Together Forever - Special Beyond Words

We've had a very special past couple of weeks!  Among all of the fun that has come with the holidays, we've also had our adoption of Evie finalized.  That meant we could finally take her to the temple with us to be sealed as a forever family as well as give her a baby blessing.

Business came first.  We had to show up to court (November 16), have our case worker verify that we are good and fit parents for Evie and that bonding has taken place.  We passed on all accounts.  We were asked a few questions as well and it all went smoothly.  Our parents accompanied us on this adventure and it was fun to have them there with us.

We celebrated with a little breakfast outing at Kneaders.  I must document the fact that when Evie was placed in our arms, that was final to us.  So, going to court was more-or-less a formality due to State Law.  However, it was a beautiful day to reflect on how grateful we are to have Evie in our family!   We can't celebrate that fact enough, so we'll take any excuse to celebrate!!

Next on the agenda was the sealing.  Without getting too mushy and emotional (because words really cannot describe the way we felt and still feel regarding this special day), Beau and I both said this was one of the most special events of our entire lives!

It is impossible to put into words how much we love our baby girl.  It's kind of surprising that our hearts haven't burst!!  To know that she is sealed to us for eternity brings the biggest amount of joy to our hearts . . . more than we thought was possible.  We were sealed together on Wednesday, November 21, the day before Thanksgiving.  This event made this year's Thanksgiving my most memorable yet!  We were fortunate to have most of our family members there . . . even my sister and her husband came into town for this special event.  It meant a lot to have our family there to witness and celebrate such a  memorable day.

Our Beautiful Family

The happy parents with their happy child.

I think what warmed our hearts the VERY most was the fact that Evie could not stop smiling.  She had a constant grin on her face.  During the actual sealing she was ALL smiles.  The sealer said he'd never witnessed such a thing (I think they expect the babies to be relatively fussy).  She was absolutely peaceful, beautiful, sweet, and happy.  The spirit was strong and sweet and I know that Evie knew exactly what was happening.  She is still SO close to heaven and I have no doubt that she knew and felt the significance of this ordinance.  Her happiness, in turn, made me and Beau that much happier (as if we thought that was even possible!).

Evie has the most beautiful smile!

I can only imagine the faith that it took before Evie came to Earth to know that she was to trust her Birth Mother to get her to our home.  Her Birth Mother is strong, brave, and courageous.  And, she found us!  All three of us are so happy because of it!  We can now be together forever.

Today was her beautiful blessing day!  And, beautiful it was.  Beau blessed her with such a nice blessing that was filled with the spirit as well as with so much love.  I know I am biased, but my heart was so touched by this event as I have so much love for both Beau and Evie.  I am so proud to have them in my life and to call them my family!  Again, we found ourselves surrounded by our loved ones and it was a blessing to have them at church with us and then again in our home for brunch.

Everyone helped to bring food for our brunch and it was delicious!

I love these kiddos!  I also love that the weather was kind enough
to allow us to hang outside without jackets. 

Me, my beautiful mom, and Evie.

Us and my parents.

Us and Beau's Mom & Norm-Dad.

We were so happy that some of Evie's Birth Family could make
it to the blessing!  They obviously play a special role in our family
and we were glad to have them in our company on this special day.

Beau, Evie, and Grandma Grover.
For the record, Grandma is 98 years old and we're glad she could make it!

We're constantly told how we have such a happy baby.  It's true; we do have a happy baby.  But, she's seriously been even happier as of lately (my brother asked, "How many smiles can one baby have!?").  Her smiles are EVEN bigger than usual.  I know she knows how special and beautiful she is and that she has been sealed and blessed . . . making her the happiest baby in the world.

We could not be any happier that Evie is part of our family.  
All three of us have perma-grins!!