a name and a blessing

mor and i went a couple rounds about when we should bless gretchen. he thought we should just do it during our regular sacrament time, 9a; i thought we should do it after all the wards had met, 4p or later. after discussing this with several other parties, i liked what kelly had to say best : a baby's blessing day should be peaceful and easy, for everyone. waking up and having 5 people ready to go and out the door before 2 of those people are even usually awake would not make for a peaceful or easy day. we got it sorted out with the bishop to bless gretchen the sunday before thanksgiving, 23 nov, at 4:30p. that gave me all morning to get some treats made (pumpkin chocolate chip bars and chocolate chip cookies), for everyone to shower, for jones to nap...peaceful and easy.
gretchen wore my blessing dress, bonnet and booties, and i don't think i've ever seen anything more beautiful.
for the record...
mor, gpa mike, david hawley, bart jolley, gary, ben and dave wall, chad duford, adam miner, nate sorensen, bishop berneau were all in the circle.
for the record...
me, mor, finners, jones, gpa mike and gma gloria, georgette, emily and thomas rowley (david had church mtgs, sarah was in missouri with cousins), david and leslie, bart, gary and ellie, amy and sam (shad had to work and kelton had home teaching), ben and brit (eli, blake and griffin), dave and lucy (addie, gavin, hudson and brixton), chad, kam, ruthie and andrew schiess (steve had to work), adam and erin (milo, logan and reagan), nate and bethie, lisha, edmund and anna wood (richard was deployed in romania), bishop berneau were all in attendance.
for the record, gretchen was blessed to...
...be a peacemaker and example to her brothers
...be patient
...be a teacher to those around her
...develop a strong testimony
...learn the gospel
...fulfill all of her commitments
...know who she is
...grow up to be a confident woman
a baby blessing is always such a special, spiritual time. these sweet, innocent babies get to hear from the heavenly father they so very recently left what wonderful things their faithful lives will bring to them and their families and friends. i am always extremely grateful for the priesthood and, more specifically, that mor is a worthy priesthood holder, able to bestow these gifts upon our children.