Sealed

 Saturday 11/13 we were sealed as a family in the Las Vegas Temple.  It was such a spiritual and special day for our family.  I took the boys to my mom's house about lunchtime, with their backpacks and suit bags so they could spend the afternoon with her (she volunteered to watch them while Keith went through so they wouldn't have to stay in the nursery at the temple for so long).  Then came home to wake up Keith and  to get ready to go to the temple (after a quick stop at Target for waterproof mascara).  Keith worked graveyard the night before and got home about 9:30am.  We left our house at 2pm so we could have enough time to check out the youth center at the temple before Keith needed start his stuff.  When we got to the temple, we walked in and Bishop Leavitt was there and greeted us with hugs and congratulations and then took us downstairs to they nursery.  After checking out the nursery and meeting with the recorder, we went our separate ways.  I was sitting in a room off the chapel that the temple workers use as a break room while waiting for the session to start and was talking to one of the workers about the boys and expressing my concerns to her about Tommy and how he would do.  She assured me that he would do great and that she would check on him once the kids arrived and were downstairs.   Finally it was time to go into the chapel to wait for the session to start.  We were sitting in the front with Bishop Rickey.  It was so nice to see so many family and friends, including our Stake President and his wife there to support and love us.  In the Celestial Room, the worker that before the session told me she would check on Tommy, came up to me and told me that he was doing great and was playing and happy, and gave me a hug.  And started my crying!  After the session, we went upstairs to the sealing room and met with President Twitchell, who was our sealer.  As we walked into the sealing room, you could feel the Spirit and the love, and I started crying almost immediately.  After Keith and I were sealed they brought the boys in so we could be sealed as a family.  Tommy in his mad, bossy Tommy face with his finger pointed at us said "take those off".  He came over to me and let me put my arm around him, still with his mad/bossy face on.  David took his place, as did Tommy and then they set Nathan up so we could all hold hands.  Tommy and Nathan did not like being forced to hold hands and both were crying, to me quite loudly.  But, we made it through and everything was great!   Afterwards we took some pictures in the atrium and in front of the temple.  These are the only pictures that I have seen so far, even now just looking at the one with us in white I start to cry,  we meet with the photographer next week to see all of them, he said they look great so we are really excited for them!  We did family, Keith & I and then some of just the boys.   After we finished with pictures the kids got in their pjs and we went to IHOP for some pancakes and hot chocolate.  It was really a perfect day.    The next day at church our Relief Society President came up to me after church and told me that she needed to tell me the funniest thing that happened at the temple yesterday.  She then told me that as we were kneeling and the Sealer was speaking, Tommy was picking his nose, not just picking but digging good, and got a nice big one!  Now, usually when Tommy picks his nose and gets a buger he will hold his finger out and yell for me until I come and wipe it off his finger.  Well apparently he gets this big honker of a buger and she said he looked at it for a minute and then wiped it on the alter!!!!  I was and still am so embarrassed that he did that.  I asked her if anyone else saw it, and she said she thought so cause as she and her husband were reverently laughing as hard as they could the stake president and his wife were too.  As I was telling someone about it, I realized that where they were sitting, Tommy had his back turned to them, so if they saw it, surely everyone did!!  Oh well, that is my Tommy.   My mom also afterwards told me that as they pulled up to the temple that Tommy started screaming and didn't want to be there and wouldn't get out of the car.  She had to pull him out the back window of her SUV to get him into the temple and had to carry him inside while he was clinging to her.    I am so glad that I learned of all the bad things later!!  It was really a perfect day though.  We are so thankful to our friends and family for coming and supporting us.  Especially those that are far away! We love you all!!

as a little side note.... go to Nate's (photographer) blog at http://tngblog.com/2010/11/15/quite-the-challenge/  and comment on our picture.  If we get enough comments we get free pictures!  Thanks!!