Soccer man!

Graham loves to play soccer.
I love that he is totally rocking that white sweatband!

My Baptism

Baptism of Graham Michael Ragsdale
August 15, 2015

Presiding………………………………………….…….Bishop Lisle Updike

Conducting……………………………………..Brother Nick Wadsworth

Pianist………………………………………….…………….Cassandra Baer

Chorister……………………………………..……………….Erin Ragsdale

Hymn………………………………….………………. “I am a Child of God”

Opening Prayer……………………………………………Steve Ragsdale

Talk on Baptism…………………………….....Steven and Shelly Arroyo

Special Musical Number………………………….….Debbie Ragsdale,

                                                                           Jessica Ragsdale, 

                                                                      Scotty Ragsdale

Baptism of Graham Ragsdale
Ordinance performed by Lee Ragsdale
Witnesses: Kyle Ragsdale and Steven Ragsdale

Interlude Hymns

Talk on Holy Ghost…………………..…….…………….Rick Ragsdale

Confirmation of Graham Ragsdale
Ordinance performed by Lee Ragsdale

Welcome to Primary…………………………...………..Heidi Anderson

Welcome to Ward / Closing Remarks…...……Brother Nick Wadsworth

Hymn…………………………………………………….…………..”Baptism”

Closing Prayer……………………………...………………Amy Ragsdale

All the Ragsdales!

"I got baptized! I am eight years old now. And I have gone through the gate and I am on the first step on the path to Heavenly Father. I felt really good when I went through the doors of the church. I heard the spirit in my heart. It said, 'Graham, you are just about to go through The Gate.' A lot of family and church friends got to come. All of the Ragsdale family came. I'm really glad they all got to come. I love them very much. 

Before I got baptized, I was gathering up a testimony because I will need a testimony when I go on a mission. I also helped plan the program. I called my aunts and uncles and asked them to be a part of my baptism program. They all said yes! 

Here is a note that Mimi and Papa Ragsdale sent me to remind me of the things Grandpa spoke about in his talk:

I felt really good after I got baptized. My dad gave me a slap on the back when he pulled me out of the water and then I hugged him."

Love,

Graham

Sister "Shmooch"

A little while ago a member of the primary presidency, Ashley Schmutz, told me this story.

Graham volunteered to share a scripture for opening exercises. He had his Book of Mormon open and ready and when it was his turn he eagerly read, 

3 Nephi 12:44

"But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who dispitefully use you and persecute you."

Then he essentially testified of the importance of being kind. Ashley said most of the adults in the room were blinking back the tears. So I asked her to write it down and send me her version for Graham's blog.

Tandem with Uncle Steven

We spent the day visiting lots of Ragsdale family. Uncle Steven got out the tandem bike!

Unfair!

I was talking with the kids about job charts and the division of responsibility in the home yesterday. They started debating whether mom or dad did more work. Graham was pretty addement that dad did more.

I obviously needed to correct this perception. We started listing the things that mom did. 

After a few minutes of discussing this the kids rallied and said they wanted to help with jobs more. 

"Yeah," said Graham. "Cuz it's not fair that mom gets to do all the work!"

(He said this in a whiny sort of way that showed he felt truly jipped out of doing some of the cooler jobs, like loading and starting the dishwasher or doing laundry. Machines and tools are apparently key to getting this kid excited about housework!)

"No," I agreed. "It's not fair."

Then Graham said, "Wait, what did I just say?"

I think the end result of this conversation caught him off guard. 

The Wee Ride!

Finally, we are using the WeeRide we got for Christmas! 

Graham is even wearing Daddy's old helmet!

That Face!

They came back over an hour later - sweaty and happy!

Third tooth

I was dreading that a lost tooth would ruin this kids winning smile... I shouldn't have worried. He still melts my heart.