WE ARE ALL BLESSED

Oh man, little Vivien's July 2nd baby blessing. What a special day. I went back and forth on whether or not I should do some sort of meal for everyone and decided at the last minute not to make more work. I wanted the day to be simple and easy and I wanted to be focused completely on Vivi that morning and not be worried about making food or cleaning the house. I'm so glad I did. Getting Vivi ready in her little white Chinese dress and thinking of how much I love her was so fun.

I'm not sure why I got so nervous when we got to church. I was always very worried about her freaking out. I had no idea how she was going to react to a bunch of men surrounding her and trying to put their hands on her head. Thankfully, I was told I could hold her so I knew that would help, plus I brought treats to give her during the blessing. She was totally calm and the treats did the trick. I really had nothing to worry about.

Man oh man, what a delight it was to be able to sit in the middle of the priesthood circle while Vivi received her blessing. Every single mom should be able to do that because it was seriously amazing. I just snuggled her close and felt all the feelings.

After the blessing Brent and I took turns writing down what we remembered from the blessing. I'm glad we did. I would have no idea what was said now if we hadn't.

To Vivi: You have faced much tragedy in your life, and you will face more tragedy in the future. But the Lord has made you strong. You are blessed with courage as you go throughout your life. You live in a country where you will look different than those around you. Because of this, people will look at you to see how you behave. You will be an example to them of goodness, kindness, and righteousness. You are blessed that you will learn and grow in a country where things are foreign to you. You will hunger after knowledge and find joy in learning new things and in sharing them with others as you live the gospel.

Brent and I both shared our testimonies about this little love. I talked about how amazing and kind her soul is and shared the story of her comforting Finn one day at the condo and how impressed I was with how she reaches out to others in need. How miraculous it is that a child raised in an institution is capable of such thoughts and cares. I shared how grateful I am that I listened to the Lord. Brent talked about his change of heart in letting us move forward with the adoption. We may have our issues he and I, but we are both pretty crazy about this little girl.

We took a few pictures after. I didn't get one of Ashley, Ava, and Finn because they had to leave early, and I missed a few friends, but I did get a few nice pics. We are so lucky to have so many people who love and have accepted Vivi as part of their family. (Be sure to notice Vivi's new pearl bracelet that was a gift from Grammie that day.)