Van's Baby Blessing {Dec. 7, 2008}

After much debate on whether we should have Van blessed here in December or wait until we went to Utah in January, we finally decided to have him blessed in the ward he was born in, here in Arlington. It was a super hard decision to make, especially with family so far away and so few able to come, but we were glad that Jon's parents and Jeremy could be in town, as well as Jon's cousin & wife and their 5 cute kids (thanks Wakefields!), and we were especially grateful to all our dear friends who live in the area that came to support us on Van's special, simple day. We definitely focused on simplicity, and it almost made it seem unreal, but it was perfect for our little boy. The meeting was at 9:00 am on Sunday, December 7, and Van was blessed by Jon, being joined by his father, brother, our bishop, and a few friends. Thank you so much to all of you that went out of your way to be there for us and Van! It was so good to see you all and it meant so much to us that you would come.

We missed our family greatly (and you were definitely all in our thoughts!!), but we're grateful that all gospel ordinances and blessings can be performed anywhere in the world and still have the same meaning and validity. I'm so grateful for the priesthood and that Jon strives to live his life in a way that respects the priesthood he holds. We're just a little family, and this is just our little beginning, but I love every part of it! Thinking of the things Jon mentioned to Van in his blessing makes me amazed that we will see this little one grow from infancy to manhood, from being completely dependent on us to being an independent and responsible adult, and every step in between. I can't even imagine it!! I hope and pray every day that we will raise him the way he deserves to be raised, and that we will bring him up according to the Lord's will. It's a great responsibility, but I know that it's definitely not one that we will fulfill alone, and for that I am eternally grateful.

For the record, Van was silent as ever for the blessing, even though he was awake, and the best part was when Jon slightly raised Van for the congregation to see, because Jon's friends from work loved it--they later told us it reminded them of the Lion King. :) So here's to our sweet little Simba with his whole little life ahead!

{I may or may not have completely forgotten to take pictures of any kind until 10:00 pm that night...at which point I may or may not have made Jon get back in his church clothes as soon as I changed Van back into his blessing clothes to look like I remembered as soon as we were home...obviously still new at this mom stuff!!}




















































































And this is how Van felt after his blessing day (the same as every other day I guess!).