today was a very special day for you...you were given a name and a blessing by your daddy. we invited our closest friends and all of our family, and so many of them came to support you and show their love for you. :)
dad was so excited to bless you, but he was also very nervous. he has never given a blessing before, let alone in front of hundreds of people, so he thought he might get up there and forget all the things he needed and wanted to say. as he was standing there in the circle, surrounded by some of his best friends, your great-grandpas and a few others, he was overcome with the spirit and got very emotional. when he first began the blessing, you almost couldn't hear what he was saying because he was so choked up. it just melted my heart, and i too started crying. even though he was very emotional, he remembered everything he wanted to say and he did it without stumbling even once. i was so proud of him. :)
the people who stood in the circle with dad were: great-grandpa hansen, great-grandpa powell, uncle jerry mackie, ben clark, dave mcconnel, mike ferrell, gary halverson, our home teacher tom lindhardt and the first counsellor in the bishopric, brother wally larrabee. ferrell said he kept his eyes open throughout the whole blessing because he was watching you just stare up at your daddy, he thought it was so cute. when you guys came back to our seats after the blessing was over, dad said when he started speaking all of his nerves just went away and he remembered everything he was supposed to say. he said he could feel the spirit so strongly, and i did too.
i stood up and bore my testimony. i said how you have helped strengthen my testimony of eternal families. i may have written this in other letters, but i will tell you again. i have always believed and had faith that families can be together forever, but ever since you were born that faith and belief has turned into knowledge...i know, without a shadow of a doubt, that families are eternal. how do i know? because since the moment i first laid eyes on you and held you in my arms, you and your spirit have been so familiar to me. i compare it to a friend who you have known forever, but haven't seen in years...when you reunite after having been separated, you just pick up right where you left off, like no time has passed in between. since the day you were born, that is how it has felt - like we were reuniting, rather than just meeting for the first time. i know we were a family before we came to this earth, and i know we will be a family for all eternity. and i just can't tell you how happy that makes me. :)
after sacrament meeting we invited everyone over to our house and had the most amazing brunch, "catered" by your grandma cindy. she is amazing! everyone keeps telling her she needs to start her own business, that is how good she is. needless to say, the food was d.e.licious! she made quiche, ham, potatoes, parfaits, many different breads and muffins, cupcakes and fruit tarts. we also had danishes, croissants, fruit and eclairs, with orange juice, chocolate milk and strawberry lemonade to drink, all which were brought by some of my aunts and cousins. it was a very good meal.
everyone stayed and visited for an hour or two. we got some great pictures of you with your friends, and also with some of the other people who came. unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of you in your blessing outfit because you had a HUGE blowout. one of the biggest i have ever seen and it got all over your darling white sailor outfit. shoot! (i threw it in the wash and we took a picture of you in it later in the day, don't worry).
love,
mom
