Pacen's Baptism

Last Sunday, July 22nd, Pacen was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!  It was the best day.  Really since I've had some time to process it, that day ranks right up there with the day he was born.  I was filled with so much love for that little boy I could hardly stand it.  Both Than and I were.  We were just so proud of him for the sweet boy that he is and this is the first step of many that he'll take and we know he's on the right path and that he really wanted to get baptized and has a small testimony growing inside of him.  We got him some new grown up scriptures and he's been reading them on his own!  I love it.  He is taking very special care of them.  

Right before his baptism was a little crazy since many of the Hancock clan didn't anticipate that wonderful bay area traffic, but luckily everyone made it.  Kyle and Becca came in with just a minute to spare!  Pacen was just so excited and nervous and so dang cute.  

Proud parents....

...and siblings! (Plus Olive!) Those girls were just as excited as Pacen was.  They were very happy and supportive of Pacen.

Isn't it crazy that we have a child old enough to be baptized?!?!?!  We are getting old. 

Than took this sweet picture on Instagram.   I just wanted to soak up every emotion and feeling that I had that day.  I think most of all I was just happy.  And I was just praying that Pacen would feel the Holy Ghost in his heart testifying of the truthfulness of the Gospel and could feel the love from his Heavenly Father and the love from us.  Getting baptized is a big deal and I hope that Pacen can remember the feelings he had and moments from that day. 

The program was really cute.  He wanted his GGma and Grammy to give the talks.  Carolyn gave the talk on Baptism and it was perfect.  There were a ton of people there, more than I had anticipated.  We were very supported by our family and friends and by our ward which meant that there were also lots of little kids there.  Carolyn reminded everyone that they are all excited and learning how to be reverent and to not think of it as plain old noise but to think of it as a learning time.  She told the who, what, when, where and why of baptism and it was great because our neighbors who are not members came and so it was good for them to hear some basics.  

Becky gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and explained how the Holy Ghost will never change and how we have to be still and listen for His promptings.  She told one story about how the Holy Ghost prompted her  to find Than in the street when he was just a baby when she was certain he was just playing in the closet, and then another story about how someone else listened to the Holy Ghost to bless her life.  

When Pacen walked in the water I just couldn't help but smile.  I just love that boy so much and am so proud of him.  There were so many kids that were smashed up in the front so that they could see him be baptized.  He is setting the example for the girls and those primary kids that look up to him.  I'm so happy that I married Than and that he lives worthy of the Priesthood that he holds so that he can baptize our kids and lead our family.  Pacen is lucky to have that example.  

While they were changing, I had Shauna and Kathryn Black (his piano teacher that he picked to play the piano) lead some primary songs and we all sang and it was just fun. All the kids sang loud and it got some of their energy out.  

While Pacen was in changing, I had Than give him his CTR ring.  When I was baptized, Angelee left my CTR ring in my bag and I found it when I was changing.  I love that ring and I wanted Pacen to love it too.  He's also taking very good care of that. 

After he was done changing, the little girl cousins....Camry, Claira, Heidi, Kaylee, Daisy, and Olive...and blake couldn't help himself....sang I Am a Child of God.  My girls had never sung in front of people before but they did a fantastic job.  

Then is was time for the confirmation.  This is where he is confirmed a member of the church and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost....a gift that will stay with him for the rest of his life and be a comforter and help and protection to him as long as he lives worthy of it.   

After it was all finished, I sent Kaylee, Shauna, and Becca to the kitchen to help with ice cream sundaes.  There were soooo many people we almost didn't have enough but we did. And I didn't have to worry because I knew that those girls were in charge.   I was so glad to have them there to help. 

We took a few pictures afterward.  Here is Pacen with his grandma and great grandma.  I will admit that I was sad that I didn't have any of my side of the family there.  I know my mom was there in spirit and that my sisters would have made it if they could, but I am glad that so many of the Hancock's could be there.  

This is a four generation picture.  Herman Hancock, Walt Hancock, Nathaniel Hancock and Pacen Hancock. 

This is the four generation family picture.  

And this might just be the cutest 8 year old EVER!   Doesn't he just look so fly in his new suit from Papa Loren???  He felt pretty special in it all day.  

Oh, I just love this boy.  Than and I both do and we talk about how lucky we are to have him all the time.  Congratulations on your baptism, bud.  We love you. 

Sam is Married!!!

A day we thought might never come finally CAME!  Sam is married!  And we really, really like her!  Everyone kept saying, "You can just see how happy Sam is!"  And he really is the happiest that he's ever been with her and that's the way it should be. 

But before that could happen we had three days of crazy at Kathy's house.  We drove late Friday.  Not get in at 8 am late, but get in at 3 am late which is a lot better. Saturday was Hilary's shower which was a lot of fun.  Neither Becca, Kathy, nor I had bought a gift so we headed out to BB&B to grab something off the registry but then we swayed a little from that and got her some even more awesome stuff.  The shower was a lot of fun and had yummy food.  Hilary's family is very friendly and welcoming and we all had a great time.

The afternoon was spent running errands of all kinds.  Kaylee needed vases for the centerpieces.  She was doing the flowers for the wedding and she did awesome!!!  I needed some 'utah stuff" like new scriptures and a CTR ring to give to Pacen for his baptism and some hair bows for the girls for the wedding.  Than planned a Bachelor party for Sam and had to get some stuff for that.  The bachelor party was super fun, so I was told. They went go-karting and had dinner at Iggy's and sufficiently embarrassed Sam with some boy presents and gave the table next to them some fun entertainment in all the laughing and Sam turning bright red.
That night for me was AWFUL.  Kaylee, Becca, and Shauna were all gone running errands so all the kids were at Kathy's house.  I was trying to get the kids out the door for a bit since they were getting a little stir crazy, but then Olive's fever spiked and I held her for a while and tried to coerce her to take some tylenol which didn't work but was able to lie her down on the couch with some ice to put on her forehead.  As I'm doing this Gentry is screaming blood curdling screams in her crib because she doesn't want to take a nap and then, Daisy and Claira were sitting too close to Penny and something happened that made Penny afraid and she snapped and nipped poor Claira on the face!  It was then that I really went into crazy woman mode and beat the crap out of my dog and threw her, literally threw her in her kennel (You can report me to PETA) and tried to take care of Claira.  All that was running through my mind was that we were going to have to get rid of Penny, Claira is going to have a giant scar on her face, why can't Daisy just leave Penny alone.  Turns out it was the second time that Penny snapped at Daisy but I didn't know about the first one.  After stewing about it and crying about it and talking through it with a bunch of people, we came to the decision that Penny was not doing it maliciously, but was just protecting herself and that we need to do a better job and keeping her kenneled when there are so many kids around and just being more aware of her.  She never snaps at my kids, but has been knows to snap in situations like this, where she feels like she's being smothered and not safe.  But seriously, that was the worst ever.  We did end up going to the park.  Than's grandma walked with me and the kids over there and it was good to get some air and let the kids get some energy out.  I just wished we would have walked out the door ten minutes earlier.  Lessons learned, I suppose.  But I did end the day with a cafe rio salad to console my troubled soul.  Cafe rio does solve the world's problems.

Sunday was a fun day.  We just got ready for the Groom's Dinner that was to be held at Kathy's.  We went to church and then got ready some more.  Kathy's backyard looked so cute and for some reason I didn't take any pictures.  Kaylee made some signs for the Oroville reception that were hung all over and Carolyn threw together some super cute centerpieces.  The food was fantastic and everyone had a great time.  The weather was a little touch and go there for a while.  Big black rain clouds and wind.  Not ideal for a backyard BBQ.  So I (and I'm sure everyone else) said a little prayer for good weather and it totally held off and at the end the clouds were broken up and the sun was shining through!  Heavenly Father answers prayers!

Here are the few pictures I did get of that day. 

George and his Great Grandpa Herman. 

Hancock women working in the kitchen. 

Playing in Kathy's yard. 

All the cousins except Gentry and Blake.  All having lots of cousin fun.  

Sunday night Shauna's kids ended up sleeping over at Kathy's too.  It probably wasn't my most smart decision ever made, but the kids had fun and we all survived even if it added unnecessary crazy to the crazy.  These two were super happy to be part of the big kids. 

Monday was flower day and since I was the only one without a babysitter I tried to find Camry some wedding shoes and tried to buy my new lens but failed on both.  So to console myself I headed down to Jana's to play in the two hours that I had that were not part of the wedding itinerary.  The kids played and Jana and I chatted and I saw their vacation video and it was like therapy.  Then it was back to Kathy's to get ready for the wedding and of course we hit up sonic happy hour for our drive home!

Tuesday was the BIG DAY!!!  The sealing was wonderful and I was so proud of Sam.  I love Sam.  He's really the closest thing that I have to a brother and he's lived with us and he love our kids and we have a good relationship and it was great to be there on such a special day.  Hilary is really great and I'm glad that he's found her.  They will do lots of good in the world.

Our family waiting for the happy couple to come out. 

A new pic of me and Than.  I love that guy. 

The Hancock girls and their grandma. 

More waiting.  My kids feel a need to just jump on people whenever they want.

The girls were sooooooo excited for them to come out....

...and out they came.  Look at those happy faces!  And those flowers!  It was Kaylee's first wedding all on her own and she just did a great job.  I was proud of her.  That is a ton of stress and she handled it beautifully!

After lunch at the Brick Oven and a little nap at Kathy's, it was already time to head to the reception.  It was really beautiful.  The flowers were amazing, there were lots of pictures everywhere which I always love, it was catered by J-Dawgs....Hello!!!  What can be better than that?!?!?!  Oh yeah, and they had tons of Kathy's rolo cookies.  It did get better than that!  I didn't take a ton of pictures, but Shauna hijacked my camera and it must have been her mission to get a picture of everyone shoving food in their mouths.  

We were glad that joe and candy could make the trip out.  

The little girls were obsessed with Hilary.  She was the real princess for the day and they were constantly following her around.

Both Camry and Claira had turns to hold the bouquet and that made their day. 

Centerpieces in the day and evening.  Have I said how proud of Kaylee I was?!??!  

Hilary's yard was the perfect place for a reception because it had a great place for kids to play. 

That tire swing was the big hit. 

The sandbox was nice too.

When Gentry wasn't sitting on my lap she was.....

...just off wondering around like the little miss independent she is.  She just makes me laugh.  No shoes, just on her way to somewhere.

Than did a great job heading up trashing Sam's car.  Pacen was super proud of himself. 

Than was proud of himself for his sign that read, "Multiply and replenish."  You can figure out his picture.  

The whole crew. 

My friend, Tiffany, came to visit me!  That was so nice of them and I loved seeing them and their cute little growing family.  

Everyone just hanging out. 

She threw the bouquet....

...and those girls were loving it! 

The cutting of the cake....

I should have called that he would shove it in her face!  Notice how hard her pushed on her....he totally shoved her out of the frame!  That's sam for ya. 

And then they left!  Claira signed a cute note on their blanket. 

Whew!  It's over!  We packed up and headed out at 3 am the next morning!  Than is nuts but it was nice that the kids slept until Battle Mountain, which if you've driven as many times as we have across nevada, you know it's half way so that was pretty awesome.  So yeah for Sam and Hilary.  Yeah for Kathy letting us crash at her house and make it crazy.  Yeah for an Oroville reception on Saturday so we get to do it all again!