2012 A Year of Significant Events

It's that time of year where we all take one last look back before we embrace the new year before us.  As I did this myself in preparation for this Blog Cruise I could not help but notice that this was a pretty significant year for Gess.

There were actually significant events for all my children.  Last February my oldest son became a father making me a grandma and Gess an aunt!  At first Gess didn't know what to do with the baby, but she learned quickly. Here she is holding Ema for the first time.


And here is daddy learning how tiring it is to take care of a baby!


2013 will bring them another significant event as well.  We found out that mommy is pregnant again and due July 28!

Gess' other brother, as you all know from a previous post My Brother Tim, graduated from Community College with honors in both music and theatre.  Gess got to attend his graduation.


Then later we got to travel to see him on campus at his new college.  Here she is with Tim in one of the commons area and in front of the theatre building where we went to see him in his first play there.



The other family event that had an impact on Gess' life was the recent one I mentioned where Gess was a flower girl in her cousin's wedding.  She felt so important and I know that it created a special bond between Gess and the bride that will only get stronger through the years. 


Gess had a significant bit of fun as well.  She had some really great field trips and fun events that she still talks about.  Over the summer she was able to participate in football camp and meet a couple of famous football players.



For school field trips she had the time of her life visiting the KOAM TV studio for her Weather on the Move curriculum.  There she not only got to see the studio but she learned how they do the weather on TV.  She also got to meet the meteorologist and ask him some questions.  Now she is even more interested than ever in the weather.


Gess is still taking horseback riding lessons in the spring and summer and gymnastics in the fall and winter.  This year though, she started piano lessons!  While I loved Kinderbach, Gess enjoys and needs the experience of actually going to a lesson so we do private instructions as well.  Her instructor says she is doing very well and on Christmas she even played Jingle Bells and Away in a Manger for us!


The two most significant events in her life were on a more personal level of course.  I mentioned the fact that she has entered puberty already.  The other was in her spiritual life and it's something I haven't shared on my blog yet.

Gess made a profession of faith early in this year but we wanted to be sure she really understood it before having her follow in baptism.  Well after one sermon she was insistent that she wanted to be baptized so she went forward at the end of service and told the pastor.  It actually took 2 tries to baptize Gess. We had practiced in the baptismal before the event, (without any water) and everything seemed fine.  But when she got dressed up and saw the pool full of water, she freaked out and would not go in.  The pool is very dark and the lighting dim so I think she was afraid it was too deep.  We were not sure what to do about it, but we postponed for now and took her to the baptismal pool when no one was there and let her practice with water.  She actually went under with no problems so we tried again the next week.  At first we thought she was not going to do it again because she ducked in the corner just like before, but when the organ stopped playing she stood right up and went in.

You know most people (in our country) get to follow Christ in baptism without it causing fear of harm or any sacrifice on their part.  To me it really shows that Gess truly does love the Lord because it was important enough to her to keep trying, even when it was scary!  It truly was a special moment!


What was your year like? Did you have any significant events happen?   To see A Look Back from other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew click on the banner below. 

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Comments

Bethany said…
Wishing you blessings in 2013! Following from the crew.
Unknown said…
Even though I don't comment much, I do enjoy reading all these blogs. You are an awesome teacher! Gess is a very smart and wise young lady. I really liked reading about her baptism...congrats Gess!

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