February 2, 2013

 February 2, 2013 - the day Caleb was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!  Here he is with his dad, a few minutes before they went to get changed.  We arrived a whole 20 minutes early or so that morning and had a few quiet moments together while the font was filling and warming up.  I think all of us were a little queasy for one reason or another, but Caleb sure didn't show any signs of being nervous.  He was more excited than anything else!

 Caleb was the only eight-year-old being baptized in our stake in February, so we had the opportunity to prepare and plan for his day on a ward level.  That meant the group of people participating and watching was small, but every person was so important to Caleb and the rest of his family!  Our Bishop, John Farnsworth, was there and conducted the meeting.  He also said a lot of meaningful things throughout the program that helped us to think about the special privilege we, as members of the church have, to be baptized and then receive the Holy Ghost.  Grandma Jeanne was our special company for the whole weekend!  She gave a beautiful talk on baptism, speaking specifically to Caleb and reminding all of us of the promises we made on our baptism day.  When Caleb walked down into the font, he looked up at everyone watching and looked a little nervous.  Everything went smoothly though, and he came up out of the water like a pro.  My favorite thing was hearing Aaron call him by his full name and then say those special, simple words before laying him back in the water.

Avery and Presley got to do a unique musical number for Caleb after he was dressed and handsome in his suit.  They sang I am a Child of God along with a beautiful voice recording of their Utah cousins (Annalyn, Issac and Max Johanson, Kenton and Elise Jeppson, Jayce and Halli Johnson) and accompanied by Grandma Jeanne on the piano, Grandpa Brian on the cello and Aunt Amberly on the violin.  It was an unforgettable couple of minutes while they stood there smiling and singing, and I know everyone in the room felt the influence of the Holy Ghost testifying of the truth of the words in the song.  Here they are singing (I could only put the first two verses on):

Caleb is standing next to Elder Quin Volpe.  Quin spoke for a few minutes about the Holy Ghost before Caleb was confirmed.  He is getting ready to leave in just a few days for his mission to the Philippines.  He's been an awesome example in Caleb's life and we've watched him grow up the last six years into an incredible young person.  His words about the importance of the Holy Ghost were so touching, and he bore a strong testimony.