Blessings

Hello dear friends and family! I know I'm extremely behind with my blogging, but I don't feel guilty! We've been playing our little hearts out this summer and posting does not make the top of the to do list, unfortunately :) I'm going to break this into several posts, starting with Kate's blessing day and a wonderful announcement at the end of this (that I'm sure 90% of you know, so maybe it won't be such a surprise) so read on.

A month ago...Tyler gave Kate a beautiful blessing, I am so proud of him for living such a worthy life that he is able to bless our children and me when I need it. I could feel the power that is in those words, making beautiful promises if she lives worthily. I'm so excited to see the wonderful person she'll grow into, I know this girl has big things in store for her, just like I feel for Cole as well. I'm sure every mother feels that way right :) Just thinking about them coming at this time when things in the world can seem so crazy and dark, they really are going to shine.

So it was a wonderful day for our little family, we were small in numbers but happy to be together, those of us that could :)

Kate was totally decked out in the family garb, she wore my blessing dress and had on mom's blessing booties which were adorable. What a sweetie! Cole still dotes on her and is extra careful around her. He's so great.

She also had on a bracelet I had made for her...I'm such a sentimental person and love traditional, family-passed-on things and I've been thinking about making something special for Kate to wear on her blessing day. Then I thought how cool would it be if she could wear it on her blessing day, baptism day, and then wedding day. And wouldn't it be even cooler if it had something to remind her of the women in her life that came before her, as in me, my mom, and my grandma Bliss (where she got her middle name from). SO...since I am not so talented in this area, I asked my teacher friend from school if she could make me something like this, and this is what she came up with.
The turquoise piece was my grandma Bliss', the heart is from mom, and the single diamond is from me. We just doubled it up for the blessing day and it fit her perfectly, I hope it's something special for her that represents love and reminds her of her heritage. She looked so beautiful! I am so grateful to know that our family can be together forever, not just in this life. I really hadn't felt pure joy and peace until I became a wife and mother, and it's hard to comprehend how it would feel to think I could only have them until death. Why would I want something so fulfilling and wonderful to end? I'm so glad it doesn't have to. Oh, and speaking of being a mom, we've decided I'm going to stay home and not go back to teaching this year! Or for a while. I'm so excited I can't even tell you. As a little girl growing up, this was my biggest dream to be a wife and a mom at home with my kids. It's a little scary financially, but we feel so at peace with this decision that we know we will be taken care of and things will come up to cover the expenses, it always does. I have loved loved loved being a teacher for these past 5 years, it truly was what I was meant to be doing. But I know where my true calling is, and it's at home being a teacher to my children and a wife to my sweetie :) What more could I really want??? I can't wait for this phase of my life, it's going to be the best yet :)