Posted: 03 May 2010 12:00 AM PDT"Brethren and sisters, material possessions and honors of the world do not endure. But your union as wife, husband, and family can. The only duration of family life that satisfies the loftiest longings of the human soul is forever. No sacrifice is too great to have the blessings of an eternal marriage. To qualify, one needs only to deny oneself of ungodliness and honor the ordinances of the temple. By making and keeping sacred temple covenants, we evidence our love for God, for our companion, and our real regard for our posterity—even those yet unborn. Our family is the focus of our greatest work and joy in this life." Russell M. Nelson, "Set in Order Thy House," Ensign, Nov. 2001, 71
I thought this quote was an appropriate opening for the family roadtrip blog. Yes, I am STILL grateful-- even after the road trip-- that we are sealed as a family forever. :) The kids really were great and I loved all the time with Robert, who will be MIA this summer as he studies for the Bar AND works. Anyway, here we go with the pictures....
All of our life's possessions, packed in THIS ONE CUBE (the rest had to fit in our car... crazy!)
&
Robert and Peter riding the train at Tyson's Corner. Once we'd left our apartment, we decided to have some fun for the boys (well, for Peter... I think Jer was grumpy the whole time). He LOVED it as you can see.
Carthage Jail -- We taught Peter all about Joseph Smith on our trip and he was especially excited that Joseph Smith had his big brother Hyrum Smith by his side, just like Jeremy has his big brother Peter by him.
I was amazed at the spirit of hope I felt at Carthage. The focus was on Joseph Smith's life-- what made his death so significant. It was a very neat experience to be there. (Note: we are standing as a family in the room where Joseph and Hyrum were martyred. The window behind us is the window Joseph Smith fell out of.)
Nauvoo -- The BEAUTIFUL temple and the blacksmith shop (Jeremy was asleep in his stroller at that point!). We also walked down Parley Street, drove around to see all the houses and buildings from the car, and visited the graves of Joseph and Hyrum Smith (and Emma's and much of the Smith family's).
We stayed in a lot of hotels (three to be exact) but the boys did awesome at sleeping... and they still LOVED bath time, as you can see!
Adam-ondi-Ahman -- My personal favorite part of our whole adventures. I really felt the Spirit here and know the Savior will come again and will appear specifically here, as has been prophesied. This really was a sacred place-- I could definitely feel it.
Far West, Missouri Temple Site
Liberty Jail -- What an amazing place. Once again, the Spirit was so strong here. This really was a hallowed ground, where the Prophet Joseph Smith was tested, tried, and found worthy. The revelations he received here are some of my favorites and have given me comfort and strength in my trials. The tour here really was spectacularly done.
Independence, Missouri -- First, as we were driving around the future temple spot (and marveling at all of the break-off LDS churches!), we stumbled upon President Truman's boyhood home. Crazy! Then we went to our church's Visitor Center there and learned about the Mormon History of Missouri. We also got to play at the indoor play place... pretending to be pioneers. :)
Our final picture (our memory card was full, but our adventures were almost over anyway!)... this one is at the Denver, Colorado Temple, where we took a pit stop. It was of course beautiful.
We then drove onto Utah, stopped at an awesome "good old boy" cafe called "The Outlaw Cafe" in Price, Utah (SOOO yummy if you're ever in the area!) then onto Springville. We surived a snowstorm in Spanish Fork Canyon, which was somewhat scary, and woke up the next morning (at Josh and Kim's house in Springville) to SNOW all over outside, too. Crazy Utah! Doesn't it know that it is SPRING?!?
Since then we've had a blast seeing family, playing games, and just hanging out. Next week Robert and I go back to DC for his graduation, then it's BAR time... meaning BYE-BYE Robert!
Thanks for all the prayers and support. We'll keep you updated and I will for sure post about our anniversary/graduation trip. Have a great day!
No comments:
Post a Comment