Caleb's Baptism

Caleb was baptized by his dad, on December 4th, 2010. Tyler was a witness, and Grandpa Carlyle confirmed him. Caleb was happy to have these important people in his life take part in these ordinances. It was such a special day!

Caleb was baptized in the Puyallup Stake Center in Sumner. This is the same place I was baptized in 1979. Why was he baptized there? Well, Child of Record baptisms are performed in our Stake on the first Saturday of each month. There is a big push to have all of the COR kids baptized together on this one day a month. No more special dates and special circumstances. No exceptions.

We understood that. Not a problem. We planned for December 4th, but were disappointed that Ash would have to miss a soccer game that morning, and Ty would miss wrestling that day. Grandma and Grandpa would like to see those events too, but obviously, a baptism is more important. As it got closer to the big day, we found out that our Stake Conference was scheduled for that weekend, and baptisms were being postponed until 12/11. Not good. Doug's dad was supposed to seal a couple in the Idaho Falls Temple that day, and Tyler had a wrestling double dual in Snohomish he really didn't want to miss. Hmmmm. We could have made it happen on the 11th, but if we didn't have to.....

So Doug called our friend Larry Steveson, who is the Stake President in Puyallup Stake. Their COR baptisms are the first Saturday of the month- December 4th, in the evening. Perfect! Yes- we could join them. Thanks, Larry!! So that's what we did.

That allowed time for Doug and Tyler to travel to Lake Stevens for the dual during the day, and for Doug's parents and the rest of us, to travel to Vashon Island for Ashley's soccer game. It was a great day on Vashon! The sun was shining, but it was cold. We rode the ferry and had a great time. We all came together in time to get ready and get to Sumner for the baptism.

Ashley and Caleb on the Vashon Ferry

Those in attendance to support Caleb were our immediate family members, Grandma and Grandpa Carlyle, Grandma Judie and George, Damon, Shannon McCombs, Caleb's Primary President, Ashley Snow, and his teachers, Brett and Shoba Vinson. The Parker family came as well- Cole and Dane (and baby Luke) are Caleb's friends, Beckie is my friend. Out of consideration for the accommodations that were being made for us, we didn't invite the whole extended family. We know we are a large group when we all get together, and since we were guests at this event, didn't want to impose. It was a good decision. We were added to one of the Bonney Lake wards. Our family alone, would have filled the room. As it was, Caleb had more people there than the other boy who had been baptized. I regret that we didn't get pictures of Caleb with all of his grandparents. Somehow in the shuffle, I missed that. Darn! We did get a picture of him with his friend, Cole Parker though.

We are so pleased with Caleb and his desire to be baptized. Caleb really prepared for this special day of making covenants by having personal prayer and scripture study daily, and by learning about the Savior and the Holy Ghost. Caleb has also been singing the hymns at night before he goes to sleep. We can all hear him in his room as he sings hymns like How Great Thou Art, I Need Thee Every Hour, and others he is learning. He is memorizing the verses. He also loves the Primary songs. I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus, and I love to See the Temple are ones we hear a lot. It's a nice way to rest and fall asleep at the end of the day. I hope I never forget this special time. It's not likely to last once he gets a little older.

To help Caleb prepare for baptism, we had a special Family Home Evening where each of us took turns teaching Caleb about this important step in his life. It was no surprise that he knew all of the answers, and felt totally prepared to enter the waters of baptism.

Caleb's confirmation by Grandpa Carlyle was a very spiritual time. He was blessed with many special blessings, and told some of the things that would be a part of his life if he remains faithful. The Spirit could be felt very strongly. Caleb has a very important mission in this life, and our Heavenly Father is going to use him in building up the Kingdom. He was told that his influence would be felt by the people of the world, along with some other special insights about things to come. Obviously, the talents and gifts we see in Caleb already, are there for that purpose. We're grateful for Caleb's desire to serve the Lord and to do the things that are right. His habits of daily personal prayer and scripture study are important parts of his preparation to do Heavenly Father's work on the earth. Good job, Caleb!

Following the baptismal service, we went with the Grandparents, and Shannon to Mama Stortini's (and Italian restaurant near by) for dinner. It was a wonderful way to end the evening. Great food, and a lot of fun!

A final side note: December 4th was also Great-Grandma Dovre's 94th birthday. We invited her to be with us, but she said it felt too hard to be out and about with the wheel chair, etc. We visited her as a family before her birthday and took her an Amaryllis.