Leah's Baptism

Our first born has been baptized! Such a tremendous experience, so rewarding as a parent to experience these little milestones with our children.

Leah was scheduled to be baptized at the child of record stake baptisms on Saturday September 6th. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not the biggest fan of stake baptisms. I understand the necessity but I just feel like its not so personal or special. We really wanted to invite some non-member friends but felt hesitant because our ward wasn't even in charge. 

Well, the Saturday prior to Leah's baptism, I was informed that the other ward was going to postpone and Leah was the only other baptism that day so we would be able to do the whole thing. 

I was ecstatic but frantic. I raced around to get some formal invitations made, so that we could invite non-members. We also had to figure out the rest of the program and I decided we would put on an open house afterward. We gave 15 invitations to non-members, which felt like a big deal to us.

A few weeks leading up to her baptism, we let Leah stay up a bit later to go over some of the importance of baptism and the covenant she would be making. It was such a great refresher for me to kind of go back to the basics of the gospel and its simplicity. I loved the simple questions Leah asked. By her baptism day, she was ready, excited, and confident that she was making her own decision to take this step.

Sometimes I don't like the stress and hustle that goes into planning an open house but it is always worth it in the end. I really didn't want it to get in the way of enjoying the day. My Mom did everything. She made the experience so great for me. Probably because she's learned from experience and knew that I needed all the help I could get. She didn't ask me what I needed...just did it. She pretty much made it all happen. I was so grateful for her!

So in the end we had about 12 non-members show up, which was fantastic! But, its amazing how nervous and critical you are about talks when your friends are the non-members. Both Doug and I were sweating! My mom later told me that she looked around the room to gauge what everyone was thinking, and it seemed that they were all very attentive and enjoying it.

Leah chose the program, Grandpa Jensen spoke about the Holy Ghost, Grammie Gibson spoke about baptism, Grandma Jensen played the piano. Leah even performed a piano solo. I was so proud of her, again thanks to my Mom who basically taught her the whole thing at our family reunion. She said she wasn't even nervous for that part.

Helping Leah out of the font after she was baptized was a definite highlight in my life. The smile on her face was the epitome of pure joy felt through the cleansing nature of baptism. Leah was shaking and she said it was because she was just so happy, she couldn't help herself. She said, "Mom, this is the best feeling ever. I wish I could do this every day. I just can't believe I got to be baptized!"  I loved that special moment we shared. Leah is such an amazing, sweet girl with the most tender heart. 

On a day like that, I could definitely say my heart was full. What a blessing the gospel is in our lives, and what a blessing to be trusted in this role of parenthood!

This picture is just so Leah

Leah's teacher, Mrs. Hayes

My only regret is that we didn't get more/better pictures. This is the best of Leah and us...really?