Luly's Baptism

When you're eight,
You'll find it great,
You get to be baptized.

Under water you'll get dunked,
Toes to knees to eyes.

All done up in a pretty white dress.
Looking good, feeling your best.

Now it's time to begin,
In the water you're going in.

Next you will be confirmed.
The Holy Ghost you have earned!

By: Gretchen Ballard
with a little help from Gracie

 

Gretchen's baptism was beautiful. Everything went so smoothly and the Spirit was so strong. She has been anticipating this day for so long and loved being the center of attention. She and Gracie wrote the above poem over a month ago. I thought it was so darling, we had her read it at the baptism. She asked if she had to say the "with a little help from Gracie" part. I made her say it.

We kept it very small as to avoid additional stress. I let her pick who she wanted to have what assignments at the baptism. A lot all of her aunts and uncles had a part in the program. She asked Johnny to speak on baptism and John to speak on the Holy Ghost. They both did a great job. They involved her and she answered their questions with a straight face. (She has taken this baptism stuff very seriously.) Emilee gave the opening prayer, Catherine played the piano, Alyson sang, mom led the music, Casey and Dave were both witnesses and Granny and Grandpa both bore their testimonies. Greta read her poem & Leslie gave the closing prayer. Lindsey made the cute invite.

 

When we went to the font for the baptism, the water was not much deeper than a foot. Mike said it was warm, but Luly couldn't fathom getting completely submerged in that little bit of water. She panicked when Mike tried to help her plug her nose. Then he laid her down almost to the bottom and pushed her dress and hair down. She was relieved that it only took one try. She did not want to be dunked twice. They told us later that the font had been full but a valve broke and the water just leaked out.

Mike was pleased to see the beards on the front of the program.

This is the original copy of the poem. I wanted to type it up to be easily read, but needed to post the actual poem to remember the sweetness of my two girls working together to create something so beautiful.

It was so nice to have most of our family there with us. We appreciated the time they took to come support Gretchen on her special day. We missed Granny & Grandpa Ballard, The Steve Ballard Family, The Wirick's and the Harris family.

 

After the baptism, we went out to Granny Sharon's for dinner. We had chicken nachos and pink lemonade. Emily had given us a lot of yellow decorations to use. It looked to cute.

 

I am so proud of Gretchen and the choice she made to be baptised. When the primary scheduled the baptism, they gave Greta a little pair of white socks and a packet on how to prepare. She took that packet very seriously. She had me read it to her. She had Gracie practice asking her the questions that the bishop would ask. She likes to be prepared. I was impressed at how much she knew and loved discussing more with her.

 

What a sweet blessing it is to have Gretchen in our home. She makes us think, she makes us visit and she makes us plan ahead. She is committed to all that she does. I pray that she will always remember and honor this commitment to her Heavenly Father. I hope she will always remember this beautiful day and the sweet Spirit that accompanied it.