We believe as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that when a person turns 8 years old they are old enough to be accountable for their actions.  This also means that they can make the choice to be baptized and become a member of the church.  Jocelyn was able to witness her older sisters make this choice and many friends also make this important choice.  When we found out our family was moving to Brasil one of the first questions Jocelyn asked was, "will I still be able to be baptized?"  The answer was of course yes and one of the many questions she had about our move was put to rest.  When the day drew closer we started talking about location for the baptism.  The baptism needed to be held in a body of water where the person being baptized can be fully submerged.  There is a font at our church but Jocelyn was really intent on being baptized in a pool.  When it was decided that she would be baptized at the same time as another girl in our congregation it was decided that the church font would work out best for logistical reasons.  The date was set for February 12th.  On the 11th Rob got a message that the water at the church was not working, that issue thankfully was resolved and we moved forward with the original plan.  Our family arrived to church on the 12th and the font was being filled only to find out that the plug was not put in correctly and all the water drained.  It was starting to look like Jocelyn would get her wish after all.  The baptism was moved to a backyard pool.  The other family that was baptizing their daughter was more than gracious to host the wonderful event. 

A few of my girls getting ready for the day

 

       My little eight year old ready to make wonderful promises to our Heavenly Father.  She was full of sunshine and love.

All my girlies.  The big three were such great help making goodies, singing a song and playing music for the event

Though our extended family was so far from us for the event we felt so much love and support from our new family of Brasil.  Being a member of this church gives me strength, support and love.

Baptism Buddies

Tidbits around town

Gwen enjoying one of her favorite snacks....a fresh fruit smoothie

Beautiful purple flowers on a tree at our church building, a little Valentine lego dog from Grandma and Grandpa Bonner, and Aubrey's hair after sleeping in "straw curls"

 Our fridge after Mom's weekly trip to the farmer's market and Aubrey's invention to stop her from crying when cutting the onions.

 Gwen learned her ABC's!!!!!

Lego fun....our new family obsession

Gwen is often found wearing Jo's shoes now instead of her own.

Gwen "helping" mom shop at the local nursery.  All the shop owners think she's adorable and say stuff in Portuguese with a really high pitched voice and ask for kisses so I'm assuming they think she's adorable until she picks up all the rocks of the ground stuffs them into her pockets and attempts to ride the twig bikes that are actually used for plant displays.

Jo turns 8!

We finally got our van! We were super excited to pick it up and Gwen was happy to help Dad wash and clean it out.

 Waiting for the gate to open at our church building on Sunday

On January 23, our little Jo turned 8! She had a fun-filled birthday consisting of a birthday party at school, lunch with Mom and Gwen, and a night full of presents and cake.

 

 This year Jo wanted a neapolitan cake for her birthday. I added some nutella cream cheese frosting and we were set! 

Another one of Brazil's many beauty's. We absolutely love the sunsets and they are amazing to look at over the lake.

 A little glimpse into this past week- This crazy plant we found, Aubrey setting the new middle school record, and Mom and Gwen taking some family friends to their horseback riding lessons and Gwen falling in love with the horses. 

We have officially moved into our new house! As soon as we got there Aubrey and Gwen grabbed their suits and jumped into the pool. We are loving the new house and were super excited when we got all of our stuff yesterday.