Leah Is 8

Leah turned eight while we were in Utah.  This was an especially exciting birthday because Leah got baptized!

We believe that people should be baptized by immersion when they are old enough to make that decision for themselves- the decision to follow their Savior and try to be more like Him.  Along with being baptized and covenanting to Heavenly Father that they will keep His commandments, always remember Him, and serve and love others, a person who is baptized is given the gift of the Holy Ghost, who serves as a comforter and helper to them to make right choices.

Leah was ready to be baptized when she turned eight.

It was an exciting day for our whole family.

We spent a few months leading up to Leah's birthday holding a weekly "Baptism Class" with just her and either Jason or I.  It was a great opportunity to talk to Leah about the promises we make to Heavenly Father when we choose to be baptized and about her testimony.  Our girl has a sweet testimony.

All of Jason's sisters were there.

Along with Grandma Morales-

Grandma and Grandpa Henscheid-

and Grandma Great!

The whole Henscheid family was there as well, with the exception of Uncle Aaron and Auntie Kirsten and their two girls Claire and Ella, who live in Washington.

It was great to have so many cousins together.

Especially Leah's favorite two.

Leah sang a sweet song with her cousins, her Grandma Cathy gave a talk on the importance of being baptized as Jesus Christ was baptized, and Grandma Suzanne talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Jason baptized Leah and gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost.

After the baptism was over we had a sweet family hug.  Just the six of us!

This is the best picture I have ever seen of the love that Emma has for her baby Noah.  And his feelings about it.

So much love.

After the baptism we headed over to my parents house.

We had many of our family and friends join us for the baptism and luncheon afterward, which was such a blessing.  Living in the Midwest is a wonderful opportunity for our family, but it doesn't give us many chances to be surrounded by loved ones.  We felt especially loved this day as we were joined by so many people from various stages of our lives who came to support Leah on her special day.

Friends from our undergraduate school days-

And friends from our graduate school days-

And friends all the way back from my junior high days!

I think Leah enjoyed being the center of attention on her special birthday.

Grandpa Art was also able to make the trip, and the kids all had fun getting reacquainted with him.

It was a special treat to have Grandma Great there as well.  Grandpa Great and Leah share the same birthday, and it is always fun to get together with Grandma.

This is my new favorite picture of Emma ever.

And of Adam.  He's so funny.

That night we took Leah out for her birthday dinner date with just Mom and Dad.  She chose IHOP.  We had been telling Leah for weeks that she was going to have the opportunity to start cutting her own food once she turned eight, and she was still plenty sad about it, even though it was only a pancake.

We had a great visit with her that night, and talked about everything from her best friends to her challenges at school to the goals that she hopes to accomplish as an eight-year-old.  We also had a more in-depth conversation with her about marital relationships.  Eight might seem young, but Jason and I compared notes from our respective childhoods and both decided that we knew plenty by that age- and should have learned more from the right sources (not our peers)- at a younger age than we did.  We have had many conversations with all of our kids about where babies come from, simply because they want to know how the baby got in there, but this night was a big-girl only moment to talk about love and family and marriage.

We are thrilled to have such a wonderful eight year old sweetheart in our family.  Leah is helpful, creative, considerate, and patience beyond what is often deserving.  She is a willing little guinea pig for her parents and always offers forgiveness for the times that we are trying to figure out how to raise our children and don't quite get it right.  She has such a tender heart and tries so hard to be a good example of Jesus Christ in our home and at school.  We are so proud of the decisions she has made in her life, and especially for her decision to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Wonderful things are going to happen to this sweet girl this year!