Tanner Reunion Day 4- Happy 4th of July

(Although it was purely coincidence, I loved how our family had a patriotic red, white, & blue theme for the 4th of July!)

On Sunday, the 4th of July, we had the exciting opportunity to bless both Lilah and Emily. We had come up with the idea months before and everything ended up working out that we were able to have a double blessing day. It was so fun to be able to have the two of them blessed on the same day. I think the best thing was that we were able to have so many family members and friends there with us. With the exception of Jacob, we've blessed all our kids in Philadelphia with just our little family. It's still a special day, but it is fun to share the experience with family. We had the whole Tanner family, minus Houston. Jim & Lori Stevens, Scott & Amanda and family, Greg, Bryan & Gina and family, Jeff & Terri and family, Kenny & Mari and family, and some other friends.

Both of the girls were given sweet blessings. I am glad that others were taking notes though, because I only heard about the first 20 seconds of Emily's blessing before Caleb and Matthew decided to start a party. I spent most of the blessing wrestling with them, pulling them over the bench, and trying to get them to be quiet. For some reason, mom's 'beware glare' doesn't work as well when they're on the bench in front of you. I was a little embarrassed, but at least it was during my baby's blessing rather than someone else's. Those first 20 seconds were very special though, and I'm glad that I have some notes as to what the rest of the blessing said. * :) Such is the life of a mother of three boys.

Grandma & Grandpa with their granddaughters

Grandma & Grandpa Stevens

(The really great pictures were from Dad Stevens' camera)

After the meeting we tried to get some pictures with everyone. I really felt bad we didn't get everyone who had been at the blessing. Some people took off early, others loaded up kids, and others were just patiently helping in the background. I feel guilty about being so spacey, I really wasn't thinking clearly. Can I blame it on a big crowd and two hungry babies? We didn't even get a whole group shot, or a big family shot with our kids. Our boys pretty much took off after we forced them into one family picture. More than anything, I just hope everyone knew how much we appreciated them coming and supporting.

Daddy & Daughter

Sisters with our daughters

The Tanner Family

(and our boys are....? somewhere around the church)

All the Tanner girls

I think everyone was happy to head back up to the house afterwards. We had a yummy lunch and were able to sit back and actually visit with each other. Once again, I wasn't as good at taking pictures, I didn't pull it out until close to the end, so I missed people; but we enjoyed spending time together and that's what really counts. I love watching the kids run around- they really have a good time together. As I looked around at everyone who was there, I couldn't help but feel such a feeling of love towards and gratitude for the blessing of having such a wonderful family. I don't know how I managed to be so lucky to have such amazing family members on all sides, but I hope everyone knows how much we love and appreciate them.

Amanda & Scott- these two do a lot behind the scenes

Isn't Eliza adorable? She is so helpful with Emily.

Cute little Aly- she and Emily will be good buddies someday! I don't know how I missed getting the Sorensons in a picture. We loved having them there!

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying time at home. We had a devotional with the kids and then put them to bed. Then we had a family testimony meeting. This was another one of my favorite parts of the reunion. * It was the perfect way to finish the final day of our reunion, and the 4th of July. A few members went down to see some fireworks, but most of us just enjoyed the evening at home visiting together and playing 'Bop-It'.

Kristie and Tom took off for home on Monday morning because Tom's mom had flown into town to visit. The rest of us had one more day to enjoy being together since everyone had work off. Mom, Lacey and I took Emily to get pictures taken at the mall, and the boys had fun playing together for a while. Jeff and my dad actually took the boys over to Kenny and Maris for horseback riding, paddle boats, raspberry picking, fishing, etc. Their home is absolutely beautiful and amazing.

It was sad to see the reunion come to an end, but it also makes us all excited for next year. Hopefully we'll have Houston & probably a new sister-in-law too. Once again, I'm so grateful for the blessing of family.