Speical day #2

The night before the sealing the girls and I went over to the church to decorate.  They were so helpful!  I wanted to make everything look beautiful!  A Beautiful day deserves beautiful center pieces.

I started working on these babies a month before the sealing.  It involved, spray paint, DI dishes, epoxy, digging pine nuts out of pine cones, dollar store trips, and borrowing some awesome pine cones from my parents. 

 The day was beautiful!  Inside and out!  We were sealed on the day after Thanksgiving.  It was significant for many reasons, one of them being that Daren and I were married the day after Thanksgiving 15 years earlier. It was a little cold, but our friend Jeni Labrum did a great job taking photos that make us appear comfortable.  We were so glad to go inside when photos were finished!  They treated us all like royalty once we entered and I was so thankful that Jess was there to help with the girls.  She was our special aunt that day.  There were also many other family members and friends that filled the sealing room with love. 

 The little angel herself.  The reason for it all!

 We spent the two weeks prior to the sealing learning all we could about temples each night during scripture study.  We answered as many questions as we could and we hope that the girls will always remember, above all, the special spirit they felt inside the temple.

Millie's nose is looking a little pink!

The girls will warm her up!

As an extra bonus, we were able to have Millie's birth mom and grandmother at the temple.  Her birth grandmother was present inside the temple for the sealing.  It was how it is suppose to be.  So much love!

I wish I had pictures of everyone that attended.  We snagged Aaron & Steph, but missed Steve & Vickie, Nana & Papa Holley, the Gibbons, Madelyn & Marvin, Aunt Colleen, Daren's parents and siblings, Dave, my parents, etc.

Brooke (Dave's girlfriend) filled a special role in sitting with Courtnie in the waiting room.  I am thankful for her!

My Grandpa Wally!  All the grandparents were special on this day.  I have no doubt that there are some special Grandmas in heaven that had a hand in this arrangement (Grandma Gloria, Granny Holley, & Grandma Great all were in my mind and heart).

Special Day #1

 Sunday November 18, 2012 was my mom's birthday.  We had a great party for her at Jessie's house.  Matt made some super yummy salmon, Jess made some great horseradish carrots (delish!), and I even managed to pull off a gluten-free carrot cake.  The food was memorable and orange.  We didn't plan that part.  Since we were already all the way to Farmington, and we knew we had to be in court by 8 am the next morning, we decided to get a hotel room and stay in SLC.  Little America happened to be the closest to the court house.  So we partied there for a night.

 The girls number one request was swimming.  Daren stepped up and did the swimming for the night and I got to be the photographer.  It isn't very hard to tell that this sweet little Millie of ours is loved, is it?  She was so fun in the pool and had a grand time splashing her heart out.

 But then.... She wouldn't go to sleep.  We tried hiding her behind the couch, but she just knew something was going on that she was missing out on.  It was pretty darn cute.  Maybe she could feel what was about to take place the next day.  I know I could feel it.  It was exciting and scary all at the same time.  We were going to court on Nov 19th.  6 months to the day that Amelia came to our home.  We never thought we would be blessed enough to do it within that time frame! Now everything just needed to go through!

 The weather was nice enough for us to walk over to the courthouse.  Courtnie (Millie's birthmom) met us there.

Lots of legal talk, yes or no questions, serious faces, a couple questions from the judge, Noelle approaching me during a critical moment to tell me she was hungry--- uh, hello go sit down!, and some signatures and the deed was done.  Legally Amelia Courtnie Jackson was ours for the rest of time and now we tackle eternity....to be continued.

Halloween

No explanations really needed here!  Cute kids, fun costumes, lots of candy, and pretty nice weather.  More importantly, why is there always a laundry basket in the background of my photos?  I will tell you why... because I'm always doing laundry!!  So thankful for a washing machine and a dryer :).

Bear Bottoms Corn Maze

Random Fall Activities

Look at this sweet girl! She has been taught so well to never disturb the pillows!

Sleepover with cousins! Carmel popcorn and a movie!

Libby is on Youth 2000 this year. We are so proud of her for being chosen to be a leader among her classmates.

Noelle really enjoyed soccer this fall. She is becoming an awesome player!

Spring BREAK

The first day of Spring Break was an exciting day! We were still a family of four then and the girls had their friends over to play. They were playing downstairs and in typical fashion there was lots of shouts and squealing. Soon I heard Libby yelling "I broke my arm! I broke my arm!" I thought she was just playing, but as soon as she walked up the stairs and I saw her arm pointing in the wrong direction, I knew we were headed to the ER. So off we went. The friends came along too! Libby was a trooper from the beginning. It was a long afternoon in the ER. Daren was out of town, so we called in Grandpa Rupp for a blessing. He brought a work associate and the Dr. helped us find some consecrated oil. The bone was broke all the way through and was cutting off the venous flow, so they knew it would need to be "set" and that she would need surgery. They had a heck of a time starting the IV. After 4 tries, Libby was still holding strong (no crying!) and they finally had the IV in. With the help of some strong meds they put Libby under and after I left the room, they manipulated the bone back into place. After they put a splint on, we were sent home and instructed to return for surgery in 24 hours. And so began 8 weeks of learning just how important a right arm is! Libby and I spent a lot of time together. She needed help with just about everything. I have great empathy for mother's who are raising children with chronic disabilities. What a challenge! We made it over this speed bump and we will make it over the next one too....(whatever that may be)

Trying to put on a brave face for Easter! Poor thing wasn't doing too hot.

Noelle wanted in on the action. She had some jealousy issues with all the attention Libby was getting!

Special Dates

Millie came to our home on May 19th, which is Grandma Great's Birthday. Aunt Kara pointed out that special fact to us. Millie was born on January 25th, which is fun too because her cousin Jonah was born the next day! It's amazing to think that our little girl was entering the world at that time without us even being aware. Heavenly Father was aware though and the wheels had already been put in motion. Check out these cute cousins...

Nice to meet you Jonah!