Finalizing Ellie's Adoption

I know I have been a slacker lately at updating this blog. This will be a long post because their is much to update. Last month was a very special time for our family. We finalized Ellie's adoption with the State on March 1st. This was just a formality with the court system. In Utah, you have to wait 6 months after placement with the child to actually have it all finalized. We met with a Judge in Provo. He was excited to "have a happy case". They just asked us a few questions and it was over pretty quickly. Ellie seemed to enjoy herself and had a lot to say during the whole hearing. It was so cute. She seemed so excited. Both sets of our parents came to the hearing to support us. Here a few pics. Joe, Ellie and I with the Judge. Ellie and the Judge. Our family with Grandparents and Joe's cousin Jeremy who was our lawyer. Ellie was already ours, but it was nice to have all of the paperwork and formalities done. The next two days were the most memorable for us. We took Ellie to the Salt Lake Temple on March 2nd to be sealed as an eternal family. We were married their just shy of 9 years ago. We got a few family pics of us beforehand that turned out so nice. This is Joe's favorite. This was a day that we looked forward to for so long. Words cannot express the amount of love that we both felt. We had to drop off Ellie prior to the sealing at the nursery and they got her ready while we get paperwork and other things done. All of the temple workers kept thinking were there to get married, which was funny. Anyways, after a while we were taken to our sealing room. That moment is one of my favorites from when we got married. Walking into a room and seeing those family members and friends that love you and are so special to you is one of the best! A few minutes later they brought Ellie in a little white stroller. She looked like a little angel all dressed in white; our little angel. I don't think their was a dry eye in the room at that point. Being able to kneel together and be sealed as a family was definitely a dream come true for me. Our marriage sealing was very special, but when I think back, I had a more nervous-excited and dazed feeling. This time, being sealed to such a special little girl was such a special gift and moment. The amount of love that I felt for Joe and Ellie was abundant. The Spirit was so strong. That is a moment I will cherish forever. I cannot think of a better place or moment I would rather be than that one. We felt so blessed to have most of our families there,and missed those that couldn't be there. We also loved having our birth mother's parents and grandmother there. Their love and support means so much to us. I love this. Such a striking picture of us all in white:). Our family with Fail and Romney Grandparents as well as Great Grandmother Spelts (Nanny). Our family with Ellie's birth grandparents and great grandmother. Daddy's little lady. Ellie with Aunt Mindy. Ellie with Uncle Chris and Aunt Mindy. Ellie with Aunt Carrie and Uncle Brandon. I wish Joe's siblings stayed after, but I will post pics with them a little further in this post. After the temple, we had everyone over at our house for a dinner. It was a lot of fun to have our family over to celebrate such a special day with us. On Sunday, March 3 Ellie was blessed. Joe gave her such a special blessing that will hopefully be a comfort and guidance for Ellie in her life. Ellie's birth mother McKenzie, sister Alora, and Birth grandparents were there as well. We love them all so much and were so grateful that they were there to support us and Ellie. Ellie is one lucky little girl to have so many people that love her. Ellie with her birth-family Ellie with her birth-mother McKenzie It was such a wonderful day. Ellie looked so cute. Joe's mother Kalynn made her white dress. I gave her a picture of what I wanted and she made it without a pattern. She made leggings and all. It turned out so cute! Such a happy girl Ellie with her cousins Grace and Molly. This was the best we could get. Silly girls! Ellie with the Crane Family Ellie with Aunt Leah and Uncle Kaleb There are so many more precious pictures, but it would make this post very long. So grateful for camera's to capture our special moments. Ellie is now 7 months old. She is actively doing the army crawl all over. She enjoys books, music, exploring, and saying "da da". Ellie and her bear Ellie got a toothbrush for Easter. It sounds funny, but she is fascinated with watching brush my teeth, so I thought she would like her own brush. She will have excellent oral hygiene! We recently went to the Living Planet Aquarium with my sister and mom. Here is a pic of her with her cousin Grace. They look so tiny! Ellie also loves being a big girl in her highchair. She enjoys feeding herself snacks. Here is a video of her in her new music toy. We thought it was hilarious. She is going to be a dancer. Being mischievous Joe and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on April 1. It's crazy that it has been so long. Love you Joe! Joe has started framing our basement and is almost done with that. He loves doing projects at home which I love. It will be so nice to have it done.