A Little Piece of JONES: Lincoln's Blessing

Lincoln's Blessing was low key, but that doesn't mean it wasn't special. We went back and forth a thousand times about when to bless him and finally we decided to do it up in Boise over Labor Day. We were planning on going up for that weekend anyway because my best friend Julie Harrison was getting married! And then our parents didn't have to travel again, and we didn't have to figure out how to host both families...cause I wasn't quite ready for that. But especially because we did it up in Boise we kept it super simple. I didn't do anything fancy on Sunday; we just went to church and he got blessed. Period, the end. And you know what? It was great. I don't remember a ton from his blessing, but it did talk about him going on a mission and I thought "Oh good, the world is not going to blow up before then." Haha! My inner doomsday prepper coming out on me. It was a lovely blessing. And Justin only slipped up and called him Landon once during it!! He does that all time so it was bound to happen. He got it right on the name part so that's all that matters.

He was just starting to get smiley!

Oh, I just love his cute face!

Aside from the blessing it was a fun, but quick weekend. We went up Friday night after work. Saturday morning Justin went golfing with his dad and brothers and then we went to the Jones' for Sarah's BSU kickoff party and to watch the game. We did a cute scarecrow/snowman craft while watching the game. It was fun to be around the cousins and all the blue and orange. Then my parents took our boys to the zoo with Mandi while Justin and I headed to Julie's wedding. The reception was simple and we didn't hang around too long cause we didn't really know anyone there. We drove over and looked at Troy and Sarah's new house real quick. Then we headed back to the wedding dinner that we had been invited to. That was the really fun part. I LOVE the Harrison family and it was a big dose of Chicken Soup for the Soul to be with them and take part of Julie's special day. They did something really neat that I would love to remember and do for my kids' weddings. (And since I get to be in charge of the luncheon for the boys I can!) But each sibling and parent gave a tribute to Julie, or to the groom. They shared a special memory or something they love about her and then they each made a little gift. Some of the gifts were funny and went along with the story, others were a little more serious and nice. But it was such a treasure to sit and listen to all the fun stories and feel the love towards Julie. She was is a true best friend and I love her and miss her dearly in my life. It made me want to reach out towards those special people in my life. Needless to say I walked away with tears in my eyes (for real, not just a saying) and my soul refreshed and ready to tackle being a mother to four boys. Cause let's be honest-I was on the edge before that. I wish I would have gotten a picture with Julie but I didn't think about it until after we had left : (

Then we drove right to the freeway entrance and met my parents. I jumped in the car with them and we drove to Mt. Home for my cousin's wedding reception. It was also so fun to visit with the Koyle family. Julene, Stephanie, and Gentry were all there and it's always a treat to visit with them. Sunday was the blessing and then we had dinner with my parents and then went and spent a couple hours with the Jones' and then we headed back home to Pocatello. It was tiring for sure. And I remembered why I didn't miss the drama of balancing two families living together when you come home to visit. But that will get better with time as we are around more, and mostly it was all a good time to have so much family around.