Mendonite Welkers: April 2010

We got up early Saturday morning to start hitting the Easter Egg hunts. Mendon's Egg Hunt started at 9 a.m. Of course, it snowed the night before but we were still going to try the hunt anyway. This is the first time we have done the egg hunt in Mendon so it took us a bit to find it. Well, it ended up being hard to find because it was canceled due to the snow and wind. So, in the parking lot they put two garbage sacks of filled Easter eggs and the kids could each pick six. A bit of a bummer for the kids.

After breakfast we all loaded in the truck and headed to the Easter Egg Hunt at Lee's Market Place. We loaded in the truck so we could make a stop at Lowe's. At Lee's there were tons of people and the Easter Bunny! Nicole wasn't too sure of the Easter Bunny, thus, Dave in the picture. The store was crazy with people. It took us an hour to go through the egg hunt at the store!

Needless to say, we didn't make our stop at Lowe's. We had to leave and head directly to the Easter Egg Hunt in Nibley. The Nibley hunt is funny. It started at 1 p.m. and was over by 1:03 p.m. The girls did good. They took off running and were able to get some eggs.

We left Nibley and headed back in to Lowe's for our shopping and then home to have Grandma Peterson over for dinner. After dinner, Dave headed to the Priesthood session of General Conference and us girls dyed eggs. Hannah and Ashley came up with some awesome colors and designs. Nicole....well.....she was just into dunking as many eggs as possible and then couldn't leave them alone long enough for them to dry. I swear she had more than two hands during this activity. I'm sure she grew at least three more!

Then came Easter morning and a visit from the Easter Bunny! This year the girls each got a tube of bubbles, sidewalk chalk, flip-flops and a little bit of candy. Hannah got a batmitton game, Ashley got a catch game, and Nicole got some yard tools (shovel, rake and hoe). She'll love using them this summer as we work on getting our yard in!

On March 27, 2010, Hannah was Baptized and Confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Hannah - we are so proud of you for making the choice to be baptized. You are a choice Daughter of a Heavenly Father that loves you. I hope you know how proud he is of you for your decision to join His church.

Hannah was Baptized by Dave. I'm sure she will always remember that Dave forgot to say her name at the beginning and they had the opportunity of starting over. Dave was so nervous about saying all of the right words that he forgot her name but the second time around was perfect! You've always got to have something to remember. I myself was dunked twice because Amen was not said.

There is a bit of significance that goes along with Hannah being Baptized on this day. March 27 is also my Dad's birthday. Hannah is the only one of my children that remember my Dad. She loved him and he loved her too. I know it was special for Hannah to be Baptized on this day and I'm sure my Dad was proud too. When we asked the Bishop when Hannah would be Baptized we could decide to have March 27 or the first Sunday in May. Hannah knowing that March 27 was Grandpa's birthday was set from the get-go that this was the day she wanted to have it done.

Hannah was also Baptized with Treyson Harris who is another member of our ward. What is significant about this? Treyson's grandpa and my Dad were best friends. They worked together for many years at Thiokol and carpooled together for years.

For this Baptism our ward was in charge of the music and the prayer. Our family was over the prayer and Hannah asked Uncle Glade to give it. We are thankful for his willingness to quickly say yes and be apart of Hannah's big day.

I hope Hannah remembers how much support she had on her big day. Here's a list of who came: Grandma Nana, Grandma Peterson, Traci, Casidy, Uncle Bob, Aunt Pat, Heather, Miley, Uncle Glade, Aunt Erin, Aunt Linda, Aunt Janee, Kate, Ben Delaynie, Uncle Ken, Aunt Emma, Rachel, Jacob, Johnny, Jordan, Marissa, Uncle Nate, Aunt Kendal, Bridger, Sam, McKenna, Eme, Ann Marie (school friend) and DeWayne and Bonnie who are neighbors to Grandma Peterson that you have taken on as another set of Grandparents. We also know that Grandma and Grandpa Welker would have been there but they were serving the Lord on their Mission in New Mexico.

For Hannah's confirmation her Dad performed the ordinance and the following were in the circle: Uncle Bob, Uncle Glade, Uncle Ken, Uncle Nate, DeWayne and Bishop Davidson.

Another fun story:
The month of March has been rather hectic at the Welker house. Knowing that Hannah's birthday party and Baptism were going to be back-to-back, I had to take every oportunity during the previous week to run errands. On Wednesday, I was running errands at Six Star to get napkins, table cloths, cups, etc. for the b-day party and Baptism and as I'm checking out my phone rings. I did not recognize the phone number and we were getting internet hook up this day and when I chatted with Dave he hadn't heard from the company yet so I quickly answered it thinking that's who it was. On the other line the voice introduces themself as the Stake Primary President. She informed me that a young man from Petersboro had been killed the night before and a funeral needed to be held at the Mendon Stake Center on Saturday. She was calling to see if we would be able to move the Baptism up from 10 a.m. to 9 a.m. What?!? By this time in the week anything that could have gone wrong had. This was the icing on the cake. I informed her that it would be very difficult for us to change the time due to the fact that we had family driving in from American Fork, Lehi and Woods Cross. I asked what the other families had said (there were two other kids being baptised) but she hadn't been able to contact either of them yet. The conversation ended with me saying that it really was hard for us but if we were the only family that couldn't be accommodated then we'd have to make do. She was going to contact the Stake President and see what he wanted to do.

I heard nothing until 8:30 Wednesday night when a message was left on my phone that the Stake President was able to work it out with the Funeral home and we could still hold the baptism at 10 a.m. Phew! Prayers are answered! That could have been a nightmare contacting everyone and having them adjust accordingly.

We arrived at the church at 9:30 a.m. the morning of the Baptism and got some pictures by the Font. Hannah was so anxious to get the show on the road but the clock wasn't moving fast enough!

After the baptism, all came to our house for a delicious lunch (except for Uncle Bob and his family and DeWayne and Bonnie) of turkey sandwiches, chips, salads and brownie sundaes for dessert. Everything tasted so good!

By 3:30 when the last car left the driveway, Dave and I were exhausted! Hannah and Ashley went with Uncle Glade to Nibley to play, Nicole went down for a nap and Dave and I collapsed on the couch after taking the tables and chairs down. The day ended by going to Nibley to deliver tables and chairs, having a hamburger/hot dog picnic, and heading home with exhausted girls.

Thanks to all who supported Hannah on her big day. We appreciate your love for her.

Congratulations Hannah! We are proud of you!