I started writing about Matty's blessing the day after it happened...two weeks later and it still isn't written. That's life with a newborn, right? For someone who sleeps so much, he doesn't really let me do much during the day. I'm usually lucky if I get a little homework done each day. Let's not even talk about exercise!
Anyhoo, back to the subject at hand, the blessing and the weekend surrounding it.
What a weekend! There are times when everything falls into place and everyone is happy and having a fun time. You cherish those times because they aren't common; they're a special gift. I wish Matty could remember his blessing weekend when he's older and realize how many people love him enough to come together for his blessing. I'll have to tell him all about it someday.
The weekend started Friday evening. Steve's best friend, Jimmy, came from Colorado with his wife and two boys. This really touched me. They aren't LDS but they drove 8 hours to be here for the weekend. They stayed on base, which opened up our home for some of my family to stay. Jimmy, Jen, Ethan, and Brody arrive in time for dinner, so we drove into downtown Ogden to try a new Philipino restaurant Steve had been wanting to try. Wouldn't you know that the restaurant was closed for a special event. D'oh! We ate at an Italian restaurant they used to love when they lived in North Ogden. I enjoyed listening to Steve and Jimmy reminisce about the many times they were deployed together. Jimmy is such a funny guy, Jen is super cool, and their boys are darling! I wish we lived closer to each other because I'd love our two families to hang out all the time.
Later that night, my mom arrived with my older brother and his family. Jimmy came over with Ethan, Jen and Brody were too tired. Jimmy chatted with Steve while Ethan played with Porter. I went to bed with Matty eventually because we were both exhausted.
Saturday morning, Steve and Porter went to Beyond Glazed donuts and bought a couple dozen donuts for all the people who would be hanging out with us that day. My younger brother and his family arrived followed by Jimmy and his family. We all went to the frisbee golf course near our house and had a blast! It was cool for the kids to have other people to play with and I enjoyed chatting with everyone. I started out trying to play, but I had Matty strapped to me in a carrier and it started hurting my back to bend over repeatedly to pick up my frisbee. In the end, I just walked along with Jen and Rachel who also weren't playing. We chatted and again I thought it would be nice to live closer. I think the three of us could have a lot of fun together. Jen is a behavioral therapist (I think) and has all sorts of insights about kids and parenting. You can tell she knows what she's talking about because her kids are awesome.
After frisbee golf, we headed back home where my youngest brother and three of his kids met up with us. Jimmy and Steve ran to KFC to get lunch for everyone. Fortunately, it was a really nice, warm day so after lunch the kids could play outside with each other. Everyone seemed to get along really well because I never heard of any arguments or conflicts. My dad, Paula, and Macey stopped by to drop off a couple pumpkin pies and a cheesecake for the next day. It was Macey's birthday so they were doing whatever she wanted, which included a lot of shopping in Salt Lake. They were only here for a little bit and didn't really come inside.
At one point, my mom took most of the kids and some of the adults to the Ogden Train Depot to play on the trains. The rest of us played games and chatted and napped. Eventually, Kevin's wife Jenny arrived. She had been helping her friend Tristan with Toys for Tots in Tooele. Mom, Rachel, and I went to the grocery store so I could buy food stuffs for the luncheon the next day. Mom generously offered to buy ingredients to make dinner for everyone that night. We had sloppy goes, chips, and carrots and everyone, even all the kids, ate happily and plentifully. We played games some more. Matty did remarkably well with all the noise and people, but at one point, he hit a wall and started screaming. I took him into the bedroom and calmed him down. We both enjoyed a little alone, quiet time before heading back into the masses.
Eventually, everyone who wasn't staying here had left and we got to go to bed. The next day, everyone showered and got ready in good time. I woke up really early in order to make the four soups and make sure everything was ready for lunch, which would be right after church. We headed to the chapel and found that dad had saved us a big bench at the front. My friend Doug came, as did my boss Shelly and my coworker Ty and his wife and kids. The latter people didn't come to lunch because they had things to do but Doug did. Dad blessed Matty and it was beautiful. I really appreciated Ty and the bishopric for standing in the circle with Dad, but I was the most touched by Kevin standing in it. He isn't happy with Dad and I knew it wasn't fun for him to stand next to him during the blessing, but he did it for me and for Matty and I appreciate more than he'll ever know. I have a good family.
I bore my testimony. I haven't done it in ages. Steve had taken Matty out into the foyer because he'd become fussy, but he told me later that he had stood at the door to the chapel when he heard me speaking. I don't tend to look at the doors so I didn't notice, but I'm glad he heard what I had said. I do believe that families can be eternal and am grateful for that knowledge. I believe with all my heart that our little family will be together forever someday and that makes me so happy. I love Steve and Matty so much!
After church, we headed home. I had so much help getting everything going! It was pretty chaotic having so many people in the house, especially all the kids, but it never felt overwhelming or stressful. Everyone had people to chat with, everyone loved the food, and there were no problems that I was aware of. I couldn't believe how many people we could fit into our house! Along with all my family (we were only missing my nephew Scott who lives with his mom in southern Utah), we had Jimmy and his family, Tim and Tiffany Neal and their daughters, Heid, Jorge and Audrina, Doug, and my cousin Cassie...I think that's everyone. What a great group of people! Mom, Corey, Audree, Porter, and Brooke left early because they had a long drive. From that point, people trickled out until there were just a few people left. Jimmy and his family were the last to leave so we got to spend a little more quality time with them before they headed back to Colorado the next day.
When everyone had left, around 7:30, Steve and I cuddled on the couch together while Matty slept in my arms. We remarked about how well he had done being passed from person to person the entire day. We talked about how lucky we were to have such good people in our lives. It had been a crazy, busy, loud, fun weekend. We were so glad everyone had come that had come. It was good for it to be over, though, so we could get a little rest!
Looking back, I still get a happy feeling when I think of all the fun we had with everyone who came. Matty is a lucky boy to have so many people who love him. It was a wonderful weekend!
P.S. I know people took pictures but I didn't have time to, so if I get any copies from people, I'll post them. :)
Anyhoo, back to the subject at hand, the blessing and the weekend surrounding it.
What a weekend! There are times when everything falls into place and everyone is happy and having a fun time. You cherish those times because they aren't common; they're a special gift. I wish Matty could remember his blessing weekend when he's older and realize how many people love him enough to come together for his blessing. I'll have to tell him all about it someday.
The weekend started Friday evening. Steve's best friend, Jimmy, came from Colorado with his wife and two boys. This really touched me. They aren't LDS but they drove 8 hours to be here for the weekend. They stayed on base, which opened up our home for some of my family to stay. Jimmy, Jen, Ethan, and Brody arrive in time for dinner, so we drove into downtown Ogden to try a new Philipino restaurant Steve had been wanting to try. Wouldn't you know that the restaurant was closed for a special event. D'oh! We ate at an Italian restaurant they used to love when they lived in North Ogden. I enjoyed listening to Steve and Jimmy reminisce about the many times they were deployed together. Jimmy is such a funny guy, Jen is super cool, and their boys are darling! I wish we lived closer to each other because I'd love our two families to hang out all the time.
Later that night, my mom arrived with my older brother and his family. Jimmy came over with Ethan, Jen and Brody were too tired. Jimmy chatted with Steve while Ethan played with Porter. I went to bed with Matty eventually because we were both exhausted.
Saturday morning, Steve and Porter went to Beyond Glazed donuts and bought a couple dozen donuts for all the people who would be hanging out with us that day. My younger brother and his family arrived followed by Jimmy and his family. We all went to the frisbee golf course near our house and had a blast! It was cool for the kids to have other people to play with and I enjoyed chatting with everyone. I started out trying to play, but I had Matty strapped to me in a carrier and it started hurting my back to bend over repeatedly to pick up my frisbee. In the end, I just walked along with Jen and Rachel who also weren't playing. We chatted and again I thought it would be nice to live closer. I think the three of us could have a lot of fun together. Jen is a behavioral therapist (I think) and has all sorts of insights about kids and parenting. You can tell she knows what she's talking about because her kids are awesome.
After frisbee golf, we headed back home where my youngest brother and three of his kids met up with us. Jimmy and Steve ran to KFC to get lunch for everyone. Fortunately, it was a really nice, warm day so after lunch the kids could play outside with each other. Everyone seemed to get along really well because I never heard of any arguments or conflicts. My dad, Paula, and Macey stopped by to drop off a couple pumpkin pies and a cheesecake for the next day. It was Macey's birthday so they were doing whatever she wanted, which included a lot of shopping in Salt Lake. They were only here for a little bit and didn't really come inside.
At one point, my mom took most of the kids and some of the adults to the Ogden Train Depot to play on the trains. The rest of us played games and chatted and napped. Eventually, Kevin's wife Jenny arrived. She had been helping her friend Tristan with Toys for Tots in Tooele. Mom, Rachel, and I went to the grocery store so I could buy food stuffs for the luncheon the next day. Mom generously offered to buy ingredients to make dinner for everyone that night. We had sloppy goes, chips, and carrots and everyone, even all the kids, ate happily and plentifully. We played games some more. Matty did remarkably well with all the noise and people, but at one point, he hit a wall and started screaming. I took him into the bedroom and calmed him down. We both enjoyed a little alone, quiet time before heading back into the masses.
Eventually, everyone who wasn't staying here had left and we got to go to bed. The next day, everyone showered and got ready in good time. I woke up really early in order to make the four soups and make sure everything was ready for lunch, which would be right after church. We headed to the chapel and found that dad had saved us a big bench at the front. My friend Doug came, as did my boss Shelly and my coworker Ty and his wife and kids. The latter people didn't come to lunch because they had things to do but Doug did. Dad blessed Matty and it was beautiful. I really appreciated Ty and the bishopric for standing in the circle with Dad, but I was the most touched by Kevin standing in it. He isn't happy with Dad and I knew it wasn't fun for him to stand next to him during the blessing, but he did it for me and for Matty and I appreciate more than he'll ever know. I have a good family.
I bore my testimony. I haven't done it in ages. Steve had taken Matty out into the foyer because he'd become fussy, but he told me later that he had stood at the door to the chapel when he heard me speaking. I don't tend to look at the doors so I didn't notice, but I'm glad he heard what I had said. I do believe that families can be eternal and am grateful for that knowledge. I believe with all my heart that our little family will be together forever someday and that makes me so happy. I love Steve and Matty so much!
After church, we headed home. I had so much help getting everything going! It was pretty chaotic having so many people in the house, especially all the kids, but it never felt overwhelming or stressful. Everyone had people to chat with, everyone loved the food, and there were no problems that I was aware of. I couldn't believe how many people we could fit into our house! Along with all my family (we were only missing my nephew Scott who lives with his mom in southern Utah), we had Jimmy and his family, Tim and Tiffany Neal and their daughters, Heid, Jorge and Audrina, Doug, and my cousin Cassie...I think that's everyone. What a great group of people! Mom, Corey, Audree, Porter, and Brooke left early because they had a long drive. From that point, people trickled out until there were just a few people left. Jimmy and his family were the last to leave so we got to spend a little more quality time with them before they headed back to Colorado the next day.
When everyone had left, around 7:30, Steve and I cuddled on the couch together while Matty slept in my arms. We remarked about how well he had done being passed from person to person the entire day. We talked about how lucky we were to have such good people in our lives. It had been a crazy, busy, loud, fun weekend. We were so glad everyone had come that had come. It was good for it to be over, though, so we could get a little rest!
Looking back, I still get a happy feeling when I think of all the fun we had with everyone who came. Matty is a lucky boy to have so many people who love him. It was a wonderful weekend!
P.S. I know people took pictures but I didn't have time to, so if I get any copies from people, I'll post them. :)