Lauren's Baptism

We had such a fantastic day on Saturday. It was Lauren's baptism. The day was absolutely perfect!!!! I worked really hard for weeks to get all the details taken care of, and paced myself, so that the day of the baptism I could enjoy the spiritual aspect of the day. And it paid off. I wasn't stressed about the luncheon afterwards, and was able to go to the church and focus on the spiritual and important aspect of the day.

Lauren was the only one baptized in our ward this day, which is very unusual in a ward of 250 primary aged children (yes, I said 250!). In our ward there's usually 3-4 kids each month that are baptized. It was nice that Lauren was the only baptism this day; we were able to plan the program ( I spoke, at Lauren's request, Uncle Nate, and she sang a duet with her sister and all of her friends and cousins sang the closing song) and everybody who came was there for Lauren, which made her feel extra special.
Afterwards we had a luncheon at our house.

Thanks to everyone who came and supported Lauren and our family. We are lucky to have such wonderful family who live close and great friends, too. Thanks for being apart of this special day in Lauren's life!!!

(Lauren's beautiful baptism french-braided hair. And this pic was taken AFTER she'd gotten wet. Thanks Brandi!!!)

Lauren's (after baptism) dress turned out beautiful, thanks to lots of hard work and a whole week of Nana's life dedicated to getting this made. The top is made of silk dupionni, and the bottom is organza with embroidered flowers with pearl centers. Lauren's main request, "I want a HUGE bow!". It is huge, that's for sure! We all worked hard and conspired to have this designed just perfect for how Lauren wanted it. She loves it!!! I had some beautiful pictures taken by my friend who is a photographer (Becca Nae Photography). When I get the digital images of her shoot, I'll post some of them (the above is one of her shots. I know this is lame, but I took a 'picture' of a 'picture'. I purchased a 20x24 pic, and I don't have the digital image so I took a picture of it:)
The family pic isn't that great, with the sun in our eyes. But it is our family, including me, on Lauren's special day! And it definitely was a special day!