The Ball Hotel and a Baptism

We've had a lot of house guests recently.  This morning Landon woke up and asked, "Who's coming to stay today?"  It's not so much that we've had a lot of people come, after all we live in RI which isn't exactly a convenient location, but three sets of guests in three weeks feels like a lot to us.  Both sets of grandparents overlapped their visits by a couple days so they could be here for Ethan's baptism.

Randy's brother Chad and his wife came for a weekend

Nestled in between lots of sightseeing {we've taken a lot of trips to Point Judith Lighthouse} and grandparent time was Ethan's baptism.  It was great!  They always are.  But there is a whole added layer of stress that comes from planning and executing the whole thing on your own.  When Marcus was baptized there were a bunch of other kids getting baptized so everything was combined and all we had to do was show up.  Ethan's baptism was completely different.  We were in charge of everything and even though I tried to keep things simple I'm still glad it's over.
Ethan was so ready and anxious for the big day.  He was all smiles.  The best part was when he sang a song, dressed in his new suit, fresh out of the font from being baptized.  My heart melted and it's one of those moments I will never forget.
You know how I love traditions and I have a few baptism traditions I'd like to share.  Each boy gets to pick out their favorite picture of the Savior and sign it "I chose to follow Jesus"  with their baptism date written below.  This picture will hang proudly in their bedroom as a reminder of the special day.  I also like that it helps them remember the date of their baptism as well.  It's a day not to be forgotten.
I give each boy their own journal.  Included are pages of journal entries I've recorded since they were born, along with a few pictures.  Randy and I, along with the grand parents also write a letter to them which makes it extra special.
And last, each boy gets a brand new set of scriptures with their name engraved on the cover.  I also had the grandparents and Randy, and I, highlight one of our favorite scriptures and mark it so as Ethan reads his scriptures he'll come across a few passages that are extra meaningful.  I want my boys to understand that the Book of Mormon is a special book to their parents and grandparents and hopefully it will become special to them too.

Root beer floats topped with whipped cream and served in chilled glasses.  Mmmm!