Luke got baptized on April 9th!

Luke is now a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

Luke was baptized this Saturday on April 9th, by his dad, Jason, with his grandpa's as witnesses (to make sure he went all the way under the water). We all met at the church where our friends and family watched. I cried throughout the whole thing. Wished the time went slower and that I got pictures of everyone, but it was a bit of a whirlwind. We are so proud of Luke for making this decision on his own and he was very happy.



Luke with his grandma and grandpa McCoy from Washington!



Reagan and Baylie. The Morleys came from Arizona. I didn't get a picture at the baptism of Courtney and her family but got lots at the house. They drove from Utah and Courtney is having a baby in 3 weeks (literally cause its a c-section).

My girls were a bit wired (bless you Darby) and thanks to everyone who helped me wrangle them throughout. There were lots of people, many we didn't know since their were four other kids getting baptized and it was so nice to have friendly faces of people who cared about us to come. Thank you!



Lindsey traveled from Hawaii with her new baby Layla and brought Luke a baptism lay (how actually do you spell that?) that she had made.



Luke with Nana and Grandpa from Alabama. This is their first grandchild baptized, only 11 more to go.



Luke with his buddies Baylen and Owen, who were both baptized before him.



Luke with Nana. Luke got new suits from his grandparents and he looked sharp!



Luke with his cousin Alex, Delanie (who will be baptized in two weeks) and the boys. Can't you see them laughing at this picture when they are going on their missions?



Thankfully the Cooke family arrived early and we were able to get a family picture! Those are so rare and hard to keep everyone gathered and still, but this is our family! Paisley never did stop clinging to her mother to get a great picture by herself but she looked darling. And yes I'm wearing heels, when did Jason get so tall?



Luke and Jason in their baptism clothes, all white, before we started.

This whole week while we were getting ready, I had people asking me about what our baptisms were like. We are baptized by immersion like Jesus was, after we have reached the age of eight years old. Jason holds the priesthood and was able to perform the ordinance, which is why the pastor (or what we call the bishop) didn't do it (although he did baptize his own children). My mom was baptized by her uncle Lynn. You can pick anyone who is a worthy priesthood holder to perform your baptism. Women do not hold the priesthood in our church, but receive all the blessings of it as well.

After the baptism, Luke was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost and a blessing from his dad. His uncle Carl, uncle Rob, grandpa Evans, grandpa McCoy, Brad Finnigan, Paul Schoeni and Joel Cooke also participated in the confirmation. Jason said some great things. I spoke for a minute just about how much we love Luke and lucky we are to have him in our family (and cried). I was so touched by our friends who came that I didn't know even knew about the baptism (Jenn and Laurie!). Really it meant so much. My friend Jenny Fogg gave the talk about the Holy Ghost (since she is the Primary president) and did a great job.

Some of the other kids getting baptized that day performed some musical numbers....one little girl sang a solo (brave girl!) and another played a piano duet with his mom. When they were sharing their talents I just thought how one of Luke's talents was when he whacked the ball at his 8 a.m. (freezing cold) baseball game that morning. He got two doubles and pitched.



The girls hiding in the bathroom (strange?) while we are waiting for Luke to get changed. Aren't they cute, I'm really loving being the mom to all these girls. I'm so glad we got to participate in such a great day. I can't believe I have a son who is baptized.

It was such an emotional day. Did I mention how much I cried? This is all really funny for those family members (and few friends) who got boo hooing crying messages from me the day Luke was born...with that kid, crying is my thing. By the way, its happy crying.

I'm so glad Jason gets to do all this with me, glad we are a team. Sure married a great guy. So happy we had family here. We made it. Glad my slow body held it together.

Glad we were able to celebrate with our family and good friends. I was at the baseball field by 7:30 a.m. that day and Darby had her first game and team pictures, so it was quite possibly the longest day ever, but a great one.

I'm so grateful for my membership in this church. It defines every part of my life, and has made me a better person. As a woman, a mother, a wife. I'm so grateful for my relationship with the Savior and that I know why I am here on this earth. We could not raise these children without His help. He loves me despite all my imperfections. When Luke was little I would tell him, I love Jesus because He gave me you. But really, He is the only one who loves my son even more than I do.

Awesome stuff. This is what life is all about. The little stuff doesn't matter, its the big stuff that counts. And Luke's baptism was a great start to the big stuff in his life. Good job bud, love you.