Baptism and Blessing

We had a weekend of new beginnings. Our oldest child was baptized and our youngest child was blessed. Isaac turned eight on June 13. It was so humbling to watch him prepare himself to make his baptismal covenants. He took it very seriously and thought hard about whether he was ready to make those promises to his Heavenly Father. As we got closer to the actual baptism he wanted to know how it would all work, so Matthew practiced with him (including in the pool at the Radisson Hotel where Grandma and Grandpa stayed) until he was confident about the mechanics. The baptism was beautiful. He and his friend Kyle were both touched by the spirit, as was everyone else who was there to witness it.
Anna's baby blessing was on Sunday. She's still so tiny, but we wanted Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Ted to be there for it, so it worked out to have it the day after Isaac's baptism. Matthew gave her a beautiful blessing and she didn't make a peep. She wore the dress I wore when I was blessed in 1975. I found it among the baby clothes I was unpacking before she was born. For years it either outfitted my dolls or hung in my closet (I even once stuck sparkly heart stickers on the bow), but fortunately a gifted dry cleaner was able to get it clean again. She looked like a little angel.