings, it was definitely one of our top ten days ever!

The parents did a Hawaiian luau theme, I guess cause they met there? Maybe just because they felt like it. There were hibiscus and pineapples, Dad covered the porch in bamboo, all the guests wore Hawaiian shirts, Jill and her crew cooked Kalua pork (wrapped in ti leaves...in an oven, not a covered pit), we played Hawaiian music.

Godmother Jill prepares the feast.

Lost your wine cork? A binky will do just fine!

Dad wrote and delivered the service. Again, we would have been more comfortable with a priest licensed by an all-powerful deity, but its the thought that counts. Here is the "sermon":

We are gathered here today to bless

Luke Parish McConnell and

Andre Parish McConnell.

Clockwise, from left: Neal, Sandy, Buena, Bob, Jerry & Bruce

The absence of a holy man or woman to lead this blessing is not a rejection of organized religion. It's more an indication that our religious life is currently not as organized as it could be. Or, as David Beckham, the soccer player, said about his son: we definitely want Luke and Andre to be christened, we just don't know into what religion yet.

Preacher Dad, next to aunt/godmother Kate.

We feel that everyone in this circle is qualified to bless Luke and Andre. You are all holy men and women, in that you are people who strive to be good, to do good, to have faith in the power of goodness. All of us here have guided, and will continue to guide Luke and Andre on their own path towards goodness. Ghandi said, "Your life is your message to your children" which is a concept we take seriously. Since you are an important part of our lives, it follows that your lives are your message to our children, Luke and Andre. We are honored to have you here, we can think of no better messengers.

So let us commence with the blessing by taking turns gracing Luke and Andre with words, prepared or off the cuff, to help them on their journey. (They understand more than you think.) If you don't have anything in mind to share, you can choose from one of the blessing quotes provided in the program... in no particular order, whatever jumps out at you. We'd love for everyone to participate, but if you would prefer not to, you can come up with a graceful way to pass, a silent blessing. We'll start with Grandma Gail, who knows her way around a sharing circle.

(Here all the guests shared a blessing. Gail painted a stone fish with rocks, Bruce shared Confucian wisdom, Grandma Marian recited a poem her mom had written, Bob sang a customized hymn and Andre chimed in, Sandra read Ethan's blessing, Elise read from The Prophet, Bop made everyone cry, etc. Beautifully done by all.)


Darcy and I were both Christened in a more orthodox fashion, and we wanted to have the traditional elements of a water blessing and a presentation of godparents in this cermony.

Here we are with our new godmothers, Kate and Jill. Cool leis, right? All the ladies got specially made flower hoku leis for their heads.

We have asked Kate, my sister, and Jill, Darcy's close longtime friend, to be Luke and Andre's godmothers. They have both already shown Luke and Andre a great deal of love, and we know them to be the type of people whom Luke and Andre can count on for anything they need. Among their many qualities, they are both hip and worldly, with a network of interesting friends that spans the globe. Good people for Luke and Andre to go see when their parents become too square to bear. Neither is a priestess, but we will still ask them, for their first duty as godmothers, to bless Luke and Andre with water.

The holy waters: from the Sound (left) and the Spring (right)

In this bowl we have water from the trough at the Crystal Spring House, a few steps from where Darcy and I were married. This water was pullled by unseen forces from oceans, lakes, and rivers all over the planet, up through the atmosphere to reconvene into clusters with other lost droplets, drifting lazily across the sky for a spell, over Big Indian mountain where it leapt from the safety of the clouds to rejoin the earth, percolating down through centuries of soil, welling back up into the Crystal Spring, funneling through a PVC pipe across the Elk Bushkill and out a faucet that hs, thankfully, never run dry. It is the best water you will ever taste, as pure as can be. In this manner it has been blessed. With this water, we bless you, Luke and Andre.

In this bowl we have water from the Long Island Sound, the body of water that lies between Connecticut, where I grew up, and Long Island, where Darcy was born and raised. This water begand its journey in springs like the Crystal Spring across upstate New York and New England. It hopped down streams like the Bushkill, joined rivers like the Esopus, merged with greeat rivers like the Hudson or Connecticut, then flowed into the Sound, where it mixed with the salty waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In this manner it has been blessed. With this water, we bless you, Andre and Luke.



May the blessings of family and friends,
And the blessings of all in the web of life,
Be with you as you join us in this circle of love.
We love you, Andre and Luke.

Andre and Great-grandfather Bop.