Forever...

How do I even begin to describe a day where my sweetheart and I get to take our five beautiful children into the temple and seal our sweet Meili to us for time and all eternity surrounded by the people we love so dearly. There are those days in our lives that sear their memory into our hearts so deep that they will never be forgotten. I know these days well......the day i was married to the love of my life, the day I held each of my babies for the first time, the day our four children were united with their new sister....there are many...and yesterday was one of those amazing days that touched our hearts forever. Meili was our little princess yesterday as we dressed her all in white and took her to the House of the Lord to create a union....making her a part of our family forever that even death cannot break.


My heart was very full yesterday morning as I put my two girls in matching white dresses, curled their hair, painted nails, put flowers in their hair, put matching charm bracelets on their little wrists, and made sure everything was perfect. I knew it would not be long before I would be doing it all again one day when they are grown and have found the one who makes them complete. And then to see each of my strong handsome boys dressed in their very best with the light of Christ gleaming in their eyes....knowing that this day was extra special and that they would feel the love of their Savior as they entered his house. It was more than I could ask for.




Of course the day wasn't "perfect" as some might say.....grass stains on Meili's lace legging before even entering the temple, children pushing here and there saying "so and so did this, etc." but as soon as we entered the temple, the children could feel it....that special spirit that allows you to forget any worries or cares and to feel the total peace the Savior brings.

The children were taken into a little room to play while Russel and I got ready. It was wonderful.....I almost felt like we were there again....just like we were 17 years ago.....to start our eternal family....but this time we had brought the 5 little angels that make our life complete. We got to sit in a beautiful room by ourselves for a little while and just enjoy being in this holy place. As we were brought into the sealing room, we were surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. As we sat down, we watched as my mother brought our little princess in followed shortly by our four other angels. I have never seen such a beautiful sight. J.D. kept looking over at me with the sweetest and biggest grin. How can a girl keep it together at that point?

Brother Erickson, our sealer, talked to us a little bit and told the children some wonderful things. One thing really stood out. He told the children that Heavenly Father had "cared for and protected" their little sister while she was away from us. As a family, we have talked about that many times....how angels truly must have been watching over our Meili. There were many wet eyes in the room....tears of joy that she is now here....withthose who have loved her and prayed for her for so long. The sealer then performed the ordinance as Russel and I joined hands. I asked Meili to put her hand on ours and she decided she was having none of that. She doesn't hold still for more than two seconds....ever....and she is definitely not into someone making her do something. Things got a little crazy and Brother Erickson was very sweet and said there was no rush. We tried everything we could think of....even bribes....to get her to stand by us and put her cute little hand on ours. The sealer even let Abi hold her but alas it was only getting worse. They brought the rest of the children over by us which was amazing (even through the screaming) to have my children encircling us. I just kept thinking the sealer will eventually say "let's just go ahead with it" but he was so patient and loving. I glanced at our dear friend Jenny Welsh (who has done this a couple times) and she mouthed to me "Just Do It." So I looked at the sealer and said "let's just go ahead." So of course Meili wasn't all that happy but Brother Erickson talked fast and we made it.....i think in under 15 seconds. After we hugged everyone we gathered our little family and prepared to leave this special place. As we left, Meili looked at Brother Erickson and said in the sweetest little voice "thank you."

Last night as we talked about the special day I knew my children had felt what I had. Nick commented that he "felt special." J.D. thought it was really cool and said he could feel the spirit strong. As my sister talked to Josh and Abi about the spirit and how they felt.....Josh said "this was different" than any other time he had felt the spirit. And he is right. We all feel the spirit of the Lord but there is definitely something special about the spirit you feel in the temple. Abi said it was a very special feeling and she felt like a princess. I told her to never forget that feeling....that is exactly what she is.....a very special princess...a daughter of God.

At the end of the day as we were putting the children to bed, I didn't want it to end. I hadn't got enough of any of it. I laid down on Meili's bed as she wrapped her little arms around me and just held her until she feel asleep. It was the perfect way to end this perfect amazing day. Families Are Forever and we couldn't have felt that more as we lined our little family up and looked in the mirrors at the temple and saw the reflection of our family go on forever.



















And here are a few snapshots after we came out of the temple. We didn't make it too clear that we wanted a group photo so we lost about half of our group. There are also a few at the dinner at our house afterwards.....we had Chinese Sundaes (Hawaiian Haystacks) and an amazing cake that Meili thought was absolutely perfect. I guess we figured someone else was taking the photos because we didn't get too many later on. I guess we should've hired the photographer to come to the house.