Baptism Day

March 3rd was Ava's big day. Sweet little thing that she is, she was so excited. Not only did she have all her grandparents in town and an aunt and uncle, she was ready to promise her Heavenly Father that she would follow Him.

We took some pictures in front of the house before we left for the church.

I took a number of photos of the family as we got ready to leave for the church. My favorite of the bunch was this one of Ava and Aunt Sarah. Poor Sarah had to marry a guy with 3 older sisters, which no doubt was a challenge. Not that I didn't like her to begin with, but I've really grown to love her over the last few years, in part because of scenes like this.

It's really special to be able to live within a reasonable day's drive of family. Patrick and Sarah moved two hours south of us this summer. Being so far from everyone else in the family it really means a lot to have them close. And it's great that they're the still-childless aunt and uncle who have the energy to play with their nieces and nephew! You can tell how much the kids love them both.

The baptism went beautifully, except for one glitch. We arrived at the church an hour early to find our former bishop and current home teacher cleaning out a still-empty and rather dirty baptismal font. Turns out, there had been contractors working in the building that week and the dust from all their work settled in the font. This wasn't noticed until someone came in to fill it up with water and saw that it was disgusting! So they worked like the dickens to get it cleaned up and filled with water before the scheduled baptism time. Thank you to Bishop Mulkay for throwing on a pair of waders, grabbing a mop, and going to town!

Scott and Ava shortly before.

I love Ava's blue eyes, fair skin, and freckles.

This was my view just before the meeting started. A sweet little girl snuggled into her daddy.

She and 3 other children from our area were baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Scott was able to give her a special blessing at the same time as the confirmation. I wish I'd written it down immediately afterward but there was so much going on. I do remember that he blessed her that she would be an example to her friends at school and that she would be married in the temple someday.

Afterward we gathered outside the church for a big group shot. From left to right, Grandpa Larsen, Grandpa Kinghorn, Grandma Larsen, Grandma Kinghorn, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Patrick, me, Pops, Gwen, Gram, Brenna and Scott. On the front row are Nate and Ava.

We're so proud of our daughter and so happy with the girl she is. Congratulations, Ava!