Gabe's Sealing

This was written on 1/31/2007:


Well, it has taken me a few days to sit down and write my feelings about Gabe's "official" adoption and his sealing and blessing. But, I finally have some time now to put into words what I have been feeling in my heart.
Looking back, I can see the path the Lord has led me down in regards to building my own family, and I feel so blessed. To have such an amazing husband who has turned out to be one of the best Fathers I have ever known. And I am not just saying that because he is my husband, other can see it too! :) Anyway, I love him so much, and although I struggles for the first part of our marriage with the idea that we could possibly never have our own children, I can see know that Heavenly Father had a different road for us to take. I would not change it for the world, Gabe has been more than we could have ever asked for in a baby. He is beautiful, his spirit shines so brightly through his big beautiful eyes, and he is always a joy to be around. He is our son, how wonderful that we can be sealed in the temple and know that he truly has been grafted into our family, become a part of our eternal tree. Just as Lehi saw in his dream with Gabe's ancestors that were here in America before us. That they should learn of the truthfulness of the gospel and be grafted into the tree of the house of Israel. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to teach Gabe of where he comes from, and how lucky we are to have him as a part of our family. As a decendent of the Lamanites, and now as a decedent also of the Roberts/Jones family.
The day we went to court to adopt him was so so wonderful. Everyone there was also adopting and the feeling in the court was just bursting at the seams with joy and happiness. That following Friday we brought Gabe to the Newport Beach temple, dressed in a white suit, and had him sealed to us amidst family and friends. The picture of his little hand on top of ours across the altar will forever be etched into my memories. He was so happy, and it was like he knew what was going on. And to think we might get to do this with all of our children, what a blessing. To get to experience the sealing of your children. Have that visual aspect of how families are eternal.
The following Sunday Mike gave Gabe his baby blessing. He of course did a wonderful job and spoke so eloquently. I have included his baby blessing below:

Our dear Heavenly Father, by the power of the Melchizedek priesthood which we hold, we take this child in our arms to give him a name and a blessing. The name by which he shall be known here on earth and upon the records of the church is Gabriel Robert Jones. Gabriel, at this time we wish to give thee a blessing. We wish you to know that you have been blessed so greatly already. You have been blessed with a healthy and strong body and have developed well to this point. We bless you that your physical development might continue, that you will grow healthy and strong. Gabriel, you have been blessed spiritually as well. We bless thee with an appreciation of the circumstances under which you came into this world. We bless you with an appreciation of the decision that was made by a young girl to make sure that you were in a home where you could be sealed to your parents and have the blessings of the temple and the gospel. We bless you that you will seek a testimony of your own as you have so many righteous family members around you. We bless you that you might pay attention to the example of your mother and listen to her as she teaches you and also to pay attention to the examples of your grandparents. We bless you with the desire to read the Book of Mormon and gain a testimony of that book as you share a heritage with those who are in that book; who wrote that book of those people. We bless you more importantly to seek out the Savior; that ye might gain a testimony of Him and the sacrifice that he made for your behalf. We bless you that when the time comes that you will have that testimony, that you will be willing to share that with others; that you will have a desire to go on a mission to teach those things that you have learned in your life to those who do not have the joy of living the gospel as you have. And that when you return that you might continue your mission here on the earth and finding a choice woman to take you to the temple to be sealed to you and that you might have a beautiful family. Gabriel, we bless you with all these things and anything else that your Heavenly Father believes that you need. And we say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

My whole family was there as was Mike's. The bishop asked that I get up and bear my testimony after, and I was so happy that he did because I was overflowing with the spirit and wanted to share with my family how happy I was to have Gabe and all of them in my life.