The Stewart Family: April 2014

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Ashley's Baptism

Ashley was baptized March 22, 2014. She is a wonderful example of a girl who loves life and learning. Her baptism day was wonderful, and I am so glad she took this step on the path back to Heavenly Father.

Ashley loves to be outside, so we took a picture of her by her favorite climbing tree. :)

Ashley wanted to wear my baptism dress to be baptized in. That was really special for both of us.

We were so glad to have family come into town - my parents and my grandma and Jared's parents.

After the baptism we had a special program at home. Jared's parents gave Ashley a picture of Esther and a beautiful Baptism Book filled with memories of other family members' baptism days.

My parents gave Ashley a necklace from Saudi Arabia that symbolizes the Plan of Happiness. It matches a necklace that I have, which I got in Saudi as a teenager.

Gigi gave Ashley her own mini hymnbook. Grandma (Gigi) gave me a mini hymnbook for my baptism gift 24 years ago. (Wow!) This gift also held significance because Gigi's first calling in the church was when she was called to lead the music at only 5 years old!

Jared and I gave Ashley her own set of scriptures as well as a collection of letters from immediate and extended family sharing experiences when they have recognized and felt the Spirit in their lives. This was a tradition my parents started, and I was excited to pass it on.

Ashley and me with our matching necklaces.

Once in a lifetime...

My sweet grandma was able to come out for Ashley's baptism (pics/post coming) and then stay an extra week so we could work on some life history projects together. It was great! At the end of the week, we attended the General Women's broadcast together - Four Generations - Grandma, Mom, Me, and Ashley! It was wonderful, and I was so glad Ashley was old enough to attend the first one ever. Yay!

Monday, April 21, 2014

Happy Birthday, Bethany!

I love this time of year because we get to celebrate a birthday every month for a few months in a row. This time, Grandma & Grandpa Stewart were able to join us for Bethany's 6th Birthday. Here are a few highlights.

She had a piano themed party, so we went with black and white mostly.

We tried a new recipe for breakfast and it was a huge success..French Toast Roll-Ups...YUM!!!

We started off with a rousing game of Pin the Thumb on Middle C. Everyone traced their own hand and then we blindfolded each person and had them try to put their thumb on the Middle C on the piano. Great fun!

One of the games was Name That Tune. We played songs from different genres - Movies, Church, Classical, Oldies, Contemporary, and Country. I could not believe how fast the girls guessed the songs. Rarely did I have to play more than one (yes, 1) second of the song.

Another game we played was building a piano. Each team got wafers and Kit Kats and they had to build a piano in the correct formation. Mmm...I love eating black keys!

After her $3 bike finally bit the dust, we decided it was time for a new bike. Yay!

I wish I could take credit for this cake, but this is the work of Bethany's Spanish tutor. She knew Bethany loved pink and playing the piano, so she surprised Bethany with this beautiful creation. It was a work of art! It was so beautiful we didn't want to eat it!