Freestone's Baptism

 No, Freestone wasn't baptized into the Brotherhood of the Yogo Togoteers, but all of life's celebrations must be validated with a whipped-cream-and-toasted-coconut-topped cup of frozen yogurt.  After all the preparations were finished for the big event yesterday, Scott and I stole Freestone away for a few quiet minutes where we could give him his scriptures and talk.  It went something like this:
"Freestone, do you understand that when you're confirmed, you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost?"
"Whoa!  Look at this popping boba!  I'm squishing it!  Aaggghh!"
"Free, did you know that even Jesus was baptized, and he was already perfect?"
"What if I had all the popping bobas in the world in my mouth and they popped?"
"Free, how do you feel about being baptized today?"
"Horrible."

So that's Freestone for you.  But deep down, under all the kidding and craziness, there is a tender little boy who understands the significance of this important day.  We always knew Freestone was coming to our family.  Three girls beat him to it, but we knew he would eventually arrive, and when he did, we knew he belonged right here with us.  Freestone is a one-of-a-kind person.  His personality encompasses everything from compassion to thoughtfulness, but it's hard to see all that when he constantly kids, dreams and talks nonsense.  Just now, I asked him what he liked about his baptism yesterday and he said, "What do you mean?  I didn't do anything yesterday."  Weird,  but wonderful child.

 Freestone's very own scriptures at last!

 The three cousins who got to share this experience together, Collin, Jake and Freestone

 And Ptolemy!  He says, "I be in a pictures!"

 The Mothers in Zion

 Scott, ready to baptize and confirm his son.

 The meeting was great.  Lexie and Ruby both spoke, and Golda, Ruby, Araceli and Lexie played a musical number that turned out really good.  Ari's part on the cello was far more difficult than the others, and she practiced a lot to get it right.  Thanks, Ari!  Michelle read a beautiful story that she wrote about two cousins, John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, and three cousins following in Jesus' footsteps today as they enter the waters of baptism.  It was a tear-jerker!  Bruce conducted the meeting and the other two grandfathers, Felshaw and Reid, were witnesses.  Two grandmothers, Marlene and Ann, gave heartfelt prayers.  Scott, Ryan and Bruce expressed beautiful sentiments as they confirmed the boys.  I'm grateful for these three handsome little boys.  I sure love them!

 We had a lot of fun planning the dinner.  We (the three moms) chose each boy's favorite color for the decorations and ended up with red, purple and lime green.  Coco and I were in charge of the decor and went with puprle sand buckets on top of cute lime green place mats, stuffed with red and green tissue and tied with a balloon.  I wish I had better pictures of it, but you get the idea.  The room looked cute with the three fun colors and the balloons floating high above the festivities.  (Thanks, Mom!) Michelle and Nikki pulled off an incredible cupcake buffet of 200 cupcakes in rainbow flavors and colors.  It was quite a feat!  Jennie organized a delicious buffet with Collin's favorite, turkey sandwiches, and a whole host of salads and side dishes, brought by all of us and all the family members who came to share the day with us.  Everything turned out perfect, thanks to Jennie's organizational skills and everyone's contributions.

 Fun colors, huh?

 Ignore the sticker!

 You have to enlarge this picture to appreciate the fabulocity!

 Dinner was delicious!

 Uncle Ken and Marlene

I thought this picture was so funny.  Everyone was cleaning up and Xanthe was still working on her second plate of food.  It's hard to believe little Xanthe will be the next to be baptized in our family, in less than two years!  It will be another joyous celebration to add to our family's history, just like Freestone, Jake and Collin's.