Confirmation Day

Part of being Lutheran is confirmation. Unfortunately, for many Lutherans,
it is just one of those things you "check off your list", and it holds little meaning or significance. Though we understand that in a church setting, it is easier to do group instruction,
we wish that it could be more individualized. But our kids understand that it is
an opportunity for them to declare publicly that they wish to confirm their faith,
even if in their heart and minds they have already done so.

Zeke was confirmed on Palm Sunday, April 5th. Dan's parents visited for the occasion --
since they have so many grandchildren, they decided a few years ago that it made
more sense for them to commit to attend confirmations, since they are less likely
to conflict with each other than high school graduations

The official photographs (somehow I don't have one with the grandparents on my camera)

We spent the afternoon after church having a lot of fun -- playing up and down the river
(also known by other, less appropriate names). Grandma Hall won, to her surprise --
she claims she never wins at card games. I guess the game wasn't exciting enough, because Becky colored an entire picture between bids (we bid with our fingers, all at the same time, to keep people from adjusting their bids based on the previous bids) and playing...

Let the dealing begin!


And then it was time for the meal, the cake, and the gifts. Grandma and Grandpa Hall always write a nice letter telling about a member of the extended family, and their gift is always something associated with that person (Andy - Great Grandpa Thompson, class ring; Becky -- Great Grandma Thompson, a picture that was her favorite; Abby -- Aunt Feather, who loves horses like Abby and is a great artist, a clock she painted) Zeke's letter was about his Grandfather, Fred, who was there, and his gifts included a Bible he was given by HIS grandfather, and a picture of Fred as a boy, playing baseball.