Our Forever Family

On Saturday our family had the opportunity to go to the Draper Temple and be sealed for all Time and Eternity.

We woke up bright and early(5:45a.m) to be exact..and surprisingly the girls didn't fight me about waking up! They were so excited!! My little Sister In-law Tiffany helped me get the girls ready which made it so much easier to get out the door on time!!


As we were driving to the Temple Ireland asked if there was going to be other little kids there...I told her No, but that there would be Angels there to play with them. ( I was talking about the cute Temple workers!) She was sooooo excited to play with them! When we got into the Kids waiting room...not one of them acted nervous or worried at all. Azalea didn't even cry as we left them behind.....which I thought for sure would happen!! All of the Temple workers were so sweet and commented on how beautiful the girls looked all in white! I love how special they make you feel! All of the Temple workers all truly Angels in my book!!



Go back with me in time for a bit...



It was about 7 years ago.... My Mother in-law had made Temple dresses out of my Wedding dress for Oaklee and Brooklyn because We had been working on going to the Temple but then we bought a house and moved and various things like working on Sundays, sleeping in and fears of having to Bless the babies caused Mike to avoid closing the deal! LoL

After my Mom died in 2006 I made a pact with my Grandmother that we would go even without our husbands to the temple before the year was up. Sure enough on March 2nd 2007 , which would have been My Mothers 55th Birthday, My Grandmother and I received our Endowments. I remember how hard it was for me to go and do that without my husband by my side. A part of me wondered if I was making the wrong choice and if it was a mistake for me to go without him. Of course I worried for nothing because my Sweet Husband did nothing but support me and encourage me to go and to go often. Sure enough little by little I saw his testimony grow! What a blessing!


Long story short...


Those two precious dresses that my Mother in law made for Oaklee and Brooklyn out of My Wedding Dress fit Ireland and Azalea perfectly!!! Yay!!!


When we walked into the Sealing room that beautiful day and saw the overwhelming amount of loved ones there to support us , our hearts were overwhelmed with joy! I had always wanted to get Sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, but due to the fact that we both have HUGE families and lots of friends we decided that we would take the opportunity to be sealed in the new Draper Temple which has a sealing room that holds 80 guests....and boy was it FULL! I think that there was only a few empty chairs!!


Once Mike and I were sealed they brought the girls into the room to be Sealed to us! It was one of the most wonderful moments in my life! I loved every moment of it and both Mike and I were beaming!! The spirit was so strong and tears of joy were flowing throughout the room! After we were sealed the Sealer had us stand with the girls and look into the Mirrors that go on for Eternity! He said to the girls...So do you see anymore Brothers and Sisters?? lol I was like..Ummm specifically Brothers!! lol


Afterwards our Wonderful friend and neighbor Greg graciously agreed to do pictures for us! What a sweet and kind gesture! Holy cow was it cold...and WINDY!!! It was horrible but we tried to make the best of it! Towards the begining of our quick photo shoot the girls tried to be strong but towards the end they were crying in agony!! :( We ended up going back inside for a few more shots before we called it quits! lol


This has got to be my positively favorite picture. It truly capture the moment!! It was freezing and sooooo windy and the kids were just plain DONE as you can tell by the look of horror, pain and despair in their poor faces!!



The group picture that was taken only had about a third of the guests that were there in it...Alot of people had already left by the time we got dressed. However a bunch of them returned to our house for a yummy lunch! For the Luncheon My Aunt Karen...Who is the most wonderful lady I know....made us a beautiful cake along with shadowboxes for each of the girls as a keepsake. She also gave us a quilt with the Draper Temple on it and a picture of the girls. It was such a generous gift! I am so grateful for her and for her loving support in everything her nieces and nephews and Grand nieces and nephews do! Seriously.....she is AMAZING and I love her so much!!!

I am truly grateful for the opportunity we had to go to the Temple. I am thankful for my husband! I can't believe how much his testimony has grown throughout the last few years. I am
so proud of him!! I love him so much!! I am grateful for my Daughters!! Each and every one of them has such a sweet and kind spirit! They have always been and always will be such a great blessing in our lives. I am so excited that we are finally a forever family!! What a great and wonderful feeling it is to know without a doubt that if we keep our covenants that we made in the Temple that our family will be united after this life is over! What peace and comfort that sentence brings....Families are Forever!!!