Fitz's Blessing

We did not get one single good picture of Fitz on his blessing day. I wanted to get a picture of the whole family -- we looked pretty good before church. But Josh said we should take a picture after Sacrament Meeting. That didn't happen. And things kinda got crazy the rest of the day after that. So I asked Josh to take pictures of Fitz in his blessing outfit before I changed him to go to his mom's house. All three are terrible and you can't even see his blessing outfit. Fitz started to fuss and cry (he was hungry) as soon as we started to take pictures.

But you know what? It really doesn't matter all that much. It was a great day.

Josh did a great job giving Fitz a blessing. It was special. I told Josh afterward that I appreciated the way he gave our kids their blessings because I could tell he didn't go up there with a script in mind, with preconceived ideas about what the "right" things to say would be. When Josh gives blessings, I can tell he is trying to be a vessel. That's just really awesome. But Josh is awesome.

Josh blessed Fitz that he would be a strong and mighty man, physically, mentally and spiritually. I felt a confirmation of that description of my Fitz as Josh blessed him, that he would be a strong and mighty man. Today I feel like I will never forget that, but knowing the frailties of the human mind as I do, I knew I had better write it down. He also said that Fitz had been sent to a darkened world to be tested, but that the gospel would be a light to him in dark times.

I remember Josh blessing Katie that she would live a long life. He says he remembers blessing her that she would listen to the wisdom of her parents. Here's hoping she does, when we're actually wise. When we're not being wise, I hope she catches on to that and knows to ignore it.

In Charlie's blessing, he was told that he would be happy and that he would bring happiness to those around him. That's certainly true. His nursery leaders want to kidnap him, they love him so much.

I don't remember anything about Alek's blessing. I know my Mom wrote stuff down afterwards and gave me the notes, but I have no idea what I did with them. That's sad. But Josh gave him a father's blessing this week which I felt was pretty powerful. And I think Alek really paid attention to it. He came downstairs a few minutes after his blessing and asked us what a word Josh had said meant. The gist of the blessing was that Heavenly Father knows the difficulties that Alek has, He knows the conflict he feels in his mind and the troubles he has with self-control and that if Alek will turn to the Lord and seek after Him, the Lord will bless him with the ability to overcome his weaknesses and he will find answers to His problems and questions. The older Alek gets, the more I worry about losing him. We talked about that tonight. And we talked about his dad. And we cried. I love Alek. There were so many days in those first few years of his life when my only sunshine was Alek. Not getting to have him with me forever is simply not an option.

I feel that way about all my children and my husband. And my mom and dad. And my sisters and brother. The distance in miles between us on earth is bearable only because I have faith that it is temporary. Some day, we're all going to be living in celestial mansions on the same block.

I have felt overwhelmed with gratitude today. And I know who I have to thank for all that I have -- my kind, wise, merciful, loving Father in Heaven. And I do thank Him. From the depths of my soul, I thank Him.