Turner is baptized!!

We have been planning Turner's baptism for about 2 months.  Truth be told I've been thinking about it since the day he was born.  Tori and I couldn’t have asked for a better day.  We had family and friends come from as far as New York, Virginia and Alabama to join us in celebrating Turner’s baptism into Catholicism.  We spent Saturday getting the house and food in order for the big day.   

Sunday morning we had the godparents meet us at our home and drop off some of the food.   Many of our friends and family were able to join us for mass at 11am.  The baptism immediately followed.   Father Corley spoke to the parent (us) and the godparents about the importance of this sacrament.    We re-confirmed our faith and I lit Turner’s baptism candle from the Easter candle (a perk of being baptized so close to Easter).

Following the baptism, we invited everyone over to our home for some food and drinks.   Tori made her famous sweet potato casserole and I ordered my famous stewed chicken, rice and peas, and plantains.  Turner’s godparents provided baked chicken, drinks, macaroni and cheese and sautéed green beans --- there was good food at the reception.   Our guests enjoyed a red velvet cake and ‘sinfully white’ cake.  Yes, I not see the irony of ordering a sinful cake for my son’s baptism. It won’t happen again.

I mentioned it to our guests but want to make it clear to everyone that reads this blog.  Tori and I really appreciate the close relationships we’ve developed while in PA.  While we don’t have family in the immediate area, we do have a strong network that we can lean on whenever help is needed.    I’m going to stop now and let you all enjoy some of the pictures from the event.  Turner’s godparents also videotaped the event for all of our family that wasn’t able to be here in person.

Turner’s first field hockey game

My father had four sons - Jeremy, Sammy, Jonathon and me. Three of them play field hockey.  One of them, Jonathon is on the National Field Hockey team for Canada.  I know what you’re thinking and you’re right - I’m the non-athletic one.  I’m glad to go to the gym and lift some weights but I don’t run.  Now that we have that out of the way, I’ll continue with the story.   So my brother Jeremy (oldest) invited us to come down to Maryland for a tournament that all of my brothers were playing in. Since two of Turner’s uncles live far away (Sammy’s in Orlando and Jonathon is in Canada) we figured this would be a great opportunity for more of the family to see him. 

We drove down Sunday morning and went to Jeremy’s house.  This was Turner’s first road trip and he was great in the car. Turner got to meet his aunt Charmaine and his cousin’s Xolani and Anisa.   After having lunch with the family, Tori, Turner and I drove over to the arena to see my brothers and watch the matches.   Turner enjoyed the game but he really likes his uncle Jonathon.   

It was only a day trip but we’re planning on going to Orlando and Canada this summer so that Turner can see his uncles again and meet his other aunts and cousins. 

A Future Alpha

There are many options for Turner in terms of fraternities but I think we all know which one he’s going to pledge – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.   Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is the oldest and coldest predominantly African American fraternity.  It was founded on Tuesday, December 4^th, 1906 on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.  

I am currently an alumni Brother of Alpha Phi Alpha’s Omicron Delta Lambda chapter in Philadelphia, PA.  Two of Turner’s uncles and his grandfather are also Brothers of the Fraternity.   The Fraternity has many notable Brothers include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Paul Robeson, Cornel West, Countee Cullen, Duke Ellington, Donny Hathaway, Jesse Owens and the list goes on.

As soon as Turner is able to walk and run he and I will practice some of our strolls.  When he’s even older, he’ll join me and my Fraternity Brothers in some of our many community service projects.

Fun facts about the day Turner was born

Turner was born on December 28^th.  I managed to purchase the newspaper from that date to memorialize the occasion and provide a record of the events occurring on that day in Philadelphia.  I also had his Aunt Kerrissa purchase the New York Times from his birth date.  I have already framed his Philadelphia Inquirer and we’ll be framing the New York Times next.   I think it will be cool for him to look at these framed newspapers one day and see the articles. I think we got lucky with an article titled, 'Years of change for the Web, world'.  It will also be good for him to know that he made his parents drive to the hospital during a snow storm.

I also did a quick internet search and found some fun facts about December 28^th. Here is a short list of people who share Turner’s birthday:

1856 – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, Nobel laureate, and 34th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1924)

1922 – Stan Lee, American comic book writer

1954 – Denzel Washington, American actor

1969 – Linus Torvalds, Finnish computer programmer (SWEET)

1978 – John Legend, American musician

1981 – Sienna Miller, British actress

1990 – David Archuleta, American Idol runner-up, American singer (LAME)

Meet Turner’s Godparents

As previously mentioned, Turner’s baptism will be the 27^th of this month.  Tori and I are excited and we think he’s excited too.  We’ve previously taken care of the details with our church.  All that was left to do is select godparents (and plan for all of the family and friends coming into town to help us celebrate).  So with this post, I’d like to both introduce and thanks Turner’s godparents in advance.

First we have Jennifer and Thaddeus (Thad) Walker, two of Tori’s close friends from her college days at Tuskegee University.   After college, they all worked together at Lockheed Martin.   Once I met them, the four of us quickly became a support system for one another.  Jennifer and Thad only live a few blocks from us and we are the godparents to their son Sheldon.  

Next, we have Adrian and Kelly Blinco; two of our close friends from the area.  They also live not too far from us (but we secretly wish we lived closer to them in the Villanova area).  You may recall that they were among the first to come over and see Turner.  We attended their wedding in New Zealand and semi-regularly go to brunch with them at Dujour in Haverford, PA.  We always have a great time when we are around Kelly and Adrian.  They have offered on several occasions to babysit while Tori and I have a 'date night'.  Kelly will have the honor of holding Turner while Father Corley performs the Catholic baptism.   Hopefully Turner won’t squirm too much.  Together, we feel that the four godparents will both guide and support Tuner as he grows in his faith.  Our hope is that if there ever is a time when we are not there, Turner can turn to them and find the support he needs.

Thank you all in advance.  We appreciate you agreeing to these roles in Turner’s life.  

A visit from Ryan & Mischa

Continuing with the theme of visits from family members, we have Tori’s sister and Brother-in-law; Mischa and Ryan. Mischa and Ryan are expecting their first child in July; Turner’s cousin Sinclair. This was a perfect opportunity for them to get some hands-on experience.  Tori and I to passed on some of our lessons learned.  Tori shared our baby registry and helped Mischa research products. I showed Ryan how to change diapers and keep a Turner from crying (also how to tell the difference between Turner’s talking and his Turner’s crying.  Since Turner has already outgrown a few of his clothes, we packed a few of those for them to take back with them.

While in town, Tori, Turner, Mischa and Ryan did some site seeing.  Turner took his first trip out to the Philadelphia Premium Outlets and to the King of Prussia mall.  Turner enjoyed having his Aunt and Uncle in town for little under a week and is looking forward to seeing them again later this year when he visits the rest of the family. As with similar visits, it was good to have family in town.  Turner had a great time meeting more of his family.  The next visitor will be my dad, my sister Wendy and his cousin Alakai.