At our last dentist appointment Emily was the only one who had a cavity. When she found this out she cried and cried for about 2 days. She has had a cavity before so she knows what it feels like to get it filled and the yucky numbness that follows. We finally got her settled by asking if she wanted Dad to give her a blessing before she went to get it filled. Every now and then she'd think about it and panic but for the most part it was out of her mind so she was happy.

Last night we intended to remind her about the appointment and have her get a blessing but didn't want to do it too soon because we knew it would be emotional chaos. We put it off to long and she fell asleep on the floor waiting for family prayer. This morning she came in to my bed and we read together. After a while she said, "Mom, I want to do something just you and me today." I told her that we would get to go somewhere together but I didn't want to tell her what. I finally told her and she started to cry. And cry. And cry. ... I stopped her by saying, "Remember you were going to get a blessing to help you be brave?" "Yes, but Dad is already gone to work!" I told her that she had 2 Grandpas close by who loved her and who had the priesthood too. One of them could give her a blessing. She said she'd want that. I called my dad and asked him if he would do it. Just knowing that he was coming comforted Emi. He came over and gave her the blessing. He blessed her that she would feel some pain or discomfort for a little bit but it would pass. He reminded her that this was a good thing to do. He blessed Dr. Correy that his hands would be guided and that he wouldn't make any mistakes. He blessed her that she would be calm.

She was still stressed about it on the way to the dentist, but not in tears. She said, "I hate going to the dentist! The only thing about it I like is I get to see my cousin!" Dr. Correy is Jamison's 2nd cousin or something like that. Every now and then she'd let out a nervous moan but she was over all ok. We got there and she clung to me until they called her back. She got in the seat and seemed to not be nervous at all. The assistant asked if she was and I told her she had been crying all morning. We looked at Emi laying in the chair with the headphones on, looking up at the tv on the ceiling and couldn't see any clue of anxiety in her. When she got the shot she used one hand to poke her bellybutton. (Did you know there is a nerve from the bellybutton that if you push it helps the mouth not hurt so much? At least that's what my cousin Steve the dentist told me a long time ago. I've learned it is a great benefit to the dentist too because if the hands are pushing on the bellybutton they aren't up by the face!) I went over and held her hand. She squoze pretty hard- but she didn't flinch! She laid perfectly still looking so calm! She did so great! The blessing really helped. I'm so glad she is developing her testimony of the power of the priesthood.

One more blessing was that when we found out about the cavity we thought she had 2, one on top and one on bottom. When Dr. Correy came into the room he looked at the ex-ray and asked for another one to be done. He couldn't tell if the one on the bottom was just a shadow from the teeth over lapping a bit or if it was really a cavity. In the end he decided that if there is one it wasn't bad enough to deal with now. We just have to keep taking good care of it! We know that he noticed that because Grandpa Bullock blessed him in the blessing too.

I am so grateful for the priesthood! And a daughter who has great faith!