Blessed.

I feel very fortunate to have married a man who keeps himself a worth holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and as such, is able to give our children priesthood blessings. Mason Brandon Richards received his name and blessing on December 1st, 2013 and we were thrilled to have Mason's Great Grandma able to attend and for his Great Uncle Steve and Grandpa Chuck to participate. It meant so much to have them there with us.

Mason looked so handsome in the wee white suit we borrowed from Tara - his oldest cousin, Jake, wore it first (and perhaps best - those poor chicken legs).

We couldn't get a decent picture of both of the kids, so we settled for a picture with both of them in it. Hopefully it gets better from here.

 

In addition to Brandon, Dad and Uncle Steve, we had our friends (from L to R) Danny Wood, Jason Gifford, Ryan (Bishop) Staten and Rob Hansen stand in the circle to bless our son. We love our ward and have made wonderful friends there. The best picture we managed to capture happened to include Teagan and her baby. Oh well.

 

The circle was small, but it was full of people we love and we were grateful for them to be able to assist us in blessing our little boy.

My uncle, the resident priesthood holder in my life until I was married, blessed me when I was a baby, and it was such a wonderful experience to have him help bless my son.

My dear, sweet Grandma who is still battling breast cancer made the long trip to visit with us for Mason's blessing and confided in me that she wasn't sure she would live to see the day her great grandson was born. And we are so glad she kept herself healthy enough and scheduled chemo and other treatments around our sweet little man. There is no one quite like my grandma - you've never met anyone so cheery and upbeat in spite of all of the trials she's seen. Love her.

Padre was kind enough to fly out for the weekend to help his son bless his son. I have so much love and respect for my father-in-law. He is a man of incredible patience, understanding and generosity. Brandon tells me every few days that he reminds himself more and more of his father and I couldn't be more pleased. There certainly are worse things.

I am so in love with my sweet little family. Some days I think two is plenty, though I know that they won't always be this little and I won't be so overwhelmed. We are still trying to find our groove, and will be for a while, but I am so happy to have such a fantastic husband and such darling children.

My dearest Mason,

You were held in the arms of your father and blessed, but I am the one who feels blessed. We prayed for you and waited for you to join our family for what seemed like forever, but ended up being a year. SO worth it, my darling boy. You are (and I have this confirmed by several sources) the most beautiful newborn I've ever seen. You are such a sweet thing and so content. I know you will do amazing things and I hope to be able to help you on your journey here on earth. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to be your mother here on earth and for you to be my son. So far I know a lot about girl stuff, so please be patient with me as I learn the ropes of raising a boy. Thank you for being such a source of love in our home.
Love you forever,

Mum