Great to Be Eight!

This spring Michael and Emily both turned 8 years old. In our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that is when children can be baptized. Both were looking forward to this important opportunity. We coordinated dates so that family from out of town would be able to attend....

Grandparents Maggie & Cy Higgins drove out from Utah; grandparents Brenda & Elliot Haroldsen flew out from Pittsburgh, and Jen's sister-in-law, Mary Haroldsen, flew in from Oklahoma. (We wish all of our siblings could have come but jobs and such wouldn't permit such a grand reunion this time....)

Michael and Emily dressed in white for baptism

In the LDS church we believe in baptism by immersion; those to be baptized and the person performing the baptism dress in white. After being baptized, the participants are given a special blessing confirming them members of Christ's church and granting them a special gift of the Holy Ghost to guide them in their lives. In the United States most baptisms are in small fonts in normal church houses. Baptisms are held separate from other church meetings, with friends and family in attendance. There is usually a small program with a couple talks and some songs and such.

Michael and Emily each chose a favorite song for the program ---- "When I Am Baptized" and "If I Listen with My Heart" --- and they decided to ask their Sunday School teachers, Ami Donich and Katie Sura, to give talks. Sister Donich spoke on baptism and reminded us that as baptism washes us clean from sin, the atonement of Christ is what makes this all possible. She assured the children that although we all still make mistakes, the atonement allows us the opportunity to repent and Christ will make things right. Sister Sura spoke about confirmation and the Holy Ghost. She reminded the children about the things they've been taught about the Holy Ghost --- that he is a special messenger of Christ and speaks to our hearts in many ways... He can guide us in decisions, warn us of danger, and comfort us during tough times.

Emily and Natalie also wanted to perform a special song (and Esther had to be in on the action, too). They love the song "O My Father", especially the arrangement by Sally Deford which sets the lyrics to the tune most commonly associated with "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing".

(Grandpa's Camera battery started complaining so he only filmed the first 2 verses --- this will take you to a lovely mp3 of the whole song as sung by Becki Madsen)

Michael and Emily were baptized and confirmed by their father (Matt), with their grandfathers, Cy Higgins and Elliot Haroldsen standing as witnesses. While the participants were drying off and getting dressed, we played a DVD of some of the kids favorite "Mormon Messages" videos. I think the audience only got to the third story or so, but the full playlist is on my YouTube channel.

The whole evening was wonderful. We're so glad so much of our family, many of our friends from church, and a couple of the kids' friends from school came and joined us. We really appreciate Jan Fannon for playing the piano for the event, Gayle Donich for interpreting into sign language, and for voicing (from sign language) for Ami Donich's talk, and Laurie Ellsworth and Melinda Boschi for providing refreshments after the meeting. We have the best friends and family!

We are so proud of and happy for our Amazing Duo!

Ben's first Month

Little Ben was born in the middle of May and I still haven't put together and sent a birth announcement... Anyway, here is a little album of Benjamin's first month:

Off to Grandma's!

All summer the kids have been looking forward to one thing above all others: Going out to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We finally headed out August 3rd and were able to stay for almost 2 weeks this year. I was a bit more random than usual with photo taking, but I've put together a couple collages and a "scrapbook" with some of the pics I did get...
 

Having Fun with Grandma and Grandpa Haroldsen
    We always have a great time visiting Jen's parents. As well as making a few "excursions", we played at a couple nearby playgrounds, visited the library, and had "Early Christmas". (Early Cmas lets Grandma & Grandpa watch the kids unwrap their presents and also lets the kids enjoy summer-related gifts, like the girls' tent).

Exploring the Carnegie Science Center and Children's Museum of Pittsburgh      Carnegie Science Center is always a great place to visit --- for Matt as well as the kids! This year was our first time checking out the Children's Museum, though. We teamed up with (Jen's sister) Lisa and her boys for the day, and had a great time. Enjoying the Lake at Raccoon State Park (PA)      On the Friday the 12th, we went out to the lake at Raccoon State Park with Lisa and her family. We had been there last year and really enjoyed it; this year the weather was not as warm, but we still had a great time. (The kids missed having Uncle Joe & Aunt Mary along this year, though --- Joe was always the one up for taking them out in the "deep" water....) We're so glad we got to go out to Pittsburgh this year! It's a bit of a drive (10 hours + potty stops, etc) but always totally "worth it"!

Pittsburgh Adventures: West View Firestation

My brother Joe's wife, Mary, is from the Pittsburgh area. Her family still lives there, and her dad, Ed Glatz, is a volunteer firefighter. He arranged a tour of the firestation for the (older) kids while we were out there....

(Once again I was home with baby --- many thanks to my Dad for escorting the kids --- and for taking these great photos!)

Note: this "Smilebox" is a postcard-style creation; click play, it will open in a new window, then you can click on individual photos for a close-up)

Pittsburgh Adventures: Going to the Zoo/Aquarium

One of the super-fun activities we like to do in Pittsburgh is going to the Zoo. This time, Grandma & Grandpa and Uncle Joe & Aunt Mary (my brother and his wife) took my three older kids, and Riley, my sister Lisa's oldest. I stayed home with baby Esther, since she and I were both still sick. (Lisa was home with her littler boys, too.) The kids had a blast, of course --- and I confess I'm a little jealous!

(This particular "Smilebox" is a digital scrapbook, click on "play", it will open in another browser window, use the little round button(s) at the bottom of it to "turn" the pages)