Great Number Eight

This boy is eight and we lived it up today.  For being the Sabbath day we sure managed to fit in many great and meaningful memories.

For the third year straight he requested a Cougar-blue cake with a big block Y, and this year I came closest to getting it right.  (Last year I didn't try, and the year before he jumped in and helped.)  We opened gifts and ate cake for breakfast with eggs and bacon on the side.  I think unconventional breakfasts are going to be a tradition of his birthday each year.  He received the most thoughtful gifts from his grandparents:  pocketknives and a Cub Scout uniform!  We, of course, opened them at 7:45 a.m. and not a minute later due to his enthusiasm.

One month ago he decided that he wanted to be baptized on his eighth birthday and we were so excited to support him in it.  One week ago he had an interview with the bishop of our ward and the sweetest, purest things came out of his mouth as he expressed his desire to follow Christ's example.  I had made many of the arrangements of this evening's baptismal service and Dan baptized him in the deep font in our building with so many of our friends in attendance.  Two of his primary teachers gave sweet talks about baptism and the Holy Ghost and the children in his primary class sang a beautiful song. It was a short but very full event, one he'll always think about because in his words "you only get one per lifetime."