A birthday, cub scouts, and baptism

Jackson turned 8 last week.  Eight... 

He wanted a Star Wars theme this year.  Unfortunately, there were no  Stars Wars paper plates, cups or decorations to be had in the whole town but lucky for him he has Bella who made him a Star Wars shirt and signs. 

One day I'm going to do a post on all the creative things that sister does but for now I'll just write about this sweet, sweet boy who was super excited that this sister picked out just the right birthday present for him and even more excited when we showed up at school for lunch.

 

 He's an amazing kid

 with a flare for the dramatics.

 And because he's 8 now, he started cub scouts.

My friend,  Jen, and I get to be his Wolf Den leaders.  We are so excited.  But we were even more excited when he was baptized yesterday.  Cardi and Grandma  sung a beautiful song followed by this sweet girl who did a solo while James and Jackson changed clothes.

 I love how kind he is to his friends and siblings.  I love how he soaks everything up like a sponge. 

I love how he brings the best out in people. 

One of my favorite moments this weekend was after the baptism.  Jackson's favorite song is "Gethsemane."  He didn't realize that Bella sung the song while he was changing so after the baptism she sung the song again just for him.

Those  2 always make me smile.

 And so do these two.  It was such a beautiful and special day. 

And we found out that James' third cousin, Justin,  lives just 8 miles away in Pullman with his beautiful new wife, Ayana, who happens to be very good at painting finger nails and entertaining 4 year olds.

 

I'm especially grateful that Jackson has wonderful grandparents who set such a loving example for him and for all of our family who  e-mailed us their testimonies so we could share them with Jackson and for  Paul and Misti who sent a great video to play during the personal family testimony meeting after the baptism.

And I'm so grateful for each of you.