JoJo's Big Day

I love this picture!

I am determined to catch up my blogging this week, so here is my third blog of the weekend. Enjoy!

Yesterday it was a blessing to see JoJo take a big step in his life as he headed into the waters of baptism and became an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In our church we believe that children become accountable when they turn eight years old. That means that they are able to understand exactly what it is that they are agreeing to do, having the full ability to know the difference between right and wrong before making the commitment to follow Jesus Christ and his teachings. It has always amazed me how perfect this age is for this decision. With each one of the kids (except for maybe Hyrum) I have always wondered if they were ready to make this decision. Of course I think it is the right thing to do, but I really want for them to choose to be baptized because they think it is right for them. Can you really make such a decision at such a young age? Some might say no, but I have found that as each of my children has turned eight they have an almost magical growth in understanding and ability. It is amazing to behold. JoJo was no different. He can be a bit squirrelly at times. I love him for his goofiness. I wondered if he would take something like baptism all that seriously since he is rarely serious about anything at all. But as he prepared for the ceremony yesterday he was perfectly serious and excited in his JoJo way. 

Our bishop decided that he wants for us to start combining youth baptisms and having one day a month set aside for them instead of having each individual family planning their own extravaganza. We were asked to combine with another family from our ward. I'll admit that when I first heard this I was not so happy about the change. I realize in areas where there are a lot more members like Utah this is the norm, but it is not that way here. All of our kids have had their own special day. I wanted for JoJo to have his own special day as well. But we wanted to support the bishop, and we felt like we would be a good family to experiment with as he attempted this change. I had my doubts and my concerns, but it actually turned out very nice. There will need to be some refinements to the process in the future, but I thought that JoJo was still able to have a lovely day, even though he shared the day with another.

I hate the way I look in this picture,
but at least I have one of Herman and me
with JoJo before the ceremony.

The program was super sweet. JoJo was baptized with a boy named Michael Howard, and we divided program responsibilities between our two families. We had a nice showing for the program even though we didn't really advertise it at all. I was grateful for the support from our family. My parents are always super good to come and support their grandchildren, even though they don't necessarily believe the same things we do. I love that. They are an example of the sort of unwavering support I want to (and WILL) offer to my children as they grow up and have families of their own. It was kind of cool this time around because my brother Ryan is planning on getting baptized himself in a few weeks. Crazy! I would have never expected that to happen, but he has been meeting with the missionaries a lot, and he wants to take this step in his life. My parents were watching everything with different eyes, thinking of what Ryan will be doing soon. Very neat! 

After the baptism Katie, Abigail, and Elisabeth helped
everyone grab a paper and write a nice note to JoJo and Michael
for their baptism. I loved some of those notes!

JoJo asked Hyrum to give a talk about the Holy Ghost before he was confirmed, and this was so PRECIOUS. I wish I could have recorded it. Hyrum is such a sweet spirit. He has such a love for the gospel and a sweet understanding of the gospel. When he gets up in church and bears his testimony is is just adorable. He doesn't just say the same rehearsed speech. He really thinks about his words and tries to apply lessons that he has learned in his life. It can be a bit stressful because you never know what will come out of his mouth, but it is always super sweet. When he got in front of the group he stopped and started several times before he got his bearing. Then he delivered the sweetest little message. It was sweet, not because it was polished and perfect, but because it was from the heart. I absolutely loved it. What a sweet, sweet brother he is for JoJo.

After everything was over I came to talk to my parents and found my mom crying. She said that she just saw me talking to Ryan during the program, and it made her happy to see how much Ryan has changed since he attended the last baptism which was Katie's four years ago. I would say that she was feeling the Spirit at that moment. I don't know if she recognized that at all, but I could see it, and I thought that was awesome to behold. Heavenly Father truly is a wonderful and all-powerful God. His miracles are real.

After the program we headed to Chopstix for a family celebration. I loved seeing all of us together as we ate. Herman had lots of his family members in attendance and my parents and Ryan were there as well. I wish we got together like this more often. I love seeing Herman interact with his siblings. I wish my siblings would get together like they do. They are so close, and I love that. I hope that our children are that way as they grow and move away from home. And I really, really love seeing all the cousins together. We make a raucous group. Family is lovely!

JoJo is such a ham!

So it was a wonderful day for my sweet little JoJo. He'll always be JoJo to me. I have a hard time calling him Joseph. I hope he'll forgive me when he is a grown man. Today it was so sweet to see JoJo get ready for church. I could tell that he was taking his new covenants seriously. He was one of the first people up and dressed for church. Hyrum actually beat him, but that isn't a fair comparison because Hyrum told me that he just slept in his church suit so that he would be all ready to go when he woke up. Hyrum has always been my most practical child, even if his plan was a bit ridiculous. But JoJo never gets ready for church early. He waits until the last minute always. Today he was ready (with shoes on!) an hour before anyone else. I loved watching him in church as he really listened to all the talks and followed along in the music. It was clear to me that he had been ready to make this decision for his life. I love the gospel, and I love my sweet children. I am glad that they will be with me forever. Life is good!