Ashlyn's Baptism

So it's true. I'm blogging again. Shocking I know. But in all fairness, its been a busy month. I went back to Ohio, packed, Ashlyn turned 8 and was baptized, packed some more, said good bye, packed still some more, and then drove 3 days to Utah before trying to settle in. Then Mel and Kirk were here with their 6 kids for a week and a half. So we are just now getting into any kind of groove. And for some reason tonight I have both the time and the energy to blog, which is just kind of weird.

Although so much has happened and I have so much to share, I think we should start with what is the most important.

My baby turned 8. I remember how old I felt when Paul turned 8. Now my youngest is 8, and it just doesn't seem to affect me in the same way. Instead of feeling old or sad that time has passed so quickly, I feel relieved and joyful that my kids are reaching milestones. For us as a family, Ashlyn's baptism represented a few major things in the stages of our family's lives and growth.

First, it's always a great thing to have your child choose baptism. She was excited. She wasn't nervous about the water thing, although she wasn't thrilled about the hands on her head thing. Grandpa talked her into it though and she allowed herself to be confirmed without any fuss. She chose the participants in the program and we received amazing talks from her Aunt Tamra on baptism and her Uncle Kirk on being confirmed. We sang as an entire family "Love is Spoken Here" which was lovely. I sang a song called "Let it Begin" since its my tradition to sing a song at my kid's baptisms I feel is particularly applicable to them. We had so many people we love there with us, and it was truly, truly lovely.

Second, Paul was both old enough and worthy to baptize his sister. In the absence of her father, this seemed a wonderful thing to do. I was so proud of them both.