Things are as they should be.

Yesterday was a great day. Mark and I were blessed to witness the sealing of Camden Albrecht to his parents Jessica and Aric (while big sisters Maya and Eden watched) in the Spokane Temple. I have never been present at a live sealing like this, although my sister Kim has adopted and been sealed to her two youngest children. For whatever reason we were not able to make the trek to Utah for those sealings. I am now wishing we had known what we were missing because there is nothing that would keep me from an opportunity like that again. To see the entire family in the temple together - children in their white clothes and parents (and everyone else in the room, for that matter) overcome with emotion by the feeling of the spirit in that sealing room. I think the power of the visual of the children there, for those of us who's children were born in the covenant - just made the reality of the blessing crystal clear. I was visualizing my children there with me too.

This was a special day for so many reasons. The first being finally closure for a dear friend on a trial that has been ongoing for years - wanting another child and being powerless to make it happen. We have talked a lot about how we would never see miracles if things always happened the way we want them. I think we all have things we wish would happen differently than they are, or worthy things that we want so badly and are just not happening the way we pictured them. But if Jessica had delivered Albrecht #3 several years ago like she was hoping - another miracle might not of happened....

On the right is another dear friend, Karen Pagliaro. Karen is my fiesty Italian neighbor and friend who joined the church almost seven years ago. She is divorced and has had a lot of very challenging things happen to her in her life - but she is a hero in my eyes and has a burning testimony of the gospel. My first memories of Karen were meeting her to teach a discussion with the sister missionaries when Mark was the ward mission leader years ago. At the time she was my around-the-corner neighbor whom I had never met or seen. She was recently divorced and putting the pieces of her life back together. After several sets of missionaries, she made the choice to be baptized and is a great missionary - she is always baring her testimony to her clients about how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints changed her life. She has wanted to go to the temple for the past several years, but fear has held her back. Karen is also a friend of Jessica and has also witnessed Jessica's trial of wanting more children and the miraculous arrival of Camden into the lives of the Albrechts. And when it came right down to it, Karen wanted to be in the temple to see Camden sealed to his family..... and so an unexpected miracle -- Who'd of thought that baby Camden would give Karen Pagliaro the courage to go to the temple! So we all knew Camden's arrival was miraculous, but we didn't know who might be impacted in unexpected ways!

The day before Camden's sealing, Karen and many of her "sisters" went to the temple together for Karen's first time. What struck me was all of the wonderful people who were there supporting her who I love and admire. I just kept thinking to myself as these different women walked into the session - grabbing Karen's hand in a show of support as they came by -- all of the things I admire about each one of them and also many who were not there. I am privileged to know well so many women of such high caliber. Many left the temple before we got the picture, but I have been feeling grateful that in the church we get to associate with some of the best women in the world.

So to end my story, once upon a time, there was a baby named Camden who came into the world to bless the lives of his family who had been waiting so long for their baby boy and in the process, brought about another miracle for a very deserving self-proclaimed "Stripling Warrior Mom." Who will now be able to bless the lives of her own children and countless lives through the temple work she is already planning to do - starting with her own Mother - and things are just as they should be.