Clara's Baptism

Clara is eight.  Hard to believe but with eight came the opportunity for Clara to be baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

We were lucky enough to have both friends and family with us on this special occasion.  Although sad not to be able to have any grandparents with us, it was a special treat to have Wendy (my birth mother) and her family join us.  Their trip to the UK coordinated perfectly with Clara's baptism and that made a wonderful day even better.  It happened to come with a surprise perk - Matthew took the camera and was wonderful at taking pictures throughout the night so that I ended up with many pictures I never would have been able to take.  It makes looking back at the evening even more fun.

Clara was both ready and excited for this big day.  She chose her dad to be the one to baptize and confirm her.  I think they look pretty cute together, even if this picture had to be re-staged since I ran out of time before the actual baptism.

The service was beautiful and it was so nice to have Clara's friend, Eleanor and her mum come for it, along with many fellow ward members.

Clara was also thrilled to have her good friend Emeline there.  These two are such close friends and have known each other their entire lives.  It is so sad to think we won't live nearby anymore.

After the baptism, we all enjoyed food and conversation alike.

Here is Clara shaking Bishop Hooson's hand after the service.  He gave a wonderful, personalized talk for Clara.

 

Jonas with Gemma, his primary teacher who he has a wonderful bond with.  We'll miss her very much!

I made two CTR cakes.  One clearly said CTR.  The other not so clear.   I'll probably never do that again since aside from being messy, one had a crater running through it - but it was nice of Claire and Charlotte to pose near them. :)

Here we all are with the Webbers - Wendy, Jon, Allyson, Tommy, Matthew, Claire and Charlotte.

 

Then Matthew took some cute pictures after the baptism that I couldn't resist posting.  Isn't she a funny and adorable 1 year old?  I agree.

 

Something tells me that Clara and Nell have some similarities.  Maybe the silly, funny traits get stronger with age.  At least Clara knows to keep her skirt down in pictures.

 

 

 

 

Clara talking with Claire and Charlotte - she looks up to them so much

Jonas is already counting down the days until his baptism.  He was so eager to see Clara get baptized and told many people about it and how he also wanted to be baptized.  Jonas and Nell are lucky to have such a wonderful older sister who sets such a good example for them.