See ya tomorrow night, kids! This minivan is OURS.
The wedding reception was the night before the wedding--interesting, order, but it was nice to have time to see family members before we met at the temple. Aside from eternal love and union and all that, the best part about weddings is the large extended family gathering! It was absolutely wonderful to see so many family members that I do not get to see very often. I took exactly zero pictures at the reception. My sister Em was the photographer and she had it all handled. Oh wait, we did take a Gwynn cousin picture, because we were almost all there! I think we were only missing two of my cousins on my mom's side at the reception! (one is 9 months pregnant and unable to travel, the other came the next day)
I only have five cousins on my Mom's side of the family (Gwynn side), but quality is always better than quantity. [I pilfered this picture from Facebook]
After the reception, most of Mel's siblings gathered in her hotel room for some last minute hang-out time before the big day. We asked her questions about Braxton (we don't know him at all yet), gave her advice, told her awkward stories, and gave her practical presents and stayed up nearly till midnight. (living large since we all have kids) Poor Jeff was off getting cough drops because his sore throat was flaring up, and Kyle and Alivia were the only ones who had brought their child with them so they were caring for baby Ezra. But the rest of us had a grand ole time on Mel's last unmarried night.
The sealing was at 10am on Saturday, October 21st. The spirit was so strong when the sealer started talking! He started by bearing a strong testimony of the gospel, the priesthood power, and the temple. Then he explained the sealing ordinance in detail. I loved listening to him talk: he used the perfect combination of powerful truth, simplicity, and humor. One minute my eyes were brimming with tears, and the next, the whole room was laughing! It was a wonderful feeling to be laughing in the temple--such a rare occurrence, but it WORKED. When the sealer told Mel and Braxton that they could kiss, they did a quick smooch and then the sealer said "I think you can do better than that!" HAHA! The whole room laughed. So they kissed again. Happy, teary-eyed goodness filled that room to the brim.
After the sealing, we all took turns quietly walking over and hugging Mel and Braxton. Hugging in the temple somehow magnifies the happy huggy feelings. Just like "church sleep is among the healthiest of all sleeps” (an apostle's words, not mine), temple hugs are among the best of all hugs. Dad had all of the Brown siblings and spouses stand to the side and wait after hugging them so we could all do a "group hug". Em rolled her eyes and laugh-groaned a little, and maybe it was a tad cheesy, but it was also THE BEST and so special to be in the temple with ALL of my siblings and ALL of their spouses and both of my parents, all standing in a circle hugging. Dad was crying freely, of course, and those of us who inherited his tear ducts joined in. Happy happy family moment. It doesn't get better than that. Families are forever! Our group hug lasted about one minute and then we all filed out quietly, back down the spiral staircase to the waiting room. I love how the default volume in the temple is quiet. There is so much room to think and feel when it's quiet.
I know that not every family gets to experience the JOY of all being in the temple all together on the same day, so I feel exceptionally grateful for that wonderful experience. The thought came to me that "all is not done". Yes, we were all there with our spouses, hugging in the temple at that moment, but we also all have to continue in the way and keep choosing the gospel, keep choosing the temple, keep choosing to follow Jesus Christ's right way. As a teenager, church lessons about temple marriage always left me with the vague idea that once you've been sealed in the temple, you've "arrived," and that is your final destination. You are done. We never really talked about what comes next: the big challenging middle part of life's journey. The everyday part where we have to stay true and faithful, keep living, keep progressing, keep on the right path, and work every single day to stay there! I will always treasure that special, glowing, perfect family moment. I also acknowledge the effort that went into reaching that point, as well as the continued consistent effort that is required from each of us to be able to keep growing, refining, learning, and progressing toward more similar ideal family moments. Onward and upward!
I snagged a few cell phone pictures while we were waiting outside the temple for Mel and Braxton to come out. I did not get pictures with all of my beloved long-lost family members, but I did enjoy their company fully.
Post-cry puffy eyes.
For some reason I took a picture of the brothers. Jeff is very happy to have a brother on the Brown side who is the same height as he is at last.
Sister wedding selfie!
My "celebrity aunt" picture. I have always felt a special kinship to my Aunt Stefani. Maybe it's because we both have red hair. Maybe it's because we're both 6 feet tall. Maybe it's because she is awesome! It was good to see her, and this picture makes me wish I had gotten more pictures with relatives, because we don't get together very often.
Em has some pictures, a few of which I hope to add to this post when she finishes working her magic on them (she took my Grama-Grampa picture). For a gorgeous preview of the breathtaking pictures Em took of Mel and Braxton, check her website.
We took pictures outside the temple, then went to a nearby church building for an informal lunch. Then we all hugged and parted ways. Jeff and I were hoping to go back to the temple and do a session, but we ended up not having quite enough time before our flight, so we drove back to Salt Lake City went on a leafy walk through Memory Grove Park. It filled my fall foliage dreams with a bower of happy yellow leaves. We hiked up to the Utah Capitol building and then ambled through the wooded trail along a creek. We were feeling photo'd out, but I did snag a couple of selfies because this was our first date-ish outing alone together since before cross country season started, and the place was just so YELLOW.
I think I was laughing because Jeff always tries to put his head slightly in front of mine in selfies because my head is slightly bigger than his. So if my head is in front of his in a close-range picture like a selfie, my head looks TWICE as large as his and it looks ridiculous.
Trying to get a picture with the yellow leafy carpet behind us...
I have a thing for yellow leaves against a blue sky.
This tree held me spellbound with his perfectly arching branches of golden leaves filtering the molten fall sunshine. I literally stood there and stared at it for five solid minutes.
We lasted for about an hour walking around the yellow woods, but then we were hit with a wave of exhaustion. Jeff was especially tired because he was still getting over last week's cold, so instead of exploring more of Salt Lake City's treasures, we went to the airport and sat at our gate until our 8:30pm flight.
We were both looking forward to the anonymity of sitting and reading quietly in the airport. But Jeff said hi to this awesome man and they ended up talking for nearly an hour and a half, al the way till we boarded our flight. At the moment of parting, Jeff asked his name and we realized that he is the father of a lady we knew in our Walla Walla church ward nine years ago. I taught his granddaughter's primary class, and Jeff knows another of his granddaughters--she's a cross country coach who he sees regularly at meets! I'm glad Jeff chose personal connection over holing up in the airport with his tablet like me. "Don't let life's distractions eclipse heaven's light." --Gary E. Stevenson
One more time. Love.
1 comment:
I wish we could say we were caring for Ezra, but Ezra and I had been asleep long before Kyle even got back!! Haha and then, apparently, when Kyle tried to leave to go see you guys I woke up and said "What are you doing!? GET IN BED!" He wasn't sure if I was asleep (which I was) or serious, so he decided not to risk it....poor Kyle. When he told me in the morning I felt SO BAD :(
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