"I feel so good inside"

Saturday was the big day! After much frustration it turned out to be a wonderful day. Our baptisms are done as a stake and the talks and prayers are divided up between the wards. (We meet in the chapel as a stake for the prayer and talks. Then one ward at a time goes to the font and then moves to a separate room for confirmations.) Somewhere there was a communication lapse and we were unable to find out any information about when the baptism would take place, when we needed to be there, what we needed to do. It was apparent that we were in charge of nothing and I was so worried that it would not be a special day for Alex. I wanted there to be something that was just for him, something that he helped plan, and something that made it a day to remember. Finally that morning we just took things into our own hands and got approval from the bishop to do our own little meeting when we went to the room for Alex's confirmations. Mema and Papa (Merritt's parents) agreed to do a talk, Alex picked a closing and a song for the cousins to sing, Grandma (my mom) agreed to give a prayer, Merritt and I decided to share our testimonies, and Marci and Mema printed up a little program and a paper to have everyone write down their testimonies while we waited for Alex to get dressed. It was literally thrown together the morning of and it could not have turned out any better if we had planned for months. It turned out to be a wonderful and very special day.

When Alex came out of the water and was back in the changing room he told Merritt, "Daddy, I feel so good inside." His confirmation blessing was beautiful and he looked so sweet as he went around the circle and shook hands and gave hugs to his Daddy, Papa, Grandpa, and uncles. It reminded me that although it is easy to get frustrated with him and the things he sometimes does, it will all pass so quickly. He will grow out of those childish things that can aggravate me so much. He is a sweet boy with a sweet spirit and I truly believe he has the potential to become a great man. I just need to remember that on those frustrating days!

We are so proud of Alex and how seriously he took his baptism. It was a choice he made and prepared for. He even had a little baptism book that he has been studying for months. The day of his bishops interview we found him studying away, he was so worried he would not know the answers to the questions. He was definitely ready and we are so proud of him.