A Special Day

It's almost been a week since Emma was baptised, but I wanted to share some of the pictures from the day. It was such an amazing day. I also want to record some of the details for her. She has written in her journal every day since her baptism, but there are some details that she may leave out. Hopefully it's not completely boring, but I feel like it's important for me to write so that she can remember the specifics.

We met in the chapel at 10a.m. Even having no adult clothing for those baptising, the meeting actually started on time. When we got to the church, we were told that after the baptisms the week before, none of the adult clothing had been washed. So it was a little chaotic to start with, but once we were all sitting in the chapel, it was wonderful. Emma was able to choose one person from her family to share their testimony. She chose her Grandpa J. (which I was relieved of given that anytime Emma gets to choose someone for anything, it's usually me). Fortunately, I didn't have to walk up to the front to speak. Grandpa got to do that. And then, she chose a song for the congregation to sing. She chose Love Is Spoken Here. It sounded amazing. Of course, I cried.

From there, we moved into the Relief Society room where the baptismal font is. It was quick and easy. One dunk. Then, after we hurried to get her dried off and in her dress again, we ran to the Young Women room for her confirmation. This was my favorite part of the day. Emma was baptised and confirmed by her dad. He did an amazing job and the Spirit was so strong. Later that night, while having dinner, I asked the kids what they felt during the confirmation prayer. Both Josh and Emma said they cried. It was so great to hear them talk about what it felt like. There are moments as a parent that you feel proud of your kids and their accomplishments, but there is nothing in this world that compares to hearing them share their sweet testimonies. Josh kept asking Emma (over and over) what she thought of the actual baptism. I finally told him that she said the water was warm. "That's not exactly what I was looking for, mom," he told me. I caught the two of them talking about the day and their feelings several times throughout the day. Love it!

After Emma was confirmed, we were able to hear from Sister Wright (our Primary President and Emma's second grade teacher). She has been a blessing in Emma's life in so many ways. She was our angel that saved us at the beginning of the school year when Emma was struggling with being at a new school. She is someone that will be a part of Emma's life for a long time!

There were so many people there to support Emma. Our Home Teachers, her Primary Teacher, the Primary President, several members of her class, and all of our family! It was amazing to have everyone there for her day. She is also very lucky to have the Grandma's she has. Emma has 3 living great grandma's and 2 grandma's - four out of five were there. Grandpa B and Grandpa J were the witnesses for the baptism.

After lots of hugs and pictures, most of the family went to the Olive Garden for lunch. Given the situation with the economy, it probably would have been ideal to do a lunch at our house, but we did what Emma had requested. So, thank you thank you thank you to everyone that came to support her. It was a little crazy with our big group being at a new restaurant, but it just meant more time for us to be together.