All About Sam

Today was all about Sam. Happy Birthday to my 8 Year Old!!! He had a great day! Not only was it his birthday today, but he also got to get baptized as a member of our church. He has been waiting for this day for a long time. He got a couple of presents this morning, but the rest will wait until his party on Saturday. :)

He woke up to donuts, a rare treat. We even let him blow out candles on top of his donut. :)


Here is his present from Avery, which he loves. Excuse the morning hair. :)


We went to church, where everyone paid special attention to him. He got a new set of scriptures for his birthday and he was SO excited to take them to church. He said, "I don't just LIKE them, I LOVE them! " :) They played a game today, where they explored the scriptures looking for "treasure". The Primary President (the leader of the children) told us that it was so cute to see him so excited about his scriptures. He couldn't wait to look up scriptures, find things, etc. She said a light is definitely shining within him. :)

After church we rushed home, made brownies and cookies, ate dinner, and rushed back to the church for his baptism. It was a really good service. He loved it and we were so proud of him. I got to sing for him. He specifically asked me to a few weeks ago, and I couldn't say no, even though I was nervous. I couldn't look at him though because he had this huge smile on his face every time I looked and it was so cute I had to look away or I would cry. His Grandma, G, came and he was so happy about that. It was just so cute to see him listening to what everyone said so intently and really taking this seriously. He did have to get up there and say an Article of Faith (the basics of what our church is about)because the Bishop (the Leader of our particular church) found out he could recite all 13 of them. That embarrassed him a little bit, he is so shy, but he did great. We had so many people there, not even everyone could come in and sit down. It was a special, special day in all of our lives. Avery even got to take part in it, by saying the opening prayer. :)

Sam, today was such a special day. Thanks for being such a great kid. You are more than we could ever ask for. 8 years old, I just can't believe it. Every year I tell you you just can't grow any more. I want you to stay my little boy forever, but at the same time, I love to see you growing, learning, and maturing every day. You are one of the sweetest boys anyone could meet. You think about other people's feelings, you put others before yourself. You try hard to do the right thing. You are quiet, and shy, but very friendly. You are so smart. At 7 years old you were reading and understanding the huge Harry Potter books. You do excellent and school and try hard. You can't stand to not get something right and you do everything you can to make sure everything you do is perfect in every way. You rarely get in trouble, but when you do you feel really bad and try to make it up to whoever each and every time. You are the first one to listen the first time someone gives you directions. You are always alert and ready for the next step. Even though your whole life you have been sick and not 100%, you wouldn't know it. I don't know that anyone else could go through all that you do and still be as happy and cheerful as you are. Even though you don't understand why you get sick all the time or why you can't do things that other kids can, you do the best you can and don't complain. You are an example to all of us. We love you so much and are so happy that you are our kid. I love you, Sam Sweeney. :)

Here are some more pictures of his day.

Sam and G.


Avery jumping in.


Our Family


G and Family