WE DID IT !!!!

I don't have any photos, yet, they are still in Anchorage with Alicia and Justin -- so you'll just have to take my word for it, but we actually did manage to have a wedding today. It was a perfect summer day for our drive up to Anchorage. Alicia was just glowing and she and I had a special time together getting ready in the bride's room at the temple. When our temple was first built, it didn't have a bride's room, and ever since we went thru during the open house, we have been dreaming about getting ready for her wedding in that beautiful room. On the wall, is a beautiful painting of Queen Esther from the Bible. As we were getting ready, I reminded her of the story of Queen Esther and what her uncle had said to her, That it was possible that she had been born at this time for this purpose and how Alicia had been born at this time for her life's purpose.

Without knowing we had that conversation, President Briggs mentioned something to that effect when he started the wedding. We were glad to have Pres. Briggs do the sealing - he had originally said he would love to do the wedding whenever we could get the clearance, but then we had to arrange it so quickly and he had already scheduled a patriarchal blessing for a girl who was flying in from Dutch Harbor ( hundreds and hundreds of miles away - out on the Aleutian chain) that obviously, he couldn't reschedule. On Thursdays, Pres. Briggs does a session as the sealer and one of his ordinance workers is a distant cousin of Brian's that we had never met before. He came today, and I suspect he had a hand in helping Pres. Briggs to rearrange his schedule by a few minutes, so he was able to do the wedding. President Briggs was our stake president for many years, before we were active, then he was the education person for our stake, so he had come to our house, to set us up for home seminary when we first moved back from Tok...then for 6 years he was the temple president. He was so excited the first time he saw us in the temple - he remembered how inactive we had been and how hostile some of us were to the church.

Anyway, back to the wedding, it was very small - our dear Bishop and Maxine came, and Jess and Jennifer Clutts came and Bob Duncan. Jess and the Hillmans were three of the folks that came when Brian and I were sealed, and Jess was the only one that came when Alicia was sealed to us. We have missed them while they were off in the Army and have missed grandparenting their babies. and are glad they are home.

We felt many angels and loved ones there with us in the sealing room - it was an unusual wedding talk, but it was very special and we were all touched by his pronouncements of Alicia being a choice and special pearl of great worth.

The kids are spending a couple days in Anchorage for a mini-honeymoon and Brian and I are rattling around our big empty house. I guess we will need to learn to talk to each other. We've had "kids" around for 35 years and are entering that new ground that we hope will be a great new time in our relationship.

We will post pictures as soon as the kids get back and settled. It was hard to get a good picture of the kids and the temple - when it is sunny like this, Moroni is SOOOOOO bright, you can't photograph him - the temple is so small, he is so close. LOVE YOU ALL and thank you for your love and support. Charlotte