sunday art work

during church on sunday brooke was quietly drawing. as quiet as she ever is during church anyway. i looked down and noticed that she had done this.

me: brooke, you really shouldn't turn jesus into an indian. it's not appropriate.

brooke: but mom, he's not an indian. i was drawing him a crown.

me - a little embarrassed: oh sorry. of course it's a crown. my mistake. it's lovely. great job.

Bella's Baptism

As your children grow there are certain milestones that they reach which touch your heart and soul more than you thought would be possible. Bella's baptism was one of those things. We were so excited to have family here, Nonie and Papa, Aunt Nancy with the cousins. All of them contributed so much to her special day.

Bella was very calm yet extrememly excited through the whole thing. She was very specific about who she wanted to give talks and prayers. The one thing that I picked rather than her was we had Brendan sing "When I am Baptized" and he did such a good job! I was so proud of him. He was very composed, not the least bit nervous. The only thing that we didn't talk to him about was what to do when he was done. So at the end of the song, I could see the hesitation and the "what do I do now" look in his eyes. His answer to the question was a little bow, not a big one, just a half one. It was very funny and so Brendan like.

The baptism had a very spiritual presence through the whole thing. I was touched at how strong the spirit was. And I was so very proud of Bella for making the decision to be baptized. Yes, her decision - not mine or Larry's. When Brendan was baptized I had a friend of another faith that "grilled" me a little bit on how Brendan felt about having to be baptized. I realized that she honestly felt it was not his decision to make but ours' because it is standard practice in the church for children to be baptized at the age of eight. But this is not a decision that we (parents)make. The children are so excited to be baptized. They are excited to start their journey towards following the savior's plan for their life and striving to return to him one day. It is a sign of our willingness to do what the savior has commanded. One brick in the path that marks our way.
The other thing that struck me as we were getting ready for the baptism is how much it reminded me of another special day that I know will come way to soon. Silly I know but I couldn't help but think as I helped her into her white dress and fixed her hair that before I knew it we would be doing this again. But on a much larger scale. That thought brought such perspective to me in regards to how fast time flies and how we really do need to try and savor each little minute that we have with them while they are young.

The whole weekend was so perfect and we just feel so blessed and loved not only by our family but by our church family as well.