The Bellows Family: Ashby's Baptism Day

Ashby Ann Bellows was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Saturday March 3rd, 2012. It was a very special day for our family. Ashby was so happy and excited to be baptized. She has been learning and preparing for her baptism for a long time. When the day finally came it was such a joyous occasion. I think it makes it extra special since she is our first one. What a spiritual and emotional day it was.

I love how this is a special event Fathers and daughters share together. It will be a bond they will always have. Ashby was smiling the whole day. She really wanted to prepare herself for her upcoming Baptism so about 2 months before her Baptism date she decided she really wanted to read the Book Of Mormon cover to cover before the big day came. I am constantly amazed by Ashby's strong desire to learn and know of the gospel. She got pretty far but soon we realized we didn't have enough time to finish reading the whole thing cover to cover before her baptism so instead we read all the chapter summaries and a few important verses in each chapter. It was so awesome to read the Book Of Mormon together every night and finish it so quickly. It was a very spiritual experience for all of us. Ashby is such a great example to me of a righteous daughter of God.

The Baptism was beautiful. I could feel the Spirit very strong. It is honestly one of the best moments I have experienced in this life. Pure joy, happiness, and peace filled my Soul. What a blessing and a joy Ashby is to our family. I know Heavenly Father and our family beyond the veil rejoiced with her choice to be baptized today. After Ashby was baptized and I was helping her change she was just glowing. She said to me, "Mom I really felt the Spirit!" She was so happy. I know she will always remember the feelings she felt today.

After the baptismal ordinance Ashby sang a solo "When I Am Baptized". My Mom accompanied her on the piano. She did a beautiful job. She has never sung by herself for that many people before. I was so proud of her. I could really feel the Spirit when she sang. Then my Mother was able to give a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost. She gave a great talk. Ashby was so excited to listen to her Grandma speak. After the talk Ashby was confirmed by Ryan and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Again I felt the Spirit so strong during the confirmation. I think both Ryan and I had crying headaches later that night. :) What a wonderful day!

It meant so much to Ashby to have her family and friends come support her. Her cousin Austin was baptized on the same day in Washington so we missed Michael, Laura and my Dad. What a special day for everyone! Thank you so much for being there for Ashby. It meant the world to her. I know this is a day she will always remember and treasure for the rest of her life.

Grandma Becky and Aunt Kristi with Ashby. What beautiful ladies! I can't get over how much Kristi and Ashby look alike in this picture. Wow!

The next day at church Ashby was sustained a member of the church in our ward. She looked so cute in her white dress.

We had Cheryl A. Esplin the 2nd counselor in the General Primary Presidency visit our ward on Sunday. It was a very neat experience for the whole stake. (They also held a special meeting the night before for all the women of the stake). Ashby got up and bore her tesimony during Fast and Testimony meeting. It was so sweet and I was filled with the Spirit when she spoke. Afterwards Sister Esplin ran into Ryan in the hall and told him how impressed she was with Ashby's testimony and what a smart girl she was. She said she wanted to find her and give her a big hug. It was really neat.

After the Baptism we had a light dinner with cake and ice cream at our house. It was great to be with our family and good friends from the ward. What an awesome ward family and support system Ashby has. We are truly blessed.

Baptism banner.

The set-up at the house.

The dessert table.

I had my friend Gina make this CTR (stands for choose the right) cake for us(view her business here). Isn't it cute?! I got the idea from here (one of my favorite blogs). I made the cupcakes, toppers, and number 8 cookies. I am getting to be very proficient at all this cupcake making! :P

I found this idea for the "8" cookies off Pinterest. I'm glad they looked cute because they certainly did not taste good! I should have used a recipe I have tried before. Oh well. My 8 cookie cutter was too small so I ended up using a circle cutter and putting the two circles together to make an eight. Me and Ashby made these together. She actually iced most of these. They turned out so cute. It was so fun cooking together! I love having a daughter to do things with.