When I woke up on September 17, it felt like Christmas morning. The day of our temple sealing had finally arrived! I had butterflies in my stomach and was fighting back tears all morning as we got ready to go. I had looked forward to this day for such a long time and was so excited that it was finally here. Once we were inside the temple, we took Katie to the nursery where my mom stayed with her while we went to get dressed.
*A funny little side note: A few weeks before our sealing, Jacob came home from work and said he'd almost had a panic attack worrying about who was going to watch Katie while we went to the temple. We'd been thinking about who was going to babysit our nephews and friends' kids. Then he had an "Aha! moment" and remembered that Katie would be going into the temple with us. Haha! It was hilarious!
Back to the story... A temple worker accompanied me to the bride's room where I was able to change into my white clothes. It is a beautiful room and getting dressed in there brought back memories from the day of my wedding almost nine years ago. When Jacob and I were ready, they let us sit together in the celestial room for about twenty minutes until it was time for our sealing at 10:00.
Finally they took us to the sealing room where our family members and friends were waiting. It was so special to see all of them there together supporting us, although several of our siblings weren't able to come. The sealer, Brother Albert Haines, spoke for a few minutes about the sealing ordinance while we waited for my mom and Katie to come into the room. Katie looked so beautiful dressed all in white. Jacob and I held her for a couple of minutes and let her look around the room. She was mesmerized by the mirrors and chandelier. During the ceremony she was a little fussy but became quiet once she looked in the mirror again.
I was overwhelmed by the peace and love I felt in that room. The Spirit was so strong! I'll never, ever forget it. I wanted to stay there forever. Definitely one of the happiest moments of my life! I'm thankful for temples and the priesthood and the opportunity we had to be sealed to Katie. I know we can be together forever as a family. I kept thinking of Katie's birth mom while we were in the temple. We'll always be grateful to her for the gift she gave that allowed us to become parents. She has given us our greatest blessing!
We tried to take a few pictures afterward, but Katie was exhausted. I was relieved that we'd already taken family pictures two weeks prior to our temple date. This was the best we could get of the three of us.
My family
Look at how tired Katie was! She fell asleep about ten seconds into the car ride home.
We hosted a lunch at our house afterward for those who were at the temple. The spread included pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, veggies, strawberry spinach salad, chips, punch, and brownies. (Thanks to all those who helped!)
Pictures of those who came (we may have missed a few, sorry!)
the Calls and us
with the Woods (love Kelan's pose!)
with Lauren & Peter
with Ben & Stacie
Heidi is my friend from my hometown in TN (she just moved to Houston). It was awesome having her there!
us with Heidi & Trever
us with Angela & Rachel (Jacob's dad couldn't make it.) Todd and Jacob's grandparents were also there but must have escaped the pictures.
Jacob's cousin Lauryn who came with her husband and baby from San Antonio
Katie playing with her cousin Eli
Isn't she so cute?!
Here's a sneak peek at the professional pictures we had taken. I'll post more of them later. I'm excited to show you the rest!!
Thank you to all who came or helped in any way. It was a wonderful, perfect, joyful day. I feel complete.
