The month of Ordinances

On December 14th, our church announced an age change for the ordination to the priesthood. Haken will be turning 12 years old this June and would be able to be ordained to the priesthood. However, under these new changes, 11 yr olds can be ordained in January of the year they turn 12 yrs old. This means that Haken could be ordained a full 6 months sooner than we anticipated. This was a huge surprise for us and I was pretty emotional about it when I read the announcement.

When I heard the news I had a confirmation that this change was from God. The youth of our day are so ready for this change. They are more prepared than ever before. Haken has been doing family history and indexing for the last year and been on fire. He absolutely loves it and has really gained a testimony of the restored gospel by doing that work. He could not wait to be ordained so he could go to the temple to perform baptisms for those names that he had found. When he came home from school that day we sat together as a family and read the letter from the first presidency to them. Haken sat there for a minute and then said "wait...that means...I can go to the temple?!"

On Sunday, January 6th he was ordained to the Aaronic priesthood in our home by Shad. A member of the bishopric and the Noonans came to our house for the ordination because I was still staying home from church with the twins. We had grandma and grandma Anderson and Grandma Lori on facetime to see it.

I am so proud of him being worthy to be ordained to the priesthood. He is a special kid and such a great example to his siblings. He was so excited to pass the sacrament and attend the temple. He didn't have to wait long. That Friday, January 11th, he went to the Indianapolis temple for the first time. He had his clothes all laid out in his room ready to go the night before. It made me laugh when I peaked in there.

He was able to take the names of the ancestors he had found and performed baptisms in their behalf. I wasn't able to go, but Shad loaded up the new 15 passenger van and headed to Indianapolis right before the storm came in the next day. Haken's friend Laney was also able to go for her first time with him. Monica, James, Eliza, Dayna Perkins, and her three kids, Bryton, Meadow, and Micah also came. It was the first time we had taken the van out and everyone had a great time together. I was sad that I wasn't able to be there, but I'm sure there will be lots more opportunities to go with him. In fact, we went the next Friday to Nauvoo when we had all of the grandparents in town for Jack's baptism and the twins blessing.

My mom had flown in on the 7th of January and Steve and Kristin had flown in on the 17th.

Steve and Kristin had never been to Nauvoo before so we decided to go the next day. We loaded up the 15 passenger van with all of our kids, the 3 grandparents, Monica, Eliza, and Laney. It was our first time having our whole family together in the big van. The twins traveled really well. Grandma sat between them and popped in the binkis when needed.

We stopped at Carthage jail on the way to Nauvoo. I fed the babies in the visitors center while everyone else took a tour.

We grabbed some lunch and then headed into Nauvoo. When we got there Shad dropped us off at the visitors center, except for Steve and Kristin. He took them to explore Nauvoo a little bit. It was freezing! There was a huge storm coming in the next day. I sat in the theater and fed the babies while Monica and my mom took the kids on a sleigh ride and wagon oxen ride. They had a great time even though it was cold.

Then we headed to the temple. My mom watched the kids in the welcome center while the Haken, Laney, and Eliza did baptisms and the rest of us went and did an endowment session. I was so grateful that my mom could come with us so I could go to the temple. With us being so far away from any temples and the babies being so small I didn't think I would be able to go anytime soon. It was a huge blessing.

We headed home, grabbed some pizza on the way, and beat the storm home. The next day was supposed to be Jack's baptism at 10am. We decided to postpone it until Sunday night hoping the weather would be better.  Unfortunately, the storm was pretty bad so they canceled church on Sunday. We were supposed to bless the twins in sacrament meeting that day. After talking to the bishop we got permission to have Jack's baptism that day at 1:00 at the church anyway and bless the babies then as well. We figured it would be safer to have it earlier in the day than in the evening when it would ice over again.

It was such a memorable day! We had so many of our ward family show up to support us. We even had a few nonmember friends come. Our neighbors, the Cunninghams, and our friends the Leser's were there. Jack also invited his teacher from school, Mrs. Benedict, and she was going to come when it was on Saturday, but couldn't on Sunday. He handed out invitations that Shad had made and some actually came.

I was so proud of Jack. He was so ready to be baptized. It was hard for him to wait a few extra weeks for his grandparents to be there because he was so excited. After he was baptized he was confirmed and received the Holy Ghost.

After Jack was baptized Shad blessed each of the twins. He said it was difficult giving 3 different blessings right in a row but he did a great job and I felt like he gave them each a blessing that the Lord wanted them to have.

Some notable things that the twins were blessed with was for Tennyson to have a "stead and calm presence in our home and help others to see clearly through the chaos in their life" and Chapman to "direct the energy that you have towards the work of the Father to bring souls to Christ and to be a source of happiness in other's lives."

Tennyson on the left and Chapman on the right

I am so grateful for a worthy priesthood holder in our home. I am so blessed to have a husband who honors his priesthood and cannot only bless our children but also perform the saving ordinances that they need for salvation.

January was a month of ordinances that I will never forget. Four in one month must be a record!

Brigham City Temple

Shad took this photo while he was ushering on the temple grounds. Amazing!

 This beautiful building has been one of our main focuses for the month of August. The Brigham City temple was announced during the 2009 October General conference. I still remember the shock that was audibly felt in the room. It hit pretty close to home for us because it will be our family's temple district. It has been so much fun seeing this temple come up from the dust. When Jack was only a month old I took the boys to see the construction of the temple. When I looked back on that blog post I can't believe how much they have grown since then. Every time we would go to Brigham City Haken would ask to drive by the temple to see the progress they have made. Although it seems like such a short time, a lot has happened in the two years since the groundbreaking.

It is an amazing building! The dedication will be on September 23rd. However, the public was able to tour the temple for 4 weeks before then. On August 13th we decided to go have a picnic for family night and then tour the temple grounds as a family before it got too crowded with the open house that week. It was such a fun night and I think Haken was the most excited out of all of us. He is so good at seeing all of the little details and pointing them out to us, like the beautiful flowers, fruit trees, and the shiny rocks cemented into the exterior walls. 

The beautiful fountain in the front. 12 waterfalls come out from
 the main water source. I thought that was very appropriate.

Jack loves to push

Pointing to his favorite flowers

Oh how I love these boys!

Family photo with the temple peaking in the corner.
(Can you tell Shad loves his Iphone camera?)

Picnic at the tabernacle across the street

On the 17th of August we had a very unique experience. Although the temple open house hadn't officially started, they were giving private tours to some members of the valley. Because Shad now teaches at the Box Elder seminary in Brigham they asked if the seminary teachers would like to come have a private tour with their wives. um...yeah. So we dropped the boys off with my friend (thanks!) and took Gracie with us. It was an experience that I will always remember. They took us from room to room, telling us interesting things and bearing testimony. We even got to tour a few rooms that they don't show the general public, including the bride's room. Shad said that was his favorite room because he got to hold his little daughter there who might one day be in this room getting ready for her own wedding. The church definitely spared no expense in this temple. It has attention to detail everywhere. There are peach blossoms all over (a symbol of the many peaches and other fruit that grow in the Brigham area), beautiful blue tile ceilings, large wall murals, original paintings, gorgeous chandeliers, ornate hand carved wood work...I could go on and on. I'm sure I will notice something new every time that I go there.

Following our tour Shad had the opportunity to be one of the tour guides himself for the remainder of the day. They needed extra people that day since they were accommodating many people who would be using wheelchairs. He had an amazing experience bearing testimony and spending time in the temple all day. On the 21st he was also able to volunteer as an usher. After working all day, he served on the grounds of the temple until 10:00 pm. He was so hungry he had a pizza delivered to the corner he was standing and then took the remainder to other hungry volunteers. He had two other assignments the following week but had to give them to others since he was so busy with school starting the following week.

The following Monday (August 20th) we went as a family to the open house. This time it was a silent walk through as we went from room to room. Haken was so interested in what every room was used for, so Shad made sure to stop and pull him aside so they could talk about it. 

I hope that my boys felt the special spirit that was there even before it was dedicated and know that it really is a house of the Lord. So, between the tours of the temple, ushering, and me helping to sew costumes for the temple celebration that will be the night before the dedication, we have really had our focus on the temple this month. We truly feel blessed and know that we will be continually dedicated to attending the temple once it is finished. We can not wait until the dedication!

Gracie's blessing day

Gracie was given a name and a blessing by her daddy at church today. He said some great things especially about the great heritage of women that she comes from and the meaning of her name. I am always impressed by the composure that Shad has as he blesses our children. I am always falling apart on the bench. I think it is because I feel so blessed to have my worthy husband who is able to hold the priesthood and bless my children. I don't remember every little thing he says, but I remember the spirit that I feel as he gives each blessing. Every time it is another testimony to me that the gospel is true and the priesthood is real. 

Here are a few pictures from the day. I took these ones of Gracie as we were running out the door and didn't get any of anyone else, except for my grandma holding her afterwards. It was super crazy having all of Shad's family coming into town from Arizona to stay with us for the weekend. Enjoying their company was worth 100 pictures. Sometimes you just have to live in the moment. I am just glad that I have a few pictures to help me remember how completely perfect she looked. I may be biased, but I pretty much think she is the most beautiful baby in the world.

The dress she is wearing was my blessing dress when I was a baby. My mom made it for me. I replaced the fraying ribbons, added a few beads from my wedding dress, made a new slip, replaced the elastic in the sleeves, and made a few tucks to make it fit her (I was 2 1/2 months old when I was blessed, so it was quite big). I also made her a lace flower headband to match. My mom made a handkerchief bonnet that she will be able to use on her wedding day. The bracelet was given to me by my dear friend Ashley, and the ring on her finger (tied on by a ribbon on her wrist) was a 14k gold ring I wore on my blessing day. The afghan in the background was Shad's mother's who passed away right after we were married. All of our children have used it on their blessing day. 

Shad always talks about how it is "just" a blessing and not a saving ordinance. Although I know that is true, the day my children are blessed are some of my favorite days. It is a celebration of another one of God's children who made it here on this earth that I get to keep forever. I am grateful for each one of them and for a righteous husband who honors his priesthood.

Nursery

I can't believe this little guy is old enough for nursery already! I look at him and constantly think that he is too small to be running around and doing the things that he does. 

Today was his first day at nursery and he did great! Shad dropped him off and he did exactly what we were expecting and cried. However, the nursery leaders said he calmed down pretty quickly. When I peeked in there 10 minutes later he was completely fine and playing with all of the other kids. He looks so tiny next to everyone else. I keep wondering when he is going to hit a growth spurt. As for now I will just have to keep hemming up his church pants so I don't have to roll them four times. I'm sure he will look huge to me when the baby gets here, but until then I will just need to keep cuddling him like the little baby that he still is to me.

Primary Program

Yesterday was the primary program in our ward. It was Haken's very first primary program. The night before he was coughing like crazy, coming down with a bit of a cold...again. I was a little worried as he was coughing the whole morning nonstop before church, however, after a bit of medicine and a lot of praying, he got through the program without too much coughing. I considered having him stay home, but I couldn't bare the thought of him missing his first program after he had worked so hard at memorizing his part the last two weeks. He said his part absolutely perfect without any help. I was so proud of him! His part was:

"My favorite person in the scriptures is Nephi because he obeyed and built a ship. He teaches me that I should obey too."

He got to write his own part about his favorite person and picked Nephi. He did so great and didn't seem too nervous. Maybe after standing up in front of everyone on Sunday he will now be brave enough to go and bare his testimony. He has been talking about it for probably a year or so and we have told him he had to go up on his own. We will see how brave he gets in the next few months. He isn't too much into singing in front of people anymore, but he sure does love to talk (just like his daddy!) He is such a good little boy and surprises me everyday. Love you Haken!

Jack's Blessing Day

This last weekend was a busy and special weekend for our family. What started as a few of our family coming into town for the weekend, ended up as a Anderson family reunion. I am so glad it did! It was fun to have family in from Arizona, Idaho, and even Arkansas that we don't get to see very often. I am glad that we have special events like a baby blessing that gives us an excuse to get together.

Shad's brother Ryan flew in from Arkansas on Friday followed by Shad's brother Ricky and his family and his dad and stepmom from Arizona. His brother Marc and his family from Idaho made it here on Saturday night, followed by his brother Brent and his family from Spanish Fork. If you have lost count, that makes 5 boys with only one unaccounted for, Scott, his brother in North Carolina. It is not very often anymore that they all get together, maybe only once or twice a year. Shad's grandma Baumgarten also came up from Orem whom most of us had not seen in 2 years or more. Jack was named after her husband, Shad's grandpa. These, and many other reasons, were why this weekend was so special.

At any given time we had at least 2 of the families staying over night with us. It was a bit crowded, but overall I think it worked out pretty well. After this weekend though, Shad and I decided that our next house needs to be at least a 5-6 bedroom house so that we can accommodate all of our family so that no one needs to get a hotel room. We would love to be elected as the Anderson family headquarters where everyone can get together.

Sunday was Jack's baby blessing in church. There were 2 other baby blessings that day, so the chapel was super crowded, especially since our family took up 1/4 of the chapel. I really appreciated all of the family that drove distances to come up and see us. All of my family is about an hour away, so it did take some time. Shad gave a beautiful father's blessing. I am proud to have a husband who holds and honors his priesthood and can give my children blessings. It truly brings a spirit into our home.

After church everyone headed to our 3 bedroom 2 bath house. We ended up squeezing in about 30-35 people. Overall I didn't think it wasn't too crowded though. Our house is set up in such a way that everyone could sit and relax in different areas of the house and still feel part of the party. There definitely wasn't a shortage of food either thanks to all that helped out (my mom and dad especially, I couldn't have done it without them :) It was fun to have a little superbowl party afterwards, although I didn't watch a second of it, just enjoyed the company and played games with the girls.

When Monday morning rolled around I was sad to see our family leave, but glad to get my house back into order. I love living in a clean house where I have the control. Although, I would gladly sacrifice that control for a weekend to have my family surrounding me. Thanks to all who came. We love you!

Sweet 2-yr-old Abi holding Jack who weighs almost as much as her!

Crazy Anderson cousins

My cousin Amelia and baby Jack

Jack with Grandma Evans