BIG ol' Ollie post

Hello bloggers!

I will warn you right here and now... this post will be long. So, as long as you have nothing better to do with your time, consider yourself warned and enjoy an all Oliver post. :)

The past few weeks have been amazing. So many things happened, Oliver changed so much, and Jon and I's lives changed forever.

First things first. Oliver turned 6 months!! Holy smokes, my little tiny, less than 6lb baby boy, is half a year old?? Who gave him permission to do that? And overnight no less! He is at such a fun age though... I won't lie I am really lovin' it. He is so playful, talkative and happy. I just eat him up all day. I mean look at this face, wouldn't you?

And so, as we do each month, a little 6 month photo shoot

Oooo I love him! He's napping right now and those pictures almost make me want to go wake him up... almost :)

Next event, promptly after he turned 6 months, was his date with the judge to finalize his adoption. It was so fast, like 5 minutes, but it was still great to have all the legalities behind us. Oliver was so happy that day (even though there was a blizzard outside). He was squealing through the whole thing which made it hard not to laugh in court. But we got through it.

Oliver's outfit totally clashes doesn't it... haha. Oh well.

Lastly, and most importantly, was Oliver's sealing and blessing.

This is gonna be hard to type without crying, but I guess you'll never know will you :)
That day, will be burned in my heart forever. It is so hard to describe a feeling like that but I will try my best.

We arrived at the temple on May 29, 2010 around 2:30. We were greeted by a whole following of temple peeps, who walked us through like it was our wedding day again. We took Oliver to the nursery while we got the paperwork and everything ready.

As we were waiting for family and friends to arrive, my heart was just racing. I was so anxious. Anxious to see all those people, anxious to see my baby, anxious to see my husbands reaction, anxious for eternity. It seemed like it took forever. But finally, as we waited in another room, we saw our family and friends walk down the hallway, every one of them looking at us and smiling as they passed. It made me so happy. And then, last, comes my sweet baby boy, all in white. He was taken down the hall and then we were called out to get this thing going.

As I walked into the hallway, there was my Oliver, looking like a little angel. Literally, he almost didn't look real. He was so beautiful, so perfect.

That's when it really started to hit me, and the tears started filling my eyes. I held them back with all my might as we entered the sealing room, filled with the people I love most. We smiled, Oliver waved to everyone, we sat down, and my grandpa began to speak. He sealed Jon and I in that same temple, 5 years prior. It was so amazing to see him there again, in much the same circumstances.

As he was speaking, Jon looked over at me and reached for his son, and I could see the emotion all over his face. He felt the exact same as me. So overwhelmed. And then I lost it. There was no holding in the tears. And I cried tears of pure joy. PURE JOY. Unlike anything I have ever felt. It was so right. I felt so strongly, the presence of my Father in Heaven, and his immense love for me and my little family. And I was overcome with gratitude for this perfect gift he had given me.

The ceremony was over in what seemed like an instant. I wish it would have been longer. But those feelings will stay with me forever. I'm feeling them all over again right now as I type this. It's wonderful. Awe-inspiring. Indescribable.
It's my gift.
It's the trade off, for not being able to give birth to him. To be able to watch him become sealed to Jon and I for all eternity. It's a good trade.

Fortunately for me, my uncle and cousin who are fabulous photographers were there for this whole event, and captured these priceless images.




Following the sealing, we headed to Jeremy and Sharla's house for Oliver's blessing.
Jon was so nervous. He just kept saying how nervous he was, which is so out of character for Jon. But as I knew he would, he did amazing. You could just feel the intense love he has for his little boy, and how much it meant to him to have so many people there supporting us.

It was a perfect blessing. A proud Daddy. A happy Momma. And I didn't get a picture of us all together... way to go Tracy. I did however get a pic of the Ollie Pop himself.

Can you tell his outfit BARELY fit?! He had a serious growth spurt right after I bought this... I am just happy it buttoned up.

So there you have it. My big, long, all Oliver post. Congratulations for finishing :) It was, like I said, such a busy month, filled with so much. But it was the best month ever, and May 29th was probably the best day of my life. I'm so grateful. So so so grateful.

And a BIG, HUGE thank you to all the family and friends that came to all of Ollie's festivities. Some of you traveled a LONG way, and it meant the world to us. We love you. Thank you.