Thomas' Baptism, Down to the river to pray...

My heart is full

My heart is full for two reasons. First my little boy Thomas chose to be baptized. He turned 8 back in May. We wanted his Grandparents (my parents) from Arizona to be their on this special day. With my Mom recovering from a lung transplant we didn't know how long this would be. We kept waiting and finally she got the OK to travel in mid September. Mark (since before I married him) has always wanted to baptize his children in a river. He had done this on his LDS mission in Seattle Washington and that idea/want never left his mind. It's not the typical way to baptize a member, it is usually done in the church house in a large font, but this is what Mark desired and Thomas also. We are such an outdoors family and love nature so much that it seemed only appropriate to do this where we feel so close to God and all that he has created. It wasn't easy getting this approved but it was well worth the wait.

Second, my heart is full because my dear husband Mark was the one to baptize Thomas. What a special moment and memory they will both have of this day. The sounds of the river rushing behind us, beautiful view, and only close family attended. Mark's parents, his brother, my sister and her family, and my parents. It was small and personal. That is what Mark wanted for him. He will forever remember this day being only his, not having to share it with other children who too would be baptized the same day in the fonts at the church. This was a special baptism, just for Thomas.



This is not the best picture of me because I am struggling to see the strings with the bright sun light and also I was emotional. I did the musical number (I like to look for rainbows) before he was baptized and half way through Thomas came up from his seat and sang for everyone, "I am a child of God". It was precious!

It was cold water, but with all the layers they both had on it didn't seem to bother them. We had found this spot 6 weeks before but the water level went down low and we were slightly concerned he wouldn't go all the way under. His knees came up the first time and the second time it was perfect.

September 8, 2010 4pm Upper Provo River

(close to the Jordonelle Damn)

Mark said Thomas' first words out of the river were, "That wasn't so bad". He was so worried about it being so cold that he was relieved he wasn't.

Thomas' feelings of his Baptism:

"It felt a little cold and it was a little fun. I feel like being nice to Jesus, I love him. Being baptized made me feel like I should not lie or want to get in trouble. I felt like I was with the Holy Ghost and not a lone, I was with him. When I got blessed by my Grandpa Bowman I felt the Holy Ghost touching me , right by me, in front of me. It made me feel happy and thankful. I love Jesus. I love my daddy who is always nice to me all the time."