Nathan's 12th Birthday:

Nathan received two very special gifts on his birthday: The Priesthood and a bunny.
But first, his "cake".

Nathan has never liked cake, so every year we try to figure out a worthy substitute. He thought he was stumping me with his suggestion and request for a "colorful, jello cake". Never doubt the mother!

Each layer took at least 45 minutes to set so this cake took roughly four hours to make. It jiggled just like he hoped, was as colorful as a rainbow, and as sweet at our pre-teen boy himself.

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For as long as I can remember, Nathan has been asking for a bunny. As cat owners that seemed like a silly idea and honestly, I didn't want the parental work that would be necessary to train him to take care of it. However, at twelve, I contemplated where the rabbit would stay, researched types of rabbits I'd be willing to add to our country abode, and started searching.

The only place I could find the breed of rabbit I would allow (one that would stay small) was in Utah. We were headed there for a send-off for Justin to Nationals so it was perfect timing to pick up his birthday pet.

He sat unknowingly in the van while I approached a house under the guise of "picking something up". I came out with a squirmy baby bunny, barely the size of a cupcake.

Nathan squealed, laughed, and tried to hide his happy tears as he cuddled up with his new best friend.

We quickly learned that Bruno, as Nathan named him, could daily eat twice his body weight and poop nearly the same amount. Although he looked round and chubby, it was all fluff that he could squeeze right between the bars of the animal pen. It took nearly 3 months before his head grew big enough to stop him from escaping.

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Nathan's 12th birthday brought a very big step in his spiritual life. He has been preparing for and looking forward to this birthday for the last several months.

After learning how to do indexing on the Family Search website, and having friends who were telling him how much they love going to the temple, he was really looking forward to doing baptisms at the Rexburg LDS Temple.

Before he could do that though, he was to be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.

That was a beautiful day full of family. Bret, Erika, Kailee and Derek came from Utah; Levi and Daymia came from Idaho Falls; Grandpa and Grandma Fullmer came from Utah and we all gathered for this important occasion in Nathan's spiritual life. As we all walked into the small classroom at the church, where the Deacon's met as a class, we filled the room with love and support. Grandpa Fullmer, Bret, Bishop Wray, Brother Allred, and Brother Lundin all joined LeRoy for the ordination.

The rest of the day was full of family and food, so we waited until Monday to take a trip to the temple for some pictures.

After a walk around the grounds, Nathan posed in front of the springtime trees just starting to bud their leaves. I thought he was just wandering the grounds but he started to look a little pensive.

"These trees are just like me. They are starting to bud their leaves and will grow and blossom throughout the summer with the help of the sun. I'm just now budding in the priesthood but with the help of the Son, I will blossom and grow too."

Just a few weeks later, LeRoy, Nathan and I went to do baptisms. The temple workers treated him as a very special guest. As we were waiting for our turns, Nathan sat next to me and started to quietly quote the Articles of Faith, all 13 of them. He grinned in his nervousness, explaining that they were helping him stay calm. LeRoy did the baptizing, Nathan was baptized, and I wrapped each of them in a warm towel after. Five family ancestors that Grandma Fullmer had found received the opportunity to accept baptism that day.

When we walked out of the temple, Nathan paused again by the trees, smiled and asked for a picture.

"See, we are both blossoming."


Nathan wanted a group party at The Craze here in town. We made quick invitations and planned it for the weekend after his birthday. On the morning of the party, the Craze called to inform us that the sever rainstorm from the night before had flooded the building. We couldn't even reschedule because they didn't know how long it would take for cleanup and repairs.

About a month later, the boys were able to play laser tag, miniature golf and arcade, and to down as much pizza and soda as they bellies can handle.