Ryder's Blessing Day

Here is a little photo of our little family on the morning of Ryder's blessing-our official, first family photo- (well besides in the hospital). The timing was quite fitting because this was the first morning he was just all smiles...which was so fun for us. His little smile melts my heart. The day was wonderful. We hit a little snag when the mike went out during his blessing, but thanks to a couple of nice people in our ward sitting close enough and Phil's good memory, we got most of it down on paper...whew! It was a beautiful blessing and Phil did a wonderful job. I was so grateful to everyone who came to support us that day, especially my parents who flew down for the weekend right before my mom's surgery.

On a fun note, my sister and her darling niece, Gracie, came to spend all of last week with us. We had such a fun time and I stupidly didn't take any photos, which is quite a loss because Autumn and I were the only ones who got to see Gracie holding Ryder (I really need to improve with the whole picture thing...I will work on it).

On a sad note, while my sister and I were pow-wowing up here in Seattle, my mom had to get her thyroid out and in the process discovered she had cancer. Thankfully, thankfully, this is something that can be totally taken care of and now she is on the mend and I'm so grateful we can get the recovery process going.

Mom, you are one of the bravest and strongest people I know. I love you!