Emma's Baptism

What a crazy, intense time we had leading up to Emma's baptism!  What a special, wonderful day Emma's baptism was!  I have decided that I should expect there to be some opposition in my life when something spiritually important is about to happen.  Our family had our hands full finishing up the remodeling, taking care of the kids and preparing for our out-of-town guests.  To top it all off, we had some unwelcome guests make their presence known in our house the week before my parents were scheduled to arrive.  I saw a bug crawl out of one of the girls' hair when I went do it one morning.  It was the first time we had ever dealt with those nasty little critters, but I still knew what I was looking at.  Thank goodness the kids had the week off!  The week was devoted to nit removal, laundry and house cleaning.  I am happy to say that we have had absolutely no signs of their presence for a few weeks now, but boy was that stressful!  I admit that for a moment I thought that I would rather go back to live in Utah where I had never had to deal with any of that before.  However, I have since repented of that and decided that where there is no stress there is no growth.  I have grown and learned so much in my time here in Connecticut and I would never want to change that.  

We were happy we had time to get rid of the unwanted creatures in time to have our very much welcomed other guests arrive.  We thoroughly, absolutely LOVED having my parents, Dave's parents and my two youngest sisters here.  They all got along so well and we had the best time.  My mother and mother-in-law took care of me and I hardly had to lift a finger it seemed when it came to making sure things were taken care of for the baptism and for any of our meals actually.  I am so very blessed to have all of these wonderful people in my life!

The day of the baptism itself was so peaceful and special.  All of the details came together so wonderfully.  Here are a few photos taken at the church that day:

I will never forget the day and the support we received.  So many ward members went out of there way to be there.  My mother-in-law gave the opening prayer.  My mother gave the talk on baptism.  Jonathan spoke on the Holy Ghost.  Thomas, Haley, Sarah Jane and Alyse (my youngest sister) sang, "When I Am Baptized".  My father-in-law and dad were the witnesses, and Audrie gave the closing prayer.  Of course, Dave performed the baptism itself as well as the comfirmation.  I was so delighted to have several of my new friends come as well.  They have been so supportive of me and my family and helped this to be a day I will never forget.  All of the opposition I felt was worth it to have the day turn out the way it did!

The next day, we took a few more family photos:

  

Overall, my heart is full of so much gratitude!  I thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with so very much!  This is all I have time for today, but stay tuned for an update on the house and some pictures from the day my family, Dave and I spent in New York.  That post will be followed by some pictures of Alice Joy's birthday.  I can't believe she's already almost one!  Oh, how I love her and how fast the time flies by!