Forever and Ever...

One of the fundamental beliefs of our faith is that Families are Eternal. That a family created on this earth can be connected as a family forever. When a couple of our faith is married in a temple they are "sealed together" not just for life, but for "Time and all eternity." Any subsequent children they have would then be born under that umbrella and be connected to them for eternity. When a couple isn't married in the temple, there is a special "sealing" ceremony that takes place in the temple, where the family is bound together for eternity.

In our case, Travis and I were married in the temple. However, since Gideon was adopted, it was necessary for us to take him to the temple and have him sealed to us, in order for us to recieve the special blessings of being an eternal family.

Today was that day. It was so special to be in that holiest of places and see our baby boy brought in, all dressed in white, and to hear the special words of the blessing that was pronounced sealing us together as an eternal family.

For us, one of the coolest things about this experience is that B.'s parents were able to attend. What a very special (and emotional) reunion we had with them. We love them so much and we're so blessed because of their sacrifice.

What a joy it is to know that now we are a family not only in the eyes of the law, but in the Eyes of God as well.

How blessed we are that Gideon has the opportunity to spend time with all of his grandparents in one weekend.

And look at how many people love him. (This was actually only about half the people who were there, some left before this picture was taken.) But you really need to enlarge this picture and check out Gideon's face. It's priceless.

These are our dear friends James and JeNae. They came up from out of town for the weekend. We love you guys so much!

After the ceremony we went back to my parents' house for a luncheon.

Luckily my brother-in-law, Ryan is from Georgia and makes the best pulled pork in the world.

Ryan the pork was delicious. And thanks so much to everyone who came out to celebrate with us. We've been so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends in our lives. We love you all. Some of you traveled a long way, and we wish we had a better way of thanking you.

Gideon made lots of new friends today including Blaine, who with his wife Robin, has adopted 2 boys.

Cami was so excited today because the bows she ordered for Lily came in the mail.

Here's Adam modeling one of them. (His expression says it all.)

Miss Lily Pie herself seemed even less sure about them than Adam did.

But no fruity bow for my munchkin. Instead, Uncle Ryan made him a "Wicked Awesome Dude Rag." (Those were his exact words.)

And so, I can honestly say, today was my best birthday ever. Oh yes, I got a few presents and my siblings put together a skit chronicling some of my finest (and not so finest) moments but even without that, knowing that Gideon is truly and officially my son both temporally and spiritually makes this the best birthday I'll probably ever have.