Blessing day for Paige...

I had two weeks to heal from my C-section before we moved to Virginia... Clint would be starting medical school in August and we needed to get settled! Clint, along with his mom and dad and sisters, Kammy, Kate, Kaylee, Kelsee, and Corianne) who lived next door to us (how convenient and wonderful!) helped us out a TON; they completely took care of Kaden and Lindy so I could rest, rest, rest; I was able to heal and get back to preparing for our move pretty quickly; what a blessing!

We wanted to bless Paige there in Fresno, CA, because we could have family there with us... which proved to be a HUGE blessing. We had a lot of family there, including Clint's parents and sisters, Herb and Kelly, Uncle Jim and Carolee, Dean and Tiana, and Megan and Adam. From my side, my mom and dad from Moorpark, Trevor and Natalie from Bakersfield, Heidi and Don (down in CA from Seattle for a month- such perfect timing!), and my sisters, Kate and Ginger from Moorpark. I was so grateful they made that special effort to come for Paige's blessing; it was a special day also because we would be leaving the next morning to start our journey toward Virginia and the last time we'd see family for a long time... or so we thought.

I love this picture of our family; you can't tell, but it was taking Mom a while to get a good picture of the kids, and Clint's arms were starting to burn holding both Kaden and Lindy! :)
Hmmm... can you tell what my favorite shirt is? (I'm only wearing it in pretty much every picture.) It's actually Ginger's... it's a maternity shirt and a great "shrinking back down" shirt. Paige is now almost 3 months old and I still wear it! :)

Clint gave Paige a beautiful blessing, and then Yvonne and Andy Rahn, who are very good friends of our family, hosted a luncheon for all of us at their home; it was so kind and generous of them. I had been reluctant at first to let them to do it, because they were just barely moving back to Fresno and we would have a large group, but Yvonne insisted on having it and providing most of the food. What a sweetheart! There was a lot of delicious food and it was so nice to have a few hours to just enjoy being together.

We love our children's grandparents! Thank you Mom and Dad K. and Mom and Dad Z. for being there and for the help with the luncheon! We love you and miss you!

The dress Paige is wearing is also from Ginger, which makes it all the more special. She let Lindy and Paige both use it for their blessings; so sweet. After Ginger passed away, her husband asked us sisters to go through some of Ginger's things and clothes and take what we wanted to have of hers; one of the things I am fortunate to have is the dress Ginger is wearing in this picture (Ginger is on the very left in the black and white dress, by the way); I love it because it was hers and she wore it that last time I saw her for our Paige's special day; I love being able to wear it now and feel that much closer to Ginger.

Picture time with Andy and Yvonne. They sent us off to Virginia with a lot of furniture and their twin girl's beds and clothes--such a big help. Thank you Andy and Yvonne for the wonderful luncheon and all!


I cried a little when it was time to say goodbye, knowing that Clint and I were about to embark on a huge adventure in our lives and knowing that we'd be sooooo far away from our family (of course we were so excited, too). My sisters, Kate, Heidi, Ginger, and Natalie (and Yvonne!) got emotional with me, which I can always count on them to! Thanks girls! We gave extra long and tight hugs, which I was so grateful for; it was the last time I was able to be with Ginger before she passed away the very next Sunday; I can still feel the tightness and love from her hug. She also took some time to hold our sweet Paige; what a blessing.

This little collage is actually taken from Ginger's blog; it was on one of her last posts. I love the picture of her holding Paige. Ryan Jane and Ali are so cute, too, holding our little Paige. Paige was literally passed and passed around from niece to niece; sometimes there was even a little tension on whose turn it was to hold her. :) Paige's cousin, Gillian, made Paige a beautiful little pink bracelet with Yvonne's beading kit. Thanks Gilli!

I sure wish I had a picture of Clint's sisters; does anyone have one?

We love you, Paige. We're so happy you're a part of our eternal family.