Melissa, Jeff, and baby Harrison on his blessing day.
I remember the day we brought Harrison home from the hospital. I brought him upstairs to the nursery, turned on a CD, and began rocking him to sleep. The song "I Am a Child of God" played on the stereo and I sang the words in my head.
I am a child of God,
And he has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.
I thought, "That's us! We're his parents kind and dear! Isn't this parenting thing fun?" Then came the chorus:
Lead me, guide me,
Walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.
The enormity of my responsibility hit me and I started sobbing. "It's too hard! I can't do it!" It was an emotional time. (Hormones.)
On Saturday, August 6, Jeff baptized Harrison. Afterwards, we sang the closing song "I Am a Child of God." That moment when he was a baby came back to me and I cried again. I thought, "If we helped get him this far, we must be doing something right." It was one of my favorite moments.
Our families our scattered across the country and we weren't expecting any of them to be able to make it to the baptism. We figured the most we could hope for was our parents being here. We were truly overwhelmed by the love and support we received from our family.
Our house is roughly the size of a box of Cracker Jacks, so it was filled to the brim with celestial chaos. It was wonderful. At one point, kids were in Chloe's room yelling and one by one every kid in the house ran back to her room to join in the fun. It was as if they had heard the official kid call and immediately had to answer it. Also one of my favorite moments. Thank you all so much for joining us on Harrison's very special day.
We love you, Harrison, and we couldn't be prouder of the boy you have become.
8 Wisecracks:
Very cool. I'm glad so many family members could be there with you guys that day! Good job leading, guiding, walking beside, and helping your kid find the way! I had to speak in church last Sunday about teaching the gospel, and I started off with a story about the first time that Lyla sang I am a Child of God along with me while I was putting her to bed, and how exciting it was as a parent to see your kid doing something they learned from you. Um yeah, I cried too. Actually taking the time to think about the words to that song will get ya everytime!
PS- Travis was flattered that Jeff pictured him and Troy as the Weasley Twins. HaHa!
Great. Now I'm crying. Tell Harrison we're so proud of him and happy for him. :)
Congratulations Harrison! What a special boy you are and how loved you are!!
What a turnout! I totally love the thoughts from "I am a child of God"- I can totally relate. Congratulations, Harrison!
it was an honor to be there. it was sweet.
i sing that to all my babies and then we sing it together as they are toddlers. what i forget to do is sing it to myself as they are showing off their not best side. i need to practice that. i confess it is not my first reaction to such things as 8 year-old tantrums and such.
When I was in the hospital after I had Bradley and the weight of being a mother hit me in the form of tears, Ben said, "Stop Crying! Bradley doesn't want a mom who cries!" It has thus become "that one time" that I can bring up to always win. Crying is normal. Yay for Harrison!!
Congratulations Harrison!
What a handsome little man you are!
Congrats to Harrison! Is it weird that when I first scrolled and saw that top picture of you and Jeff with baby Harrison I thought, "Who's that dude?" I think it was the glasses that threw me for a second. I also LOVE the pic of all the family at the baptism! So great!! How did you get one where EVERYONE is looking forward?! (well, except for the baby (Allyn's?) who's giving his big sister the serious stink eye. Adorable!)
Post a Comment