Birthday Story for a Six-Year-Old

ANDREW AND HIS DINOSAUR

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy birthday Andrew. I love you so.

Andrew had a plastic dinosaur named Spike. He liked to play with Spike when he took his bath each night.

            One day while he was splashing in the tub his mother said, “If you leave your dinosaur in the bathwater, you never know what will happen.”

            Andrew looked at the small plastic dinosaur in his hand. He was curious. He crawled out the bathtub and threw his dinosaur back in the water. When he woke up the next day and went into the bathroom, he saw that his small plastic dinosaur was now big enough to fill the bathtub.

            “Now where are we going to put that?” his mother said when he looked into the bathroom.

            “I wanted to see what would happen,” Andrew answered.

            That day at school, Andrew told his friend Kyle about the giant dinosaur in his bathtub.

            “Hey, does that mean you don’t have to take a bath anymore?” his friend asked.

            “I hope so,” Andrew said.

            “Hey I have a swimming pool at my house. Why don’t we put your dinosaur in there and see what happens,” Andrew’s friend said.

            That evening Andrew, his mother, father and all his sisters hoisted the plastic dinosaur from the bathtub and walked it over to Kyle’s house.

            They gave a big heave-ho and threw in in the pool. Ker plunk.

            “I’ll come back after school and see what happens,” Andrew said to his friend.

            When Andrew went to Kyle’s house after school, the back yard had become a jungle filled with prehistoric animals. His dinosaur had grown too big for the swimming pool and was walking around in the jungle looking for Andrew.

            “I’m right here,” Andrew said walking toward Spike. “I like you better alive.”

            Spike roared but Andrew wasn’t scared because he knew they were friends. He walked right up to Spike and patted him on the nose.

            “I always knew you were such an awesome creature,” Andrew said. “Now you can walk and eat and roar and everything. Just remember not to eat people. They don’t like that.”

            Spike nodded and nuzzled his head next to Andrew.

            Pretty soon everyone knew about Andrew and his dinosaur Spike. The T.V. people came to the jungle and interviewed Andrew.

            “We hear you are the only one in the whole world who can tame dinosaurs,” the reporter said. “How do you do that young man?”

            “He’s my friend,” Andrew said. “Friends never hurt each other.

            Every day after school, Andrew went to Kyle’s house and played with Spike. Soon the whole world knew about the amazing boy Andrew and his best friend Spike.

            One day when Andrew went to Kyle’s house to play with Spike, the jungle had disappeared and Spike had shrunk back down to a small plastic dinosaur that could fit in the palm of his hand. Andrew was sad . . . but he had an idea. He walked home and placed Spike on top of his chest of drawers. He has always wanted to travel to the moon. He glanced around his room and spied a space station he built from inter-connecting plastic building blocks. Now Andrew knew what he wanted to play with in the bathtub that night.

            “Don’t forget to take your space station out of the tub when you’re done,” his father said while Andrew was taking a bath. “You never know what might happen.”

            Andrew smiled as he stepped from the tub leaving his space station behind.

Letter for my Grandson Samuel on his Twelfth Birthday

Dear Sammy,
Happy Birthday Sam. You’re turning twelve today. This is an important birthday because you will receive the Aaronic priesthood. The priesthood is the power of God, which is given to man to act in His name. Always remember that your authority comes through your ordination but your power comes through personal obedience and worthiness. The priesthood is a gift from God that blesses all His children. Your Heavenly Father now trusts you enough to give you the responsibility to help others. Up until now your parents, extended family and church leaders have been taking care of you and helping you grow and learn. Now it is your turn. For example, you will be able to pass the sacrament for the first time. Isn’t it wonderful that God allows you to be part of this most sacred event?

What a great blessing it is to hold the priesthood. I hope you take the time to go to a quiet private place and pray to your Heavenly Father and ask him how you can magnify your priesthood. Praying and asking questions has been a great way for God to send messages to us. In fact, did you know that when the Prophet Joseph Smith was translating The Book of Mormon that he found a part that mentioned baptism? On May 15, 1829, he and his scribe Oliver Cowdery went into the woods to ask God about baptism. As they prayed, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light. This messenger was John the Baptist, the prophet who baptized Jesus Christ. John the Baptist, now a resurrected being, laid his hands on Joseph and Oliver and conferred upon each of them the Aaronic Priesthood, which had been taken from the earth during the Apostasy. With this authority, Joseph and Oliver were able to baptize one another. John the Baptist was chosen by Heavenly Father to prepare the way for the Savior and to baptize him. John did this through the authority of the Priesthood of Aaron.

After baptism, a sacred experience and opportunity comes to the members of the Church each week as we partake of the sacrament. This is how we renew our covenants with our Father in Heaven and take upon us the name of his Son and promise to keep his commandments. Those holding the Aaronic Priesthood have the sacred privilege and honor of preparing, blessing, and passing these holy emblems of Jesus Christ’s body and blood. God wants us to repent, come to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and partake of the sacrament. When we renew our baptismal covenants in this way, the Lord renews the cleansing effect of our baptism. In this way we are made clean and can have His Spirit to be with us. That is why it is so important to take the sacrament each week.

 As you know, the offices of the Aaronic Priesthood are bishop, priest, teacher, and deacon. With the authorization of the presiding priesthood leader, deacons pass the sacrament. They also help the bishop watch over Church members by giving service and assist with temporal matters such as gathering fast offerings for the poor. Teachers perform all the duties of deacons and also receive other opportunities to serve. They prepare the sacramental bread and water and serve as home teachers. Priests may perform all the duties of deacons and teachers. With the authorization of the presiding priesthood leader, they may also bless the sacrament, baptize, and ordain others to the offices of priest, teacher, and deacon.

I have noticed that you have a big heart Sam and that you love deeply. You are a true and loyal friend. Remember that the best friend you will ever have is Jesus Christ. You have amazing talents and abilities and I know that you will use them wisely. As you serve in your priesthood responsibilities I hope you remember that serving your own family is also important. The most important exercise of the priesthood takes place in the family. Your parents and brothers and sister really need you to love them and serve them as only you can.

You stand at the beginning a life-time of service. As you serve in the Aaronic Priesthood, it will prepare you to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, receive the blessings of the temple, serve a full-time mission, be a loving husband and father, and continue in lifelong service to the Lord. I love you so much Sam. I have so enjoyed watching you grow up and become such a wonderful young man. I will love you forever and be your biggest fan. 

 love,

Grandma Baadsgaard 

Emma's Baptism Day

Emma Baadsgaard standing with her father Jacob Baadsgaard
right before she was baptized

Grandma and Grandpa Baadsgaard
with Emma right after she was baptized.

All the people who came to support Emma on her special baptism day.

 

Tea Party With the Young Women

We have a newly formed ward with all new families who have recently built in the area.
We needed a chance to become friends.
The Young Women in our ward hosted a "Tea Party" and invited the mature women to join them.
They served us delicious food and we played games that helped us get to know each other better.
What a fun night! A big thank you to everyone involved.

Story for a Five-Year-Old

TESSA’S BEST FRIENDS

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy Birthday to a wonderful five-year-old I love with all my heart.

“I’m lonely and bored,” said Tessa to her mom and dad. “I wish I had a friend to play with.”

“Look no longer,” said her mom. “I’ll be your friend.”

“You’re not my friend,” Tessa answered. “You’re just my mom.”

“I’ll play with you,” said her dad.

“You’re not my friend. You’re just my dad,” Tessa answered.

So Tessa’s dad found a top hat and cane and her mom found a tutu and they both tap danced while they sang this song arm in arm ….

A friend is someone who will stay with you a while

A friend is someone who will play with you and smile

A friend is someone who sees your best side first

A friend is someone who makes your smile burst

        

A friend is someone who shares a bite with you

A friend is someone who lets you wear their shoes

A friend is someone who shares their treats and snacks

A friend is someone who calls you just to chat

A friend is someone who always has a hug and kiss

A friend is someone who when they’re gone – you miss

A friend is someone who walks right at your side

A friend is someone who takes your mistakes in stride

A friend is someone who never leaves your heart

A friend is someone you love even when you’re apart.

          Then Tessa and her Mom and Dad joined hands and danced in a circle until they all fell down. Next, Tessa picked up her dad’s top hat and slid into her mom’s tutu then tap danced while she sang this song . . .

Friends make you happy when you’re bored or sad

That is why my best friends are my mom and dad.

Alisa Carnegie Hall Performance and NYC visit

Trinity Church

My daughter Alisa Baadsgaard had the awesome opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall with her school orchestra in February 2016. They have to audition and meet a high level of excellence to be invited to perform there.

During the trip she was also able to visit all the well known and exciting places in NYC pictured below.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral

The Rock

Broadway Plays

Statue of Liberty Cruise

Metropolitan Museum in NYC

At the Met

Mass at Cathedral

LDS church and temple in NYC

Carnegie Hall Performance

911 Memorial Museum

Central Park

Lily's Gift - story for my four-year-old granddaughter

Lily’s Gift

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy fourth birthday my precious granddaughter Lily. I love you so.

Once there was a family of three white lilies that grew on a hillside above a small village including a grandfather, mother and young girl. In the winter, the lilies were dormant bulbs that slept deep in the soil. In late spring or early summer, sun created warm soil and the bulbs grew slowly toward the light. Gentle rain fell and soon three small spears of green appeared. Slowly the family of lilies grew upward until delicate petals appeared at the tip of their stems.

“I want to live on this hillside forever,” the young girl said to her mother.

“I love it here too,” the mother said, “but remember people from the village often climb this hill and choose us to help with their happy times and sad times.

“But if they choose me, I will die,” the girl said.

“Yes, you will die,” the mother said, “but only for a season. When spring comes again you will return.”

“Don’t be afraid,” the grandfather said. “I have been chosen many times. Eventually we all die from the killing frost. The only question is whether we will learn how to love before our season ends.”

But the young girl was still afraid because she had never been chosen before and she longed to be with her mother and grandfather forever.

One bright summer morning, a young man from the village raced up the hill and quickly picked the mother lily.

“This will be the perfect flower to give my wife to celebrate the birth of our first child,” the father said dashing back down the hill.

The young girl was sad as she watched the father race toward his cottage.

The next day a happy bride in her wedding gown climbed the hill and chose the grandfather for her bridal garland.

“This will be the perfect flower for my wedding bouquet,” the bride said.

The young girl was sad as she watched the bride hurry to her wedding celebration.

Now the young girl was alone. She missed her mother and her grandfather. She did not want to be alone.

The next day an old woman climbed the hill and knelt weeping next to the young girl. Then she reached out and picked the small lily before she slowly descended the hill. At first the young girl was scared. She did not know what would become of her. Then she felt her petals and stem placed on the polished wood coffin of the grandmother’s husband. She felt compassion for the old woman.

Then a man in a black suit opened a black book and said these words, “Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if you are not of little faith. Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat: or, what shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” 3^rd Nephi 13:28-33

The young girl did not know lilies were mentioned in sacred books. She did not know how exquisite she was. Now she knew and she would never forget.

That fall and all that long winter, there were no lilies on the hillside. Then one spring day when the sun was warm, three small green spears pierced the soil. After days of gentle rain long green stems grew upward toward the light. Soon the grandfather, mother and young girl lily appeared again.

“You were right,” the young girl said. “We did die, but only for a season. Here we are together again. I wonder who I will learn to love this year.” 

Alisa Performs at Carnegie Hall Feb. 13th 2016

My daughter Alisa Baadsgaard performed on the cello at Carnegie Hall today.

Here is the play bill and ticket.

This is Carnegie Hall looking out from the stage.

Emma's Baptism Letter From Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy 8th birthday to my beloved granddaughter Emma.

Dear Emma,

I’m so excited that you are turning eight years old this year because that means that you are old enough to choose to be baptized. I’m so happy you have made that choice.

I remember when I was baptized. I was baptized on my eight-year-old birthday on a Saturday night in a little white church across the street from my house in Union, Utah. My congregation had all the children being baptized sit on small wooden chairs and talked to us for a while. I don’t remember what they said, but I do remember what I felt.

I felt excited and a little scared before I was baptized. When I was baptized, the water was warm and I felt clean. After I was baptized and put my dry clothes back on, I walked out of the church into the cold January winter air. I remember looking up and seeing lacy white flakes of snow falling all around me. Even though it was cold outside, I felt warm inside. I knew God loved me and was pleased I wanted to come home to heaven someday.

I also knew that Jesus was my best friend and that if I tried to live like Him that I would be happy. When I was your age, they waited until Sunday to confirm me at church and give me the gift of the Holy Ghost. I felt protected when the men with the priesthood made a circle around me and put their hands on my head as my father confirmed me.

What I didn't know was that the man I was going to marry someday was being baptized on the very same day, January 6^th (my birthday) in a little town called Spanish Fork, Utah. He was a little scared and excited too. Because we both wanted to be like Jesus, we found each other many years later. We recognized that we had the same dreams and plans for life.

           When he returned from him mission to Samoa, we were married in the SLC temple. We made special promises to God. We were sealed for eternity. Pretty soon your dad was born. Then he grew up and married your mommy in the temple and then pretty soon, you were born.

Being baptized was the beginning of everything wonderful in my life. Being baptized is such a special time because we are able to participate in our first saving ordinance and make our Heavenly Father our first official promise. You are a daughter of God, Emma, and your Heavenly parents love you very much. They want you to be happy so they have made a plan of happiness for you to follow so you can return to them someday. 

Up until now, you have been a child who is learning, growing and maturing. You have made some mistakes; everybody makes mistakes. That is how we learn and grow. Now that you are eight, God thinks you are wise enough to know the difference between right and wrong choices. Heavenly Father knows that some of the choices we make will not be wise. Because He loves us, He wants us to know how to change so we will not be trapped by our mistakes and bad choices. So He invites us to make a promise to Him and then He makes a promise right back to us. When we make a special promise to God and He makes one right back to us, it is called a covenant. Heavenly Father never breaks a promise.

The promise you make to God is that you will remember Jesus, follow Him and keep His commandments. Heavenly Father promises you that He will forgive you if you make a mistake or do something that you know is wrong if you feel sorry and repent. He also promises you eternal life. He also gives you the gift of the Holy Ghost to help, guide, protect, warn and comfort you.

When you choose to be baptized you tell Heavenly Father that:

*You want to be a follower of Jesus Christ

*You will serve your fellowmen

*You will stand as a witness of God all the time

*You will obey the commandments of God

 God promises you that:

  *You are accepted as a member of Christ’s church

   *You can be forgiven of your sin if you repent

   *You can have the gift of the Holy Ghost

   *You can live in the kingdom of God

          Everybody makes mistakes after they are baptized so Heavenly Father gave us the sacrament every week on Sunday. That is when we remember the covenant we made when we were baptized. We think about our week and decide how to be better during the coming week. We think about our Savior Jesus Christ and how He atoned for all our sins, pains, disappointment and grief. We also think about Christ’s resurrection and that we can be resurrected too someday.

I hope you will write about how you feel in your journal when you are baptized. Never forget that you are a child of God and that you can inherit the eternal life God has planned for you. And never forget that your grandma loves you with all her heart.

Love,  

Grandma Baadsgaard.   

Carnegie Hall Performance Tonight!!!

My daughter Alisa will be performing in NYC at Carnegie Hall next week with the MMHS orchestra and choirs. She will be playing the cello. 

If you want to see their Carnegie Hall Performance before they leave 

be sure to come to their dress rehearsal concert tonight at 7:00.

Provo City Center Temple Tour

We sure enjoyed our Provo City Center Temple Tour.

Disney World Fun

We sure had fun with Aubrey and Kyle and Rylan and Griffen at Disney World in January.

Birthday Poem for a Sixteen-Year-Old

NOW THAT I’M SIXTEEN

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy Birthday Josh. I sure love you.

Now that I’m sixteen,

I’m old enough to drive.

Everyone stay off the roads,

If you want to survive.

Now that I’m sixteen,

I’m old enough to date.

I hope she says, “Yes,”

Before it is too late.

Now that I’m sixteen,

I fix pizzas with a flare.

Get your Papa Murphy’s

But only if you dare.

Now that I’m sixteen,

I make stuff that explodes.

Parents getting grey hair

Afraid they will implode.

Now that I’m sixteen,

I’m ordained to be a priest

I see a man emerging

At times and places at least

Now that I’m sixteen

I bless the sacrament

In white shirt, tie and suit coat

I knell – a prayer is sent

First the cups are filled

Next I break the bread.

Then slowly I read

And sacred words are said.

 Soon I will leave home

Take Christ’s promise with me -

For I’ll serve a mission

Where God will help me see -

That life is so much more

Than getting just for me.

It is giving and receiving love

Joy and peace you can see.

When I return home

I will grow to be much more

For when you work with God

Your manhood learns to soar