Luke's 8th Birthday & 1st (only) Baptism

From a festive beginning to a fun school birthday treat to a BAPTISM to a cousin pizza party, Luke had a great birthday!  We really appreciated that our bishop helped us to schedule the baptism on Luke's birthday, since the older three have all been baptized on their birthdays.  It turned out to be a crazy evening for our family: Jack was literally between shows for the school play he was performing in (which is why he's in sneakers in the pictures - he'd left his church shoes at the school as part of his costume) and Cat had a lot of student council work to do for Spirit Week before and after.  But in spite of the fact that we had a small window of time, things worked out (of course, Cat and Jack were both late to the next places they needed to be, but at least their priorities were in order).

Breakfast Smoothie: Dad's Special Birthday Recipe
(which includes ice cream)

Morning Birthday Song from Mema and Papa

Luke requested Slurpees for his class treat, and
Ben and Jack delivered - literally.  They even threw in
some chocolate doughnuts from the 7-11 and brought
a Slurpee to Eliza too.

Luke's baptism was wonderful!  I felt the Spirit strongly and loved
how Luke's happy, fun-loving personality shined throughout the program.
(He dabbed at one point, directed Jack to sing louder during the musical number, and
told everyone about what was found the last time he cleaned out his ears
when Suz presented him with Q-tips during her talk.)

On a more serious note, we were all impressed with Luke's
drive to memorize the Articles of Faith before his baptism.
For several weeks he would ask to sing them on the way to school in the
mornings, and as his birthday drew closer we practiced extra during the day.
He got so close by knowing the first 12 and beginning the last one
before the big day arrived.

Cat was the pianist for the program and she also accompanied Jack and Eliza
singing "I Am a Child of God" as a special musical number.
We didn't rehearse as much as we should have and they were a little shaky
on the words, so Eliza thought to write the lyrics on the white board
in the back of the room.  Perfect.  But they sounded lovely and it was very sweet.
(I took this picture during the run-through before we started.)

(also on the white board in the back of the room, from the kids
entertaining themselves while the adults got things set up)

Two cousin families were able to attend in person, along with our bishop and his wife,
who is in the Primary presidency.  We loved that family members who otherwise
wouldn't have been able to attend supported Luke by tuning in on Zoom.  Mema even
shared her testimony and it was very special.

Suz gave a talk about the Holy Ghost with lots of gifts to help Luke
better understand what the Holy Ghos does and how He works.
Q-Tips: Speaks in a still, small voice
Flashlight: Reveals truth and the right plan in your life
Band-Aids: Heals our hurt feelings
Mirror: Testifies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, in whose
image you were made
Blanket: Comforts us when we're sad
Stuffed Lion from Whit: Is your constant friend
Soap: Cleanses our sins and keeps us holy
Shield: Will protect you.

After the baptism we reassembled at our house for silly string, pizza, ice cream cake, and lots of cousin play time!

Once cousins left, Luke opened his presents from us.  I love that he was so excited for this Judy Blume box set (it helped that his siblings were excited!) and the programmable robot Ben found for him entertained Luke and Eliza for quite a while.  It was a late night!

That night when Luke was going to bed (probably close to 11:00) I asked him about his baptism.

"It was fun.  Also the water was warm."

"How did you feel?"
"Great.  Fuzzy all around me.  Like being inside a really cozy blanket."

I hope he will remember that feeling, the witness of the Holy Ghost, and that he feels it over and over and over again throughout his life.