Gabe is 8

My nephew Gabe turned 8 a couple weeks ago. We got to go to a birthday party for him at Pappa's Pizza Place where they have huge play structures and ball pits to play in. The kids all had fun and it was cute to see them playing all over the place! Well last night we got to attend Gabe's baptism. It was a very sweet experience. When he stood up to go with my dad into the baptismal font, the grin on his face was priceless. I wish I had a photo of it. He was so excited and so happy! Afterward, Richard gave a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost and said that Gabe was very intent on what he said. What a sweet little spirit Gabe is. We were grateful to get to participate in such a fun and spiritual event with someone we love so much!

It brought back memories of my own children's baptisms. I had been active in the church off and on, mostly off, for most of Adrienne's life. We would go sporadically, but not on a regular basis for the most part. When she turned 8 I knew she had not gone enough to truly understand what baptism meant. We were going to church at the time and Richard and I had just been married. I knew something was missing from my life, so I took the kids to church each week and in December of 2000, Adrienne chose to be baptized. She looked so beautiful and grown up to me. She has always had a strong little spirit and she knew she was ready. It was a great experience for us all, but was really the first step to many wonderful events for our family.

In fact, Richard decided he wanted to learn more about the church. He asked a lot of questions, some I knew the answers to, many I did not. But luckily my father who was Bishop for many years was more than happy to answer his questions. Before long Richard was taking the discussions with the missionaries and he too chose to be baptized. A decision that has greatly blessed our lives. We took our family to the temple to be sealed when Annalina was just 5 months old. I'll write about that another time, as it was quite the experience for our family!

When Jacob turned 8, I was worried that he would not understand the importance of baptism due to his autism. Part of preparing for baptism is to meet with the Bishop and answer some questions with him. I was sure Jacob would not know what to say! But we set an appointment anyway and the Bishop said he did fine. The day he was baptised he was calm and he was completely there with us. It was like a veil was lifted from his mind and he understood exactly what was happening. To me it was a true miracle to see my little boy, who had trouble concentrating and understanding, truly pay attention to everything around him. I know he felt the spirit that day and I know to this day he understands the importance of the gospel. Richard was able to baptize him and that meant so much to me!

Richard and Jacob

Being a family is hard these days. There are so many outside influences pulling us in different directions that it is truly a challenge trying to raise our children to be good people. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I have tried raising a family without a Christ centered life and I would never go back to that. I am so grateful that the Lord has blessed me with such wonderful children and a husband who is willing to help me when it comes to raising our children.