What a Wonderful Weekend!

 The Baptism

Andy was looking at the 2013 calendar during December and came to me asking, "My birthday is on a Saturday, can I be baptized on my birthday?"  That's our Andy for you.  He's very aware of everything

that's going on and we were more than happy to see if it could happen. 

It all worked out, so on January 26th, Andy turned 8 and was baptized!  Nathan baptized him,

Grandpa Bice was a witness, Grandma Bice gave a talk on baptism, I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost,

Nate and Haley gave the prayers. We had quite the group of friends and family show up, we kept running out of chairs!  It was such a neat experience to have the room be so filled with loving faces. 

Thanks to all those who made an effort to come support our family on Andy's special day!

 OOPS!  This picture needs some cropping - sorry!

 

 The Birthday

Andy's birthday was a little overshadowed because of his baptism, but we still tried to make it great.  Our good friends the Henstroms drove all the way from Coralville, IA to be with us for Andy's special day.  They joined us for cake and ice cream.

 "WOW! Lego Batman 2 for Nintendo DS!!"



 Presents galore! The teddy bear was from Grandma Bice.  She used it for her talk on Baptism ("The Three Bears": Bear His Name, Bear Testimony, Bear One Another's Burdens).

 

 The cake. Because I was trying so hard to make Andy's Baptism perfect, I ran out of time and was not able to make his birthday cake.  I was convinced to buy one from Sam's Club.  Andy wanted the Marvel Superhero, Iron Fist on his cake (ever heard of him? Yeah me either).  When I asked Nathan to take a picture of the cake he said, "Why?  You didn't make it."

 

 Andy and Luke Henstrom.  Luke is a month older than Andy.  Luke's mom, Nicky, and I met when we were both pregnant with Luke and Andy.  Luke was baptized on the 12th of January.

 

 

The Birthday Dinner

The night before Andy's birthday we went to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner at Andy's request. Skeeball is always one of our favorite games.  Andy was doing well and Haley was trying to play but was blocked by a stubborn 2 year old!

 

 

Andy is a very energetic kid, which can sometimes get him in trouble (he LOVES to "bug" his siblings)!  But, he mostly uses his energy for good instead of evil.  Andy's school teacher, Ms. Johnson, is always singing his praises.  Academically he excels and she is always trying to find new ways to expand his knowledge.  We've always known that Andy is a genius (but we're a little biased) but our favorite comments are when Ms. Johnson thanks us for raising such a polite and kind little boy.  She says that he's always willing to help her in class, help his fellow students, and is always polite to adults.  When the Bishop was interviewing Andy for his baptism, he remarked that he truly felt that Andy is a special spirit of our Heavenly Father's and that He loves Andy very much.  The Bishop also was impressed with Andy and said he could tell that Andy has a great love for our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  Andy is indeed a special person and we are so grateful

that he is a part of our family.  We love you Andy!