Blessing

I spent lots of time in November thinking of my blessings.  I am so grateful for the things I have and enjoy in my life.

Speaking of blessings, we had the opportunity to bless Ellie in October.  For those who aren't familiar with this term:  in our Church, men have the Priesthood, which is the power of God here on earth.  It's the same power that Jesus Christ used to perform miracles when he was living on the earth 2000 years ago.  Garrett has the Priesthood, and when babies are born in LDS (Mormon) families, the father gives the baby a special blessing to start their lives.  Traditionally these blessings are held during Church on Sundays; however, that's not the rule, so our family usually opts to do it at home.  That way, we can do it on our own schedule and invite people who may not be able to attend otherwise.

Ellie's blessing was such a wonderful experience!  My parents came from Pennsylvania, and Garrett's parents were here as well.  We also had some good friends here from Church, and several good friends from school were in attendance as well.

We started by singing "Families Can Be Together Forever", then had a prayer.  Garrett took a few minutes to talk about the Priesthood and explain to our friends what he would be doing.  Then, Ellie was blessed by Garrett, with our fathers and our Bishop in the circle with him.

We also framed some copies of the "Proclamation to the Family", which we gave to our friends who aren't members of our Church.  We are so thankful that they could come and share that special time with us.

One of the neatest things about the day was that Ellie was able to wear a very special dress.  It was handmade in the 1800s by one of my ancestors on my Grandma Siebach's side.  I am so thankful that she let us borrow it for the occasion.

Baby blessings are so neat - they make me really think about what a blessing children are, and what a great responsibility it is to raise them righteously.  I feel in awe that my Heavenly Father has entrusted me to raise two of his precious daughters here on earth.