This was such an incredible day for Asher and Soren and sadly I have only these photos to show! I don't know how they suddenly turned 8 and were ready for baptism and all the growth and responsibility that this age entails. They were fortunate to have Grandpa and Grandpa Weiss from Utah here for this incredible milestone. Their granny Davis was there along with their Aunt Lisa, Aunt Lori, Uncle Joe, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Stephen and cousins: Gage, Wyatt, Sara, Rhett, Ella, Lucy, Auggie and Max. Time with their cousins was surely a highlight for them. They also had the privilege of being baptized on the same day as their friend and neighbor, Aviva! They have been pals since they were born and that was really a great experience to share with the Ellis family. Kristin and I also collaborated on food and that was a total win.
Because it was a stake lead baptism, we had only a few parts in the program. We asked their Aunt Lisa to give the talk on baptism. We were asked to provide a spotlight for each child and this is what I wrote for each:
ASHER
Asher was born
five weeks early by emergency c-section at 1:08pm on September 11, 2007
at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA. He is the oldest of four
children, besting his twin brother Soren by one-minute.
Asher's
has several interests and hobbies, but his main hobby is drawing! He
got a drawing pad for Christmas when he was 15 months old and
immediately sat down to draw, showing no interest in any other presents.
He has been drawing impressively since he was one! Asher has always had
very fascinating, specific interests. Over the years he has been keen
on gears, fire trucks (he actually cried the first time we told him that
fire trucks don't actually spray fire--they spray water), wrecking
balls and most recently, zombies. He also loves to read, play Legos and
minecraft and spend time with his brother and friends.
Asher's favorite foods are watermelon, chocolate ice-cream, fresh cherries and black bean and corn enchiladas.
When
asked what makes him smile, Asher immediately and WITH A SMILE answered
Sloane! He adores his baby sister and has been excited about her since
she was still in the womb. He is tender and very affectionate with her.
In fact, he gave her a wonderful, "Welcome to the World Sloane!" drawing
when he met her for the first time at the hospital on the day she was
born.
Asher's favorite scripture is in Alma 17 and it's the
story of Ammon chopping off the arms of lamanites who had been
scattering the sheep and harassing the king's shepherds for a LONG time.
Asher likes this story not only because it is exciting but because
Ammon shows great courage in his obedience.
Asher is funny,
sweet, fierce and observant. He tries his best to obey and work hard.
He is a great brother, friend and son. Whenever he and his siblings are
asked to do something--like try a new food or do a chore Asher is always
the first one to do hard things and usually with this sweet mantra,
"Okay mommy!" We love and adore Asher endlessly.
SOREN
Soren
was also born five weeks early by emergency c-section one minute later
than Asher, at 1:09pm on September 11, 2007 at Virginia Hospital Center
in Arlington, VA. This makes him the second born of four.
Soren
has many interests--he too loves Legos, minecraft and playing with his
friends. His main hobby is reading! Before he started school his mom
told him that he would learn to read in Kindergarten. He came home
crying after his FIRST day of kindergarten because he didn't learn how
to read! Within a month he was reading and writing and it has been a
great passion of his. He blew through the Harry Potter series, after
crushing all the Roald Dahl, Hardy Boys and Judy Blume books in the
house. His favorite series has been the Percy Jackson books and this
summer he led his mom and brother on a Percy Jackson tour of the Met,
teaching them all about the character of many statues at the museum.
Soren's favorite NON-Chocolate foods include watermelon, pizza and avocado toast.
When
asked what makes him smile, Soren also answered Sloane! He loves his
baby sis but homework (yes homework!) and making his teachers happy also
make him smile.
Soren's favorite scripture is about Samuel
the Lamanite (in Helaman 13-16) who preached to the wicked Nephites
about repentance and Christ. After getting kicked out of the city he
returned and stood on the walls of the city to warn the people and
testify of the coming of Christ.The angry Nephites threw rocks and
arrows at him but Samuel was protected by the Lord and nothing hit him.
Soren likes this story because of Samuel's courage to testify of Christ
in such a dangerous situation but most of all, Soren loves that none of
the rocks or arrows hit Samuel because the Lord protected him.
Soren has many special gifts--he has an incredible memory and a
voracious desire to learn. Soren is patient but above all, he is a
peacemaker. Soren is always the one who will move aside, share or give
up a contested seat or object to his siblings. All of this have made him
very reliable and independent. He is a good example. The mother of one
of his classmates told his mom that her son had been getting into
trouble at school. She asked him to name a few kids who never got into
trouble and who worked hard--he named Soren and she counseled her son to
be a good student like Soren. We are grateful for Soren and the
kindness and love he adds to our family.
After the busy day of baptism and time with family, I asked the boys what they liked best about their day. Both boys said more than cousins or anything else, they loved getting baptized.
