Yay for grass!!

I can't tell you how excited we were to finally get grass. This was going to be a busy day because we were laying sod in the morning and then we were being sealed to Nora in the afternoon. (I am not sure why we decided to do this on the same day.) We started at 8:00 am and it was pretty miraculous how many people came to help us lay sod. Lots of family came up and some of the young men showed up that I didn't even know. The high councilman over our ward had overheard Ron talking to someone else about lay sod and he showed up. I think we had about 20 people show up to help. It was seriously amazing to watch more and more people come. It took about 3 hours to finish the lawn and it was so nice to have all the help and experience. I know Heavenly Father was blessing us this day with help so that everything would go well at the temple.
           It has been so nice to watch Reese run around on the grass and not worry about her falling on stickers and bringing in mud all the time. She was walking on the sidewalk and said, "Look at all that grass!) Then she runs onto the grass and does a somersault on the grass and says, "I love grass." It was so cute. I think the one that was most excited for grass was our dog. I let her out to run on the grass and she sprinted around the house as fast as she could and then just ran back and forth for about 10 minutes. After that, she just rolled on the grass and rubbed her back on the grass for another 5 minutes. She is one happy dog. It is so fun to go outside with the girls and Sachi and watch them play together. Reese loves throwing the ball to Sachi and just roll down the hill. She also tells me that she needs to go outside to practice "gynnastics".  Which means that she wants to go walk on the curbing like a balance beam. We are loving our grass and are very grateful for all the help!!!

Families can be together forever....

We are an ETERNAL FAMILY!!!! I can't even put into words how perfect this day was. We had been talking to Reese about going to to the temple for a while and she was so excited when she saw it while we were driving. She kept saying, "I get to go inside". It was really cute. When we went inside the temple, there were 4 workers waiting to help us. Nora was hesitant to go with them at first and dug her head into my chest, but she went with the worker the second time. The girls went to the nursery while we went and got dressed. After Ron and I got dressed, we went into the celestial room for a little bit. I was overwhelmed with emotion and I thought about our Heavenly Father's love and all that He has blessed us with. I thought about a time I was in the celestial room almost 3 years ago. It was right after we had our first failed adoption, where the baby was with us for 3 days before the birthmother decided to parent the child. I remember just feeling so heartbroken and not sure what to do next, but feeling a sense of peace. Now, 3 years later, I was overwhelmed with emotion as I thought about how our Heavenly Father has blessed us with our two beautiful girls and that Nora was about to be sealed to us.

After we were in the ceiling room, they took us to go get our girls out of the nursery so we could walk into the sealing room together. I started bawling as soon I saw the girls all dressed in white. They were the most beautiful children I had ever seen and they truly glowed. It is such an amazing opportunity to see your children all dressed in white in the temple and feel just how much our Father in Heaven loves them. It was neat to feel how happy and peaceful they were. When we walked into the sealing room all dressed in white, I felt the spirit so strong and I felt a oneness more than ever before. Nora was so happy when she was being sealed to us and was just perfect. It is such a neat feeling to know that nobody can take her away from us and that we are an eternal family.
After the sealing, the sealer had Ron, Reese, Nora, and myself stand in front of the mirrors and asked Reese what she saw. Then he had our parents, grandparents, and siblings stand behind us. He then said, "This is what it is about." It's about having our family with us forever. It's about having our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren with us forever. That is where happiness lies and that is what our Father in Heaven wants for us. That is what He wants. To have us all back with him for eternity.
We have such a supportive family and friends and it was neat to have them waiting for us outside when we came out. Heavenly Father truly has a plan for each of us and we just have to trust him and know that He will bless our lives beyond what we could ever imagine if we continue to have faith in him. Our girls are truly a testament of this.