Parkinson Family: Erika's baptism

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Erika's baptism

Erika's baptism was a very special day for our family. It was an exciting thing for Aaron to be able to baptize his oldest child. We were all really excited for Erika's big day. She has been anticipating this day for a very long time; I think for as long as she has been able to talk she's been talking about it. She has spent the last year preparing for her baptism, and taking it very seriously. She read the Book of Mormon and we have been reading other books together.

There were 8 children getting baptized that day from different wards in the stake. Two other children were from our ward and are some of Erika's friends. We headed over to the stake center where they had a short meeting beforehand and then we waited for our turn to go to the baptismal font. Two funny things that happened were: 1. I forgot to bring towels- I guess I just thought they had them there for us and didn't really think about it before. So, I had to run home and get them right before we left the chapel and when I got back (and mind you, I was VERY FAST! We live less than a mile away) they were all waiting for me. 2. Another memorable thing was that part of Erika's baptismal dress was sticking up when Erika went under the water so Aaron had to perform the ordinance again.

After the baptism we had a small luncheon at our house with everyone who came. We are so grateful to everyone who was there to support Erika. We recognize that it was a big sacrifice for many of them. We were very touched by the support we received. We love our family so much!!

I hope that this will be a day that Erika will always remember. I know she felt the spirit that day as many of us did. On the way home from the baptism while we were in the van, Erika said to me and Aaron, "When daddy had his hands on my head and he said, 'receive the Holy Ghost', I felt all warm and tingly inside. I don't think Erika would have made this up. I'm glad it was such a special day for her.

Erika wearing the white dress grandma Parkinson got for her.

2 comments:

VickiAugust 30, 2011 at 5:54 PM
Erika what a special day for you and for all of us that were there to witness your baptism. There are a few milestones in our lives that we never forget... baptism day is one of those special times that you will never forget the feelings you felt that day. As I watched you be baptized I remember my baptism (nearly 50 years ago). Those wonderful, warm feelings of the spirit still remind me of that important covenant I made at baptism. I promise you that the warm feelings of the spirit will bless you your whole life!! What a great blessing. Sure love you!!
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AngeSeptember 1, 2011 at 8:07 PM
Congrats! :)
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Parkinson funnies

Nov 2012- Aaron was watching football on TV and Jared came out saying, "I want to go watch grass!"

Dec 2011- Heidi said one morning, "Mom, there's frosting on the house!" (on a cold day when frost was on the house).

June 2, 2011- Driving in the car Kyle said to his sister, "If you don't learn to talk, Jesus will make you talk Spanish." (He explained later that he actually meant sign language. That's how he thought it worked.)

Feb 28, 2011- Kyle said, "I don't like to have babysitters because they are only supposed to take care of babies!" Then we explained that they can take care of bigger kids too.

Dec 15, 2010- Kyle said, "I know how they make egg nog. First they dump in the eggs and mix them around. Then they put in the nog..."

Oct 20, 2010- Kyle said, "Mom, is some cheese blue?" I said it is called blue cheese but isn't really that blue. He said, "Well, then does it taste like blueberries?" I love all the questions he asks about how the world works- He's really trying to figure things out.

Oct 7, 2010- We were driving by Arctic Circle and Kyle said, "Is that the hamburger hut? I like that hut." I am wondering if he was remembering a time when we went to "Pizza Hut".

Aug 12, 2010- We were driving by a farm where there was a big fire burning up the field and Kyle said, "Dad, is that where the indians live?"

Aug 8, 2010- We were driving in the car and Kyle said, "Dad, I think I 'm truck-sick." "You mean car sick?" "No, truck sick- when you're sick in the truck."

Aug 2, 2010- We were headed off to a doctor's appointment for the baby and he was crying. Kyle said, "Mom, I think he's crying because you said he is going to get a shot."

June 28, 2010- The other day at dinner it was Heidi's turn to pray and daddy was helping her. She was just repeating everything word for word when he got to "Please bless it.." and said it 3 times. Finally I had to open my eyes to see what the hold up was. Well, little Heidi was just stuffing spaghetti in her mouth as fast as she could and it was hanging out all over. We all just bust up laughing. I guess she just couldn't wait any longer!

May 19, 2010- On the way home from the hospital after seeing their new baby brother, Erika said, "When I was born mom and dad said that I looked blue." Kyle said, "And when I was born I was pink and red. "

Dec 9,2009- The other day we were eating dinner and Kyle didn't want to eat. He said, "I don't like to eat aliens!" We told him there were no aliens in his dinner. Then, realizing what he was talking about, I said, "You mean onions?" He kept calling onions "aliens" and we got a kick out of it.

Nov 20, 2009- Erika lost another tooth at school today. Kyle said to her, "Erika, when my tooth gets loose and comes out, I'll give mine to you."

Oct 10, 2009- Today Erika said, "Mom, someday when I'm older, I want to get that recipe from you!"

Sept 9, 2009- We couldn't find our puppy anywhere and had driven all over the neighborhood to find him. Finally about 2 hours later Kyle showed up holding him and I said, "Where did you find him?" He said, "In the killer-box". "The what?" "The cooler-box". He had stuck him in a cooler in our backyard and forgotten about it. We were glad he was okay!! I felt terrible and gave him some extra TLC for a little while.

Sept 4, 2009- Erika said tonight, "You know what my favorite thing is about school? It's lunch... and learning... and break!" We said, "Isn't that the whole thing?"

Aug 17,2009- We were camping and had brought all our bikes. As we were leaving camp for a little while, Aaron commented that it might have been wise to bring a chain to lock up our bikes so they wouldn't get stolen. Erika said, "Or, we could have just brought a sign that said, 'DON'T STEAL!'".

July 12, 2009- Today at church Kyle looked at my Young Women's Medallion and said, "Mom, is that you on the necklace?"

July 3, 2009- Kyle had been sleeping down in Erika's room with some friends and came upstairs before we went to bed. He said, "Mom, there was some noise down there. I think it was the tooth fairy, coming to get the loose tooth."