GOD is their Co-Pilot

Last summer we had the wonderful (and difficult) task of selecting godparents for Tanner and Abigail. When I contacted the church to schedule their christening I was told that we needed to pick godparents for EACH child. Not only did we have to select TWO sets of godparents, they had to meet the following requirements:

1. The prospective godparent must be Catholic. A non-Catholic godparent is acceptable only if you have a Catholic godparent as well.
2. The prospective godparent must have received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist.
3. The prospective godparent must be over the age of 16.

4. The prospective godparent can't be the mother or father of the child being baptized.

I made a list of all our friends and family that met most of/all of these requirements. The first to be crossed out were family members. Since Matt and I are both close with our families we knew that they would be a MAJOR part of Tanner and Abigail's lives regardless of being godparents or not. That left us with a few sets of friends, some Catholic, some not, but all excellent candidates.

For Abigail we picked Matt and Carlyn Lenfestey from Winthrop, Maine, and Marianne Birchler from Einsendeln, Switzerland. Carlyn was my best friend growing up and I had always planned for her to be a godparent to one of my children. What I had forgotten was that she decided not to be confirmed so that meant we needed a Catholic representative for Abigail. We picked Marianne to complete Abigail's set of godparents. Marianne was an exchange student who lived with my family in Caribou, Maine. We became VERY close while she was living with my family and she has returned to Maine several times to visit our family.

For Tanner we picked Barker and Linda DeWolfe from Meriden, Connecticut. They are long time friends to the Kopishke family. Barker met Rick, my father-in-law, when he went snowmobiling for the first time with his co-worker and friend Tom Dube (Matt's uncle). Since that nearly fatal ride, the three men have been great friends. Barker and Linda have a camp nextdoor to Tom and Gail Dube, and just across the lake from the Kopishke's, on Lake St. George in Liberty, Maine. Barker visits frequently and is always willing to lend a hand with firewood, farmhouse demolition, and of course snowmobiling!

Tanner and Abigail have the BEST godparents! I know that the people

we selected are going to be wonderful role models for them as they grow up. They are a great support to us as friends and will be positive influences to both Tanner and Abigail for the rest of their lives.