Jansen's Baptism

Jansen was baptized on Saturday. It's hard to believe this day has come and gone. I remember thinking months ago how it might be difficult for Jansen (and us) to have him baptized in Maryland, so far away from family and close friends. In a lot of ways, it was hard. But for the most part, I am so happy and grateful for what a wonderful day it was and for those both near and far who supported him in one way or another. Baptism day details differ depending on where you live, and for us it was only Jansen that was baptized that day, and we were in charge of all planning and execution.

It was a busy Saturday. Jansen had his first cross country race at 8:00, Natalie had a soccer game at 10:00, and there was a Primary sacrament meeting program practice at 1:00 right before the baptism. Somehow we got through it all. Nate and I had decided that we would just have one speaker at Jansen's baptism. We liked the idea of a very simple and brief program. We had asked Nate's dad if he would do it, and he gave a wonderful talk that was perfect for Jansen. Because we had the Primary practice right before Jansen's baptism, lots of the children stayed for his baptism. Pretty much every chair in the Relief Society room was filled. Emmy was difficult during the program, and I even had to step out with her for awhile, but I was still able to hear.

I was a little stressed and frazzled about the whole day, so I wasn't nearly as emotional as I would have expected because I was too wrapped up in making sure everything went as planned. It was an INCREDIBLE experience, and I will never forget seeing Jansen be baptized by his father. That is hard to describe with words. 

We had refreshments after the program, which I'm sure was the highlight of the whole thing for the children. :)

Jansen with some of his friends from Primary, Mikayla and Bryce:

Another good buddy, Jake:

I'm so proud of this little stud. He is going to do so many great things in life. He really has a desire to do what is right.

 It was so nice to have Grandpa and Grandma Jody here. They were a lot of help in so many ways.

We had Cafe Rio for dinner that night, and Nate and Steve took the kids to the neighborhood park for awhile. After a busy day, they just needed some time to play.

 I'm so thankful to be married to someone who holds the Priesthood and is worthy to exercise it. My kids mean the world to me, and I am beyond thankful to have the blessing of being a mother to them. It seems like every day that passes I become more and more aware of how precious my time with them as young children is.