V. was baptized on her birthday! How special! We asked her if she wanted to be baptized on her birthday or Thanksgiving weekend{thinking that might be easier on family, maybe?}. She chose her birthday!
The night before, Steve's parents came over to give V. their birthday gifts to her. Grandma Hammond had made a lovely blue afghan for V. What's funny, is V.'s room used to be pink and we had just painted it blue that week! {Blue and green are her favorite colors}. Grandma Hammond didn't know that, but just felt the need to give V. a blue afghan. We also had asked Ruby at the start of the year if she would give V. a Navajo name when she turned 8. So she had been thinking about it all year and consulted with her Aunt Pearl. She said that she described V. to Aunt Pearl{she's never seen a photo of her that we're aware of}. Then they compared names they had picked. They both had picked names for V. that were very similar. So that's the name Ruby gave her. She explained a little bit about the tradition of girls names. Then she told us the name and what it means. So V.'s Navajo name is ~NIZHONI' YAZHI' BAH . Which means~ Beautiful Little Girl. It was a very special evening with Grandma and Grandpa Hammond!
V. helped me with the program. We chose to have Grandma's and Aunt's on the program since her Grandpa's and Uncle's would be able to stand in on the Confirmation circle.
She chose the songs herself.
It was a very beautiful day! Steve got a little choked up while baptizing her and confirming her a member of the Church. Later, he asked me if he sounded silly. I said no. He isn't one to show emotion very often, so when he does, you know he is feeling some strong feelings. I told him it was very tender. And he gave her a beautiful blessing. V. was a little nervous before hand, but when it came down to it, she was calm. She had a special baptism towel to use that her Grandma West made for her embroidered with her name and date. Afterwards, we all went to our home for a luncheon. Family helped with food and it was all yummy! We also had birthday cake for V. It was in the shape of the CTR shield. We also had a little cake for Boyd since it was his birthday as well and we sang Happy Birthday to them both! She received some nice gifts from family members.
*Side note here* We bought her a nice, genuine leather bound scripture set, tote for her scriptures and a nice new CTR ring. That all cost a good amount so I thought it was good. The night before her birthday Steve asked if I had anything else for her. I said no. Well, yes, I had a couple other things I had bought for her but was holding off until Christmas. Steve asked me to wrap those up to give her for her birthday instead. He loves to spoil her! So we gave her those gifts first thing in the morning. She seemed happy, but I could tell she was sad she didn't get scriptures for her birthday.*
We waited to give her her scriptures and such until all the family was there. So after she opened gifts from them, we told her we had tricked her and still had a gift for her. She was excited as she opened her tote and scripture set. The CTR ring was in the pocket of her tote. She was very happy and immediately found the Articles of Faith in her new scriptures and highlighted them.
We had the Elder Missionaries over for dinner the week before and had invited them to come to V.'s baptism. They came to our home after the baptism and explained that they had wanted to come, but had a service project that morning. But they wanted to give V. something. They first shared the story of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty {found in Alma 46 {Book of Mormon}}.Then they said they had looked around and tried to think what they could give V. They tore one of their white shirts, wrote the Title of Liberty on it, looked around their apartment and found a wire hanger that they straightened out and tied the torn shirt too. They also gave her a card. V. was pretty excited when they gave her these. We thanked them. Then I thanked them again and told them they don't realize that she will never forget the Elders that gave that to her the day she got baptized. They have made a permanent mark on her and are such a good example to her.
It was a wonderful day! I'm so grateful for all the family and friends who love and support V. Since we are a small family, I've always hoped and have been grateful for the love and support she gets from her extended family. She will need it someday when Steve and I are no longer around.
The night before, Steve's parents came over to give V. their birthday gifts to her. Grandma Hammond had made a lovely blue afghan for V. What's funny, is V.'s room used to be pink and we had just painted it blue that week! {Blue and green are her favorite colors}. Grandma Hammond didn't know that, but just felt the need to give V. a blue afghan. We also had asked Ruby at the start of the year if she would give V. a Navajo name when she turned 8. So she had been thinking about it all year and consulted with her Aunt Pearl. She said that she described V. to Aunt Pearl{she's never seen a photo of her that we're aware of}. Then they compared names they had picked. They both had picked names for V. that were very similar. So that's the name Ruby gave her. She explained a little bit about the tradition of girls names. Then she told us the name and what it means. So V.'s Navajo name is ~NIZHONI' YAZHI' BAH . Which means~ Beautiful Little Girl. It was a very special evening with Grandma and Grandpa Hammond!
V. helped me with the program. We chose to have Grandma's and Aunt's on the program since her Grandpa's and Uncle's would be able to stand in on the Confirmation circle.
She chose the songs herself.
It was a very beautiful day! Steve got a little choked up while baptizing her and confirming her a member of the Church. Later, he asked me if he sounded silly. I said no. He isn't one to show emotion very often, so when he does, you know he is feeling some strong feelings. I told him it was very tender. And he gave her a beautiful blessing. V. was a little nervous before hand, but when it came down to it, she was calm. She had a special baptism towel to use that her Grandma West made for her embroidered with her name and date. Afterwards, we all went to our home for a luncheon. Family helped with food and it was all yummy! We also had birthday cake for V. It was in the shape of the CTR shield. We also had a little cake for Boyd since it was his birthday as well and we sang Happy Birthday to them both! She received some nice gifts from family members.
*Side note here* We bought her a nice, genuine leather bound scripture set, tote for her scriptures and a nice new CTR ring. That all cost a good amount so I thought it was good. The night before her birthday Steve asked if I had anything else for her. I said no. Well, yes, I had a couple other things I had bought for her but was holding off until Christmas. Steve asked me to wrap those up to give her for her birthday instead. He loves to spoil her! So we gave her those gifts first thing in the morning. She seemed happy, but I could tell she was sad she didn't get scriptures for her birthday.*
We waited to give her her scriptures and such until all the family was there. So after she opened gifts from them, we told her we had tricked her and still had a gift for her. She was excited as she opened her tote and scripture set. The CTR ring was in the pocket of her tote. She was very happy and immediately found the Articles of Faith in her new scriptures and highlighted them.
We had the Elder Missionaries over for dinner the week before and had invited them to come to V.'s baptism. They came to our home after the baptism and explained that they had wanted to come, but had a service project that morning. But they wanted to give V. something. They first shared the story of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty {found in Alma 46 {Book of Mormon}}.Then they said they had looked around and tried to think what they could give V. They tore one of their white shirts, wrote the Title of Liberty on it, looked around their apartment and found a wire hanger that they straightened out and tied the torn shirt too. They also gave her a card. V. was pretty excited when they gave her these. We thanked them. Then I thanked them again and told them they don't realize that she will never forget the Elders that gave that to her the day she got baptized. They have made a permanent mark on her and are such a good example to her.
It was a wonderful day! I'm so grateful for all the family and friends who love and support V. Since we are a small family, I've always hoped and have been grateful for the love and support she gets from her extended family. She will need it someday when Steve and I are no longer around.
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