Tori's Baptism Day

On Saturday October 8, 2011 Our sweet Victoria Lynne was baptized. This is a day that she has waited and waited for. It turned out so wonderfully and was a day that I hope Tori will always remember. A few weeks before Tori's baptism, Brandon and I took her up to the temple to take some pictures of her in her baptism dress. (Well I took her, but forgot the camera, so then Brandon brought it to us and then joined us) Brandon got some great pictures of Tori. We had several people asked if we got them taken by a professional! This one by the tree is my absolute favorite. My good friend Catherine designed some cute photos for us to display at the baptism. I LOVE how they turned out.

She also designed her invitations

The night before her baptism I was putting pictures in frames and getting as many things ready as I could. I decided to give her the baptism keepsake book that we got her. I love the onw I found. She wanted me to read it to her. It has a different word pertaining to baptism and then an explanation, and mixed in are pages to write memories of your baptism. It is quite long, and as I was reading it I worried that she might get bored. Much to my surprise, halfway through she looked up at me and said, "Mom, there is nothing else I would rather being doing then reading this with you." It totally melted my heart =)


On the day of her baptism there was a lot to do to get ready. I really tried not to let everything stress me out. After a near cupcake disaster I almost lost it, but managed to keep my cool. We arrived to the church a half hour early to make sure everything was all set up and ready to go. There were only 2 kids jumpers in the closet. Luckily one fit OK, although it was a tad too big. Here are Brandon and Tori standing in front of the table we set up that was outside the baptism room.

Brandon spent a lot of time making sure the roses were arranged perfectly. Then he came up with a clever way to fill the vase with water without messing up the arrangement, by using a funnel. I had to snap a picture =)

After setting up the little entrance table, the desert table (I forgot to take a picture of that!), and making sure that Brandon and Tori had jumpers to fit, we decided to take some pictures before it started. I wish I had gotten more pictures of everyone there. We are so grateful for all of the people that came to support Tori on her special day. We know that there were a lot of family members that wished so badly to be there, but we know they were there in spirit =)

Tori's primary class sang "I'm Trying to be like Jesus" Here they are practicing before hand. They sounded so sweet, and it added a special spirit to the baptism.

Here's how the program went so we have it written down somewhere:

Conducting- Layne Crowther

Opening Song: "I Pray in Faith"

Chorister- Adena Duffy

Pianist- Stephanie Pollock

Opening Prayer- Jana Bronson (Nana)

Talk on Baptism- Diana (Me!)

Baptism Performed by Brandon (Dad)

Witnesses- Grandpa and Papa

Interlude- Primary songs played by Stephanie Pollock

Special Musical Number- "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus" sang by The CTR 7 primary class

Talk on the Holy Ghost- Grandma

Confirmation performed by Brandon

Standing in the circle- Grandpa, Papa, Great Grandpa Barker, Kevin Beyerlein and Bishop Duane Duffy

Presentation by the Primary- Gloria Harris

Bishopric Remarks- Layne Crowther

Closing Song- "When I am Baptized"

Closing Prayer- Alexis Bronson

It was so neat to see how happy Tori was, and so touching to watch her feel the spirit. When I was helping her to change into her baptism dress after Brandon Baptized her, I asked her how she felt, and she said "I feel really happy!" The Spirit was so strong and it is something that I will never forget.

After the Baptism we had refreshments in the relief society room. It was fun to visit with everyone. I felt so good about how everything turned out =)

Afterwards, Brandon and I took Tori on a special dinner date, just the three of us to Olive Garden. It was so nice to spend time with just Tori and us to talk about the day. We gave her scriptures to her which she had been anxiously waiting for. She loves them, and has already marked some of her favorite scriptures.

Tori brings us so much joy. It makes us so happy to see her little testimony grow. Her sweet spirit strengthens us, out home and all those that come in contact with her. What a privilege it is to be her mom =)