our special boy

i don't think little boys come any more special than jack.

he is incredibly thoughtful, sensitive, generous, intelligent, a jokester, optimistic, adventurous, focused, extremely athletic, and spiritually minded. he has his moments, like all kids do, but they are short-lived. he is my best helper and i often find myself treating him like i would a teenager or even an adult, because he is quite mature. i have to remind myself not to speed up his childhood and to treat him like an 8 year old. 

we love our jack

jack chose to be baptized a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. about a month ago he told chris and i that he had been praying to know if that was the right choice and he knew in his heart that it was.

we all feel so blessed that grandma and grandpa could be here for this special day.

jack asked grandpa bart to baptize him and daddy to confirm him. he also had grandma speak about baptism, grandpa speak about the holy ghost, and ellie, dani & jenna sing a special musical number, When I am Baptized.  

our hearts were so touched to see the room fill to over-flowing with so many there to support jack in this decision. there were over 65 people, including his school teacher Mrs Been and her husband, his soccer coach Bryant, along with his wife Pam and their son Ducati, and our friends Mat and Julie Strasser with their two little boys. jack is a wonderful example to all and it was heart-warming to see all the people that he has already made an impression on here in arkansas in the year that we have lived here. he also had so much support from our family and friends that aren't close by. from special gifts, to thoughtful emails and cards, he was showered with kindness. thank you everyone for all the love!

after the baptism, we had a waffle bar in the gym. i wish we had taken pictures because it was seriously awesome and a total hit with all! and, it was extremely easy to put together.

aunt layna and uncle tony even sent a baptism package all the way from Hawaii, complete with baptism leis that he has hung up around his room.

this year i have made a video for each of the kids birthdays. i'm not sure if it is the fact that turning 8 is so special, or that I'm in denial that i have an 8 year old already, or the pregnancy hormones, or perhaps a combination of all those things, but making this video was an emotional project for me. emotional in a good way. packing 8 years worth of memories into a 3 minute video is challenging. what a kid! This is currently his favorite song, Riptide by Vance Joy.

jack is 8 from Lisa Brower on Vimeo.