Sacrament Talk

A couple of weeks ago, Brother Johnson from the ward stopped by to ask Haden to speak in Sacrament. He wasn't given a topic, or a time limit. About a week or so before I asked Haden if he had an idea of what he wanted to speak on, he said maybe the Sacrament. But decided to fast and pray about it. The next day he was sure he was going to speak on the Sacrament. He looked up talks, info and scriptures on lds.org and started putting his thoughts together. When sitting with him, as he had asked me to type it up for him, I offered a suggestion or two, but he knew the direction he wanted to take and kindly said no. Again, the kid amazes me!! He got all of his thoughts together and I typed it up for him. He then went in and made a few changes, added some more things and was happy with it. He was nervous but did so amazing! I am so proud of who he is!

Here is his talk:

Today I am talking about the sacrament. Taking the sacrament means you will take upon Christ’s name and always remember him, this is a baptismal covenant. When we take the sacrament, the water represents the pure blood of Christ and the bread represents the body of Christ. The sacrament is one of the most holy ordinances because we are remembering Christ suffering for our sins and dying on the cross. I turned 12 in November and I have been given a wonderful opportunity to pass the sacrament. I have been waiting to pass it ever since I was younger. Thomas S. Monson once said “When I was a boy, I looked forward to pass the sacrament to ward members.” I can relate to that because I also looked forward to passing the sacrament. Thomas S. Monson also said “when I was ordained a Deacon, our Bishopric stressed the sacred responsibility which was ours to pass the sacrament.” I feel like it’s a real honor to pass the sacrament and also help the other ward members be able to renew their covenants. When I pass the sacrament I feel the spirit. Young men who are able to pass the sacrament, you are literally doing what the Savior did. As you pass the sacrament, you need to pass it with respect and reverence because we are representing the Savior and what has done for us. The first time I passed the sacrament I was sitting on the stand feeling excited to finally be passing the sacrament. I had been watching young men pass the sacrament for years, and it was finally my turn to pass it. After the day was over, I couldn’t wait to do it again. I have been passing the sacrament for over 3 months now, and each week I really look forward to passing the sacrament. W. Mack Lawrence said “sacrament meeting is the most important meeting of the week, the one the Lord has commanded us to attend. It’s a time to worship the Savior. In sacrament meeting we often do this through prayer, music, talks, scripture and our testimony. His spirit should be there. We should think about his life and sacrifice during the passing of the sacrament. Our sacrament meeting should be a time to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, preach of Christ and prophesy of Christ.”

I'd like to bear my Testimony I know this church is true I know that the second coming will happen and the the gospel is true and we will live again. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Bubble Run

Adri suggested we do the Bubble Run on March 7th, together as families, a while back. So we both purchased tickets for us and our families to run. We were excited and really looking forward to it. Jeff ended up having to work Nascar (boo!) but the kids and I joined Adri, Trent and their kids. It was super unorganized but we made the best of it and in the end we all had a blast!

The before :)

It took a little bit to get to the bubbles, but when we made it, it was all worth it!

Cute little Seth, running along with us.

I am so grateful for this lady! Not only is Adri my sister but she is one of my best friends. She pushed me to run/job off and on throughout the run with the kids. At first I was really worried what others would think of me. I decided to put my fears aside and just do it. It was almost freeing in a way.

Bubble shoes!

These kids were awesome!!

Adri ran ahead to get pictures of the kids as they came through the bubbles!

We were nearing the end and Lacy, Kahle and Seth were done. So Seth was being carried, I gave Lacy a piggy back ride and Haden gave Kahle one.

Nearing the finish line!

Way to go team Nicketts!!

At the end they had bubbles going and everyone was able to just play in them. The kids had a blast!

She's blue!!

I was slightly worried that she was going to be died blue. Luckily with some extra scrubbing it came off :)

The after :)

I love the friendships they have with their cousins! Totally melts my heart!!

I loved that we did this with the Tippetts family!

So much fun!!!

Being 12 and Baptism at the Temple!

When turning 12, for Haden, no only was he ordained a Deacon and received the Priesthood, he was now old enough to do Baptisms at the Temple. We've been trying to find a time we could go, and had put it off longer than we wanted to. So one day we realized Jeff had Friday night off. I sent out a text to my parents and to Adri and Trent (we had all talked about going together and doing family names). Sadly my Mom couldn't come, she had to work and then Trent ended up with a big job that day, and couldn't make it either. But Jeff, myself, Haden, my Dad and Adri all headed to the Temple Friday night, March 6th.

My Dad has been doing lots of Family History work and so he has plenty of names for us to use.

Group selfie after :)

Jeff, Haden and me (well our shadows) in front of the gorgeous temple.

This kid honestly amazes me! I am so grateful for his example, for his spirit and the things he teaches me on a daily basis. I told my sister, he makes me look like a better Mom than I am. I am grateful for the example he sets and all that he does to better himself and those around him!

The spirit was so strong as we did family names. It was so special to be there with family, all dressed in white. There were a few names that Haden and Adri did that they were (we are guessing) siblings, which was so cool. I loved seeing my Dad and Jeff sitting with Haden doing confirmations, yep totally brought me to tears. It just meant so much to me that we could be there together and be part of Haden's first experience there. A moment I will forever remember, treasure and hold on to.