The greatest blessing!

So after the temple sealing we were able to give A-man his name and blessing. It's a religious ceremony in which the father (or another priesthood holder) gives the baby a special blessing. It is a special experience and one that we have been waiting for. I had made the cute little all white outfit that A-man wore for the special day - both the temple and the blessing. It's hard to see the outfit but he had a matching little vest, tie, and belt. We did buy his white shirt but I made the matching white pants for him. We were definitely a happy family.



This was another especially special day because not only both of our families would be there at the church but A-man's birth mother and her family were coming also. It would be the first time we saw her since the placement. She had come all the way from Oregon to be there on this day and she was just as excited to see A-man as we were to see her. Her mother and grandmother also came with her from Oregon to see A-man. It was great to see all 4 generations together. In addition her Aunt Robyn was also there - we had met her at the placement and could tell that all 4 of them really loved our favorite little guy.







A-man's birth mother's father (so his birth grandfather) passed away last year but his parent's were able to come to the temple sealing and share the day with us. They also came to the baby blessing and A-man's great-grandfather stood in the priesthood circle. Another super neat experience - tieing our families together - both birth family and adoptive family.





It was amazing to see how many people came to share this special day with us. We orginally were going to do his blessing in the Relief Society room, but had too many people so we switched to a larger room, we again had too many people and they moved us into the chapel! I couldn't believe it but we filled up the chapel too. It was so wonderful to know how loved we are and especially how loved A-man is.

We had a short program, my friend Anne generously played the piano so we could sing "Families Can Be Together" and then we had an opening prayer. Jason gave A-man his blessing and I think it scared him a little to be in front of all those people. After the blessing I had the opportunity to share my testimony. We ended with my father giving the closing prayer. All together it was a super special day and one that I will never forget.