Bittersweet -- Part 1

First the sweet...

We decided that because of the length of time my husband would be gone on his deployment, we needed to have Maegan blessed before he left. When he told his parents he was being sent overseas, they pretty much jumped in their car and drove in to surprise us. His brother and his wife and kids just happened to be in town visiting other family members, and of course my sweet mother was still here because she couldn't get a flight out due to the 4th of July holiday. After meeting with our bishop to let him know what was happening, we asked and got permission to have her blessed early. I wish I could have taken pictures of peoples faces when they saw us walk in (Alfer is quite striking in uniform, I must concur) with the baby vs. when we left and they found out Alfer was being deployed and leaving that very day. Trust me, if I hadn't lived it, I wouldn't have believed it either. 

Baby girl was given such a beautiful blessing by her father. I am so thankful that he got to do that. What a privilege it is for me to be her mother and to have given her life. And I am equally grateful that her father was able to give her something as special as her name. (This sounds like it could be a segue into women and men and the priesthood... That's a post I do intend to write, but not for a while.) She really is a special and choice spirit. I thought they broke the mold with her older sister, but this girl is just a peaceful and wise little soul. You can feel it when you hold her. She makes our family complete and I love that while honoring her daddy, we got to honor her as well on such a significant and memorable day.

 

My mother-in-law made this dress for Makenna, who was also too small when it came time to bless her (almost 4 years to the day!), and since Maegan is two pounds smaller than her big sister was, it definitely wasn't going to fit her.  Initially we were going to wait a month or two for her to grow some more so she could wear it, but when everything happened, we had to make some new plans. I wanted both of my girls to wear the dress because A) It is SO beautiful and B) I think it will be a tradition they can carry out as sisters and have their daughters blessed in it as well. Just after arriving at our house, my mother-in-law stayed up past midnight hand stitching the sleeves and taking in the neck line so it would fit our tiny little squishy a bit better. She looked absolutely beautiful and she slept through all of the day's festivities, which is pretty much par for the course with this one. (It's because she must have been looking down on her older sister when she was a baby and saw how much drama she caused Mommy and Daddy with her not sleeping and crying so much. She must be determined to do the opposite and I am so thankful!)

 

 

 

The blanket underneath is a new one my M-I-L stitched just for her.

She's done this for each of our babies.

 

My mom and my Suegra

 

In addition to the baby blessing, Alfer had been asked to speak in church, long before we ever knew this would be his last Sunday at home for a while. His talk was obviously very emotional but I am so thankful he was able to share his testimony of Jesus Christ before he left. He really is such a brave and courageous and good man. Baby Maegan is so lucky to have him for a father. He spoke about the importance of service, and how it is next to Godliness. He shared one of my favorite verses in The Book of Mormon, found in Mosiah 2, where it talks about the Savior and how He has preserved us. I always like to look at that word and say He has pre-served us. He served us first, by putting us before anything else, including His own deserving glory, and continues to do so even now. He is our perfect example of service and sacrifice. I believe that this month my husband and I have become intimately aware of the definition of those two words.  I had the sacred privilege of bringing life into this world and nearly sacrificing all that I had to get her here, and now to see my husband embark on this mission of service and sacrifice... Well, you can't get closer to Jesus than by doing those two things. If done with the proper spirit, those two things can and will lead you to a greater level of sanctification (see Helaman 3, also in the Book of Mormon), and you begin to understand what the Savior meant when He asked us to become even as He is. I believe that is one of our goals here on earth, and I am honored to stand by my husband and watch him embark on this life changing and heart and mind and spirit molding mission. I believe this opportunity, while difficult, will ultimately lead to sweet fruits and blessings for our family, and I am thankful that this special day for our baby girl could be filled with such memories and expressions of testimony.