Callie's Baptism

We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. And so, we try to live our life as disciples of Jesus Christ. Are we perfect? No. Not close. But we do believe that through Jesus Christ we can be perfected. It's a life long process. We believe that children are born innocent and pure. They don't have the ability to sin and they don't carry any sin into this world with them. Because Christ was perfect and followed all of His father's commandments, so must we. We need to follow his perfect example and enter the waters of baptism...and as we do so, we enter the gate that is mentioned in the scriptures. We make a covenant when we are baptized to be like Him, with the knowledge that we will continually need His help and will need to live of life of constant repentance, starting over, making small improvements each day, just doing our best. He knows we aren't perfect, nor does He require that of us right now. But what He does require is our heart and our desire to try and to do. That's what baptism represents to me. That commitment, that covenant, to constantly try, in His name, to do our best...to try to live up to our divine nature and heritage.

We are baptized when we are 8 years old, or older. I don't remember my baptism details. I remember after being baptized, I wore a white dress with a pink ribbon around my waist. I thought that dress was beautiful. I remember my Aunt Geri gave me a gold necklace with a cross on it, and I cherished that necklace. I remember eating cake in a room in the church afterwards. But the rest is a blur. What isn't a blur is what that day has meant to me in my life. Because I was baptized, I have made different choices in my life than I wouldn't have made otherwise. I did stupid things still, but I always decided to do better next time, to repent...to turn back to God. That one decision to be baptized transformed my life. And I'm grateful for it.

Before Callie turned 8 years old, we talked to her about baptism. We really wanted this to be her decision, and if she didn't want to do it or didn't feel ready, then we wanted her to know that was ok. Sure we hoped she wanted to be baptized, but more important to us was that she was making this choice on her own. At one point, she didn't want to be baptized. Later she told me she didn't want people to look at her. Well, we could keep the baptism private with just family...but did she want to partake in that sacred ordinance. For months we had no idea what she really wanted. And then one day she said she wanted to...and she wanted Daddy to  baptize her.

On Saturday, February 6, 2016, Callie, along with her friend, Leo, was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The room was packed with people who love these two kids so much. We all felt the Spirit fill our hearts and it was a beautiful day.

Since Callie's baptism, I've seen her spiritually progress. In fact, I've seen her understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ advance more than it ever did for me at this age. It's a confirmation to me that these children have been set apart for this time...a time when we need stronger spirits, more determined to follow truth and light...that she is here to be a defender of truth and righteousness and to raise her family in love and light. She makes me a better person. I love Callie so much and I'm so very blessed to have her in my life. I would be incomplete without her.

Playing with cousins in the parking lot before the baptism. 

Aw, sweet Hayley.

Family

Sammy and Micah weren't so compliant, but it was still a beautiful day. :)

Callie and Daddy

Micah seriously refuses to be in any picture. I hope this phase doesn't last too long.

I love my girl.

Callie was baptized by immersion...and before doing so, Marcus took his black socks off. ;)

Callie and Leo
Buds getting baptized together.

Callie's 8 Years Old

 Before I catch up on Christmas, let's take some time to acknowledge the fact that Callie turned EIGHT years old! She's an old woman now! I'm among that group of moms who always say absurd things like, "How is that possible? How are you a year older already?!" We know the answer: time is constantly moving forward. But it still tears at my heart a little. She's no longer any part baby...all little, maturing, fabulous little girl.

Admittedly, Callie's birthday stunk this year. During Christmas everyone in our extended family seemed to take turns getting sick. Not us. We were strong and untouchable...until Monday when school and work started again. Callie went to school on Monday, threw up, and stayed home the next day...on her birthday...curled up in a blanket watching too much tv. But the thing is, once she threw up, she seemed to be fine. But she couldn't go back to school less than 24 hours later. So on her birthday, I took her out and we painted at this ceramics store. She also picked out a bracelet and necklace she wanted. Then I got the phone call to come pick up Sammy from school because she had a fever. (sigh). So on Callie's birthday, we rushed out to get her sick sister. Things just weren't working for the girl. We had had big plans including Chuck E. Cheese (which, let's be honest, I wasn't sad about having to miss) and family party. But all that got tossed out when window. So, on her actual birthday...celebration #1...we spent some quality Mommy/Callie time together and she got to watch tv the rest of the day.

A couple days later everyone seemed to be healthy. So as a little family, we did the birthday thing. She picked out dinner...noodles (no sauce), peas. And she opened presents.

She was pretty excited. The biggest gift will come in a couple weeks when my parents come out. Grandpa is going to paint her room and build her a bed. She's so excited!

And, call me a negligent mom, and I'll understand...but there were no candles. I was so consumed with taking care of everyone and still trying to make her birthday special, that I forgot to make sure we had candles. Luckily, Callie didn't care at all. She has strong opinions on how things should go, so I was very happy that she really didn't care. But, she did ask for a strawberry cake...and I delivered. I had never done a strawberry cake before, but thanks to Pinterest, I found a great frosting. I decided to just do a white cake and then this amazing frosting. We all loved it! I'm NOT a frosting person. I like just a thin layer. But this was heavenly. Whoever discovered this recipe, I bow down. It was light, fluffy, creamy, strawberry perfection. I will do this again.

The last celebration...yes, we are on #3...happened on Sunday with the rest of the family. This was the classic one. Candles, singing, eating cake. We had done all the presents and had the glorious cake...but a birthday just isn't a birthday unless we celebrate it at Grammy's with everyone at Sunday dinner.

So yes, Callie's actual 8th birthDAY stunk...but all in all...she kind of scored.

When I look back at the past couple years, Callie has had a lot of challenges. I'm so proud of how much she has grown, how she has overcome some of those, how she is working on them. She is so full of faith, and love. She is becoming this beautiful young lady who is learning to put her trust in the Lord and in those who love her. She is naturally curious and is finding more confidence in taking chances and risks -- the ones that help us grow and develop, that make us go out of our comfort zone.

The evening of her birthday, Callie asked me to read her "her" story. It's a small scrapbook of pictures from the first days of her life with excerpts from this blog...thoughts and feelings I had when she was placed in our home and the events that led up to it. I cried as I read. She looked up and said, "Mom, are you crying?" "Yes. I just love you so much." She smiled and cuddled in closer. My heart would be incomplete with her. I love Callie so much and loved having 3 celebrations of her birth!!!

Gizdich 2015

We did it again. We took a small voyage and headed to Watsonville. Callie was out of school so Micah, Callie, and I loaded up and headed out. I love Gizdich Farms. It's far, but it's so fun. We always seem to miss berry season, but we were there this year right at the start of apple picking and we loved it.

So, what's our favorite parts about Gizdich?

The Anticipation

Finding the Perfect Apple

 Counting the Apples

Having the Orchard to Yourself

  

Running Down the Hill 1,000,000+ Times

Checking Out Bugs in Decaying Apples

Bowling Rotten Apples

Pulling the Wagon

Squeezing Together for a Picture

The Juiciest, Sweetest Apples Around

Wagon Rides

Jumping Off Hay

Flying Off Hay

And of course the pie...which we didn't get a picture of since my battery died. It was delicous though...and we walked away with some apple juice (that is my most favorite in the world), massive suckers, and smiles.

Until next time Gizdich, we love you.

2nd Grade for Callie

Yep, it's true. Callie is gorgeous and I can't get enough of her smile. She has grown so much. Even just over the past few weeks, I have seen a maturity in her that makes me step back and smile. And yet, she's still just a little girl...still gets frustrated by her annoying little brother and still needs more sleep than she thinks. I love all these different parts of her and I love seeing her spirit shine from her eyes. So it's 2nd grade for Callie. Moving up and onward. First day of school...we let the hair down. She loved it! I love that she loves her hair. I love that she takes pride in it. I love that she loves picking out what she wants to wear to school...sometimes frilly and well thought out, sometimes mismatched and thrown together. 

I look forward to this year for Callie.

I have a feeling it will be a big one.

Magic Kingdom (Friday)

We decided for our last day we'd go back to Magic Kingdom and run wild and hit all the rides we could. It was such a great day.

Don't let this smile fool you. Micah was terrified of the carousal. It took us everything we had just to get him to go on and then sit down. Ride a horse? No way! I was surprised when he gave me this smile before we began to go in circles because only moments before he was a mess.

  

We saw a few shows....

Then we met up with the rest of the family at the Polynesian for breakfast. It's a good family-style breakfast with characters, etc. We did this same breakfast when we went last time and it was fun, so why not do it again this trip? However, where we were sitting, it seemed we didn't get many good pictures...the lights messed things up. But it was still good.

 

After breakfast we went home for a little bit...during the heat of the day...and while Callie and Sammy swam with Marcus, and Micah eventually fell asleep, I worked on getting things figured out for our departure the next day. We had a little scare because apparently, Disney had me as having a flight to Miami, but no connecting flight back to California. So, after a bit of panic and some phone calls, we figured it out. I would be returning home with my family after all.

We went back to the Magic Kingdom and enjoyed the hot afternoon.

This is when we decided that Sammy should try her first rollercoaster. A new ride has appeared at Magic Kingdom since we were last here a few years ago. 

The Seven Dwarves Mine Ride.

Marcus kept talking about letting Sammy go on Space Mountain and crazy rides (I think he was only 1/2 kidding). Yes, she's tall enough. Yes, she loves thrills. But any kind of rollercoaster seemed scary for me to let her on. This ride, however, seemed a little more manageable. So, we tried it. 

And she loved it!

Later that afternoon, storms started rolling in. There was rain, and people started to clear out. It was our last day, so we weren't going anywhere. We ate lunch and by that time, things kind of cleared up...but then the lightning came. So, rides shut down for a bit. And even more people cleared out. We held out and when Splash Mountain opened up, we were among the first to ride with no lines!

With the 7 Dwarves ride a success, we thought we'd have Sammy ride Splash Mountain as well. And she LOVED it!!!

Ted and his family hung out until late with us. We saw the Electric Parade, which was awesome. There was still some thunder, and that kind of freaked out Callie and Micah, but it was fun. Callie's face is blurry, but she was impressed with the parade, to say the least.

 And Sammy was impressed as well. She kept smiling and giggling as the floats and characters and dancers came by.

We decided to stay for the fireworks. And this is when we had a huge, scary moment...

As we were leaving the parade and moving down toward Cinderella's castle, there were quite a few people moving along. Callie was walking with Aunt Peggy, and I told Callie to stick with her. There were a lot of people. We got to where we needed to be and stopped. A few moments later, I wanted to show Callie something and said, "Callie, come here, check this out." 

No response.

"Callie."

No response.

"Callie?"

She was gone. We couldn't find her. I began to slightly panic. Peggy and Marcus left the group and started looking around. I went out in the middle of the road, which was actually kind of bare, just in case Callie looked and found us. A conversation that my parents and I had previously that day about Adam Walsh and his son went through my mind. I got sick to my stomach with fear and began to pray. We hadn't come up with a plan of what to do if someone got lost. I prayed and prayed.  A few minutes later, Callie was back with Marcus. Relief is such a mild word to explain how I felt.

I talked to Callie and she said she had been really scared. I guess when we stopped, she just kept walking not realizing the group had found a spot to stay. She kept walking and didn't know what to do. She found a worker...and as the worker told Marcus...

"She was so calm and came right up to me and said, 'I can't find my family.'"

That worker also happened to be an intern with BYU-Idaho. 

Our prayers were definitely answered, and we were so proud of Callie knowing what to do and taking control of the situation even though she said she was really scared. It was the first time I've "lost my child" and it was a horrible feeling. I can't imagine what parents go through when they can't find their children after 20 minutes, then 30, then hours. I can't imagine.

After the fireworks, we left, saying our final farewell to Disney World.