Preparing for baptism

The days have slipped into an ordinary routine and out-of-town trips are over for a long while - as far as I know - as for the second Christmas in a row, Oma and Opa are flying here. It is too bad they are not here now, as there is every play and ballet imaginable going on in town now. During Christmas, there is never anything to do, but how I'd love to go to all the theater available here. Right now it's a luxury I just can't take part in. Seeing "Wicked" was it for the year.Pictured here is Veeka appearing in a cute little show she was in during the church retreat. Note the little candles on their T-shirts. All the kids were singing "This Little Light of Mine." Speaking of which, Veeka is getting baptized in less than two weeks. She asked Jesus into her heart a year ago (Nov. 8 to be exact) and lately she's been wanting to partake of Communion. She has a very alive spirituality and is always asking if she can give Jesus a hug and when will He return on a white horse? So she and I met with the priest the other day and organized the ceremony. A Catholic friend has loaned us a white First Communion dress (although it's pretty summery so I may need to find some kind of white lacy sweater) and every night now, Veeka and I have been going over basics like The Lord's Prayer and her responses to questions like: "Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?" And she's learning how to say, "I renounce them!" We're talking about how to say it good and loud so the congregation can hear. She's got to say that three times and then, when she's asked "Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept Him as your savior?", to reply "I do!"Explaining Satan to her is a bit trickier but I've told her Satan is like the White Witch in the Narnia tales. Now that, she understands.This past weekend, had a friend, Joey Marguerite, as a house guest - she from Lewis & Clark days. She's become a singer and a songwriter, which fascinates Veeka to no end. Veeka, I've decided, might not be cut out for ballet but she seems to be a prodigy when it comes to dancing to jazz. Halloween activities will be taking up this coming weekend although the weather is turning sour on us. They are even talking about snow?!