Lola's Baptism and Special Times with the Barlow Family - March 2017

George and I have tried to attend each of our grandchildren's baptisms.   So far, we have made it to 19 out of 20 of their baptisms--only missing our grandson's who was baptized while his family lived in Shanghai, China.  We LOVE being at their baptisms which are one of the most important events in their lives!

 So, when we knew Lola was being baptized as a member of our church--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in March, we knew we would definitely be there!  Anne, our daughter-in-law in Dallas, was so kind to drive us there, along with our two grandsons, Mason and Gavin.

We had missed Lola's birthday, so she opened her present from Grandpa and me when we got there.

Natalie, another of our daughters-in-law, gave George a sock putter-oner!  Hah!  With George's fused back, it is very difficult for him to put his socks on, but this has opened up the world for him for sock ease!  He loves it--and so did all the grandkids who watched so intently as he demonstrated the device!

Then some of them wanted to try it for themselves.

It works fantastically!

It was so much fun to see all the kids, but especially fun to see Little Copeland who changes so much each time we see him.

He is such a joy!  We love his darling smile and big dimples!

During our ten days there, it seemed like we were always going to Costco for something or another.  Isaac and Gavin loved trying out the patio furniture there.

Finally, the day for the baptism arrived.  Just as we do for all the grandkids, we give them a book to keep all the pictures and memories of their baptism in.

Lola's parents gave her a step-counter, which really made her happy!

They, also, gave her this beautiful necklace that reminds her that she is "A Child of God," and loved.

After Lola had her hair fixed by her mother and put on her beautiful white dress, she indeed looked like such a beautiful princess!

After arriving at the church, one of the first guests to arrive was Lola's best friend--Zava.

As the people came in, they were able to sign in Lola's special guest book.

Lola with her proud parents, Jeff and Amy

Lola, standing beside the table, which included the guest book, her baby picture, the reminder to always CTR--Choose the Right, and a silhouette of the temple--which is where she is planning to be married someday! 

Family and visitors, also, signed her invitation remembrance.

Lola's brother, Isaac, and her cousin, Gavin, handed out the programs at the door.

Lola changed over to her baptismal dress prior to the meeting beginning.

Her father who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, would be baptizing Lola.

After her baptism and confirmation for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we all went into the serving area room where it was all set up for a celebration for this beautiful day.

Lola standing beside one of the serving tables.  Above it is the other white dress she has worn--when she was blessed as a baby.  The next white dress she will wear is when she is married in a temple of the Lord.

 Lola and her Bishop and his wife.  They are such kind, wonderful people.  The Bishop had conducted the baptism and his wife spoke about baptism.  They both did such a great job!

 Little Copeland looked so grown up with his daddy holding him.

 Lola and a family friend who has the exact same birthday as Lola.

 

  Lola's wonderful family:  Dad Jeff, Mom Amy, Brothers Isaac, Copeland, and Garrett--and of course, Lola.

  The Barlows have made so many friends since they have moved to Kansas City.  These are two of the mothers of the family friends.

 

 Lola loved having her Aunt Anne there at her baptism, along with her cousins Gavin and Mason.  They had come clear from Dallas to be there on her special day.

 Proud grandparents--Grandpa George and Grandma Laura

 

 After the baptism, sadly Anne, Mason, and Gavin had to get on the road to get back to Dallas.  It meant so much to Amy, especially, that Anne would come for the baptism.

 And Anne did the most special craft with Lola while she was there--they made a little fairy house, bridge and swing together.  Lola absolutely was in heaven doing this.  So kind of Anne to think of something so special for Lola!

 After the baptism, Little Copeland was so happy that they brought the balloons home.  He played with those balloons for days!

 A really fun evening was spent going to Lego Batman.  Even though I had seen it before with some of the other grand kids, it was fun to see these kids enjoy it so much.

  We woke up another morning and it was Isaac's birthday!  We were thrilled to spend the day with him and his family.

 He chose to go on a church history tour for his birthday.

 Isaac opened his birthday card and got his birthday money and gift card from his Grandpa George and Grandma Laura.

 Isaac is a huge BYU fan, so we, also, gave him a BYU blanket--which he seemed pretty happy about!

 We then left for Independence and our first stop was the Mormon Visitor Center.  Isaac picked up one of 110 languages that the Book of Mormon is published in.  He said he picked up the German one because he wants to go there on his mission some day.

 Lola, standing in front of the glass case housing one of the original Book of Mormon publications done in March 1830.

 Isaac and Garrett in front of the display about Helaman's Young Warriors whose history is recorded in the Book of Mormon.  They were such brave young men who fought valiantly for their religion and families. 

 The kids loved the displays and hearing about the history of the early Mormon pioneers who lived in Independence and built homes there, expecting that they would be there preparing for the Second Coming, but they were sadly drive out of their lands and homes after only about two years.

 Isaac holding one of the original Book of Commandments.

 Our family standing in front of the Christus in the Visitors' Center.  Grandpa George and I saw the original done by the Danish Sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen, when we went to Copenhagen a couple of years ago.

 

 We next visited the Temple Site which has been dedicated for a temple to be built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where we believe the Lord will come to his people in the Last Days.

 
 Across the street is the Community of Christ's Temple that they have built.  It is quite a unique building.

 Inside is a huge organ, and we were fortunate to be able to hear the organist practicing on it.

A few miles away, we visited the  Kansas City Mormon Church Temple.  It is about the same size as our temple in Richland, the Columbia River Temple.   At the present time, there are 177 working temples, under construction, or announced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world!  So exciting!

 We next visited Liberty, Missouri, where the Visitors' Center has been built over the exact spot where the Liberty Jail has been restored. 

The kids were absolutely mesmerized looking at the jail and hearing the history behind it.  The Prophet Joseph Smith and four other members of the Church, were wrongfully imprisoned here for crimes they never committed.  

 They were put in the lower floor and lowered down through a hole with a rope.  It was damp, with no floor, and had no heat. 

 It was only six feet high, and Joseph was about 6 foot 2 inches, so he never was able to even stand upright.  There was absolutely no way they would ever have been able to escape with rock walls and stones between the rock and the wood.
Lola looking into the tiny windows that were on each side--the only source of light inside the jail--besides a few burned down candles.

 George is looking at the only door into the jail on the floor where the jailers stayed. 

 Through four and a half months beginning in December through April, instead of being bitter and fighting back, Joseph was valiant in his testimony and received some of the most inspiriting revelations ever received from on high. 

 None of us will ever forget the feelings we felt as we considered the harshest of conditions, and yet were reminded of the fantastic attitude these five men exhibited before the Lord and their captors.

 After an absolutely fantastic day, we had a little birthday party for Isaac where we all told him what we loved about him.  I told him how much I loved his smile and enthusiasm for life!  He's always so much fun to be around!  He's a walking encyclopedia of all basketball and football teams--and especially loves BYU.  He, also, enjoys participating in sports himself.  He's a great brother and especially helpful to his little brother. 

Since we had missed doing this on Garrett's birthday, we, also, had him sit where we could talk about all the things we loved about Garrett!  He is such a hard working young man, who is so obedient to his parents and helps out in the home so much.  He is a great example for his younger brothers and sister.  He is a talented musician, writer, and a great student.  It was so fun to be able to tell the boys how much we loved them!

 The next day we went shopping so Lola and Isaac could spend their birthday money and gift cards.  We had a great time. 

 We came home, I had baked a birthday cake, which his mom had decorated, so we extended Isaac's birthday for another day and ate birthday cake together!

 George always has such a way with all the kids' dogs when we go to their homes.  Here, Frisco, joined Grandpa for a little nap.


One of the cutest things we saw while we were there was watching Little Copeland watch "Annie."  He absolutely LOVES that show and watches it over and over every day!  I remember when our grandson, Connor, did the same with the show, "Over the Rainbow," when he was about this same age.  So cute!

On the last evening before we had to leave for home, we all went to see the new "Beauty and the Beast," movie.  It was great, and we all enjoyed it so much.  (Actually, Jeff was so kind to stay at home with Copeland so we could enjoy it a little more.  Hah!)

 Grandpa George and I were very sad to leave Kansas City the next morning.  We had enjoyed ourselves so much visiting Jeff and Amy and their kids.  They were so kind to us and made us feel so welcome.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Barlow family!