It has been eight years in the making. Ellie was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There has been a lot of anticipation for this day. Jeron and I always wondered how she would do, if she would want to, and if she should get baptized. We knew right away that she would want to be a member of our church by her actions. We didn't put much thought into if she would be comfortable getting baptized by immersion. It was the immersion part we worried about. In June her cousin got baptized and he had to be re baptized two more times. This really made Ellie nervous. We have had to have a lot of talks with her about it. She finally started acting like this was something she really wanted. On Monday we took her over to the church and just walked through it with her. She seemed pretty pumped and very prepared.
Jeron and my parents just happened to be out of town just days before so this meant the prep was all on me...by myself. It was a bit sketchy at times, but we managed to pull it off. Of course Ellie got one of her "Ellie issues" as we call them and had two horribly droopy drippy eyes. I felt bad for her. But the show must go one. Ellie had asked Uncle Smitty to talk on baptism and Emma to talk on the Holy Ghost. This was a huge weight off of my shoulders. It was cute because this is who Ellie insisted on. We were fortunate that Uncle Smitty could be there. He just happened to be in town for one day and it was the one day we got. Wahoo!
The morning was kind of crazy. We were running all over the place, falling behind in time, and getting stressed out a bit. Jeron even burned his ONLY white shirt when he was ironing. It was just one of those days. We finally got our act together and headed over to the church to get it set up. Did you know it takes three hours to fill the font. Anyway, we headed over and before we knew it it was time to get the show on the road.
I first of want to say how grateful I am to my mom, Smitty, Julie, Emma, Jan, JJ, Elsie, and Shaela for helping with the program. This day would not have been as special without their willingness to help out. Smitty did his talk and he did a great job. It was so special to us that he would do this for Ellie. It was sweet to see how emotional he was along with the rest of us. I think all of our emotions were right on the surface today. Mama teared up during the prayer, Jeron did during the opening song, and Smitty did in his talk. It was sweet to see how touched everyone was to witness Miss Ellie get baptized. The kids sang I Will Walk With You. It was very sweet. It is a song that makes me cry just reading the words.
It was then time to get her baptized. We headed over to the baptismal font. I walked her in and Jeron was there waiting for her. She was a bit nervous but headed right in. She got down in and she kind of started to splash and play a little. Jeron quickly got her focus back and performed the ordinence of baptism. I could see her sweet face. She had her hands in position and was ready for the big moment. She had her sweet eyes closed and her face showed that she was a bit nervous but ready. She was then baptized. Jeron is such a sweet daddy. He was very emotional giving the blessing. I teared up a bit standing there watching. When she came back up the stairs to me she said "Mommy, neat." It was such a sweet moment. We then went in the bathroom and hugged for a long time. She was so excited. We hurried and did her hair and headed back to the chapel.
She looked so pretty all dressed in white. She came in the chapel just beaming from ear to ear. She sat down and listened to Emma give her talk on the Holy Ghost. Emma did a wonderful job. We were all blown away at her ability to address an audience. She really looked so comfortable. It was darling to watch her look so calm and confident. Ellie was silly. Emma asked her to come up on stage. She told Ellie to listen to our voices without looking at us. She knew that Daddy and Mommy had talked to her and she answered so silly. Then when she headed back down she decided to use the ramp not the stairs. Just being a goofy little lady.
Ellie was able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. She sat in the chair and the men laid their hands on her head. Jeron did a beautiful job. In the blessing he mentioned how special her spirit was that dwelled in an imperfect body. I got so choked up. She truly is a special little lady. We love her so much. After the blessing she gave Jeron a huge hug. Then she proceeded to give all of her grandpa's, uncle's and friends hugs. Her sweet little friend Kaiya went up and got herself a hug too.
The program was finished and then Brother Peterson asked me to say a few words. I was grateful for the chance to tell Ellie how grateful I am for her example of how we should be. She has the love of Christ radiating in her. I adore her for this. She truly is a disciple of our Savior. I look up to my sweet daughter in so many ways.
After the meeting we all got together and had dinner. Everyone seemed to be so touched by the experience they had had. I was told throughout the night how touching this day was for them. I was greeted by many tears and hugs sharing how this day was special to them. I heard how impressed people were with Emma and her talk that she gave. It was such a special day shared with the people we love. I missed those who could not attend and felt of their love for Ellie too. This definitely is marked as a day to remember and one of my most favorite.
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