Aiden's Blessing Day

It's been one full week with Aiden's Court hearing, Thanksgiving, Lilley's bridal shower,  Aiden's Sealing, Jamie's birthday sleepover and yesterday it ended with Aiden's Blessing! It was an amazing week!  We have felt have so loved and supported by our family and friends with our family events for Aiden.  We did his blessing in our home surrounded by family and close friends. Seth did an amazing job blessing his son. I am always amazed at how composed and intune he is during special moments and with his priesthood. Aiden did awsome and was quiet during the entire blessing... such a champ!  Mason bailed halfway through the blessing to play downstairs with his cousins but that's okay! haha.  It was an awsome day with family. Thanks to those who were able to join us for Aiden's Special day!

Becoming an Eternal Family {Aiden's Sealing Day}

This day is always my {favorite} day in the finalizing process. Something always seems to test the success of having that be a perfect day.... with Mason he was so sick, pink eye in both eyes, double ear infections and a respiratory infection, it was so sad. However the spirit got him through that day and it was still a perfect day for us! This time it was bitter, bitter cold. My vision for family pictures went out the window quick as we walked out and it was 20 something degrees. My sister-in-law was incredible and snapped some of the groups and some quick ones of our family. Our kids were frozen as were we, so we had to go fast and a few was all we could manage but that ended up to be okay too, because the sealing was so incredible and that's what mattered. It's hard to not get emotional even now as I write this because the feeling surrounding that day was so full of the spirit. It was everything I could have dreamed of and more.

We woke up, had a great morning with our kids, got ready, prepared all of our temple bags full of our {whites} and headed to the temple. We checked in, left our children with the sweet ladies in the youth center who prepare them to meet us in the sealing room as Seth and I go to paper work and get ready ourselves. It's neat, even for adoption sealings they treat you like a bride each time and have you get ready in the bridal room. I met Seth outside and they took us to the Celestial room to wait until it was time. As it was with Mason's sealing, that time is so neat to get with Seth. It does seem to take forever waiting for it to happen however we pray and talk about what's about to happen. Never could I imagine going through any of this with anyone else other than that man. He is the love of my life. The patron comes and gets us when the room is ready and seats us in the hallway to wait for our boys to be brought up. We joked how it felt like Christmas morning and we couldn't wait to see our boys! We looked to our left and we see two sweet women rolling our boys all dressed in white down the hallway in white strollers. My heart felt things in that moment I didn't know was possible. Mason saw me and lit up and in a very quite hallway he chimed "MAMA", everyone giggled and smiled. They let us hold them in the hallway 'til our sealer arrived. We met our sealer and were brought into the room. We did it a tad smaller this time and only invited those who have played a special part in our lives during Aiden's journey into our family. It was perfect. It was the smaller room and was so intimate. We could see the faces of each person there and each face represented a special connection. It was such a neat feeling. We had Mason's birth father's family present; they've become a strong part of our whole family as well as Aiden's birth grandma there who sat next to my mom. Again it was so neat. My sister Jamie, my mom, Seth's brother Josh and his sisters along with Sarah's husband, Lael's fiancé' & Em's boyfriend, dear friends, our bishop, some of both boys birth families, all there sharing this experience with us. Our sealing was amazing. He seemed extremely tuned in not only to the spirit but to our personal journey with both of our boys. He talked about Angels on the other side who had interest in our family, and who were worthy to be there were there. He shared how it is our plan/duty on earth to multiply and replenish the earth and that there is more than one way to do that. One of the most sacred is adoption. And how this, our family, was in the Lord's design a long time ago and it was on purpose. I felt goose bumps to my core. He said each of our boys had a special journey in finding our family and it was by the Lord's hand. He then told us that the greatest power of the priesthood is being able to seal here on earth... He then sealed Aiden to Seth & I. It was something Seth & I will never forget. As with Mason's, it was forever etched into our hearts and memory. It again changed who we are. It bettered us. We are so blessed to be able to experience such incredible heaven like moments. We do not take them for granted. He then stood us up and had us look in the mirror and explain that since the first time we saw the view when we were married, it had changed, even since doing this last time with our Mason it had changed. Our family had grown, spirits had found our family... and not to be surprised if their were more that were coming. We then got to hug each person we were able to share this with.

As we walked out into the waiting room were we saw {D} Aiden's birth mom waiting. We embraced her and shared with her how neat the day had been. We took pictures and then had a luncheon to celebrate Aiden and give our families the chance to meet {D} and her mom.



Aiden is such a blessing. In starting the adoption process a second time I was nervous we wouldn’t be able to top Mason's experience, story and the love we had for him.... The moment I held Aiden I sensed we wouldn't need to top them... that he was going to be different in his own way.... and he has. Everything about his experience's is different yet just as special in every way as Mason's. It's so incredible how that is even possible. Aiden has taught me a lot. He has shown me a lot. He has surprised me. He has my heart tied around his little finger. I am in love with him. He melts my heart. He is so happy and smiley. Some nights when I watch him sleep I almost don't believe he's mine (in the typical way of course) because everything about him is mine, my feelings, his spirit, our love for him, everything. He is my little angel baby. He is Mason's brother and Seth's second son and forever someone that was supposed to come into my life, when he did, how he did and why he did. I look at him and think "of course it's you.... i remember you. Hi Aider's. I've missed you!" I'm so glad he's here. I'm so glad he's ours. I'm so happy we have the divine blessing and privilege to seal our families here on earth as they are in heaven. I'm so grateful the Lord's plan for me was this. I would not change one lesson, one experience... not one thing. I am grateful for my Aiden!

 Our Forever Family

{Court Day}

Monday Nov 22nd, we had Aiden's Court hearing to finialize his adoption!!! It was a little different than our experience with Mason.  This time we went into a full size court room, had a lawyer, our caseworker and our families present.  It was such a neat experience (as was Mason's. It was just a different setting. With Mason we went into the Judge's den and had more of a one on one. Each experience fit perfectly with each child).  The court room was a neat offical feeling and being able to share it with our family that came was so fun!  Court doesn't sound like it would be emotional but it is.  Our lawyer asks us a series of questions, some general, some emotional.  The one that got both Seth and I was "could you please share with the court your feelings regarding this adoption?"   Every adoption is a long road, a rewarding road but it takes some stamina for sure. So by the time you get to this point (finalizing) your emotions are deep, your gratitude is overflowing and your desire to complete these last few steps could not be more overpowering!  So a loaded question like this, brought all of that to the surface. However, it was neat to share and it was also neat to hear Seth's feelings. It was a good day! A day that was the first of three special days, celebrating our Aiden and completing him becoming a part of our family a little more. We cannot thank our family enough for joining us on that special day:)

{Bliss}

It was a beautiful week

Getting there was full of stress, lots of planning and even more prepartion

In the end all of that was worth it, because he is now ours

We enjoyed and were fully present for every moment of all three special occassions

Each occassion made him a little more ours

So as I said, it was a beautiful week

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This little man belongs to us....

Family Picttures {2010}

Let's just say do it yourself family picture's ARE NOT the best idea when it's 30 degrees outside, you have two year old, it's overcast and the sun is already going down, you have a two yr old, your attempting to do this with a remote while being in the picture, and did a mention when you have a two year old!!!!!!!  It was crazy, frustrating, cold and hiliarous! Anyway my little sister Em was gracious enough to come and freeze her butt off with us to stand behind the camera and jump in every direction to get the kids to look and smile.  Huge thanks Em.  I adore family pictures... it's my job.  But always being behind the camera means never get good ones of my own family. I had a swap set up with an old friend this year but because my lens was gone for so long, it left us with on Sunday once it got back and with the weather and schedules it didn't work out:( I still wanted them done so even though it's hard get the angle I normally would and the right focus when using tripod and remote, we attempted it and well at least we're all four in it and that works for me!

I don't even think we got only got ONE of Mason smiling... oh well we gave up on that and just aimed for him not glaring at us when we asked him to smile... haha.  So yes frustrated cause I wanted good pictures but I couldn't blame him, even I was freezing my bum off!

I know a picture of myself... lovely. nothing could be more awkward for me but i needed one for my photoblog, hubby played photographer:)



Tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow is Aiden's court hearing and we couldn't be {MORE} excited!!!

{M+L}

 Mike & Lael

{my lovely sister in-law & her soon to be MR}

soooooo happy for them

More HERE

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ps... my lens is finally BACK! YAY!  it's was having majoring rear focusing problems. I couldn't get a group in focus no matter what I set it too.  I went took it too a repair shop, they found nothing! I took back to where I purchased it, they found nothing!  insert: MAJOR FRUSTRATION!  Finally pictureline sent it in to Canon after viewing some of my test shots... At last, the problem was found, parts were replaced and I now have an amazing working lens!!!! Totally bummed that I've missed the fall season but so glad to have it finally fixed! Bring on the cold shoots:)

Adoption Month:)

November is National Adoption Awareness Month

We're so grateful to have been blessed by adoption...

Thanks you, Melissa, Chase, Darcie & Zach



{moments}

A week or two after Mason's birthday which is also the same day of the anniversary of his birthfather's passing, we were able to go visit the {b} family. They have truly become apart of our family and hearts the last two years. We've grown to love them and know Chase through them. We are so grateful the Lord is so thoughtful and provided us a special way for Mason to know his heritage and feel Chase around him. We have no doubt Chase is Mason Guardian Angel:) Even though if Chase was here, things might have been harder to get where we are, we still wish we could have met him.  He was one of the two angels that brought our son to earth.  The amount of gratitude we feel for him is deep.  Something we feel in every fiber of our being.  People often ask why we have such an open adoption with our childrens birthfamilies?  It stems from that very feeling: Gratitude! Also wanting our children to feel loved, secure and confident in their life and journey.  Along with these angels who sacraficed for them to be able to heal throughout a lifetime by seeing their choice confirmed. When you go through adoption, being in that moment where she places her child in your arms, to become your child.. you feel angels and the most heaven like feeling possible here on earth in that moment.  We know this was designed long ago, we know these children were ours and we believe we knew these birth parents in heaven. We believe they offered to do this for us. We believe we were told we couldn't carry them down with us, that was our trial. We believe they raised their hand for us.  Now I ask why would we not be open?   

Evertime we go visit them we always stop off at Chase's gravesite. This pictures were from our last trip....