Today has been an absolutely wonderful day! Dalton was baptized today! This winter has been the driest winter on record, with absolutely no snow fall in the month of December. This morning we woke up to about 4 inches of snow! The world is beautiful, pure, and white- just as pure and clean as Dalton is now after his baptism. As we were getting ready for his baptism, our friend and neighbor, Todd Davis, came and plowed our driveway with his tractor. It was so nice of him. There's no way we would have had time to do that today. Dalton's baptism was at 1pm at the Plain City Stake Center. Jake baptized him and everything was absolutely perfect. Dalton's Great Grandpa, Eldon Weston, was one of the witnesses. There's not many kids who can say that their Great Grandpa was a witness at their baptism. Dalton's Grandpa Dalton (Jeff) was the other witness. Jake had talked to his dad (Dallas) and asked him if it was ok if we asked Great Grandpa to be a witness instead of him and he said he thought that was a great idea. I got to give the spotlight about Dalton, here's what I said: "I’m going to tell you a little bit about Dalton. Dalton has always had a love for life and has always been a very busy little boy. I knew I was in for it from the time I could first feel him moving in my stomach. He was always moving then and he hasn’t stopped since! I always had quite the stories to tell Jake each evening when he got home of the mischief Dalton got into when he was a toddler. When Dalton was about five we were looking through some of his pictures and he said, “I’ve sure had a great life!” He really has. He has a love and zest for life. He always wants to take in all the wonderful things this world has to offer. He has a love for the outdoors: fishing, camping, hunting, riding horses and four wheelers. He also has a love for all sports. He loves learning and enjoys school. He has a gift of easily learning and remembering things that shows not only in his academics but also in his extracurricular activities. I hope you know, Dalton, that that is a special gift or talent that our Heavenly Father has given you. Dalton definitely keeps things exciting around our house. This fall Dalton was playing outside and I was working in the kitchen, Dalton came in the back door and said, “look what I caught!” I thought for sure it was some sort of bug or something. I glance up and he is holding a biting, squawking ibis or irrigation bird. I was at a loss for words! I finally managed to say, “get that thing out of the house!” Can you imagination if it had gotten loose in the house? This past summer the kids were playing outside. I heard the sound of a power drill running in the garage. I knew Jake was at work and I thought, oh no! I went out there and Dalton was building his own bike ramp. He was drilling screws in to hold the boards together. He was almost finished so I watched him finish the rest, then gave him a lecture about using his Dad’s tools unsupervised. The boys and I have this joke about the things that I say that I never would have thought I’d say. Such as: “Don’t bring irrigation birds into the house!” Or telling my seven-year old at the time, “stay out of the power tools!” Dalton also has a tender heart and a love for others. When he was in first grade, he came home one winter day and was telling me about school. He said that that day at recess he had given his coat to another boy who hadn’t brought his coat. I told him that that was a very nice thing to do, but I asked him if he was cold at recess playing without his coat and he replied “no. I was warm because I knew I had done a nice thing.” He’s always looking out for other kids who may be the underdog or may be in need of a friend. This year the 2nd graders like to play soccer at recess. He and his friend Mac are the only two boys who play on the girls’ soccer team. He said that there weren’t enough girls who wanted to play to make things even and he and Mac wanted to help them. He’s always been very independent and has never cared about being cool or what other’s think. He has a very strong sense of who he is and is very comfortable in his own skin. He is a natural leader. We were watching the news about 2 years ago and they were showing footage from the earthquake in Haiti. Dalton said, “We should help them, we should go to Home Depot and buy wood and tools to send to them so they can rebuild their homes.” I couldn’t think of another 6 year old at the time who would’ve thought of something like that. Dalton has become such a help to me. The week after Christmas I got a really bad cold. Dalton got up every morning for about 3 days and changed Ridge’s diaper and fed his brothers breakfast. Dalton has a love for the scriptures and loves to teach our family and tell us stories at family night. He is a really good teacher and loves to involve us all and asks great questions! I love hearing the things he’s learning in primary. He has had amazing primary teachers! Dalton is very thoughtful and complimentary. He is always giving me compliments about my cooking or other simple things I do around the house. It makes my day that he notices the little things I do and appreciates it. Dalton, I feel so very blessed to have you as my son. Your Dad and I are so proud of you and are especially proud of you today for the decision you have made to be baptized. You are such a good son and a good big brother and example to your younger brothers. I want you to know that the greatest gift I’ve ever received is the one you are about to: the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost has helped me so much in my life: It helped in making the decision to marry your dad; it has helped me in making all the important decisions I’ve had to make in my life. It has also helped me avoid things that could’ve led me in harm’s way. I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and the guidance it gives me daily. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Jake also confirmed Dalton. After his confirmation Gunnar leaned over to me and said, "look mom, I have tears!" He was feeling the Holy Ghost, it was so neat. Randy spoke about baptism, he showed a poster with pictures of all 5 of Jake's siblings and his dad when they were each baptized. Natalie spoke about the Holy Ghost and did a cool object lesson where she poured water in a bowl and it made the arrow change directions. The bishop spoke about making covenants and commitments, he asked Dalton questions and Dalton knew every answer and was so cute in his responses. Dalton even gave an example of a technique they use at school to help set and achieve goals. Here's a copy of the program:
Baptism Program
Child’s Full Name: Dalton Jacob Weston
Date: January 7th, 2012
Presiding: Bishop Matt Dixon
Conducting: Bryce Moyes, Ward Mission Leader
Pianist: Jennifer Taylor, Dalton’s Aunt
Chorister: Pam Dalton, Dalton’s Grandma
Opening Song: When I am Baptized (children’s songbook)
Invocation: Dallas Weston, Dalton’s Grandpa
Spotlight: Alayna Weston, Dalton’s Mom
Talk on Baptism: Randy Weston, Dalton’s Uncle
Talk on the Holy Ghost: Natalie Green, Dalton’s Aunt
Baptismal Ordinance: Jake Weston, Dalton’s Dad
Confirmation: Jake Weston, Dalton’s Dad
Welcome to the Ward: Bishop Matt Dixon
Closing Song: The Church of Jesus Christ
Benediction: Jeff Dalton, Dalton’s Grandpa
Dalton chose everything on his program, he chose each song he wanted to sing without any prompting from Jake or I, he chose who he wanted to speak and pray- he was very decisive, he knew exactly what he wanted for his special day. After his baptism and confirmation, we ended up having his luncheon at our church instead of at our house. When I was adding up everyone who was coming, we ended up with close to 100 people and thought we would all be a little more comfortable at the church. We had a potato bar and salads and then cookies and brownies for dessert. Later that night Jake's parents came over to bring Dalton a special gift. Jake's mom makes a quilt to give to each of her grandkids when they get baptized. She lets them pick out their own fabric, Dalton chose a world map print for the front because he said, "it would help him learn more about the world" and he chose a hunting print for the back because "he and dad would think it was cool." Joyce also wrote her testimony on the quilt for Dalton to be able to always read and be strengthened and comforted by. It was a wonderful day. We are so proud of you Dalton for making the choice to be like our Savior be baptized. We are so grateful for all the love and support that has been shown to Dalton by our family and friends. It has been an awesome day!
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