Katia's Baptism

March was an extra-special month for Katia because she turned 8 and was baptized a few days later on March 29, 2013, which was Good Friday. 

 



I took these baptism pictures of Katia in our back yard a few days before her baptism.  The snow around the weeds on the big pile of topsoil that we still haven't spread around yet made a nice backdrop!

 

Our Bishop told us that he'd had an incredible baptism interview with Katia.  When we asked her about it, Katia told us that it was really nice.  That she felt the Spirit and felt really good and happy, and even cried - happy tears of course!

 

Katia worked out her program and did all the asking to all those who would participate in the program.  Then she printed out her program and we photocopied it, added a few stamps, folded them and attached her baptism picture to the front.  The only change to the program was that Uncle Greg was a witness because Uncle Kevin couldn't make it.

 



 

So, our ward mission leader told us previously that he cleans out the baptism font and starts filling it up with water about 2 1/2 hours before the baptism.  Then he stays around and sets up chairs and things, and if we could show up sometime in the hour before to pick out Katia's white dress and get her ready, that would be perfect.  So we went to the Stake Center about 45 minutes early.  There was a car in the parking lot, but the doors were locked and no one was responding to our knocking and buzzing.  So Rich went to his parents house because they have a key.  By the time we got in, it was about half an hour before the baptism was scheduled to begin.  Everything was dark, no chairs were set up, and there was not a drop of water in the font!  So, Rich went to the controls to see if he could figure out how to get the water running.  I ran to the foyer to call someone, but the phones were disconnected as the building had been getting its phone/internet lines worked on that week.  Neither Rich or I had our cell phones - didn't think we'd need them for a baptism!!!  Our stake president was in the gym playing basketball with his son and he tried to help Rich figure out the taps, but neither of them had done it before.  Luckily, Jas and the rest of our girls showed up then and Jas had her phone.  And luckily one of the few phone numbers I have memorized was the bishopric counsellor who would be attending the baptism.  I called him and he came right over and we got the water going.  But it takes two hours to fill the font and our baptism was supposed to start in 20 minutes!  Anyway, everyone was happy and family was arriving, including people who travelled far like Uncle David's family, Auntie Denyse's family and Auntie Rebecca's family.  We got Katia dressed and decided to start half an hour later than originally planned.  When we went to take pictures, my camera wouldn't work because I had forgotten to put the memory card back in after printing her baptism pictures.  Jas ran home and got that for us.  But it was okay - we had lots of time to spare while the font was filling!

My favourite - Katia and her daddy.

 

 

We always line our girls up in order for baptism pictures, and in the past they've made pretty good stairs.

But now we have five that are almost the same size, and then the two littlies.

So they crouched or tippy-toed in the appropriate manner so we could get a good stair picture!

The whole family!!!

 

So by 4:30 we decided to begin Katia's baptism.  By this time, the water was just reaching the top of the bottom step.  Richelle gave a wonderful talk on baptism with an excellent reminder of how we can remember our baptism covenants.  She gave Katia a KitKat candy bar with a new wrapper on it that explained that the KAT part stood for:

K - Keep the commandments

A - Always remember Him

T - Take His name upon you

Since it's also the first three letters of her name, it should be pretty easy for her to remember!

 

One of my favourite parts was the musical number by Katia and her sisters, accompanied by Grampa.  They sang "I Come to the Water" by Janice Kapp Perry.  They all sang it together until the very last phrase, which Katia sang by herself:

"Dear Father please help me remember this day -

I cov'nant thy will to obey." 

It was absolutely beautiful, especially as you could see Katia (and her sisters) feel the meaning of the words she was singing.  I think everyone in the room could feel the Spirit.

 

Then it was time for Katia to go to the water.  The water level was almost to the second step so it was about a foot and a half deep and almost reached Richard's knees.  But Katia is a petite little thing and Rich was confident that he could get her fully immersed in the water.  He said the prayer and then pushed her all the way to the bottom of the font, checking her up and down to make sure her dress and hair were all immersed at the same time.  I've never seen any one in the water for so long, but Katia did great and gave her daddy a huge hug.  Then she came up the stairs to me and I wrapped her in a towel and my arms!

 

While I was helping Katia get changed, everyone else wrote little messages for Katia to treasure.

I especially like the one on top from her friend Keagan, who noticed the bumps on the bottom of the font!  I guess when the font is filled all the way, you don't notice the bumps!!!

 

Continuing on with the rest of the program, we had Jasmine giving the talk on the Holy Ghost.  She talked about some of the roles of the Holy Ghost, including being a Comforter.  Then she wrapped Katia in a new fuzzy blue blanket and compared that to how the Holy Ghost can make you feel - warm, good, comforted.

Then Katia was confirmed by her daddy and received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I've been to a ton of baptisms over the years, and I've never seen an 8 year old child be so touched by this as Katia was.  She was very emotional as she shook hands and hugged the men in the circle.  She assured me that they were happy tears and that she just felt so good!

 

After the baptism was over, we all came back to our house for Taco-in-a-Bag.  Time for visiting with family and for cousins to enjoy each other again. 

At the end of the day, we have Katia snuggled under her new fuzzy comforter, sharing a futon with cousins.  It was a very special day for our special Katia!

 

The next morning, our ward mission leader phoned and said, "Are we all ready for a baptism today?"  When I told him that we had actually done it yesterday, he felt awful, and so did his wife - she was practically crying.  He just had it in his mind that the baptism was Saturday the 29th - instead of Friday the 29th.  They were so sorry and sad that they missed it because they know Katia well and wanted to be there.  And it turns out, that even if the phone lines had been working and I'd been able to get through, they were on the phone for about an hour then, dealing with a family problem.

 

When I think back on Katia's baptism, all I remember is that it was one of the most spiritual baptisms I've ever attended.  The Spirit was there in great abundance.  I remember that we had lots of little problems on the way to her baptism, but I have to think really hard to remember them now:  scheduling, photo problems, photocopy problems, song practice glitches and the glitches of the baptism day.  The greatness of the day made everything else seem minute.

 

Katia had an incredibly spiritual baptism and she also has the story that she was baptized in 30 inches of water!!!

Katia Swims

Katia's swim lessons were great this year!  She passed that barrier of being afraid and now she knows that you can actually float in water!!!  It'll get better quickly from here!

This is her ninth and final day of swim lessons - each one lasted half an hour.

They're searching for diving toys.

Bailey was her teacher and she had all boys in her class - which I think was a good thing because she worked hard in the beginning to keep up with them, so she really progressed.

Ready to jump in the pool.

Preparing for a relay race with the noodles.

And she passed Level 2 - great work Katia!!!

I think her greatest achievement was going off the diving board.  The first day they went off, the boys all ran and jumped off no problem, while Katia stood in her lifejacket at the end of the diving board for quite some time.  Eventually another lifeguard came up and lowered her off the board into the waiting arms below of her instructor.  The next day, Jas and dad came to the pool to watch Katia go off the board.  Jas walked over and gave her some encouragement, and she jumped - all by herself - to her instructor.  Yay Katia!!!  But then, on the next day, she went off it again, without a lifejacket!!!  By the end of her swim lessons she was a pro at jumping off the board and swimming to the edge - no instructor or lifejacket needed!

Way to be courageous!!!

Clogging Recital

We had three girls clogging this year.

It was Katia's first year of clogging and she LOVED it!!!

 

Carlee and Jordyn have been at it for about 8 and 9 years (since they were in grade 1) so they've got some pretty sweet moves now.  Their dances can get pretty intricate.

They're in the oldest group and here they're dancing to "Footloose".  They had to pair up - a white shirt with a plaid shirt.  My girls were partners for doing some steps together - kinda jive-like only with clogging steps.

They ended with a leap-frog type thing and Carlee didn't make it over Jordyn's back and went off to the side - that's why she's laughing in this picture (front, second from left).

Katia danced with her little group to "I Just Can't Wait to be King" from Lion King.  They had a really cute roar at the end.

 

Her other number was "Forget You".

Katia is a happy and exuberant clogger.  She didn't seem nervous at all about her very first recital and dancing in front of a whole gym of people.  (She's the one at the end.)

 

The older group again dancing to Micheal Jackson's "Smooth Criminal".  Jordyn is front right and Carlee is back left somewhere.

Jordyn

Carlee

 

Carlee waiting to go on stage for their final number "Donkey Riding".  Jordyn didn't learn this dance as she could only clog one semester - it interfered with her volleyball earlier in the season.

They've enjoyed clogging but it might be about time to hang up the clogging shoes - we'll see how the schedules look in the fall, but grade 9 and 10 get pretty busy, especially when sports are involved.

Katia on stage for the big Finale.

It takes courage to perform in front of people.  For some it's a piece of cake, and others really struggle with it.  It's been great to watch the evolution of Jordyn - the girl who was scared stiff to perform, but she always mustered up her courage and was able to do it just fine (even if it meant shutting her eyes so she couldn't see the people).  It still rattles her nerves a bit but she's sure come a long way.  Carlee and Katia don't seem to have nerves, which makes it easier on me!  When I know my kidlet is nervous about something, I get nervous for them.  But that's when I have to boost them up and help their confidence and help them be strong and of a good courage!

March Birthday Girls

"This month is such a special one, it's birthday time for . . . Chelle, Jordy, Jenna, Katia!!!"

Jordyn is our first birthday of the year.

She got a big surprise when she opened her locker at school and found this bouquet of carnations from one of her friends (dare I say, a male friend?).

Got a yellow theme going here with her gifts.

She now has a chair for her desk.

Count 'em!  Fifteen candles falling over in the caramel icing on her Rice Krispie Cake - it was too hard to stick them in very far.

The very next day was Jenna's eleventh birthday!

She's working hard at decorating her marble cake.

With her gifts in the bags . . .

. . . and out of the bags.  I take the girls shopping now before their birthdays and they pick out their own gifts - that way they get exactly what they want.  I usually throw in a little surprise though!

Gettin' ready to blow.  And what a marvellous job of decorating that cake Jenna!

Chelle is turning twenty!!!

I feel way too young to have a twenty year old!!!

What better surprise for the broke college student than a few $20's for her 20th?  And her favourite print of the Savior.

Her birthday was on Thursday but we did her family dinner on Sunday because she was just too busy during the week.

A Tres Leche Cake for Chelle with one candle for each decade of her life.  Just before this picture, she had been playing with the flames - running her finger through them with little sister right there watching - silly girl!  Looks like she has one boyfriend there - I think she did this on purpose because it's really not too hard to blow out two candles.  Mackenzie was actually helping her and we had to relight them - that's why Chelle's laughing.  She'd do such a big wind up to blow and Kenzie would sneak in there and blow them out first!

 

Our final birthday of the month is Katia!!!

We had a special surprise that Katia knew nothing about . . .  

. . . cousins came to visit and stay for a few days!!!  That's the best birthday surprise ever!!!

Patiently waiting for the gift opening to begin.

Ah, the soft new rag blanket I made for her.

Katia did a fabulous job of decorating her cake!  Once she blew out the candles, it only took us about five minutes to take everything off before we could eat.

And there is the tired new seven year old, snuggling under her new blanket.

 

There is nothing courageous about having birthdays!!!  They come whether we want them to or not!  I guess the courage comes with what each new age represents and how we react to it.  Mosts of my girls' next birthdays are pretty special:  we'll have one turning 8 and preparing for baptism.  We'll have one turning 12 and leaving Primary and advancing to Young Women's.  We'll have one turning 14 which means learners (eek!) and dances and boy/girl parties (eek!).  We'll have one turning 16 which means . . . driving (eek!) and group dating (eek!).  We'll have one turning 18 and being legally an adult (eek!) and leaving home (sob!).  Okay, I see that I'm going to need lots of courage!!!  But right now I just have to gear up for my birthday in thirteen days - it's a special one too:  I'm getting older AND wiser!

 

Basketball Seasons

We had five daughters involved with basketball in one way or another this year.  Fun, busy season!!!

I love this picture of Jazzy (middle) and some of her teammates.  Their knees take such a beating during basketball.

Fun for cousins to play together - Jasmine and Jaime were both starters on the Varsity team.  Jaime played Post and Jas played Guard/Post, depending on who else was on the floor!

Warming up.

Four of the five Seniors on the team.  This was Seniors' Night - the last home game of the season where they recognize the Senior players with a plaque, framed pictures and roses for their mommas.

The coaches give a little blurb about each player and then they run to their mommas and give them a big hug - and dump off all their treasures!

Jasmine's coaches said she was the only Senior who didn't miss a game due to injury and she has had to play every position on the floor, due to injuries of other players.  Her versatility saved us!  They also said she was very teachable.

Thanks Coaches!!!

Jazzy says her most memorable game was in a tournament where three of our starters were out with injuries.  Jas played every position and didn't get subbed out the whole game.  At the end of the game, the score was tied so we went into overtime.  Foul trouble hit us and we finished that overtime, tied again, with only four players on the floor.  So between injuries and fouled out players, we only had four girls to play in the second overtime.  Jas and a grade 11 girl were on fire and we were able to pull off the win by four.  Too exciting!!!

(Stay tuned for a post about Jas at Zones.)

Moving on to Jordyn  . . .

. . . she had so much fun being part of the volleyball team that she wanted to be part of the basketball team too.  (She's the one smiling in the picture!)  So she was able to be one of the statisticians for the Grade 9 team.  She designed a workable stat sheet and went to all the games and tournaments with her team and kept track of absolutely everything (the regular stuff like baskets, fouls, rebounds, turnovers, as well as time in and out and stuff on the other team too).

They're a really good team - finished second in Divisionals, and in Zones they . . .

. . . won the banner!!!  We enjoyed watching that exciting final game!

Moving on to Carlee  . . .

. . . hmm - it seems that I didn't take any pictures of her!  Oops - good thing she's still playing Spring League - I'll be sure to get some of her.  She was on the Grade 8 team and they had a great season and finished second in Divisionals (losing to a team they had beaten before in league play).

This was Katia's first chance to play basketball at the Grade 1 level. 

She played on Saturday mornings for six weeks with other kids her age.

She's really becoming a good little dribbler and loves playing.

And finally . . .

. . . Jenna at the Grade 5 level.  She played on Saturday mornings, and Thursdays after school.  She has an excellent shot and is one of the taller girls right now too.

Here she's being guarded by a grade 9 player!  Jenna loves the game and is always running off to school dribbling a basketball.  She loves to stay after school and shoot hoops with her friends.  A few weeks ago Daddy and the girls installed a hoop on our workshop and Jenna is faithfully out there each day, shooting, and shooting and shooting!  And it's always fun when sisters come out and play with her.

So, what can I say about "courage" and basketball?  I didn't play basketball so I don't know what it's like to actually play ball, but as a mother watching my kids out there on the floor - well, that takes courage!  It can be a really rough game, and there is no protection at all!!!  I'm glad my girls have pony tails - it's softened the blow to their heads a few times as they hit the floor.  And remember those knees from the first picture - and knees aren't the only bruised parts!  They have some teams they really don't like to play against because of dirty little tricks they play - like pinching you on the back of your arm (you can't help but swing your elbow when this happens, and then you get a foul called on you), or wrapping their leg around you so when you start to run, you trip and lose the ball.  These girls are constantly pushing and shoving as they try to box out and get the rebounds - it's a tough sport.  And I have to be a tough momma as I watch my girls doing the best they can out there on the floor!!!