Ellie's Baptism

Ellie was baptized last Saturday, Feb 17th, along with her cousin Charlie in Red Deer.  The only problem Ellie had with this set up was that she had to wait three whole weeks after her birthday to be baptized.  She has been talking about this day for months as we have helped prepare her for this commitment and when the time finally came she was beaming all day.  All the more special to share her baptism with her cousin and best friend.  Ellie asked Uncle Matt to share a talk on baptism and Charlie asked Auntie Nicole to share a talk on the Holy Ghost.  Both of them did such a great job.  Even though it sounded like a zoo in that tiny room with all of those kids (the kids definitely outnumbered the adults) Matt still managed to all help us feel the Spirit of his talk and I was so impressed by Nicole's talk on the Holy Ghost and how she helped these young girls understand.  She brought in a bag with items and paralleled those items to how the Holy Ghost helps us in our lives and then the girls got to keep the bag of items.  Clever indeed. 

Ellie asked Grandpa B to bless her with the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  These are the things I jotted down:

-Heavenly Father loves her and is pleased with her decision

-She will feel the gift of the Holy Ghost in her life which will help her to be strong and true

-Ellie needs to make sure to do what she needs to do to have the Holy Ghost as her constant companion

-She will recognize/know the feeling of the Holy Ghost and desire to have it

-She will recognize warnings and truth and won't be confused (this makes me happy)

-Her capacity to love others will be expanded.

I was grateful and relieved to hear that she won't be confused.  I mean, it should be true for all of us if we are doing those things to have the Holy Ghost in our lives that things will be clear for us.  That seems to be a hard thing for so many.  Even myself sometimes.  I don't have the answers to everything, but I feel like I know enough to continue my commitment to God.

I helped Ellie and Charlie prepare a song, "When I am Baptized" while Colette accompanied them.  Each girl did such a great job.  They each sang a verse and then sang together on the chorus.  It was so sweet and really helped everyone to feel the Spirit of what this day was all about.

Charlie got Ellie a mini hymn book and Ellie got her a journal.  Auntie Celeste crocheted each girl a puppy and Granny got each girl a special bracelet..... which Ellie promptly lost directly after the baptism.  At first I was really annoyed with her for not taking better care of something so special and then a voice whispered to me, "perhaps this is a teaching moment on prayer and faith."  My initial reaction was, "we're never going to find it."  And then I thought, "Fine.  Let's say a prayer."  I think it was a teaching moment for both of us.  She needed to understand how her prayers can reach our Father in Heaven and that he cares about things that matter to us.  Sometimes I don't always feel that way.  Sometimes it feels a lot like chance.  I want Him to hear me and I want him to hear Ellie.  But in the back of my mind I was worried that if she never did find her bracelet that she would be confused and think that God didn't hear her.  I was worried that she wouldn't understand that sometimes we just don't always get what we want and that God is not a Genie who doles out wishes.  And how hard of a lesson is that to teach an eight year old, let alone a thirty-six year old?  Well, I put my doubts aside because I know in the past I have received miracles through prayer that I can't deny, so why second guess the power of prayer and the faith of an eight year old girl?  After she said a prayer we all got to work.  We searched.  We called/texted others.  We thought about places it might be.  We wanted to teach her that we can't just pray and then think that God will do everything for us.  We need to do our part and really try to listen and act on promptings.  One of those promptings was to connect with Granny who was at the same building Ellie and Charlie were baptized in just the day before.  Twenty minutes later Granny had found it.  These are the kinds of teaching experiences that I love having with my children.  I know one day I will need to cry with Ellie about how sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want, but I was glad that that day wasn't last weekend.  I am a happy-endings kind of gal, so I was happy Ellie had one of those for her baptism weekend.  What a special day and a fun weekend with family!

Thatcher and Jane.  Thatcher was my bud and let me hang out with him.

Zoe and Wren.  Instant friends.

Jane the thief.  I had no idea whose heels those were nor whose headband was around her neck.

Baby Bobs at two weeks.  Ellie said this was the second best part about her baptism.  We are all in love with baby Bobs.

Grandpa B and Ellie.

Finally her own set of scriptures.

It's funny how even though I only had two brothers able to come that we still look like quite the large group!  It meant a ton to have them there.  We don't get to see them as often anymore, so this was super special to watch the cousins play together and to visit.

Ellie, I love you so much and hope that as you continue to try to make good choices in your life that you will continue to choose God.  Choosing God is a choice we need to make every day.  Some days are harder than others.  I hope you can remember the good feelings you felt on your special day and keep those with you.  On days when I am not feeling strong, I find that even something as simple as remembering my blessings and the miracles that have happened in my life can carry me until I feel strong again.  I hope you can always remember the good in your life (like the feelings you felt on your baptism day) and know that that good comes from God.  -Love, Mom

Jane is Terrible. I mean, TWO!

 Happy birthday Jane!  I feel like I blinked and suddenly you are two!  I still refer to you as my baby and probably treat you way younger than I treated any of your other siblings at this age.  You are just starting to figure out what "time-out" is, whereas, I think your other siblings were well familiar with it by two!  Haha!  I like to think it's because you haven't given me enough reason to introduce it to you until now.  But we all know better.  The REAL reason is I am too tired to be consistent.  There.  I said it.

So yesterday was your birthday.  Sunday.  And we are now attending 1 o'clock church which isn't that bad if you don't have napping kids.  But it's terrible when you do.  So church is basically filled with not-the-Spirit these days!  Haha!  But that's only for the first hour.  The beauty of church is after sacrament meeting, I hand you over to the Nursery workers for almost two whole hours.  So no matter how terrible you are for me, I know there's an end.  But I feel like you knew somehow that it was your birthday yesterday and were particularly adorable and pleasant.  Although, Noah was not pleased with you when the water was being passed and you ran to the row beside us (in the gym) to grab one of those mini-cups.  I asked Noah to grab you, but it was too late and you had already grabbed a cup and downed it before he could take your hand and drag you back to our row.  After he sat back down and while fighting back tears he said, "that was humiliating!!!"  So, you are doing your job as a pesky little sister.  Actually, there are few times I would use that word.  BUSY, yes.  But not pesky.  You are generally really funny, spunky and well-loved.  Just today Zoe was teaching you deep-breathing exercises and you mimicked her spot-on.  It was hilarious.  Then she taught you vocal exercises because she wants to be a singer when she grows up, so she was showing you the ropes.  You don't have quite her vibrato, but don't feel bad.  No one does.  Anywho, after church I put you down for a way-late nap which is always a toss-up of how you're going to be when you wake up from one of those.  As soon as you woke up, Ellie and her friend Maryn Johnson (Johnson's came over for dinner) jumped into your room just before I was about to change your diaper and started to sing you happy birthday.  You cried and nuzzled your face in my shoulder.  Haha!  Not a great start.  And when I took you downstairs and you saw that we had company, you did the same thing again.  It took you about fifteen minutes to warm up and then you were happy for the rest of the evening.  Late naps also mean late bed-times, but I didn't mind much because it was your birthday!  Joe made a feast for everyone, then after cake you opened presents.  We got you a My Little Pony sticker book from Costco.  It's funny because Ellie and Zoe both have stuffies that sing the theme song when squeezed and you HATE THEM!  For some reason you are so scared by them and immediately cry.  I have tried to teach you that they are nice, so whenever you would cry about it you would also try to convince yourself with a quivery voice, "niiiiiice!"  Haha!  Well, a few weeks ago we rented the movie and though you had to fight through a tear or two when they started to sing, you immediately became obsessed with them from then on.  You now request to watch the tv show all the time (rivalling Pocoyo and Peppa Pig!), so we thought a sticker book would be bang on.  And it was.  We also got you an old fashion cash register.  The kind that I had as a kid and I remember loving it.  You did too!  But I think the gift that took the cake was a gift that I picked up from a friend's house just that morning.  She was getting rid of a bunch of toys her daughter no longer plays with, so you got a doll that opens and shuts her eyes and also coos or cries and such when her tummy is pressed, along with a stroller.  You love it!  The boys hate it!  "Not more dolls!"  They are creeped out by dolls.  Understandably so with the doll-head gift exchange that often goes back and forth between me and Sarah and Jenny.  Haha!

I had to take a phone call during breakfast and you took advantage of my absence.  Sugar cereal to the brim.

At church.  Already digging into snacks before sitting down for sacrament meeting.  Trouble.  With a capitol T.

Awaiting dinner.

Originally Joe had the cake just out of reach so you wouldn't grab for it and burn yourself and you were ticked.  You settled only once it was directly in front of you.  And you kept your hands to yourself.

Presents!

 

Happy Birthday Jane!  And just for the record, I don't think you're terrible.  Just terribLY busy!