Opal's Blessing

Opal had her baby blessing! With the holidays coming up, early November seemed like the best time for the occasion. It is good we didn't wait any longer to bless Opal because she would have been bursting out of her dress. She wore the dress Penelope wore for her blessing. Isabelle's blessing dress was too snug for chunky Opal. The dress Opal and Penny wore was made by my friend Valerie. How neat to use a handmade dress.

My mom gave Opal a bracelet for this notable day

We had so much support for the event and I am grateful. Jill even flew in! 3 of Opal's great grandma's were there! Grandma Ditto, Grandma Langlois, and Gigi (Grandma Denning). Sadly, (but understandably), Grandpa Denning wasn't up for attending the event due to his poor health. Andrew's Mom, Debbie also couldn't make it. 

Grandma Ditto

Grandma Langlois

Gigi (Grandma Denning)

Since Opal is #4, Andrew knows the blessing process well. He put Nate on pacifier duty in case Opal decided to make a peep during the prayer. Andrew said some really sweet things. Opal was honestly an angel! She slept through everything and I couldn't have asked for her to be more chill. Her eating schedule aligned perfectly too.

 

Some family watched via YouTube which meant a lot. Sara even snuck a couple of screenshots for me which made me grin. She knows me well and said they were for my blog. I appreciate Alison taking the group pic!

Ditto's: Addison, George, Nate, Laynie, Malia, Dan, Gma

Langlois': Doug, Sheri, Jake, Hailee, Holland, Gray, Sara, Steve, Abbie, Hollie, Eli, Gma

Denning's: Nana, Papa, Jill, Jessica, Chris, George, Dorothy, Gma

Friends: Michael, Hiday, Jaedyn, Josh, McCall, Trevor, Harrison

It was fast Sunday and I decided to bear my testimony. I do not love the cultural expectation for a new mom to share her testimony when her baby is blessed, but I could not hold back. Opal is a miracle. Her smiles and presence bring so much joy to our home. She is beloved by her siblings! I shared a raw testimony and was very open about the challenges we've been through in the last year miscarrying twins and losing Joel. I hope my point came across that through it all, the Savior understands what I've experienced and how I feel. He has shown me his hand through these hard times. I'm glad I'm done with that. I got more emotional than I wanted.

When planning the menu for the lunch, soup sounded hearty and good. We did not know the weather would be rainy weeks in advance when preparing, but it worked out perfectly because it was a very dreary and wet day. The soups hit the spot.

Menu:

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Smoky BBQ Chili

Country Chicken Stew

Tomato Macaroni Soup

Cornbread muffins

Homemade bread and jam

Grapes

Sugar cookies

Kids:

Uncrustables

Chips

Capri Suns

I had helpers. I'm indebted to Jessica and my mom! They did so much! They came over Friday morning and helped decorate. The pictures don't quite capture how beautiful everything looked so envision this: white tablecloths, an Opal Ruth banner, green, white, and pink flowers, candles, pictures of Opal, chalkboards to label things. I also had assistance with the food. My mom and Jessica made soups and cookies and McCall brought grapes. How could I have pulled this off without them?? I borrowed so many things from my parents-- a table, folding chairs, baskets, and more. It was a hectic weekend with Halloween, but I was actually able to enjoy the event and not be stressed and grumpy and I am forever thankful. It happened to be Daylight Savings, so we had an extra hour Sunday morning to prep which was convenient.

Nana and Papa

Jessica

Big George meets Little George. My kids have 2 cousin George's--George Ditto and George Crandall.

Dan is Andrew's Dad's brother. Since I never had the chance to met Ken, I look to Dan and can kind of picture what Ken was like.

Honestly, I could not have asked for a better blessing day! Everything went smoothly and I was delighted. Andrew teased me later because after we had cleaned everything up, he couldn't keep his eyes open and fell asleep. Meanwhile, I was amped and full of energy. My heart was overflowing. Opal, we are so blessed that you are here!

Autumn Activities

What we have been up to lately... (Stick with me to the end of the post. I promise it will be worth it.)

School Parade: Friday, October 30

Zoo: Monday, October 19
Andrew took 2 days of paternity leave during Fall break. The first day was spent at the zoo. The kids got in free thanks to their PBS kids adventure passes. I got  a text from Andrew saying that Penny seemed bored. She exclaimed: "let's go somewhere else." Overall I think she liked it. Though it sounds like she was grouchy but recently that has been her new normal. It was not crowded and the train and carousel were exciting.

Treehouse Museum: Tuesday, October 20

My kids said this is their favorite museum they've been to this year. Andrew and the kids stayed over 3 hours. Too bad it is in Ogden. Three cheers for the PBS kids adventure pass that got the kids in for a discounted price.

Pumpkin Patch: Friday, October 23

The kids chose ginormous pumpkins. They could have played in the beans for hours. On a whim, we spent an absurd amount of money on festive fall treats at checkout. The pumpkin whoopie pies were outstanding and I think I'll try my hand at making them next year. The apple donuts were special too. I've had better cinnamon rolls. 

Penelope was devastated we threw our pumpkins away now that the holiday is over.

Pool: Friday, October 23

Halloween Party at Nana and Papa's: Sunday, October 25

We had a mixed up menu full of spooky items and the kids got to order what they wanted. (mummy's favorite: pepperoni pizza, witches fingers: breadsticks, deviled dragon eggs: stuffed eggs, ghoulash: pasta, broomsticks: carrots/celery sticks, bat wings: potato chips, goblin eyes, vampire blood, etc.) I made the witches fingers breadsticks and candy corn jello.

Games were also part of the party. Jessica did a dance party lights included! I was in charge of BINGO Halloween style with prizes and Don't Eat Pete. I think poor George may never want to play again... The first piece of candy he picked was "Pete" and the loud shouting scared him. The toilet paper mummy game was a fan favorite. 

Andrew's Work Party: Thursday, October 29

The kids live for these parties! They got pretzel bites, beignets, Swig, and hot chocolate. There was also trunk or treating in the parking lot, face paint, and henna. Princess Peach was hysterical to discover her face paint washed off during her sleep. Opal and I stayed in the warm house.

Halloween: Saturday, October 31

Free Crave cookies for kids in costume. The cookies were exceptional and they gave us extra.

Isabelle dressed up as Red from the Descendants: Rise of Red movie. Isabelle came home from school and told me with attitude: "why did you talk me out of being Hermione? Next year, I'm going to be Hermione." I don't remember convincing her not to take that route, but sorry I guess?

Penelope dressed up as Princess Peach from The Super Mario Bros movie.

James dressed up as Mario from the Super Mario Bros movie.

Opal was a duck.

James got invited to go trick or treating with not only 1 but 2 groups of friends. I can't believe I'm at this phase where he's already getting "too cool" for us. He had a great time though and I'm thankful he has lots of friends. James claims he weighed his candy and got 5 pounds worth. Believe what you want.

We started the night by trick or treating in my parent's neighborhood. Many houses give out full sized candy bars. Then we headed back to our neighborhood which goes all out. I was up with a tummy ache the next morning thanks to the homemade donuts, popcorn, Rootbeer, peanut butter cookies, cotton candy, and more.

Other Random Tidbits... 

Malia moved back! And in case you didn't know this already... James is super strong!

Opal gives the best full-faced smiles and is very generous with her smiles! She reminds us so much of James. She also slept through the night for the first time!

Stay tuned for more about Opal. Her baby blessing happened and I have plenty to say about that....