My Baptism Day

by Jefferson Skinner

I was baptized on September 29th. I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I decided to join because I believe in this church and I could get the Holy Ghost after being baptized. The Holy Ghost will help me in my life and I wanted this gift from Heavenly Father. I’ve been excited to be baptized and have been waiting since my birthday. So I was happy on this day.

I was happy because my dad could baptize me. This is me and my dad before I was baptized. I had to wear these white baptism clothes because they are all white. Even my underwear was white. So, the clothes are white to show reverence. We are pure and clean when our sins are washed away, just like the color white is clean. Black is like sin, so I wouldn’t wear black clothes to be baptized.

I wrote in my journal all about how I felt when I was baptized already. But I will tell you a little bit.
I felt clean. I felt the spirit. I knew I was doing the right thing. My dad gave me the Holy Ghost. I know that the Holy Ghost is with me now.

This is my church. I’m a member of this church now. And I think it’s pretty cool to be a member.

I got my own scriptures for a gift. It has every book, like the Book of Mormon, Holy Bible, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants. I’ve never had all of the books before and have wanted my own scriptures for a long time. It even has gold pages.

I have a CTR ring I can wear to help me remember to choose the right. Choosing the right is important to do now that I am baptized.
and I got my very own hymn book. It has all the songs and it’s small enough to fit in my scriptures.

This is my family. I was happy that my Nana could come. I wish my cousins and other family could have come, but they live in California. But that’s okay because Jesus didn’t have a lot of his family there when he was baptized.

It was a special day for me and my family.
I can’t wait ‘til Grant and Reagan get baptized. I will be a good example for them until they do.
 

3 Months Old

Kennedy is 3 months old now… 3 months and 7 days to be exact. I can’t believe how old she’s getting, and at the same time, I can’t believe how little she is. (does that make any sense?) I finally took her for her 2 month well-child last week. Having her get shots was as awful as I imagined it would be. She weighed in at 13lb 6oz. She’s in the 60th percentile for length and weight.

Kennedy is quite a delight. She learned to smile a few weeks ago. She also ‘coos’ at us all the time…. she’s a social girl. This has everyone excited to hold her, kiss her, squeeze her, and smother her. Reagan especially can’t keep her hands off Kennedy. “I just love her too much”, Reagan will say, “and I just want to gobble her up!”
Maybe I’m biased, but who wouldn’t want to gobble up this sweet face?

With her adoring brother.

She has bright blue eyes and reddish hair. She’s got a little bit of craddle-cap and gets dirt stuck between her toes and fingers every day. Her little hands are starting to lift to reach for things. She’s got a tickle spot under neck that if you run your finger gently across it will make her giggle. She LOVES being wrapped up in her carrier, or held in your arms. Bath time is her favorite time of day (and mine). She is a pure, irresistible bundle that we snuggle all day and night. Everything about her is delicious!
 

The Beach

A few weeks ago (I’m really slow on blogging these days) we took a trip to the beach. It’s only 2 hours away, yippee! I’ve never lived further than 2 hours from the coast and I don’t know what I’ll do with myself if that day ever comes.

We asked people we knew which beaches were the best they all said Carolina Beach and Myrtle Beach. But one person said ‘if you want a less crowded beach, go to Kure.’ Done! You say the words ‘less crowded’ and I’m there!

We parked our car and started walking towards the beach. When Jefferson saw the shoreline he frowned. He told us, “I’m not going to have any fun here. There’s nowhere to play. No rocks or trees to explore.” The boys are used to the west coastline surrounded by nature. This was a wide expanse of sand, just sand!
It took about 5 minutes for them to warm up to the area and dive in. The east coast did not disappoint!

It was this girls first trip to the beach.

The kids spent the entire day running from waves. The waves were huge (compared to what we’re used to). These pictures are deceiving… they’re huge!

Jefferson, being swallowed by a wave. And Grant, getting knocked over.
 

Shawn taught the boys to bodysurf. After that, I couldn’t get them out of the water (including Shawn).  

Watch it, watch it, watch it…. RUN!
  

Reagan showing off some of the broken shells she found. We also had a crab crawl over to us and burrow himself in the sand at my feet. I didn’t get a picture of that because I was too scared he would bite my feet off if I stepped down to get my camera.

Look at this beach babe!
 

We girls stayed safe on the sand while the boys were swimming. But that was short-lived. As it got later the tide started to come in, and each wave got closer and closer. We kept having to move our things back, until we couldn’t go any further. Finally, enough was enough! I called it quits when a wave completely flooded us! And I mean, that thing washed up higher than our folding chairs! Luckily I have super-human skills and was able to pick up the baby, my camera, and our dry clothes in a split second. Everything else was SOPPING WET! (I think the trunk of our car is still wet from everything)
And I still had to beg Shawn and the boys to leave.

Nearby was Fort Fisher, so we stopped by. Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. (I may or may not have copied that from Wikipedia)

I did in fact enjoy touring the fort, although I was still a little water-logged.
The kids walking down from one of the mounds that held the cannons.

The view from above…. you can hardly see Shawn.

Walking the trail.

Reagan insisted on pulling Kennedy’s stroller the entire way. I’m sure Kennedy was thrilled with the bumpy ride.

It was a fun day. I love all things historical and can’t wait to explore more sites along the East. And definitely more beaches, especially now that “the beaches on this side of the US are more fun to play in,” according the Jefferson.

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day!
Any day that Shawn is home is my favorite day of the week…. and for no reason in particular. Just having someone else around to deal with whining, fighting, screaming, and misbehaving makes my life easier. I know, we have such a Heavenly home.
So, today was my favorite day.
We did work around the house.
We gutted and reorganized the garage (you’d be amazed what mayhem we had created in less than 2 months).
Then Shawn and the kids did some yard work. That’s when I glanced out the window and saw this……

I know, I had to do a double-take too. Yep, that’s my husband, mowing the lawn, while sporting a Camelbak.
What is he doing?
He looks ridiculous!
I even caught a picture of him drinking from it.

 

UNBELIEVABLE!
He said it made mowing the lawn so much easier because he didn’t have to stop all the time to get glasses of water.
Oh, and he doesn’t care what other people think.
Okay, maybe it was clever. And it caught on, because next thing I know I saw this….

I’m sure our neighbors think our family is nuts. Luckily I already won their hearts with the best brownies EVER!