William was baptized yesterday! Isaac's parents, my mom, Lana & Nellie, and Scott & Karla came for the special day. I was happy that William didn't have to share his baptism with any other 8 year olds in the stake, but I did come to find how much preparation goes into a baptism. Those Utah stake/ward primary presidencies are amazing!
William had really been looking forward to his baptism. He invited his best friend, Isaac, Miss Kathy, Mrs. James, Dr. Stauffer, and some friends from the ward--the Heder's, the Wearne's, the Skidmore's, and the Bird's. It was awesome to have our family and close friends there to show their love and support. The baptismal service was wonderful. William was all smiles the whole time. Nellie and Van were so cute singing "I Am a Child of God". Before we left for the church, Lana was running through the song with them. Nellie's anxiety set in and she started saying things like, "I don't want to sing at the baptism. I'm too shy." Lana was able to convince her to do it by saying, "Nellie, if you sing at Will's baptism, you can do a twirl in your dress at the end." She agreed. After Isaac baptized William, those in attendance signed a card for Will while he and Isaac changed into their church clothes. When they came back out, Nellie and Van sang. During the second verse, "I am a child of God and so my needs are great," Van pointed to his knees on the word "needs". Ha ha! Once the song ended, Van turned to Nellie and said, "Now twirl." And Nellie did a big dramatic twirl. It was so great! Isaac also confirmed William and gave him the gift of the Holy Ghost. The blessing was beautiful. It all seemed surreal that my oldest was getting baptized and confirmed! It seems like yesterday, I had just delivered him into this world and held him in my arms. We love our Will so much. He asks so many thoughtful questions about life. He has a huge heart and a genuine concern for other people. He keeps a good attitude (most of the time;)) and loves to learn. I'm looking forward to seeing what he will accomplish in his lifetime.
After the baptism, we went to Kiwanis park and ate dinner. Will's friend Isaac and Isaac's grandpa came with us. The kids had fun playing on the playground while the adults talked about politics. We all concurred that overall it was a great day.
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| Father and son just before the baptism |
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| Our family with the newest member of the church |
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| Families are the best! Thank you for traveling many miles to be here! |
Here is the program. I thought William did a great job picking who he wanted to do what at his baptism.
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| The baptismal font |
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| I set up a little display on the table in the hallway. That cute girl with Isaac is from our ward. |
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It takes a village to get kids ready for a photo.
Playing Greed |
We had such a fun time with our family here. My mom and Lana arrived Wednesday night. I had to teach on Thursday so they came to see me at school! My students were excited to meet my mom and twin sister. We ate lunch together outside and took this picture. THEN Isaac came to the school in the afternoon to announce that he had defended his proposal and is officially ABD! (All But Dissertation) That means he now gets to work on his dissertation and finish up to graduate in May. That is the goal.
 I took Friday off. First things first! A work out with Lana! |
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Van and Nellie sure enjoyed each other on this trip. Saturday night, they took a bath. They were getting water everywhere so Isaac closed the curtain and let them go to town splashing water all over the place.
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| Aunt Lana and William. My mom, Lana, and Nellie stayed at our house. |
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| My youthful mother! She joined a hiking group in Utah and loves seeing the beautiful scenery every Wednesday. |
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| We were able to enjoy Grandma Lisa and Papa John after church today when everyone else journeyed home. We went to the park and played frisbee. Van rode his bike too. Grandma cooked a delicious lunch--caprese sandwiches and pasta salad. |
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William loves playing with Grandma Lisa. Here they are playing Minecraft Battle.
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Overheard at our house:
William: "I'm excited for my baptism because I'll get a little dip on a hot day."
Van: "At school, my teacher asked what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a Ninja Missionary but I just said a ninja because if I said Ninja missionary, I think the kids would have been like, 'What? What's a missionary?'" I asked Van what a ninja missionary does and he said, "Jumps on cars and stuff."
We went to Van's soccer game on Saturday. I summed it up for John before the game started--Van is not very aggressive and when they ask someone to sit out he always volunteers. We watched Van kick the ball a few times. We also watched him pick up grass and throw it around, do some yoga moves, and mosey up and down the field. He told us tonight that he wants to be a goalie in soccer. I think that would be a suitable position for him.
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