Hunter's Big Day!!!

Hunter turned 8 in October of last year. We had just moved and did not know which ward we were supposed to be attending and trying to get settled. He and I talked about it and thought that it would be fun for him to have the missionary discussions prior to baptism. Tanner did and it was a great experience for the whole family. It also helped him know he wanted to be baptized and to have a better understanding of what baptism meant.

After playing phone tag and being in and out of town , Hunter finally began his journey with these two great elders. They came each week for a month and taught Hunter about the church and what baptism meant. It was a fun and crazy time for all of us. One time they stayed and had dinner, another time we had yummy brownies and the other times we just got the chance to learn. The kids loved the experience and the missionaries admit it was good practice for them as well. After one of the final discussions they gave Hunter a gift. They had previously asked him what his favorite color was. He replied red and blue. So they made him a hat. Such a thoughtful and nice gift.(plus very impressive for a couple of young men). He will treasure it for years to come and always remember the elders who visited him.

Hunter asked his Great Uncle Bert to baptize him. What a special thing this was. Uncle Bert lives here in CA. He was always my favorite uncle when I was growing up as a child and has remained so as I have grown up. It was so fun to be close to him when we lived here three years ago and to now be back again is even better. Uncle Bert possesses a special quality where he can make you feel like you are the most important thing in his life when you are with him. He and Hunter also have this special bond. Hunter can do no wrong in his eyes. So having him here to baptize him meant the world to them both.

After he was baptized he was confirmed. It was so exciting to have his Grandpa Bruce here to do that. We were not sure if they were going to make it to the baptism but as luck would have it Dad just happened to have a few days off of class and they drove out here. Really I don't think anything would have stopped them from coming. It was so special to have them there, plus it was great that they were able to come in a couple of days early and play with us. It is always sad to see them go and we wish they lived closer.

Hunter ,we are so proud of you!!! Daddy had to get out of his "monkey suit" as soon as he could. Could not even last a few more minutes for a picture. :>


All in all it was a fabulous day! We had Deb(my cousin) and her cute family come. (She even spoke for us.) Our Aunt Sue was there with Uncle Bert. Lauren (who sat with us through the missionary discussions and spoke too). And we had lots of friends from church show up and surprise us. It was an incredible turn out. We ate lots of yummy food and had a great time visiting. We could not have asked for a better way to celebrate a special day. (Well , that's not entirely true, we did have some aunts and uncles that would have loved to have been here but could not make the it this trip, so it would have been better if they could have come. We missed you Adam (Hunter did want you to baptize him, there is something about you that just brings a smile to his face), Jo, Bruce, Elizabeth and Marrianne!! But we know you were here in spirit!) And Hunter loved the phone calls. They meant the world to him!

Thank you so much to everyone to helped to be a part of this special day for us!!!