Porter's Baptism

Porter turned eight a few weeks ago. For some reason, though, when I recently published the posting about his big day the system placed it below Kevin's birthday. No matter what I do, it will not let me re-arrange it (interestingly, the way it currently comes up is the actual order of their birthdays just not the order I posted them in, confused yet?). Weird. Anyway, if you're interested it is there, you just have to scroll down a bit.

So, now for the baptism.

First of all, since this was in fact our first child's baptism, I feel the need to do a little comparison of what I expected baptism day to be vs. what it actually was.

What I expected on baptism day (sort of):

• The kids would use phrases like "why, yes please," "no, but many thanks," and "I love you dearly my affectionate siblings"
• Kevin and I would quote scriptures and express nothing but smiles, nods, and words of adoration
• We would all hear chirping birds and the quiet shuffle of chipmunks in the trees
• Twenty minutes before the baptism, we would be done taking pictures, saying our hellos, and quietly seated in our chairs--listening to the uplifting prelude music
• It would be a wonderful day that we would never forget, full of infectious joy at the privilege of having such an amazing family, and giddiness over our adorable little man dressed in white

What actually occurred on baptism day (sort of):

• The kids were kids, complete with teasing and furniture surfing
• Kevin and I stopped to laugh when, just before leaving the house, we instructed the kids to stop fighting, because they would have enough time for that after the baptism
• The beloved phrase, "do I have to?" echoed off the walls in our home
• A minute after the baptism was to begin we started shushing each other and trying to focus our attention on the purpose of the meeting
• It was a wonderful day that we will never forget, full of infectious joy at the privilege of having such an amazing family and giddiness over our adorable little man dressed in white (and also our very handsome grown man in white)

Despite all of our little quirks as a family (that don't seem to take baptismal vacations), it really was a choice day. Kevin and I are both so grateful for healthy, happy children who really have a sincere desire to know God and to do the things that will help them find lasting happiness throughout the craziness of their lives.