So, today is my JDB’s 12th birthday.  Happy birthday sweet boy!  We made cake and opened present for him.  He got a new PS3 game, MineCraft, a DS Lite charging cable and a nice skateboard.  We love you dear boy of our heart!

After we watched JDB practice a bit on his skateboard I told MSB I was going to write a letter and send it in to the Church membership Headquarters and request my named removed.  He was upset for a while.  It is one thing to talk about things and quite another to do them.  I understand but I need to do this, it is right for me.  Well, we talked about things on our porch swing for a bit and I told him I wanted to be baptized and pay tithing to those in need, not again to the LDS church.

Yes!!!  Let’s do these things our hearts have been teaching us.  As we talked he seemed to feel better about my desire to have my name removed.  He also wanted me to be re-baptized as he already has been, and has sought to be sustained by 7 women and receive a confirmation from the Lord to have authority to perform the work.  We prayed.  He said he felt nothing.  I reminded that the Lord usually never sends a grand witness but simple almost unnoticeable answers.  I suggested we just go stand in the creek and see what happens then I jumped up (pressing the issue with action) to put on my water shoes.  To my surprise he came with me.  We went into the bedroom and I put on my bathing suit top and some exercise pants with my TEVA sandals.  He wore just his plain garment top, gray shorts and his water sandals from a scout trip years ago.  Oh my gosh!  What excitement filled me as we held hands, just him and I, and walked down to the creek in our backyard.  Yesterday MSB had done some significant clearing out as we have been on the search for a baptismal spot since our campout was cancelled.  We have been looking at several spots but none have been ideal.  Suddenly, I felt like we were ridiculous.  We have a creek in our own backyard and the Lord must have had us move here for a purpose.  Let us fix up our own property and have a somewhat natural baptismal font.  So, yesterday MSB cleared out a good bit of wild overgrowth. 

Well, we went.  Just MSB and myself.  No kids, no camera to take pictures.  We walked through the little trail made yesterday and approached a decent looking spot to get in to the creek.  Oh my!  The mud was very slippery and squishy, and how we sunk into it with each step.  It has been a cloudy and overcast day all day.  It even rained this mid-morning, at 5:30 pm it is sprinkling now, but as we went down there, with so much joy in our hearts, the clouds parted and the sun peeked out.  No vibrant rays of sunshine, but a clearness that was calm and beautiful.  The water was cold and we walked out deep enough to come just below our waists.  We stood there for a while and talked about authority, Nacho Libre, and the glued situation of our feet.  MSB decided that he would like to go under the water with me Alma style.  Yes!  This is what I had always wanted; to be baptized by him as well as with him.  We spoke about logistics for a moment so as to ensure we both went completely under the water.  Then there was nothing to do to prolong the issue.  Using the language from the Book of Mormon and not the required wording of the LDS church, I was re-baptized unto The Lord.  Halleluiah! Down we went and it felt like MSB was pushing me under and then he was jerking me up and slinging me around.  It was the funniest thing.  Our stuck feet made us fall over and yet not move, as we stumbled and fell trying to recover ourselves coming up from under the water.  We could not stop laughing.  Our struggle up the creek bank was hilarious.  We slipped and fell back down into the creek and got covered in mud.  MSB even accidently ripped out a small tree root when he grabbed for some support.  His tumble back in was a big splash! 

We soon made it back on to dry ground and embraced one another.  I felt to sing the song of redeeming love! 

"And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts." (Mosiah 18:8-11)