Together Forever

I can't believe that this day has already come and gone!

We went to court August 25th. Judge Paige was darling with Kenedy and Lincoln. When they had Mike and I swear in, Kenedy raised her hand too. Thanks to my mother-in-law, we got a cute picture of Kenedy promising to tell the truth! After Judge Paige was done asking us questions, he had Kenedy come up and he asked her a few questions. She was so serious! He asked her how old she was, if she loved her brother and if she promised to be good to him. She of course told him she loved him and that she would treat him good. It was the sweetest thing to watch her be so serious! This whole legal mess was quite the ordeal for Kenedy. For a week after court, she still would pray that her little brother would not be taken away from her. We have now got her in the habit of thanking our sweet Heavenly Father for Lincoln. After court and the temple, Kenedy would say, "I am so excited, Lincoln is ours forever!" Out of the blue she would start clapping and say, "I am so excited, Lincoln is ours!" It has been so precious to watch her complete joy!

Before we went to the temple, Mike's good friend, Rotish, took some family pictures for us at the temple. He did a great job! It was hard to get one of the whole family, but it was so much fun to watch the kids dance and play in front of the camera.

The following pictures are the pictures we used to decorate at the luncheon/blessing. Lincoln is the sweetest Little Man!

We are truly blessed to have this wonderful woman in our lives. We are eternally grateful for her love, compassion, and sacrifice. Lincoln has my heart and I don't know what I would ever do without him! Thank you Britney!

The temple was amazing! Seeing my two angels dressed all in white was breathtaking! When the temple workers brought Kenedy and Lincoln into the sealing room, my eyes filled with tears, gratitude filled my heart, and the most amazing peace filled my entire body. Kenedy looked me up and down. I had been waiting for questions about my apparel, but instead she said, "Oh mom, you look beautiful!" I cried harder of course! Lincoln was so mellow and Kenedy so calm. They both knew how serious this sealing was. The sealer talked right to Lincoln as he performed the ceremony, and Lincoln stared right into his eyes as if he had longed for this just as we had. We feel like the biggest weight has been taken off our shoulders. WE ARE SEALED TOGETHER FOREVER!

Ours, at last!

After the temple we went back to our church and Mike gave Lincoln a beautiful blessing. I held Lincoln while he was blessed. He kept trying to pull the hands off his head. It was hilarious! Kenedy sang Families Can Be Together Forever all by herself. She did a great job! She amazes me with her little memory. After the blessing we had a luncheon and celebrated!

We want to thank everyone who took the time out of their busy Saturday schedules to be with us on this great day. We also wanted to thank everyone that was there in spirit and to everyone who has kept us in their prayers the last year. I honestly can not tell you how much peace those prayers brought. Along with the prayers and blessings, this quote brought so much peace this last year:

Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God.

I am so grateful for the gospel and the peace that it brings. I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father that does not leave us when we need him. We are so blessed! We are so excited to enjoy our Little Man's life!