As mentioned, the tail end of our Roger Call Reunion was Luke's blessing. We were fortunate to not only have our Call family with us, but a lot of our Vigil family, too! Jeff, Jami, and the kids drove down on Saturday to be there for Luke's special day. It was so exciting to see them!
Everyone met at our house. And when I say "our house", I mean it! We're finally under contract on our first home, and it's a beauty! Since no one is living in it right now, our wonderful realtor came and opened the house so we could show it off to our family. We enjoyed having everyone see the house and play in the spectacular yard. We can't wait until the end of August when we get to move in!
But, this post isn't about the house. I assure you, there will be plenty on that later! This post is about our Luke. Sunday morning came bright and early with 9 o'clock church. We had originally planned on blessing Luke at Grandma and Papa's house at around 5:00, with a yummy dinner afterwards. But Robbie and Kris needed to get on the road a bit earlier than originally planned, since being sick, so we decided to change the blessing to the morning during our Sacrament Meeting. It was no small feat getting all four kids, plus ourselves, ready for church and out the door by 8:30 am! Especially when we needed some extra time to get Luke looking spiffy. :)
Luke's big brother and sisters were so excited for him! The girls were especially excited to see Luke in his blessing outfit.
Here he is! And might I say, he looks even more handsome in white! I can't believe how good-lookin' this little guy is.
Then again, look at his Dad. :) What a proud Daddy!
We even took a few extra minutes to take some family pictures. I think that this is the first picture of the six of us together since Luke was born. We've grown quite a bit in the last six years! I love it.
Believe it or not, we actually made it to church first. Which was good, since we had to save some serious seats! We had so much family there, which was just so awesome. Everyone from Danny's side was there, including Great Grandma Call. From my side, we had Grandpa Richard and Grandma Ruth Ann, the Downs family, the Martin family, and of course Grandma Candy.
Danny did an awesome job giving Luke his name and blessing. I had a neat experience during the blessing. As I was listening intently, with my eyes closed, I listened as Luke was blessed to receive first the Aaronic Priesthood, and then the Melchizedek Priesthood. I had this image run through my mind. I saw Luke all grown up, handsome and strong. I saw him as a missionary, and I saw him with a daughter of God at the temple. It was the briefest of visions, but the feelings that accompanied that vision were immense. I felt so proud of him. I thought my heart would burst with the intense love I felt for my little boy, my little man. And then as quickly as it came, it was gone. But I will forever remember that moment. I'm so grateful that I can so clearly see what my boys will be like, because I know what their father is like. What an incredible example in every way.
There are so many wonderful people that Luke has to look to for an example in his life. Here are the men that were able to stand in the circle for Luke. Uncle Robbie wasn't able to be there for the picture, but he was there for the blessing. Poor Andi just wasn't feeling well, and they needed to get on the road back to Cali. We were glad they were able to stick around for the blessing. We're so grateful for everyone that came to support us and Luke on his blessing day.
After Sacrament Meeting, most of us stuck around for the last two hours of church before meeting up again at the school for an awesome lunch. While Danny was putting the final touches on the meat, the kids enjoyed just hanging at the school. Megan, Rose, Tali, and Ace were especially excited to see the cows. :) City slickers!
Claire, Lily, and Isabelle worked on a puppet show. The show was actually put on after lunch, and it was a hoot. Something about a bunny eating too much flour and it made her sick, so she had to have surgery from the alligator doctor. Silly girls...
Like I said, Danny was working on his meat while the kids played. On the menu for this special occasion was Alton Brown's Pulled Pork. It was supposed to be smoked, but since we didn't have a smoker we decided to just slow cook it. The flavor was awesome! But we also took a shortcut on the cut of pork, and didn't get quite the right cut. Because of that, we ended up with chopped pork instead of pulled pork. But it was still delicious!
Jami, Megan, Rose, and Tali helped me make the table beautiful. They know how much presentation means to me!
And where was the man of the hour, you ask? Sleeping, of course! :)
After lunch, everyone went their separate ways. We went back to Grandma Candy's, since that's where we were staying during the Call Reunion, and got out of our Sunday clothes and enjoyed a couple of quiet hours. The Downs family also went back to their hotel to change, and then met us back at Grandma Candy's for the evening. Jenny and her family, as well as Jessie and Devin, ended up coming to the house and we all ate and visited. It was a blast!
This little guy has grown up so much since we saw him last Thanksgiving! Chance enjoyed the simple things. You know, crawling around naked with the remote control. :)
We had a dance party, too. Ace showed up how to get our groove on. He's sexy and he knows it!
And the cousins enjoyed some extra time together.
It really was so much fun to spend an evening just chillin' together. It's so rare that we get to be together anymore. Here's the Vigil Fam!
And here's what the Vigil Fam is really like! :)
Again, we were so grateful to each and every person that came to support our family, and celebrate Luke's birth. I am so grateful for a husband who is unquestionably worthy of his Priesthood, and knows how to use it to lead his family back to our Heavenly Father. We're grateful for the eternal bonds we have with our family, and look forward to literally an eternity together.
And of course, we are so grateful to our amazing son Luke, for choosing to come to our crazy family. He is such a sweet spirit, and I know he will fill a very special place in our home. We love you, Luke-son!
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