Daisy's baptism day

Brighton's Baptism

March 17th, 2012

"I knew what I was doing was right because it's what Jesus did and I was following his example" - Brighton

 It was a crazy day, but still a very special day having Brighton baptized. We shared his baptism with another family in the ward and it was a pretty tight (and stressful) event. We didn't arrive early enough to get everything set up as far as the movie slideshow goes, and I forgot to attach the speakers until it was time to actually play the movie, and then we'd forgotten an extension cord and the speaker wire wasn't long enough to reach the wall outlet so the speaker had to sit on the floor between the 2nd and 3rd row, which probably wouldn't have stressed me out so much if the room hadn't been jam-packed with over 60+ people, over half of whom I didn't know. It was a cute slideshow, see for yourself (I cut out the pictures of the other child)





 I forgot our camera as well and really wanted to get a picture with Brighton & Justin in their whites, so I asked Trent to step out and take one of them with his phone. I had asked my SIL Marisa to bring her camera and snap some pictures for us but when I thought about the pre-baptism picture I looked for her and she was crammed in a corner with people all around her and a baby on her lap, so I knew she couldn't get one for me then, but she did take some quick cute ones for us afterward.


Justin and I decided that next time around we won't be planning a luncheon with freshly smoked meat because that was the main reason we were late, (Justin was working on the meat up until the last minute while I was getting everyone ready) and then some of the meat didn't even finish until the luncheon was ending (but that's okay because we got to save it for ourselves, yummm). It's not Justin's fault at all, we just have to accept that it's okay to finish meat early and just reheat it for the party...


At the baptism Dale was out of control so he was out in the hall and Daisy needed to nurse (we had let her sleep until it was time to go so she wouldn't be cranky during the baptism). I thought I'd feed her before the baptism started but we were so busy getting the video and projector set up that it never happened. So I had to step out to feed Daisy, and luckily my SIL Rachele stepped up and took Dale for the entire baptism. She is so good about jumping in like that. I always wish I could return the favor but she has perfectly behaved children and never seems to need any help.


All of the little cousins and Brighton and Maya (the other child getting baptized) sang "I am a Child of God" as a special musical number right before it was time to be baptized. I missed almost all of it but I saw Grandma Joanna in tears, so it must have been sweet. I'll let Justin add some more to this post since I think he was able to enjoy it a little more than I did because I was so stressed about everything.

***Justin's Comments: For those not chasing around kids or fretting over the slideshow the baptism was a very special service. The talks were on point and excellent. The special musical number was very sweet, mainly because Maya (the other girl getting baptized) has a lot of cousins. Adaira ended up right in the middle up front and looked so beautiful singing with the other children. 

***It was rough for Audra. As soon as we got there Brighton and I had to change and she was left with 3 kids and trying to set up the computer for the slide show. It didn't help that it was standing room only in there. When we were changing Brighton was very excited and nervous. Once he was in his white jumpsuit he didn't want to go out where everyone else was until I had changed into my whites. Even then he was still hesitant. 

***Brighton asked me to hold him under water for 45 seconds because he figured that's how long he could hold his breath and he wanted to be sure he was completely submerged. I explained that a baptism was not the appropriate time to show everyone how long he could stay under water. I did make sure he was good and under the water and then pulled him out. 

***During the confirmation I couldn't help but feel grateful for for such a sweet and smart boy. I blessed him that as he learned to listen to the Holy Ghost that it would only help him learn and understand more of the truths of the gospel and life.

***After the service a friend with whom Audra and I have recently reconnected with, complimented the service and how he really enjoyed it. He thought it was touching that the priest (Greg Nygren our 2nd counselor to the Bishop who conducted the service) was moved to tears. The Spirit was there. Next time we will plan better and hopefully Audra can enjoy it as well.

Cute picture of Dale in the hallway after the baptism.

Brighton & Adaira

Family picture outside our front door

My handsome little boys, I just love their expressions. I especially can't get over how Dale's smirk in this picture totally reflects his mischievous personality.

I have to add that the following day at church the bishop had Brighton & Maya come up to the pulpit to have them recognized as the newest members of our ward. The first thing Bishop said about them after they got up there was "This handsome couple was baptized yesterday" and then kind of laughed (as did the congregation) and Brighton immediately got all embarrassed and slapped his hands over his face and put his head down. Bishop then said that maybe that didn't come out the way he meant it to, and everyone giggled a little more. It was cute to see how serious Brighton was about taking the sacrament now that he was an official member of the church. He put down his book and immediately folded his arms when the sacramental prayers began (something he never does) and was very reverent during the whole meeting. My guess is this will wear off eventually, but it's nice to see him making the effort now :)