Eliana on Oct. 10, 2009 with her cake following her baptism.

It’s been almost a month now since Eliana was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I’ve got a handful of photos and some thoughts I’d like to share about the event.

Although we have moved out of the rental home in Bountiful, we choose to hold Ellie’s baptism in the stake and ward we’ve been attending for the past year. That way many of our family friends were able to attend and support Eliana.

In addition to ward members and friends, we had both sets of grandparents, my brother and his family and Vickey’s soon-to-be sister-in-law. We also welcomed friends from Henderson, the Nelsons, and the Coglianese family who were also our friends in Henderson but now live in Utah Valley.

We gathered at the stake center around 4:30 for pictures. The program began at 5 p.m.

I’m happy to report that the curse of the double baptism ended with Eliana (both my dad and I were baptized twice because the first time we weren’t completely submerged).

I’m also happy to report that I remembered the wording to the baptism ordinance. I expected the words to be in the font with us, but they weren’t (they were at my brother’s son’s baptism; guess it depends on how new your church building is).

When Eliana was confirmed we were blessed with such a strong spirit. It was a memorable confirmation and father’s blessing. And it was my privilege to perform the two ordinances for Eliana. She was very much looking forward to her baptism and we’re very proud of her for wanting to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and take upon herself his name.

Being Christian is a lifelong pursuit that’s not fully understood at age eight, but at least she understands the importance of making and keeping promises with Heavenly Father, and of striving to lead a kind existence, helping those who stand in need and comforting others in times of grief or sadness.

It was good to have a baptism in our family. It’s been a long time since my mission and close, first-hand experience with baptism.

I’m proud of you, Eliana, for deciding to be baptized and become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Our family: me, Eliana, Dominic and Vickey

me and Eliana just before her baptism

Eliana and Dominic with Grandpa and Grandma Codella

Eliana and Dominic with their cousins, Carter, Luke and AJ

Eliana with her best friend, Olympia

Eliana and Dominic with the Coglianese and Nelson kids

Eliana with Penelope and Olypmia

Eliana and Dominic

Families stayed for a couple of hours, enjoying French toast (my specialty made with Great Harvest Bread Company cinnamon chip bread), Honey Baked Ham, scrambled eggs, fruit, pastries and even cold cereal. It was a smorgasbord!

Here’s the set-up:

The kids played a fun game of baseball after they ate and others played on the playground.

Last year I left Tank at home because I didn’t want to care for him and be in charge of the breakfast. This year, because Tank has been hanging out in his crate so much during the week with Vickey and I at work, I felt bad for him and took him with us.

On our drive to the park the tinfoil trays of freshly made French toast slid around in the back of the truck and, wouldn’t you know it, Tank managed to step on one end of them. Luckily we were able to salvage all but a couple of pieces though.

Tank did, indeed, enjoy the park. He became the life of the party, running all over the place chasing his tennis ball. Several people enjoyed throwing it using our handy plastic tosser.

One of my favorite pictures from the event is this one of our friend Steve hanging out with Tank. Steve and his family are very kind to take Tank in and watch him when we go out of town. They’re buds, as Steve says.

Eliana and her friend, Olympia:

Dominic cheering on the baseball game participants:

Both weekends I checked in on the progress of both the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain LDS Temples. Here we are in front of the Draper Temple.

I was quite surprised to see what I saw around the Draper Temple — homes that almost overshadowed the grandeur of the temple.

Here are a few photos of some of the homes in that neighborhood.

One in particular, at the top of a cul-de-sac, highest on the mountainside, is truly a castle on a hill. It even has a bridge you drive under to get to the garage. Every detail is impressive from the window casings to the wrought iron work, the stone work to the copper trim and its slate roof. The castle is so big we couldn’t even fit it all in this picture.

Here’s a close-up of some of the castle’s detail:

Vickey really liked the ornamentation on the roof of this home next to the castle:

Another home on that street:

While these residential structures are impressive, as we experienced the opulence, we couldn’t help but wonder what family needs to live in places like these. It seems there are so many with so little that a lot of good could be done.

Perhaps it’s the difference between pride and charity. Or perhaps these families are incredibly charitable and do a lot of good and just need a home with a few thousand square feet per resident. Who am I to judge?

Hopefully people who live in homes that cost more than most of us will make in a lifetime are happy people. And hopefully those of us who live modestly are happy with what the good Lord has blessed us with as well.