Tiffani's Baptism

Today was such a special day in the life of my good friend Tiffani Dennis. Today is the day she got baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Today she made her first covenant with her Heavenly Father and took upon herself his name promising to be a witness of him at all times, in all things, and in all places. It was such a great day for her. I spoke on baptism on this special day and even though I told her she was picking the very worst person ever to speak at her baptism I think I conveyed the message Heavenly Father would have liked me to share. I talked about how Jesus was our example and is our perfect example in everything and in everyday. He too had to be baptized even though he made no mistakes because he had to pave the path for us. How could he expect anything more of us if he did not partake as well? It is our ultimate goal to be like him in every way we can. We strive to be perfect as him so that we can return to his presence and live with our Father in Heaven again. There is no other way to do this but to be baptized. I talked about the important reasons for getting baptized- 1) We must be baptized for the remission of our sins. If we repent, and are baptized, our sins are forgiven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 2) We must be baptized to become members of the Church of Jesus Christ. 3) We must be baptized before we can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 4) We must be baptized to show obedience. Jesus was baptized while he lived on the earth. He was pure and had never sinned, but he needed to be baptized to show us the way and to show us the importance of this ordinance. 5) We must be baptized to enter the Celestial Kingdom. All of Heavenly Father’s children need to be baptized. Being baptized is the only way there is for us to return and live with Heavenly Father after we are finished with our turn on earth. You are so lucky! After you are baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost you will be absolutely, positively, perfectly clean. All the mistakes you have made in your whole life so far will be washed away. Only people who are clean from all their sins can live with Heavenly Father. Jesus said: “Whoso believeth in me, and is baptized… shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Baptism is the gateway through which we enter the celestial kingdom. There is no other way. Here is the rest of my talk if you want to read the whole thing. It really conveys my thoughts and feelings for this wonderful day. Tiffani Denis’s Baptism April 26, 2014 The words to one of my favorite primary songs go as follows; I’m trying to be like Jesus; I’m following in his ways. I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say. At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice, But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers, “Love one another as Jesus loves you. Try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought, For these are the things Jesus taught.” This is a declaration of determination. Jesus Christ is our perfect example. To be like him is our ultimate goal. President Eying of the first presidency of the church said, and I quote, “That determination and confidence can and must be in the heart of every Latter-day Saint. The Savior has prepared the way through His Atonement and His example.” End quote. The instruction of the Savior to be perfect is not a hope but a command. And he has surely prepared the way. How can he expect anything more of us if he did not partake as well. He showed us by his example that we must all be baptized and take upon us his name in order to return to his presence. This is but one step toward our goal to be perfect as he is. That being said, today is an exciting day. You are about to participate in your very first ordinance of the gospel and make your first covenant with Heavenly Father. You have shown that you have growing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and that you have a repentant heart. I know this because I see your desire and willingness to be baptized and I see peace and purity when I look at you and spend time with you. You will be baptized in a few minutes and then you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I feel sure that Heavenly Father is very pleased with you and your decisions. As I mentioned you are about to make your first covenant. A covenant is like a two-way promise. When you are baptized, you promise Heavenly Father that you are willing to remember and follow Jesus and that you will keep His commandments. In turn, our Heavenly Father promises that he will forgive you of your mistakes and weaknesses when you repent. He also promises that you can have the gift of the Holy Ghost with you and that you can obtain eternal life someday. It seems to me that we are getting the good end of this deal. Why should we be baptized? There are many reasons to be baptized. Here are five important ones. 1) We must be baptized for the remission of our sins. If we repent, and are baptized, our sins are forgiven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 2) We must be baptized to become members of the Church of Jesus Christ. 3) We must be baptized before we can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 4) We must be baptized to show obedience. Jesus was baptized while he lived on the earth. He was pure and had never sinned, but he needed to be baptized to show us the way and to show us the importance of this ordinance. 5) We must be baptized to enter the Celestial Kingdom. All of Heavenly Father’s children need to be baptized. Being baptized is the only way there is for us to return and live with Heavenly Father after we are finished with our turn on earth. You are so lucky! After you are baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost you will be absolutely, positively, perfectly clean. All the mistakes you have made in your whole life so far will be washed away. Only people who are clean from all their sins can live with Heavenly Father. Jesus said: “Whoso believeth in me, and is baptized… shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Baptism is the gateway through which we enter the celestial kingdom. There is no other way. Tiffani, I am so very proud of you and am grateful to have shared a small part in your journey to entering the kingdom of God. I simply cannot wait for you to enjoy all the blessings that will follow after this special day. I hope you always remember what a special daughter of God you are and that you will never be alone in this hard life. When things get rough remember to turn to your savior. When it get to hard to stand, kneel. He will come to your aid. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. My brother in law Tyson baptized Tiffani- what a great experience to have before he leaves on his mission and Mark got to confirm her a member of the church which was also very special. What a wonderful thing to be able to have all of the blessings Heavenly Father has to offer! Sure love you Tiffani and thank you for your friendship!

Lil boxer man!

Easton has like never worn this robe ever. I always find it easier to wrap him in a towel. But tonight he can down from bath time in his boxing robe. Watch out everyone because in the left corner is this little firecracker and he'll take you for a ride! The ride of our life that is… This little guy is so busy lately but we love it! He has such a big personality and loves to laugh and giggle and play! Love you little boxer man!

It looks like he is picking his nose but I swear he was eating something… or was he?? Kids will be kids!

11 months old!

Time for a monthly update. We made it to 11 months old saturday! With three new teeth!

And we are just 1 month shy of his 1st birthday. OH MY! We've gone from this...

to this…

In just 11 short months

It really is amazing how much they can change in just a short period of time! Two big milestones this month…. 1 – Cognitive development. Aside from his personality just blossoming he’s beginning to interact with toys and understand very basic cause/effect. The ball goes in, it comes out at the bottom. Put the toys in the bucket, then you can take them back out, put the toys back in the bucket, take them out again, and again. Easton loves to play with his stacking blocks and has started to stack one inside another. It is truly amazing the progress he has made in just a months time- he definitely is a smart boy!

2- Walking! At 10 months exactly he took his 1st independent steps and spent the rest of that week and the following taking 7-10 steps. By mid month he was zooming all over the place and could walk from the living room to the front door and back all day long! Easton is a little walking machine… he goes all over the place and loves to walk outside! WE have to watch very closely or he will run off! His steps are still a little wobbly and are more like running that walking. He is always in the process of falling and catching himself over and over again- which essentially what learning to walk is. Crawling is pretty much abandoned unless he can't reach the next piece of furniture to pull himself up before he is off again!

Easton has a full mouth of teeth at this point and has to be constantly reminded not to bite! He is currently getting numbers 6 and 7! I can't believe his cute gummy smile it gone but I love to see him smile with all his little pearly whites! Easton has become- if he wasn't already … quite the social butterfly and loves to play with other babies and kids. HE especially loves to play with his cousin Madyn.

He is becoming a toddler in every sense of the word. Very independent and trying to communicate with us. He still can't say a lot of words yet (still mommy, dada, and the gist of ball). He also says "no no" that sounds more like nana but he shakes his head "no-no" when he says it or when we say no. But he jabbers all day long. He is catching onto sign really well and his repertoire consists of eat (sometimes), more, please (sometimes), and milk (although only for daddy). It seems like I am constantly catching him doing it when we aren't commanding - that is the stubbornness in him I guess. Easton claps when anyone says "yay" and looks to everyone around to join in and clap as well! He likes to imitate our sounds too. One morning I was making some squealing sounds when I was yawning and stretching and Easton echoed those sounds back. It is too cute!

He gets very excited when he sees doggies and growls at most animals (sometimes even people). His favorite game to play is chase and "roar" at daddy and mommy. One morning about a week ago he had just woken up and Mark was taking a shower- his favorite place to go is the bath tub so he waddles in there, pulls open the shower curtain, and "roaaaars" at his daddy. It was hilarious! He loves all electronics and believes they belong to him- which makes it hard to get any photos edited or posts written! WE try to hide them from him but he is too smart and whines whenever that happens. WE let him watch Mickey Mouse and Jake sometimes but mommy tries to have him watch videos of animals or Baby Einstein- if he gets board he knows to go to daddy because he will change it to something more interesting. I figure a little watching here and there doesn't hurt. His napping has improved (maybe since he started walking he is more worn out) and will nap from 1-3 hours most days. He has 2 naps a day for the most part but sometimes he thinks it is humorous to skip his morning nap- so mom can't get much done. Although his sleeping at night has declined. He still wakes up a couple times due to those new teeth coming in. I feel like we have been teething for 2 months now! Will it ever end? He refuses to use a sippy cup and has resorted to using a Camelbak kiddo water bottle full time. He loves his water bottle or anyone's water bottle and will chug water all day long. If he is nursing and I take a drink, he violently whips around and demands a drink. His attitude has increased and he throw little tantrums when he doesn't get exactly what he wants… this really pushes mommy's and daddy's buttons.

Easton still eats well, although I think he is on the verge of abandoning baby food. WE still give him fruit and oatmeal in the mornings but he hasn't had pureed meats and veggies in a week or so. He prefers table food and loves strawberries, turkey, toast, eggs, cheese sticks, any kind of beef, mashed potatoes, vegetables and soups. He is still a very good eater. He had his first real taste of candy over the Easter break and got to sample way too much of it! Up until this point he has only had tastes but he got into his cousins baskets and ate their peeps and chocolate. Whats a mom to do? He looked so cute with his chocolate mustache ;) Easton loves to take car rides and babbles/laughs at himself in his mirror! He likes to scrunch his nose and giggle it is the cutest thing ever! Those are the best times of my day!

I am so excited to be planning his birthday party. Just to think he is this much closer to one is both exciting and crazy to think about. I am no longer sad he is turning one! Yes, it is hard for me to believe and I miss my little newborn but I am so happy for him at the same time. He has never been so happy and content with himself. He has control over his body and can go as he pleases. That makes him so happy, I can see it! If it were up to him I am sure he would skip that whole newborn/baby stage and skip right onto toddlerhood! I love you sweet Easton and wish you the best 11th month!

Easter…. Beyond the Bunnies

For Easter we went to Grandma and Grandpa Bullinger's house (my parents) to celebrate with grandparents, siblings, cousins, and extended family. We drove all day Thursday it seems. We left Laramie about 11:00 am and stopped in Casper to get something to eat and go to Sportsman Warehouse (no surprise) to "get Easton's sleeping bag for his birthday next month" although the majority of time was spent figuring out Mark's new GPS for his Birthday and purchasing a hunt Wyoming chip to tag along with the GPS ;) We ate at KFC and among the most exciting things that happened on this traveling trip one of them was when Easton decided to reach out across the table with his long monkey arms (thank you daddy for passing those on to him) and pull Mark's entire cup of Pepsi on top of him! I was mortified- I guess this won't be the last time he dumps something on top of him and embarrasses his mom in public! We finally made it to my parents after what seemed like forever. I guess I shouldn't complain too much I read my book the whole way- Mark on the other hand was jumping off the wall spitting off weird comments and blaming it on "driving the whole 5 1/2 hours by himself (since I was reading)." What can I say, when a book gets that good I cannot put it down! Friday my sister and her two kiddos came over. The grandkids got to open their Easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa since Charlene and Matthew would be with his family on sunday. Easton got to eat way too much candy- most of it from Chloe's basket! They came over for a couple photo shoots, an egg hunt at the park, and our early Easter dinner with her. I took my niece's 1 year pictures, took Easter pictures of the three grandkiddos, and took some new pictures of Ian as well. I had my work cut out for me but it was a lot of fun! I don't think I have ever ran so much as I did trying to keep up with Ian and catch some good shots. I also took some new pictures of my little sister since she got her braces off! They all turned out great.

After all the pictures were snapped my mom and sister Samantha hid Easter eggs around the park for the kiddos. Chloe had that egg hunt down to a T! She knew exactly what to do :) Easton took a little longer to catch on, he would find the eggs but with each on he had to sit down next to it and put it in his mouth before we conjured him into putting it in his bag and moving on. We had so much fun doing our first Easter egg hunt!

On Saturday we just hung out most of the day and Easton got to go ride on the tractor with Grandpa. He wasn't too thrilled at first but soon warmed up and was sitting on Grandpa's lap and helping him steer (more or less helping him get off track but it was still cute!) Mark and Jacob did some horn hunting while we were riding the tractor and found just a few sheds but had a lot of fun. Later that night we took a bumpy little stroller ride around the farm. My mom had a great idea to take the umbrella stroller on her usual walking path (not too short of a waste ditch filled with dirt). Easton had fun though and got a little shaken up. But all in all he loved the ride!

Sunday morning we woke up and did Easter baskets with Easton. I just stuffed all the Easter Bunny stuff in with the Basket of things from my mom so he got doubley spoiled! But he sure enjoyed all his new toys. We found him a Jake and the Neverland Pirates play tent for $5 at Kmart and were going to give it to him for his birthday but thought it would be fun for Easter. He loved playing with it once he figured out how to crawl in and out. He kept getting stuck on the way out and dragging the tent across the floor. The Easter Bunny brought him a cookies and cream bunny, Mickey Mouse Outdoor Adventure DVD, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and other candy. His other grandparents gave him a little puppy toy that he loved. When it comes down to holidays they always turn out big for Easton boy!

We went to church all dressed up- however Mark got sick halfway through and so we didn't get a good family picture since he went home after Sacrament meeting. But we did get some cute pictures of Easton at my Grandma's (his great Grandma's house). After church all my extended family met there for dessert after we had all eaten dinner. They had a little Easter egg hunt for all the little kids so Easton got to have a second try at it. This time he did very good and took away a haul of candy and a $2 bill. Growing up and hunting eggs at Grandma Bullinger's house on Easter is such a fond childhood memory of mine. My uncles and dad used to hide them when we were really little and would hide them in the tail pipes of the cars parked int he driveway. As we got older we got to be the ones who hid the eggs and enjoyed stumping all our little cousins. My Grandma always fills a few of the eggs with money and $2 bills. It was so fun for Easton to find one of them and remember when I was a kid- that giddy feeling as you shake the egg and hear the coins bounce around. I am so happy I got to share this family tradition with Easton this year!

We sure had a fun time with our family this Easter. Beyond the Easter Bunny, egg hunts, candy, and toys I had the chance to contemplate and remember the true meaning of Easter. As I think about all the blessings and affordances in my life I think to my Savior who has provided all the good in my life. He has given me the opportunity to live the life I live and has given me so much more than that alone. He has given me my family, the wonderful opportunity to be a mother and bear children, he has given me the chance to try and fail and try again. Without my Savior I would not have anything to live for. He suffered and died for me and was resurrected doe that I might live the life I want to live. He did all this for me and my family so that we can live eternally with him in his Kingdom. He has done so much that I cannot even comprehend and I just know that I am eternally indebted to him for all his kindness and love. I am so grateful for the gospel and the true meaning of Easter. I am grateful for the time I get to be with my family and to build family traditions with my little boy. I hope I can look beyond the bunnies each year and remember the true meaning of the Easter season. I know he lives and loves me. He is Risen!