Noah's Baptism

Noah has been planning his baptism for months. He chose the songs and the speakers, who would say the prayers, the witnesses; he even picked all his favourite food for the lunch afterward! It was sweet that he was so excited.

I like to watch my childrens baptisms from the side of the font where the changing rooms are. (Most mothers stand in front of the font with the congregation.) I feel closer to being a part of the ordinance as I wink at them when they take a deep breath in as they step into the warm water and look back at me with wide expectant eyes. I get to see them immersed, their feet and hands splaying everywhere. I see their happy and excited faces when I wrap them up in a towel and those few precious moments we have alone while they get changed and tell me what it was like for them. Noah wanted to do it all again, it felt so good! I told him he could do it when he was twelve for other people at the temple, and he replied 'I can also baptise my children if I have any!'. I love that he thinks that far ahead. I love that Noah decided to have this special day.

It's Great To Be Eight

Mr Noah turned eight today! He has been counting down the days for weeks now and is excited that he gets to be baptised on Saturday. He was anticipating his birthday morning so much that he was awake at 2am, 4am, and 6:30am. (It's like I have a newborn in the house again!). It's a good job he's so lovely and gives me plenty of kisses to make up for it. My favourite photo of today is this one: 

Such concentration on the blowing! And yes, that's a baking tray you see in the photo. The birthday boy wanted a tray bake instead of a regular cake, so that is what he had. Happy birthday Noah!

Christmas Mug Shots

It's that time of year again where I make the children stand close to each other and try to make them smile and look at me, all at the same time. Honestly, the things they have to endure so that I can send some photos to family. I compared the 2011 picture with this years photo (same fake tree!) and realised just how big my children got:

I'm slightly concerned that Ben won't ever stop growing, he is fourteen and a half and is five foot ten inches! Can you believe there is only seventeen months between him and Ethan? I also noticed that Rosie's hair grew at a ridiculous rate over the year, and my little man Noah isn't so little any more.

 

Well, now that I've got my nostalgia out of the way, let me wish you a very merry Christmas from the Miles family!

A Word Of Advice...

...don't lose your committee of four the month you have to organise, decorate and cook a roast for a Downton Abbey themed Relief Society Christmas dinner for 69 people. It's stressful. Also, try not to get your budget slashed in that same month. My proudest achievement of the year is that I managed to decorate the church hall for the grand sum of £10.58. It's not quite as grand as I had originally planned but the sisters loved it all the same:

It looked so pretty in the evening with all the fairy lights and low lights:

With the help of some good friends we managed to get the roast out to everyone and enjoyed one anothers company. I love that at Christmas we have a chance to welcome sisters who haven't made it to church all year, and friends that have never set foot through the chapel door. It's truly a privilege to serve the women of the Newton Abbot ward (in and out of the gospel) and I love that we do this every year for them, to show them our love and gratitude for all they do.

(Last tip: get more men to help with the washing up and drying!)