We took Aleana to the Logan Temple to be sealed to us on Saturday April 27th at 11:00 am.
We can now be a Family Forever!!
Having Aleana sealed to Curt and I was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life.
Aleana did amazing and looked liked an Angel!
It was neat to be in the temple as a family with our family and friends.
The temple workers made me feel like I was getting married again and just made it an experience I will always remember.
We went to the Temple the Friday before the sealing and my friend took some amazing pictures of us and Aleana. Here are a few of our favorites.
I love my little girl and I am so happy I get to be her mother forever
She has stolen her Daddy's heart, he loves his baby girl!
What a happy girl!
I love this picture, I think it will go on her wall!
We are such a happy family!
Sealing
Here are some pictures from after the actual sealing.
We got to come out in our whites and take pictures.
Right after we come out of the doors of the temple.
Aleana with her little cousin, she was so excited to meet Aleana.
What a beautiful sight all in white in front of the temple were we became an Eternal Family!!
Blessing
We went over to the church after the sealing and Curt blessed Aleana. Then we had a luncheon.
It was a great day and it was fun to see family and friends!
Here is some more about the special day!
We had an amazingly spiritual
weekend! We took Aleana to the Logan Temple
to be sealed to us for Time and all Eternity on Saturday April 27th!! I feel so blessed that I am a member of the
true church of Christ and have faith and testimony in his plan. I am also so grateful that I have a wonderful
loving husband that was worthy to take us to the temple to be sealed together
as a family. The power of the priesthood
is such an amazing thing and it has changed my life forever.
On Friday we went up to the temple
and my friend Chelsie Atkinson took pictures of us. I have not seen them but I
hope that they are amazing!
On Saturday morning Chelsie came over
and took video of Aleana and her dresses, getting her ready and us getting
ready. She also took video of us walking into the temple. She is going to make of Aleana’s special day. I am excited I because It will be great for
us to show her when she is older and we tell her about the day she was sealed
to us. Her and her husband took pictures
and video of us after we came out of the temple.
Curt, Aleana and I had to be in the
temple by 10:00 and the sealing was at 11:00. We got to the temple, checked in
and got all our paperwork figured out. Then we took Aleana to the Youth Center. I was surprised Aleana did not even fuss when
we left. I saw my mom coming in just
before the sister who was helping me took me back to get dressed. We had to stop Curt and the guy helping him
so they could go grab my Dad who was a witness and an escort. While
we were in the temple they made me feel as special as I did on my wedding day
(if not more so because they were not as busy as the Salt Lake Temple. I got to go back into the bridal dressing
room and into the brides’ room to get ready and wait until it was our turn to
go up. I thought my mom was going to come back to the Brides room with me, but
they had her go to the youth center with Aleana which I was happy about. The lady that helped me was so sweet and made
me feel so special. The temple matrons
assistant told me a story about this lady would who could not have kids and 20
years went by and she heard about this girl in the foster care system who was
wanting a home, she fostered her, then adopted her and was sealed to her. The sweet 15 year old girl got a family and
this lady and her husband got to be parents. The lord works miracles all the
time in the lives of his children and I know Aleana is heaven sent.
We were called up and headed to the
elevator where we found Curt, my dad, Curt’s dad and the brother waiting for
us. We headed up stairs and they took
our dads to our sealing room and we went into a smaller sealing room to talk to
the sealer. He gave us some
instructions of wear to kneel at the
altar and made sure he was saying our names correctly, which was a good thing
because he was announcing Aleana’s name the Spanish way. Then my mom walked in with Aleana dressed in
her beautiful dress and wearing the white head band with the three
flowers. I wanted to cry seeing her
looking so beautiful and in the temple. Aleana loved the beautiful chandelier.
She was just in awe at how beautiful the temple was. Then the lady who was
helping me took my mom and Aleana into the sealing room. It was nice to have a
quiet moment with Curt before the sealing took place to feel the spirit and
think about what was really about to
happen. We got brought in after all our guests were
seated. It warmed my heart to see
friends and family sitting in the room, you could feel the feel the spirit so
strong and the love that they had for us and Aleana.
Curt and I sat on the bench between
our parents. I sat next to my mom and
Aleana. Aleana loved looking at herself
in the mirror and seeing all the people in the room. I wonder if she could see
people in the room that no one else could see like Grandma Alice, Grandpa Pete
or Snellie or Even Jesus. She was such a little angel. Here is what I remember about the sealing,
since I was crying and kept looking at my precious Aleana and all those people
in the room who support and love us. The Sealer started off by welcoming the
Snelgrove family the, the Stauffer family and friends. He thanked us for the wonderful spirit we
brought into the room and also thanked everyone for the sacrifice of being in
the temple today. Then he thanked us for
our sacrifice for bringing our family to the temple to be sealed. He talked
about the symbols in the sealing ceremony (Patriarchal/Patriarch) and how the
alter is a symbol of sacrifice itself. He
talked about how we needed to set a good example and get in a habit of doing
things that will make this sealing stick, such as praying together, reading
scriptures and family home evening. I liked
one thing that he said about family home evening was “by darn make it
fun”. We want to have activities that
will help us to grow closer as a family. And we will strive to continue to do
those things that will make this sealing stick because I want Aleana to be part
of our forever family. He talked about
Curt being a great priesthood holder and his desire to have a wonderful family
and that was evident in Aleana and me. I
just thought how blessed we are to have his priesthood authority in our home
and a wonderful husband and father to preside over our home.
The Sealer invited us up to the altar
and we took our places and my mom brought up Aleana. She was so good; she actually dove forward
and tried to grab our hands before it was even her turn. During the ceremony she played with the
little cloth doily and did not even try to pull away. Aleana kept looked up at
Curt and I who had tears running down our faces and each time she looked up at
me I just wanted to cry harder knowing that she was going to be my little girl
for eternity. She is such an angel and a
blessing in my life. Although, I did not
cry as much as Curt did he started crying as soon as we walked into the room
and did not really stop until after we left.
In that moment I felt the spirit so strong and it testified to me that
these blessings are real and can come true according to our faith.
After the sealing, he had us stand up
and have our parents and grandparents come and give us hugs. It made me tear up when I gave my mom a hug
because she helped bring an even sweeter spirit to the sealing and I hope
someday she will get to be sealed to her parents and siblings. I also got emotional when my Grandma Taylor
gave me a hug because she had not been through the temple when I was married
and she now she was able to be at Aleana’s sealing. I also when I gave my dad a
hug it was special because he was always there for me and I love him so
much. Curt got really emotional when his
dad came up and gave him a hug. They
both were crying on each other’s shoulder. It was a special thing to see. All the rest of our guests came and gave us
hugs which was, Allen (Kathy was home with new baby Layla), Brian & Cadence
(girlfriend, now wife), Julee, Meagan and Brandon, Tiffany, Ryan and Lisa,
Grandma Snellie and Grandma Pete, Jay and Pat (Curt’s Aunt and Uncle), Richard
and Kim (Curt’s Cousin and his Wife) Steve and Damaris Kjar, Mike and Nora
Molmgren, Ben and Alyssa Owen, Bishop and Sister Carter, Bishop and Sister
Crowshaw. It was amazing to feel the
love that each person had for us and Aleana.
After we had given everyone hugs and
the only ones left were our parents and some grandparents. The sealer had us look in the mirror and said
“look at that beautiful sight”. I don’t
think anything in this world could compare to that sight or our eternal family
dressed in white together in the temple. The Sealer said something to us and
our parents but I don’t remember because I was just enjoying the sight and
being with my family. I will work hard
to make these blessing come to pass and be able to live with Aleana and Curt
for eternity. I love them so much. I love the lord and his plan of
happiness. Nothing else can bring us
more joy in this life.
We went outside in our whites to take
pictures. My mom even came out in her
whites too. When I went in to pick up
Aleana from the nursery she was happy to see me. We walked down the hall to head outside and
she started to cry so the sister went back to get her bottle, poor little girl
had not had a nap that day and was so tired and hungry. I went to feed her and I realized the stopper
was in the bottle. She could not have
eaten any food. She drank a little bit
but was just upset and crying so we decided to just try taking her
outside. She cheered right up and was
pretty happy for pictures. I feel bad
that I did not have my mom hold her for a picture in her whites or even really
pose with us. I will have to remember to
have us pose with Curt’s mom if we get this opportunity again. If we have
someone come take pictures again I will have a list of pictures I want so it
runs smoothly and we don’t forget.
We headed over to the church after we finished
pictures. Aleana feel asleep in Curt’s
arms before the blessing but gotten woken up, so my dad took her out in the
hall to feed her and have her take a nap.
I think my dad loves being a grandpa.
So we had a little scare when we
found out bishop was sick and could not make it to the blessing, but Brother Garbanati
(1st councilors) was nice enough to come at the last minute. We wanted to have the blessing that day
because family and friends were already there, so I am so glad it worked
out.
Jesica showed up while Aleana was out
sleeping in the hall and I went out and gave her a hug. Then Curt led everyone into the relief
society room for the blessing. When I
got in there with Aleana Jesica was already starting to cry. I hope they were more tears of joy than
anything else. She just loved Aleana’s
dress and thought she looked so beautiful
.
We sang “Families can be Together
Forever” (Karen Carter played and Jody Snelgrove led, also Becca Snelgrove
played music as people came in the room) to start out and then I sat up in the
chair with Aleana. Curt and those
invited to be in the circle came and circled around. Aleana was kind of nervous but Allen kept
smiling down at her and helped her feel more comfortable. Curt almost gave Aleana my name, but he
quickly caught himself. Curt told her
that in her six months of life you have been an amazing blessing in the lives
of so many people and brought families closer together. My first thought was how she has been an
amazing blessing in Jesica’s life and brought her back to Brooke and
Jeremy. Also how she has brought Curt
and I closer and brought us closer to our families. He told her she has a great
love for those around her and blessed her to have a special knowledge of where
she came from both spiritually and physically.
We will help her to remember she is a daughter of God who loves her and
has already greatly blessed her. Also we
will help her understand that she is a blessing to us from her birthmom who
loves her so much. They are both
extremely important to her life and identity.
He told her that those her today love her very much and I know they
really do! Curt blessed her to have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and
Heavenly Father. Curt and I have a great
task ahead of us to help her gain that testimony. He blessed her to make decisions in her life
that will bring her closer to them and strengthen family relationships. He blessed her to have the conviction to
always do what is right and to stick to her morals and values. He blessed her to make the decision to go to
the temple and be sealed that she also might have an eternal family. He closed by blessing her with these things
and any other things that her Heavenly Father sees fit to bless her with. I hope I can do my part to help her have
these blessing come true by following the advice the sealer gave us, following
the prophets and listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I love Aleana so much and hope these blessing
come true for her.
I went back and sat by Jesica and had
her hold Aleana after the prayer.
Several family members come over and introduced themselves to Jesica and
gave her hugs and told her how much they love her and how gratefully they are
for her. Lisa told her that her family
has been praying for us for 6 years to have a baby. Jody and Julee came and gave her hugs.
We went in at ate lunch and visited
with friends and family. Neither Curt
nor I got to sit very long and eat, because we were so busy talking to everyone. After lunch we took pictures with some of our
friends. People stood in line to take
pictures with Aleana. I loved seeing
Aleana with our family and friends but especially with Jesica Jeremy and
Brooke. I hope Jesica felt loved and
appreciated by all our friends and family showing her how much they love her
and how grateful they are for her. Here is a comment Jesica wrote on my facebook
page. “today was awsome soo much fun to see aleana and
how much she has grown had a great time with everyone. thank u for sharring
aleans special moments with our family. love u all very much cant wait to visit
again.”
Curt Sent this to Jesica
“Jesica it was SOOOOO good to have you with us at Aleana's blessing, and
it was wonderful to see you and chat with you a bit. We are extremely grateful
for all you do and have done! You have been, are, and forever will be a huge
part of our lives, and we are excited to have you as family”
Jesica
Responded
“thank you both , aleana’s such a gift i truely
am happy for ur family and am thankful to have found such a desurving couple to
have placed aleana with you guys do fit im proud to have made such an important
choice and have made it right enjoy each other every day and jeremy brooke
cindy and i oh and marilyn love yall everyday as well we keep u guys in our
hearts thoughts minds and prayers and well as for me also in my dreams i love
all of u and hopefully we will visit sometime”
We are so grateful Jesica is and
will forever be a part of our lives.
Curt’s Uncle Jay told us a story
about Curt’s cousin Chris how was adopted.
He said that his mission president knew his dad and was telling Chris
how much he was like his dad. Chris said
you know I am adopted. His mission
president was shocked because he had so many of his dads attributes. It is like our attorney said “Nurture or
Nature”. He has seen how so many kids
just fit right in with their adopted families like it was meant to be. Jay said that the blessing of being born as
if in the covenant is true for all aspects.
Aleana really is our daughter she just had to come to us another way and
will have attributes like us. We do hope
that she does take after Jesica some too because Jesica is amazing.
After the blessing we went back
to our house with Curt’s family. I am so
glad Maegan and Brandon made it up and Ryan and his family came down. It was good to have the whole family together. Mary and Emma and all of Ryan’s kids loved
meeting Aleana. Mary got to meet and
hold her friend Aleana. She would look
at the pictures of Aleana we sent to Ryan and say this is my friend
Aleana. One day when Curt called up
Julee to talk to her while she was visiting with Ryans family Mary ran up to
the phone “Uncle Curt, Uncle Curt My friend Aleana gets to go to the
temple.” I just thought it was the cutes
thing, but it was also so cute when grandpa brought Mary up to see Aleana after
we came out of the temple and they hugged each other. I hope we can see them often enough that they
can become good friends.
After everyone left we opened
presents and put Aleana down for a much needed nap and just crashed on the
couch. It was an amazing day I will never forget. I am amazed at how well Aleana handled it
all. I only really heard her cry too
times the whole day. She was a little
trooper and knew how special or a day it was.
I love my little girl so much and I am so glad she is part of our
Eternal Family!
7 months old
Aleana turned 7 months on May 2
She loves to chew on anything she can get her hands on to especially her own fingers and my hair.
She is about 27 inches and 18 lbs. She is a healthy girl!
She is always on the go, I don't know what I am going to do when she starts to crawl
and can get more places :)
She looks so beautiful!
But I just wish I could have gotten her to smile for at least one picture.
She is such a busy and curious girl. She was so interested in the sign and would not even look at me.
I love my little Aleana and I am so glad that she is now legally and Eternally a part of our family!
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