Kyrie's 8th birthday and baptism!

I cannot believe Kyrie is already 8. That just sounds way too old. And it makes ME feel way too old to have an 8 year old! ;) Her birthday was pretty crazy this year. On her actual birthday, we kept things really low-key. We had almost Derk's entire side of the family coming down for her baptism that weekend, and she wanted to wait for them to celebrate. So her actual birthday we spent at home, and we made Fettuccine Alfredo, per Kyrie's request. She did open a couple of gifts -- a package from my mom, and then Derk and I got her a new bed and nightstand.

Late that night (or should I say early the next morning), Derk's parents arrived. Friday we went and did a little shopping. Kyrie got some gift cards for her birthday and wanted to go spend them. Friday evening, Jessica and her boyfriend Mike came down from Phoenix to spend the weekend with us. We had a fun time hanging out and playing games.

Saturday was pure chaos! Kyrie's baptism (for those of you who don't know, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, children aren't baptized until age 8, which is the age of accountability -- click HERE for more details, and scroll down to "Little Children and Baptism") was scheduled for 2pm, then we had her party scheduled for 4:00. I don't know what we were thinking! Actually, I'm pretty sure we weren't thinking. Anyhow, I ran around like a crazy person all morning trying to get everything ready. Meanwhile, we were waiting for Derk's brother, Drew, his wife and their 2 girls to come into town for the baptism. Around 10am, I realized they'd forgotten about the time change (we're an hour ahead), so that's when the praying started! I wanted them to be there so badly and kept praying and praying that they wouldn't miss it. They were due to arrive around 2:30, so we hoped we could stall the baptism until then.

My mother-in-law made Kyrie a white dress to wear after the baptism. She made my wedding dress, the blessing dress both Kyrie and Cambria were blessed in and Asher's blessing outfit, so I thought it was only fitting that I ask her to make this dress as well. It turned out so beautiful! I helped Kyrie get all dressed and ready, then we were in a mad rush to get to the church.

This is the front of her program I made

And here's the inside
(click on the picture, and it'll be large enough to read)

We'd done the opening song, opening prayer, Jessica sang a beautiful song (to hear the song, click HERE -- this is NOT Jessica, it's just a Youtube video I found-- and to read the lyrics click HERE) and my talk on baptism, then I went in and helped Kyrie change into the baptism jumper. I tried to take as long as I could, both because I was savoring this special moment with her and also because Drew and Rebecca still weren't there. I led Kyrie to the baptismal font, and Derk was already in the water waiting for her. She was literally walking down the steps to the font when Jean (my mother-in-law) said Drew and Rebecca had called and said they were in the church parking lot! Talk about "in the nick of time"!!

After the baptism, Grandma Stephens insisted we get some family pictures. I'm so glad we did!

Kyrie in her beautiful dress


My 3 rugrats!


Our family


Drew (Derk's brother), Rebecca, Abigail and Lauren


4 generations!


Scott and Jean, Derk and I, Drew and Rebecca, Jessica and Mike


Asher and Abbie--
the cutest little 4.5 year old cousins you ever did see!


The whole Stephens Crew


This picture is special because Derk performed the baptism
and Scott performed the confirmation


We sure love this girl!

After the baptism, we headed (okay, rushed) back to our house to get ready for Kyrie's birthday party. We had a house full! There were 19 people here total, including Kyrie's friends and Derk's grandparents. Crazy, but way fun. Kyrie wanted an ice cream cake this year, which took me off the hook for making the cake. I was a little bummed at first, but it ended up being a blessing because I wouldn't have had time anyway. Here are some pictures from her party!

The rest of the weekend passed in a blur. We had so much fun, and I was so busy that I pretty much forgot to take any pictures. We had everyone staying at our house, which was once again super crazy but super fun at the same time. We stayed up late every night playing games, went to Chuck E. Cheese one night, went to the park, did lots of playing on the trampoline, enjoyed good food and, most importantly, enjoyed great company!