Baptism/Blessing Weekend

We had a super weekend over the 3rd and 4th of July. We went to Spanish Fork to enjoy some special events with our children and grandchildren. Our oldest grandson, Mick, turned 8 on the 2nd. Our gift to him was his cub scout shirt. Scouting has been, and will continue to be, a very important part of our lives. Clark worked with Mick while we were there, and I think he almost has his Bobcat Badge earned. Yeah, Mick.

Julie's wedding dress was made by a local woman. There were yards of fabric left over. When Mick was born I offered to make his blessing outfit and Julie asked if I could use some of the wedding dress fabric. I was happy to. When Victoria was born, there was still enough fabric to make her dress. When Kade came along, I did not think there would be enough dress fabric to make the outfit, so we purchased new material. When it came time to cut it out, I thought I should just try to make it work. It will definitely not win any prizes for being cut on the straight grain of the fabric, but I was able to make it work. Kade's blessing outfit matches the others. Julie was quite surprised and pleased when she saw the outfit. Mick was blessed at 4 weeks, Kade at 4 months. Big difference in sizes. I have made the other 3 grandkids outfits as well. I sure enjoy doing it and hope the parents of future grandchildren will want me to make their outfits also. They are such a handsome family. On Saturday, July 3rd, Mick was baptised and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was so quiet and thoughtful before the ordinance took place. After he was done, Kade Anderson Hall was given a name and a blessing by his dad. Adam and his sons on their special day. Three generations of handsome Hall men. I am so blessed. If you look close, you will see the ties match on Adam and Clark. When Adam was on his mission in the Philippines, I made ties for him and his companion as well as my 3 guys here in the states. The stake center has this beautiful painting placed in a great spot for this photo opportunity. After lunch we went to the local shaved ice business and got us all a treat. I have never seen Mick eat ice cream/shaved ice/etc without getting a brain freeze. Even though he is hurting, he doesn't slow down. It is hilarious to watch him.

I bought matching shirts for all of us to wear for a family photo. My sons had to have a wrestling match as soon as the family shot was taken. Rhett has always been "picked on" by his older brothers. Finally, he is moving to the top of the pile. Will we ever get a group shot without Jake crying???? I think he has a photo phobia or something. The baby was sleeping and Erin is in South Carolina at boot camp, but otherwise, here we are. Jamie, with all her photo shop skills, will try to get Kade in here. Not sure what to do about Erin. Just love her and let her know that we miss her. Semper fi!! That evening we were in Adam's back yard and we heard some noise. We looked up and there were the four F-16 jets completing their fly-by for the Stadium of Fire concert. Their appearance at the Vernal parade is always my favorite part. I was feeling kind of bad about missing it this year. Our Heavenly Father provides tender mercies in our lives every day if we will just keep our minds and hearts open to receive them. Seeing the jets was one of those tender mercies. Erin's choice of work in the marines will be aviation mechanic. When Clark's brother was stationed at Hollomon Air Force Base he had a t-shirt that read: Excuse our noise. It's just the sound of freedom. I love that sound.

We finished the day with some kids and sparklers. Can you get much more 4th of Julyish???

I hope you all had a very patriotic holiday. God Bless America.