8 Is a Big Deal

Wow. I have an 8 year old. I knew it would happen, after all, last year she turned 7. But for LDS families, 8 is a big deal. We believe that at 8 years old, a child knows the difference between right and wrong and has enough reasoning ability and common sense to make choices based on that knowledge. Once a child has reached 8 years old, they can make the decision to be baptized and confirmed a member of the Church.

At the beginning of 2012, Megan made a goal of reading the entire Book of Mormon before her baptism day. As a family we read it together to help her make her goal. Usually it was Nathan or me reading it out loud at dinner. That was the only time the kids were relatively quiet due to having food in their mouths.

We missed quite a few days in a row when Faye was born and in the end we were trying to read 8 pages a night, which was hard with 5 five kids. But, guess what? We did it! By the time Megan went to bed on her baptism day, she'd read the entire Book of Mormon and prayed about it, asking God if it really is scripture.

I am so proud of Megan. She is an incredibly sweet child. Helpful, considerate, smart, funny, and friendly.

To help us celebrate her baptism and confirmation, both sets of grandparents came to town. Here are a few pictures from her birthday party and her baptism.

The party was art themed. Everyone had their own canvas to paint.

Happy Birthday!!

My kids LOVE Legos!

On the day of her baptism we surprised Megan with a strand of real pearls. Years ago I gave her a strand of plastic beads that "looked" like pearls. I'd worn them in a wedding, so I removed the fancy costume jewel on it, and then passed it on to Meg. She wore that necklace every. single. day. She loved it. We'd talked about getting her a real pearl necklace for her baptism, but weren't sure how to afford it. Then, just a couple weeks before her baptism, Groupon came to the rescue! It was awesome. Got Meg's necklace, as well as a necklace and a pair of chocolate pearl earrings for me for less than what we expected to pay for just Megan's.

Almost time!

After the baptism with her grandparents

The Primary always gives the kids getting baptized a CTR towel. For those who aren't familiar with LDS talk, it stands for Choose the Right.

Megan and her very happy parents.

We love you, Megan!