Boston's Baptism was great! First of all, I have to say that his baptism was less stressful than Aubrie's. I don't know if it was the fact that I had already been through this, or that I didn't have to worry about doing his hair, or that I didn't have a special table set up with all his stuff, but it just seemed much more relaxed! We left the house 30 minutes before, so we could get there in time to take a few pictures and get Boston in his whites.
After we snapped these pics, we headed to the chapel for the first part of the Baptism. In the chapel, they have a talk on Baptism for all the Wards. They asked me to give this talk two days before his baptism. At first I was a little frustrated that they would ask me, since I was the Mom of one of the kids getting baptized, and probably had a million things to do. It didn't take me very long, however, to feel lucky enough to have the chance to give this talk, and take part in Boston's special day. I was instantly lead by the Spirit as to where I was to pull my talk from, and how I was to deliver it. I prepared it the night before with ease. This RARELY happens to me with talks, YW lessons, yes, but talks, NO! I was a little surprised to see how many people were there in the Chapel. It felt like I was speaking in Sacrament on one hand, but on the other, I felt like I was only talking to 6 sweet little 8 year olds. The Spirit was definitely strong, and though the kids attention spans are limited at that age, they listened well. I even had a few others kids listening, as we heard them answer aloud some questions I posed. It brought some chuckles! Most of all, I loved being up there and looking into Boston's eyes, and going over what he was about to do. (Of course, he wasn't the only one I looked at, but I'm sure I looked at him the most!)
When it was our turn to go to the font, I could see the excitement in Boston's eyes! What a great thing to see your child go under the waters of baptism with enthusiasm! After the baptism, we all headed to another room to wait for the confirmations and talk on the Holy Ghost. Boston's teacher gave the talk. One of the first questions she asked was what gift they were about to get. Boston raised his hand and said, "Oh, I know! A blanket!!" Everyone laughed. He was right. This Primary hands out white fleece blankets with their names embroidered on them. Boston has seen them given out at other baptisms. He was so excited to get it and has been using it ever since!
His teacher did a really great job on the talk. She had a object lesson that was really good. She pulled out some dirty socks and a dirty shirt. It was like she had been soaking them in mud or something. She asked the kids to put them on. The girl was hesitant, but Boston was just ready to obey her, and then when he went to grab them gave a weird look, but still was going to do it. When we started laughing, he realized it was a joke. She then asked them why they didn't want to put them on, and of course it was because they were dirty. She compared that to how the Holy Ghost cant be with us when we aren't making good choices, or putting ourselves in bad situations.
After the talk, they had the confirmations, and a comment from the Bishopric. Then Boston got his blanket from the Primary president. After the meeting, there was no rush home to get a huge dinner going for everyone, no lingering around for more pictures, just getting the family in the car and going home. Maybe that's why his baptism seemed less chaotic and stressful. Sometimes, I think, when you keep things simple, it actually helps you enjoy the moment more.
