Baptism Day

Well I'll be darned, time is passing. And pretty quick at that. If there was ever a question in my mind as to whether or not my kids were marching forward, this weekend it was confirmed that, indeed, time's a ticking.
Dallin B got baptized on Saturday. Which means he is 8 years old. Which means he is halfway to getting his drivers license. Which means everyone who threw out those annoying cliches were right. You know, the ones about time flying. And don't blink because you'll miss it all. They're true. Here we are, here I am, the mother of a sweet 8 year old. The one who ushered me into the world of motherhood. The one that has been the first to do so many things and therefore has offered Yosh and I so many firsts as parents.
And this whole baptism deal was one of those firsts.

invitation done by Brenda's cute Etsy shop

In the months leading up to this day, all the way up to an hour before go time, I was pretty concerned about Dallin being the one who made the decision to get baptized. I wanted him to know what baptism meant and wanted him to consciously choose that action. Granted, it was definitely something I hoped he would choose and he's had a lot of influences in his life that would encourage that same decision, but nonetheless, I wanted him to choose and have that gift of empowerment that comes from personal responsibility.
Other than that, I didn't have many expectations of how the day would go. Or how I would feel. Or anything else. 
And whether it's the fruits of low non-existent expectations or the reality that baptism day is a big deal, Saturday night was awesome.
B man seemed to know it was his day. When we sat in the baptism room, filled with no one but friends and family, it felt intimate and just right. All the talks were geared right to the understanding of an 8 year old and the length of the program was geared towards 8-year-olds and ADD-moms alike. Thus, I really believe every single moment was soaked up and then converted to long memory storage. I wouldn't be shocked at all to talk with Dallin 5 years down the road, or 10, or 15, and find out that he remembers most moments from his baptism day. And for me, that is one definition of success.

Who knows if you'll think this is absolutely adorable, but I for one do! Here is Dallin and Annabelle's duet.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in and made this night perfect!