Spring has finally come..
Eliza turned eight last week. EIGHT. My daughter is eight. Eight. I thought she was two.. at most? But somehow she is EIGHT and I find her tall enough that her head reaches my chest and I mistake our jeans when they come out of the wash because they seem so similar. Because.. she's eight. And growing up.
Look at this gorgeous creature that came from me.. I like to say her dad made her and I just cooked her, but I'm beginning to see a bit of me in there too. Especially in temperament. ahem.
Turning eight was especially big for her because she was able to be baptized into our church. It was her decision entirely.. obviously when you are raised a certain way, it does mold your decisions a bit. But we have made sure that she completely understands this decision and how important it is that she makes it because SHE wants to, not because it is expected. I'm so proud of her..
I made her dress.. or more likely.. tore apart several other dresses and melded them back together into one dress, but you get the idea. I'm claiming it as my creation.
The day was made even more special by the fact that it was a joint baptism with two of Eliza's dearest friends. (When there are several children turning eight at the same time, families often combine the events to make the best use of the church building that day. Better to fill the baptismal font once instead of three... four times on different days.)
Laurelei, Katie and Eliza all turned 8 within the same week and we so enjoyed planning this event together. My favorite part of the day was right after all the girls were baptized and were changing into their dresses in the changing room. (A baptism is held in a font where everyone can watch, and then the person who was baptized slips into the changing room to put on clean, dry clothing.)
Look at these beautiful girls.. We all had a huge (wet) group hug and told the girls how much we loved them. We believe that baptism washes away all the sins you may have collected to that point in your life. This is why we don't baptize babies. Eight is known as being the age of accountability, when you are better equiped to choose the right choices. So these girls have a fresh start.. This photo was taken moments after they all came out of the font and were as pure and clean as they have been in this lifetime. I remember telling them that they were more beautiful now than they ever had been ever before in their lives. Their eyes got wide, and huge smiles spread across their faces.
It's a new beginning for these girls, and for our families. If you have any further questions 'bout all this, I'm happy to share. :)
I'm also soaking in the fact that the next white dress will have me yearning for her to be age eight.. time passes so quickly.
xo
Sandi
