Jackson's Baptism

When a child turns eight in our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) they have reached the age that we believe they become accountable.  This means they know right from wrong and can now sin.  This also means that they need to be baptized.  We were very happy when Jackson made it clear that he intended to be baptized.

So last Saturday, February 26, Jackson had his big day.  My parents flew in for the event.  I'm so grateful that they are supportive and take time to come and see us when they can.  Here they are with Jackson:

My mother was kind enough to give the talk about the Gift of the Holy Ghost which, apparently, was far more exciting than my talk about Baptism (even though I did a cool trick when I made water change colors...twice).  My father gave the closing prayer, which was lovely of him.

We had several good friends come from our congregation.  They were a blessing to me as both Luke and Grant decided to be difficult throughout.  Richard and Faye came up from Detroit.

Jackson was given a set of scriptures.  He got an adorable smile on his face when he saw his name engraved on the outside:

I also gave him a key with a Choose the Right key chain.  It was the key to our earthly home and I wanted it to symbolize that his being baptized was the key to returning to his heavenly home.  He seemed to really like it until the thing broke and then he threw the key into the snow!  He felt so guilty that he climbed out of bed and went outside in the dark to dig through some 15 inches of snow.  Of course he didn't find it.  Soooooo, maybe we can find the key and fix it if all this snow ever melts!

Jackson and Daddy, who baptized him:

Jackson and Mom: 

Our little family:

Since the only dressy clothes Jackson has are a bit faded and handed down, I wanted to get him something nice to wear.  I looked at Target, Kmart and Maceys to find ANYTHING suitable.  I really don't think I was being that picky.  On my way down to check out Nordstrom, I found this adorable sweater vest and shirt in the window.  I LOVE it!

We let Jackson pick a spot where we would eat dinner.  His choice was Noodles.  When we got home and he was in bed we chatted about the day.  This is what he had to say about his big day.

"Today was my baptism.  I felt good inside but I didn't really think that I was good enough for Jesus but I prayed about it and I felt better.  I was playing hide and seek with Quinn and Todd (after the baptism but still in the church) and I hid to pray.  I felt like I was finally a part of something.  I felt strong and than nobody can stop me from what I was doing.  I felt like Dad was about to cry and I thought, "Oh, no.  Oh, no!"  I felt like everybody cared about me and I finally achieved a goal."

The program: