J&E BAPTISM PART 2

Now it's on to the baptism! If you haven't read PART 1 below you probably want to before reading this.

About an hour before the baptism Jill's friend Dawn from work came to the house to meet us. She's actually the one that got the missionaries over to Jill's house. She's a lot of fun & seems like a great friend for Jill to have. Dawn has a 13 year old daughter that we were able to meet as well named Jackie. Jackie watches Elliot every Saturday while Jill's at work. Here's a photo of J&E with Dawn as well as Elder Okerlund on the left & Elder Panek on the right.

We followed Dawn to the stake center & then Mimi got a phone call as we were walking into the room where the baptism was being held. She answers her phone & I can hear a baby crying - a brand new baby! My sister-in-law Ruth had just had little Daven Michael Hallows a few minutes before that. She was 3 weeks early so I was a little nervous listening to the call & kept asking if everything was ok. Both baby & Mom were wonderful. Congrats to Sam & Ruth!!

Once in the room it was time for J&E to get dressed. As well as my Dad.

Elliot was so excited to get in the water he could hardly contain himself. He kept asking if it was time yet. We sat in the front row with J&E. I was amazed at how many people kept coming in. It was standing room only. It was amazing to see the support from members of the stake, ward & friends that came. Honestly, it helped put my mind at ease that they were going to be so far away from us & any other family. I now know that they will be in good hands & feel good about it. The Elders said they received a call a few hours before from their Mission Pres. (Pres. Pfile) & that he was now rearranging his schedule because he really wanted to come. I asked them if it was normal for their Pres. to come to a baptism & they said no. INCREDIBLE!! The Stake President was their, as well as a high council member. (The High Council member, it turned out, was from Arizona & was in the Bishopric when I was a baby. Crazy!)

My Dad gave a talk on Baptism. He, of course, was great. Then it was time for the Baptism. J&E started to walk in the water & my Dad told Elliot to stand on the stairs & let his Mom go first. Elliot giggled the whole time his Mom was going under the water. It was so cute. He was more than ready when it was his turn. He came towards Papa (my Dad) with welcome hands ready to go. He did take a few moments to look around at everyone watching him. He actually looked around & once he saw me & Mimi he focused on what he was doing. I like to think he was making sure we were watching, but who knows! ;) He coughed a little bit as he came up, but did a great job. Then, it was off to dress. Mimi went into the dressing room to help Jill for a minute & I stayed out.

During the dressing time Elder Okerlund spoke. He told the story of how they found Jill. They went into a Walgreen's to get something. They needed to break up a $20, so they went to the bank next door to do so. It just happened to be the bank that Jill worked at. Once they walked in a lady yelled across the bank, "Hey! I can help you boys over here!" They said it was so loud it was hilarious. Then, another lady (Jill's friend Dawn) ran up to them asking if they were the Elder's for that area. They said yes & she said good - I have a referral for you & it was Jill.

Jill's friend Kim Whitcomb spoke next on the Holy Ghost. Then it was time for the confirmation's. Let me just say, they were beautiful! My Dad blessed Jill to remain strong & to be worthy to attend the temple in a year. Also to be able to make good decisions about some things going on in her life right now & to be a great comfort & support to Elliot.

Elliot's blessing was amazing! (Geez - how many times have I said that word now?! There's just no words to describe how awesome everything truly was in person!!) Not to mention the fact who was in his circle. My Dad, the Bishopric Counselors, Ward Mission Leader, Stake President, the Elders & the Mission President. How cool is that?

He was blessed that he would be able to overcome his mortal afflictions. Also, that he would receive the Aaronic & Melchezidech priesthood. As well as serve a full time mission.

At this point I was sobbing. That was music to my ears. What a wonderful thing to hear for this sweet young boy. When it was over there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Everyone their felt the amazing spirit & the spirit of this special little boy.

In fact, I'm getting upset with myself that I'm not a better writer. It was such an amazing experience & I'm just not doing it any justice.

When the Primary President stood up to welcome Elliot to Primary things got a little silly for a minute. She welcomed Elliot & he in his cute little voice said, "I don't need to go, no thank you." We were dying!! He's had a lot of changes in his life the last little while & is a little nervous sometimes. He had told us earlier that he thinks he'll get lost from his Mom while he's in their. The Pres. just told him not to worry & come whenever you feel comfortable. He said, "But, I might get lost from my Mom." She said that his Mom would be next door to him. Then he said, "But, I was in their FOREVER!" It was so cute!

I'm sure he'll warm up to Primary quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if Jill receives a calling in Primary to be near him for awhile. She's aware of that possibility as well & is fine with that. She's always more than happy to do whatever is best for Elliot.

What amazed me is the overwhelming spirit their. The Mission Leader that conducted & the Bishopric Counselor that presided were in tears throughout as well. The counselor that welcomed them to the ward said he had a special spot in his heart for Elliot since he himself has an autistic son. Again, this ward was ready for J&E. They have 4 other autistic children in the ward, so they are well prepared. When it was over I had a member of their ward come up to me & say what an incredible baptism that was & that he's never been to one that powerful before. He said, "I don't know about you, but it felt like the Heavens were open. Like there were a lot of people wanting to see from the other side." Little did he know how many we do have on the other side. Especially Michael.

I will never forget this amazing weekend. The spirit that was felt throughout the entire trip was unreal. I'm still in awe at how unbelievable it all was. Again, there's just no words to describe, but I hope you can understand how special it was. I kept thinking of Michael during the baptism & imagining him kiss my cheek like he did on my birthday years ago. I'm sure he was their to support his son & I'm sure he was delighted. He would have been so proud of the beautiful spirit his son is. You can't deny how special he is once you've spent any amount of time with him!

J&E BAPTISM PART 1

This will be the first of a few long posts, so consider yourself warned! ;) This is for all the family that wasn't able to attend & especially my Mom!

**So that the story will make some sense in parts I need to give some background on my sweet nephew Elliot. He will be 9 in June & is by far the sweetest boy I know. I'd have to say He's even sweeter than my nephew Carter who can make your heart melt in an instant! Elliot is Autistic & is very loving. He is high functioning & progressing at a great rate. He also has Juvenile Diabetes & handles it very well.**

This past weekend I had the opportunity & pleasure to attend the baptism of Jill & Elliot. Jill was married to my brother Michael & Elliot is his son. Even though Jill & Michael were divorced I still consider her my sister-in-law. Dear little Elliot is now all I have of my brother in this life & he reminds me of all the good that my brother Michael had in him. (If you don't know the Michael story & care to know just click on the Michael link below.) Now, let's start the story from the beginning.

Once upon a time... (about 2 weeks ago)

I received a phone call from Mignon (Mimi) asking me if I felt like going on a road trip. I thought that was really strange. A road trip with just me, my Dad & Mimi. Well, ok! Of course, count me in! But, why? It was then that Mignon informed me, with many tears, that we'd be heading to Colorado Springs to attend the baptism of Jill & Elliot. With a choked up voice I replied - "Are you kidding?!?!" It was a remarkable thing to hear! This was something we have been waiting years to hear! A very exciting time for our family!!

Luckily my husband was very supportive of me leaving for 4 days & knew how important it was for me & how important it was to me to be their. There was no question about me going & I can never be thankful enough that I was able to attend this amazing event!

FRIDAY - We drove all day - 13 hours. It went by fairly quickly & wasn't a bad drive at all. Don't ask my Dad that though, since he drove the whole time & Mimi & I watched movies the whole time!! ;) We arrived at J&E's home around 11:30pm. Look how cute this part of her front room is...

Elliot was still awake watching "Horton Hears a Who" & greeted us with welcome arms. Then, it was time for bed.

SATURDAY - We woke up & went to breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. Elliot thought it was great to go to Mimi's Cafe with Mimi! After breakfast Elliot was dying to show us the animals at PetCity in the mall where we found these sweet love birds...

He really wanted to go to PetsMart, but thought the mall would be ok as well. Wal-Mart was next on the agenda to get some food for the weekend.

In the afternoon on Saturday the Elders came along with the District Leader who needed to interview Jill before the baptism.

While Jill was in her interview one of the Elders sat on the floor with Elliot drawing pictures. He told us that they have been drawing out all the discussions for Elliot. Elder Okerlund drew out the First Vision & talked to Elliot about that. Then, he drew the Pre-Existence with dotted figures since we didn't have bodies yet. He had Elliot draw Heavenly Father & Jesus & he knew that they weren't dotted because they had bodies. The way this Elder interacted with Elliot was just amazing. I was so impressed & knew that these Elders were hand picked for J&E.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out, talking & watching YouTube videos. We showed Jill a slideshow of the Reflections of Christ videos & she was extremely touched. She was telling us how she's never been a crier, but now she can't seem to hold it in. She also is very aware that it's the spirit speaking to her.

SUNDAY - Church was bright & early - 8:30am.

(Don't you love how my Dad & Elliot are making the same face?!) We were their on time & we were instantly amazed at the wonderful members their. One lady came up to Jill & gave her some colored pencils & a pad of paper for Elliot. Thinking he might enjoy them. Well, Elliot takes after Michael in this sense that he draws constantly, so it was perfect! One of the risks you take of showing up early is being asked to speak. Who would ever think that would happen while you're visiting a ward, but it did to my Dad. I just laughed - only to my Dad would this happen as he is terrified of speaking in front of people. Geez - I wonder where I get that from? Apparently their speakers had some emergencies happen & weren't able to speak. They had some daughters that were able to read their talks, but they still needed to fill time & asked my Dad if he wouldn't mind giving a little talk & his testimony. Not to mention the fact that the Mission President was visiting. No matter, he of course was wonderful! Here's a couple of great points he spoke about:

{1} If your find yourself going through trials you're in good company! You're in the company of the Prophet, Apostles, even the Savior.

{2} He also gave one of our favorite quotes from Elder Grant:
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do so is increased."

{3} He told a little of his conversion story of how he first went into a chapel at 19 to a Christmas program wiith my mom. 6 months later he was baptised. He was fellowshipped well & church ball was a big part of that for him. While playing ball he had a member help him buy a car & another one owned a sporting goods store & gave him a job. He worked for Bob Kerr of Kerr Sporting Goods for years while going through school. A year and a half after joining his father passed away. He had members step up to help with funeral expenses. One even gave them a burial plot for my Grandpa. (who I'm excited to meet one day!) All of these things helped increase his testimony & gain a great love for other members.

After sacrament meeting the Mission President (Pres. Pfile) wanted to interview Elliot himself. We're guessing it was because of Elliot's unique situation. He allowed Jill to stay in the room so that Elliot was comfortable. When he came out of the meeting with Pres. Pfile Mimi asked Elliot how he did. Pres. Pfile said he did great. He asked Elliot what he has learned & he told him everything. Then, he said something that we'll never forget! He told us that he told Jill that he BELIEVES that Elliot will overcome his afflictions one day. He reminded us that we all know the power of priesthood blessings & that Elliot would be no exception to that! He then told Elliot he loved him & that he was sad he wouldn't be able to make his baptism, but good luck!

UNBELIEVABLE!! Everyone standing their was in tears & shock. One of the members of the Bishopric has an autistic son & told Mimi later how amazing he thought that was! What an awesome blessing it was to hear that from the Mission President.

After church we went home to rest & prepare. While my Dad, Jill & I took a little nap Mimi had books read to her by Elliot.

I enjoyed waking up to his little voice reading so well & with so much animation. He was reading a book at one point about a stinky garbage truck & he & Mimi were just laughing hysterically. It was so fun to listen to him laugh so hard & just be silly.

**As this post is forever long already I'll put the baptism on another post. The amazement doesn't end here!**

DETAILS

I have been through 5 different directors in the Easter Pageant & I love & respect each one of them for their different views on things. Nanci Wudel is no exception! Maybe because I'm an adult now I'm more aware of things, but I don't remember a director so attuned to details as her. It amazes me the things she thinks of. Maybe it's because she has a larger team of assistant directors than any other director has had - maybe not. Whatever the case, she's wonderful! Here's just a couple of examples...

{1.} Once the Last Supper scene has started she asks for complete silence backstage all the way through the Crucifixion scene out of respect for the sacredness of those scenes. Obviously, this is quite difficult with a cast of 400 - including a few kdis!! But, amazingly enough, it is pretty quiet backstage. We make a huge effort to keep our girls quiet during those scenes to follow the rules, show repsect & just to have them listen & try to grasp what is happening.

{2.} We have a lady in our family group this year that's been in the Pageatn for 5 years now. She is in the Crucifixion scene this year. (I was in that scene once & it's just as hard as you would imagine!) She was telling me a little attention to detail that was not envoked when I was in it. When the men on the crosses get off there is someone waiting their for them with a blanket to put over them. (That way they're not walking half naked backstage to the dressing tents.) That has always been the way it works for as long as I can remember. However, this is new...

She told me that when the man that plays the Savior on the cross gets off the man that plays Judas waits for him to hand him his blanket. What an amazing image to see every night!! That really struck me as an awesome detail!! One that was given thought & is probably wonderful for the man that has to portray Judas. I'm sure that is a difficult role.

SPEAKERS

There are many things I love about being in the Easter Pageant. One of the things I love are the devotionals. We have a devotional every night before a performance. With cast notes from the directors, a speaker & a special musical number. The musical numbers are my favorite. They always find the best in town! Especially these guys: three2u - they're amazing! I may not be a huge fan of this type of music, but these men are all in the pageant. When they stand up to sing in their costumes there's usually not a dry eye in the house. They really are wonderful!

As far as speakers go, we've had our share of special visitors. Last year we were priviledged to hear from Elder Hinckley. (President Hinckley's son) I have other stories in my Easter Pageant label of other speakers through the years as well. This year, however, it seems like we've had more than normal already.


THURSDAY night we heard from Elder David Ellsworth LeSueur.
He's a member of the Seventy & from Gilbert. He told a great story that Elder Oaks told him. It went something like this (I don't remember it word for word, so this is the gist of it)...


Elder Oaks had a conversation with one of his young sons....


SON: Dad, do you remember the profound question I asked you the other night?


ELDER OAKS: No, what was it?


SON: I don't remember either. I was hoping you would. All I remember was your answer.


ELDER OAKS: What was my answer?


SON: That you KNOW that Jesus lived & that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.


WOW!!! What greater lesson could he have taught his son? I love how the question was not remembered by him. Just the all important answer! I hope I am able to have the same impact with my own kids some day.



THURSDAY night also brought some political visitors to the Pageant. They weren't part of the devotional, just part of the audience. There were some legislative members, or so I was told, as well as the Governor - Jan Brewer.

What I thought was interesting about this was that after the Pageant was over the director, Nanci Wudel, asked her what she thought. She told Nanci that everyone in the state of Arizona needs to see this Pageant. That's kind of cool!


FRIDAY night brought another area Seventy. Elder Spencer V. Jones.
A good ol' Safford boy. He mentioned how he was just a common man. Just like everyone else. Only he had a very uncommon calling. He told all of us that we were also common people with an uncommon calling at this time. As a cast member, most may not know this, we are actually set apart as such. This is a calling we each have for a month. This is something new that they do & I think it's great. It really does help.


Again, I LOVE being in the Pageant. It is a huge time commitment, but I can't fathom not being involved. When we lived in Vegas & weren't able to participate Easter was really strange for me. Looking back I realize how my focus was so different about the holiday not being around the Pageant. I feel so blessed to be able to continue this tradition that started with my Grandparents long ago with my girls & have these experiences. It helps keep things in perspective!

JAY

Jadyn is priviledged enough to be able to play the "Dead Girl" this year. She's loving it!! She does such a good job. She asks Kylie for advice on what to do. The first time she did it at rehearsal that everyone got to see she immediately asked Kylie how she did once she saw her. It was so cute! Jadyn really loves the fact that she now gets to go to make-up. If you know Jay then you know that this is Heaven for her!!

I absolutely LOVE this picture....

It melts my heart & let me tell you why. If you look closely you'll see she has a dot on her chin. We love her dot! It's become our tradition that as soon as Erik picks her up to prepare to carry her up the ramp we each kiss her dot before going on stage. Again, we LOVE her dot & feel so blessed to be able to have this experience with her this year!!

SATURDAYS

Pageant is in full swing again. As always, I can't believe it's been a year already. We absolutely LOVE Pageant time. Sure, it's a big commitment & a lot of work, but what better way to spend time with your family then spending every night on the temple grounds portraying the life of the Savior?!

Here's a couple of pics from our Super Saturday rehearsals...

I usually find some little coloring activities to bring for the girls to do during our down time. Here they are showing they're spoils...

E relaxing with his Pringles close at hand. It's become a tradition to have Pringles at these rehearsals. It's just what we do. Along with having Cadbury Mini Eggs at our night rehearsals. (We can thank Allison for that tradition! ;))

Here's the girls with some of their Pageant friends (Gabriella & Ivy). These cute girls are sisters, too & the same age as our girls. The older girl asked Kylie all of the time last year some tricks on being the "Dead Girl". She wanted that part so badly. I'm sure she was heartbroken when she didn't get it this year. Sad for her, but Jadyn's loving it!!

As always, click on the Easter Pageant label if you want more stories. I'll try not to bore you all this year with my stories.

REALLY?!?!

The past 2 months have been RIDICULOUS!!! I'm just now starting to come out of a major stupor. I have been locked in my own little world of stress & I'm ready to let it go. Here's a little catch up of what's been happening in my life.....

(Believe me, it's better to shorten it this way, otherwise this would be a mile long post & who wants to read that!!)

1 - I received a new calling after Christmas that has taken some of my time. In fact, it feels like a full time job. I was called to be the RS Pres & I'm still in some shock over it. I have learned quickly the importance of great counselors!! I am beyond blessed with the counselors I have! I'm not sure I'd still be standing without them.

2 - I have been working for Erik quite a bit the past month. Which is GREAT since the extra $$ is always needed, but just hard with everything else going on.

3 - I am in charge of the girls' school yearbook. I'm on their FPAC (equivelant of a PTO) & my committee was the yearbook. I thought - Erik does these that would be fun. He warned me that it was a lot of work, but I thought I could handle it, of course. I'm sure Erik's enjoying the thought of "I told you so!" He's smart enough, however, not to say it! Needless to say, it was A LOT of work & has been a full time job for over 2 months. Not to mention all of the other hours spent taking pics at the school, etc. I am proud to say that it is done & shipped out!!!! That's a huge relief for me. I'm sure there will be many that will not be happy with it - geez, I'm not 100% happy with it. But, if someone doesn't like it they are more than happy to take on this task next year if they so please!! ;)

4 - Erik's mom is in the hospital. She was taken to the emergency room a couple of weeks ago for an infection. At first, it looked like an allergic reaction to a bug bit was on her face. As her face was swelling quite badly. Apparently, it was much more than that. That first weekend we spent in utter limbo as the doctor's explained she probably won't make it. She has a very week immune system due to a kidney transplant & her body was not fighting the infection at all. Finally, they figured out exactly what the infection was, switched her antibiotics accordingly & she started to respond. It has effected her whole body, but has pulled through. She is now in a rehab home to regain her strength & it's a day to day process. We're not sure how long she'll be in their. She had a lot of pressure from the infection on her left eye & has more than likely lost the sight out of that eye, so I'm sure that will take some getting used to as well. We're beyond happy that's she's ok & hope she has a speedy recovery!!

Needless to say it has been crazy busy - which is life. Now Pageant has started which adds another element of busy to our lives. At least that one is an enjoyable busy! So, I'm sure I'll post stories of that because it's been a whole year since you've had to listen to my Pageant stories & I know you're all dying for some more! ;)