This week was a crazy one. The youth basketball team that Bruce coaches had their big tournament Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings which is so much fun to go watch, but takes up a big chunk of time. Then we were asked to speak in church today. Yup- that's right. I spent my 31st birthday speaking in church. My topic was the power and purpose of the Book of Mormon and the preparation was nerve-racking for me. There was so much information and not enough time to absorb and ponder it all, never mind put it into a 20ish minute talk. 

As I was studying for my talk and also thinking about the fact that I needed a photo for this week's project, it occurred to me that the theme of Black and White went along perfectly with the things I was pondering for my talk. I ended up focusing on the importance of understanding that the Book of Mormon was written for us, specifically for our day and time. The last days are ugly- Mormon described our days as being filled with wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes in divers places, great pollution upon the face of the earth, murders, robbing, lying, deceiving and all manner of abominations. He was right! Yet, the Book of Mormon offers us peace and guidance, direction and hope. It is a black and white guide to living righteously in these latter days. 

This past week we started a new practice in our family... one we've been talking about since the beginning of the year but only just put into action. We decided that instead of reading the Book of Mormon during our already chaotic evening routine as we have done for years, we would instead get up half an hour earlier, eat a big breakfast as a family then study the Book of Mormon around the dining room table. It has been so much fun! It is hard to get up at 6am. I don't love it, but I love sitting around the table with my family and hearing the girls take turns reading verses. Even Man Cub wants to be part of reading. He insists on having his own Book of Mormon opened in front of him and he repeats a verse or two, one phrase at a time so he can read like his sisters. It has been such a blessing. Our mornings are more peaceful and so much less rushed, despite having added several new aspects to our routine. I love feeling the Spirit first thing in the morning. It helps me to do the things I know I should be doing and be quicker to repent when I do things I know I should not, like raise my voice or speak unkindly. I love that I then spend the day thinking back on the things we've read and reminding myself and my children to "be like Alma", the prophet we are currently reading about. 

Despite the craziness of basketball and talk preparation, I am grateful for the moments of peace we've had during our morning scripture study this week. I am so so grateful for the Book of Mormon and its black and white principles for living righteously and drawing closer to God. I hate speaking in church but I really did enjoy the chance to learn more about the Book of Mormon and strengthen my testimony of its divine purpose. Now, time to go to bed! 6am comes early. Ü

Heaven on Earth

I love November 16! Today marks 5 years in our dream home (and it's become even more dreamy in the five years since we bought it!) and 1 year since my other favourite place was dedicated. I feel like it is so fitting that these two places share an anniversary as the Bible dictionary teaches that "[The temple] is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." I am so grateful for these amazing buildings and the blessing that each is in my life.

Temple Photo found here

I Love To See The Temple

I went to the temple this morning... I didn't take this photo while I was there today. It is from back in May when the wee ones and I went on a Sunday drive on a perfect cloudy day. We ended up at the temple and I took this photo with my phone. It is probably one of my most favourite pictures I've ever taken. I love this building so much!

As I was at the temple this morning, I was thinking about how just a year ago right now, both Bruce and I were busy working the open house every spare moment we had. I was newly pregnant and starting to battle nausea but I felt such a pull to be at the temple, working the open house, as much as absolutely possible. I was so excited to be getting a temple so close to home, and I am still just as excited today.

Having a temple that is literally running distance from my house (when I'm in training mode of course, not just for a regular, every day run Ü) has been such a blessing. In the past, attending the temple after having a baby has been extremely difficult.  Driving across the valley and back was too much time away from a nursing baby, never mind the actual time spent in the temple. But Shark Bait has been so much different from my other babies. My others were all cluster eaters, but Shark Bait has put himself on a very regular schedule when it comes to nursing... he typically goes about 3 hours between meals during the day. Pair that with a temple so close to home and I have been able to continue to attend the temple regularly since he arrived. I always feel a little bit guilty when I walk in and tell the workers that I only have about 45 minutes to give them before I need to run back to my baby, but they always tell me that they are happy to see me and the feeling is mutual. I love being there. I feel so calm and peaceful when I am inside this beautiful building and I walk out the doors to go home feeling refreshed and ready to tackle life.

I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with this beautiful building so close to home. When it was built, I made a promise to Him and myself that I would take advantage of it being here and use it as often as possible and I am doing my best to make good on that promise.

I truly do love to see the temple.

Sunshine's Baptism

The entire week after getting home from Hawaii was a crazy one, but we knew that would be the case. We arrived home late, late Monday night, Wednesday was Sunshine's birthday and Thursday my family began to roll into town for Sunshine's baptism on Saturday. By Friday night we had a full house and things were a little crazy as we tried to get everything in order for Sunshine's big day.

Sunshine was baptized on Saturday March 28th. She was one of 4 children from our ward alone that was being baptized that day, with the total number from the stake was somewhere around 11 or 12. It was a little bit insane. In my 4 years as Primary President, I had never seen a baptism with so many children participating. Considering the large amount of people at the baptismal service, it went really smoothly and I couldn't be happier with the entire day!

Before leaving for her baptism, Bruce and I took Sunshine aside so we could give her a final birthday/baptism day gift. Bruce had chosen a strand of real pearls for her and he gave them to her explaining that they were to be worn on her baptism day, and then again on the day when she is sealed in the temple. Of course, she can wear them on Sundays and special occasions until then, but we wanted her to have something to link the covenants she made on her baptism day with the covenants she will make when she is one day sealed to a spouse for time and all eternity. It was a really sweet moment when he gave them to her and I definitely cried. Darn pregnancy hormones.

After giving her the necklace, we headed to the church for the 2pm service. Sunshine wore the dress that I was baptized in 22 years and 1 month previously. She looked so beautiful in it and I love that our baptisms are connected through that dress. So many people came to support her, including a lot of non-member friends and even her school teacher! Of all the people who showed up for her special day, I think having her teacher there meant the most to Sunshine. It was incredible to see how many people took time out of their busy Saturday to be there for her. She was grinning from ear to ear as she hugged and greeted everyone.

The baptism went great and the confirmation portion of the service ended up being really neat. With 4 children from our ward being baptized, I was really unsure of how to handle dividing up the responsibilities for the confirmation part. I wanted to involve every family, but didn't want to ask one family to provide a talk and the others to just pick a song or say a prayer. After a lot of thought, I decided to have one of the 8 year old Primary teachers give the Holy Ghost talk, then invite each of the other three families to ask someone to bear testimony of their experience with the Holy Ghost. I knew I would be doing the welcome from the Primary, so I kept that our family's contribution to the program and had my second counselor give the closing prayer. It ended up being a beautiful meeting. I truly enjoyed each of the testimonies that were born and the Spirit was so so strong. Each of the children were given beautiful blessings as they received the Holy Ghost and while I can't remember what was said in any one of the blessings, including Sunshine's, I remember thinking how amazing it was that each child was given a distinctly different, yet truly incredible blessing. Each blessing was so personalized and beautiful without any of them saying the same things.

When it was my turn to speak, and give the welcome from the Primary, I struggled. I knew I would. I had been told by the bishop several weeks earlier that I was going to be released, and this was to be my last act as Primary President. I'd served with these sweet children since they were little Sunbeams, fresh from nursery and it was difficult to stand before them and say all I wanted to say. But I made it through and hopefully did not disturb the spirit that had been brought in by all the others who participated on the program.

After all was said and done, Sunshine got lots of hugs and congratulations before we headed home to celebrate with family and a few friends who stopped by. We enjoyed a huge dessert bar and eventually decided to have dinner as well. It was a really wonderful day and I loved watching Sunshine make her first covenant with her Heavenly Father. She was absolutely ready to do so and it has been wonderful to watch her continue to mature in the gospel over the past few months since her baptism day. Bruce and I are truly blessed to be the parents of such a sweet girl who is so close to the Spirit and wants so badly to do what is right. She is most certainly a choice daughter of our Heavenly Father and it is such an honour to be trusted to raise her.

For Time & All Eternity

December started out with a very special event- the sealing of our next door neighbours and great friends, Bill and Diane.

 Bill & Diane were baptized members of our church in November of 2013. From the moment they were baptized, they could not wait to go to the temple to be sealed together for time and all eternity. They were especially excited when we found out that the Phoenix temple was going to be completed right around the time they were ready to be sealed.

By the time the temple was dedicated, Diane had made all the necessary arrangements for them to go through the temple and be sealed the first weekend of December. Since their civil marriage had been performed at the courthouse with a set of friends as witnesses and no hoopla afterwards, I decided I wanted to make their sealing extra special. Of course, being sealed is special enough, but with the help of a friend from the ward, we also threw them a little party after the sealing. We kept it simple. Outdoor dining, a baked potato bar, salad, yummy drinks and a Costco cake. Simple but absolutely perfect. They loved every moment of it and I have never seen the two of them so incredibly happy.

It was a wonderful weekend and I still feel so blessed to have been a part of it- as Diane's right hand woman as she went through the temple, their photographer after, and the party coordinator. It was a big weekend and by the end of it I was sick as could be from overdoing it, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. I was most definitely blessed with strength beyond my own throughout all the excitement, then once it was over, I crashed.

Diane and her missionaries... it was so exciting that both sisters who helped Bill and Diane through their baptism were also able to be at their sealing!

Pictures for the Prophet

As I mentioned in my post about the completion of the Phoenix Temple, when Bruce left to work the Cultural Celebration, the girls (and Man Cub!) sent him off with pictures they had drawn for the prophet. Bruce was able to deliver them to a secretary who assured him they would make it to President Monson. The girls are still so excited that they were able to draw pictures for the prophet.

Before they sealed their drawings up in envelopes, I snapped a picture of each drawing so we could "save" them. Here are Beeb's pictures. I love the hodge podge writing that says President Monson's name! Her other picture was of her, so he'd know what she looks like.

Man Cub wanted in on the picture drawing action so he added a few scribbles to a piece of paper. 

Sunshine drew President Monson a picture of the Phoenix temple and wrote him a sweet note. She is absolutely right- she and her brother and sister do indeed love our temple!

The Completion of the Phoenix Temple

Back to playing catch up! Upon arriving home from Disneyland, the whirlwind called October began. October seems to always be a busy month for us, and I knew this year would be no exception as I was preparing to run my second half marathon towards the end of the month. What we hadn't anticipated was the Phoenix Temple finally being completed and October being the month of the open house.

Bruce and I couldn't bear to let the opportunity to volunteer at the open house pass us by. We were able to work our schedules so that each of us could volunteer at least two shifts a week, often with one of us working a morning shift while the other cared for the children, then switching places. It felt as though we hardly saw each other through the month of October, but oh what a joy it was to be a part of our temple's open house. Bruce served primarily in a security role and I was able to help in several different positions, most often working with the tour groups. I lost count of how many times I toured the temple during the weeks of the open house, but I will never forget the first time I walked through. I could hardly see through the tears in my eyes as my heart burst with thanks for having such a beautiful building so close to home.  The spirit was very strong as I walked through that first time and I was so grateful to be able to tour the temple dozens more times in the weeks that followed.

During the open house, we were able to take several friends through the temple with us. Each time it was a very special experience to share such a sacred place with those we love so dearly. I am especially glad that our wee ones were able to go through the temple on multiple occasions and share the temple with some of their friends as well. Man Cub was an especially big fan of going to the temple during the open house, and while he wasn't always the most reverent, it certain made a huge impression on him. Even now, months later, when Beebs goes around the dinner table and asks each of us to tell about our favourite part of the day, Man Cub's answer is always "going to the temple". He sees the picture of the temple hanging on our wall and asks to visit and just a few weeks ago, we hiked the mountain close to the temple and as we got in the car following our hike, he asked "go temple now?". So we did. How could we refuse that!?

As the temple open house came to an end, Bruce's opportunities to volunteer did not... he was asked to serve as part of the security team for the Prophet and Apostles that attended the Cultural Celebration the night before the temple was dedicated. The girls each drew a picture for President Monson but due to his poor health, Bruce was not able to deliver the pictures directly to the Prophet. He was, however, able to give them to one of the first presidency secretaries who was beyond willing to make sure they got to the right place. A few little tidbits Bruce shared with us via text as he provided armed security during the private meal and then the cultural celebration- Elder Oaks is gluten free, President Uchtdorf is right handed, President Uchtdorf was sporting the coolest tie- baby blue and orange striped, and following the meal, Bruce was able to spend a few minutes chatting with Elder Oaks. He then got to watch the spectacular Cultural Celebration from the field. Overall, it was an incredible experience for him, and for our whole family. Even now, the girls will still mention "Daddy guarding President Monson and his friends".

Despite not being able to provide service for the temple open house, Sunshine had a very neat role in the completion of the temple. A piece of her artwork was included in the temple time capsule. She loves to draw and around the time of our temple being dedicated, she was on a temple drawing kick. I think her rendition of the Phoenix Temple turned out absolutely beautiful and it is so neat to know that it is in the temple time capsule. 

It has been so wonderful to have a temple so close. There has been absolutely no excuse for me to not be attending and I've been blessed to go at least once a month since it opened. Most months, I have made it to the temple multiple times and I hope I am able to keep this up. I am worried that with a new baby coming, my temple attendance will slow, but luckily, having one so close, I should be able to stop by and find ways to serve even for just 30 minutes so I hopefully it will be rare for me to miss a month. I love being in the temple so much. I feel close to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and I love the chance to forget about the hustle and bustle of the outside world and slow down and focus. It is such a blessing to have so many temples dotting the earth, and especially to have one in our own "backyard".

Because of Him | Happy Easter

Bruce and I are speaking in church today. Talk about pressure! I love going to church on Easter Sunday, and listening to a wonderful message about our Saviour and the Atonement. Today I will be the one attempting to deliver that message and I feel bad for all those in attendance because I know I won't do the topic justice. I'm just praying the Spirit will make up what I lack!

As I've prepared my talk over the past week, I've watched this video numerous times... even this morning, as I showed it to my girls, watching it for probably the 10th time myself, I got goosebumps and felt my heart swell with the Spirit.

On that Easter morning, centuries ago, the tomb was empty. The Lord had risen. He lives. And because of Him, I live. Because of Him, I am able to repent of my sins and try each day to be a better person. I am able to one day be reunited with loves ones who have passed from this life. I am able to send my husband off to work each night with the peace that all will be well and that regardless of what this life brings, we can be together forever with our precious children. Because of Him, my life has purpose and joy.

Happy Easter to all!

He Loves Us | An Easter Testimony

After Bruce's mom passed away, three and a half years ago, Easter took on new meaning for me. It has become a very special and sacred time of year that I look forward to celebrating, but not in the typical eggs and jelly beans sort of way. Last year, I decided to take on a new Easter tradition of celebrating the Holy Week. Starting on Palm Sunday, we have a short Easter devotional each night, leading up to Easter Sunday. One of the nights we attend Jesus the Christ, the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant, but other than that, the devotionals are short and sweet. We read a few verses of scripture or watch a short video clip each night to teach us about a different part of Christ's life, death and resurrection.

Tonight started out quite hectic. Swim lessons followed by Bruce and I each going for a run, followed by a thrown together dinner, followed by us trying to hurry the children into the living room for our nightly devotional. I had every intention of keeping it short so we could get the kiddos to bed and Bruce and I could enjoy a few moments to ourselves, but things did not go as planned. Our devotional was much more incredible than I could ever have imagined.

On the agenda for tonight was finishing the Finding Faith in Christ video that we had started to watch last night. Last night's clip was the miracles and parables of Christ's life, which meant tonight would cover Him suffering in the garden, being beaten, hung on the cross and ultimately, resurrected. The girls sat on the couch, watching the video intently. Bruce and I, on the other hand, were a little bit distracted and tried to hurry things along. When the video ended, I closed with a few quick remarks and asked  Beebs to say our family prayer. When she finished praying, her voice was shaky and she was a little bit teary. She climbed into Bruce's lap and started asking questions about the video. She started off wanting to know about the adulterous woman who was brought before Christ and He told her to "Go". Beebs was confused, thinking He had sent her out of his presence. We took the opportunity to explain that everyone makes mistakes and that Christ can forgive us and help us be better and that when He told the woman to "Go", He was telling her to go and live a better life, not go away because He didn't want her to be near Him.

It was a good little conversation and a great teaching moment, but then it got even better. Beebs started asking about the marks on Christ's hands and feet. She told us she wanted to see them so we talked about the Second Coming and that eventually, she will get to see them and she started to get teary. She told us she wanted to see Jesus now, and that she wants Him to bless her. I used this opportunity to explain the beauty of the Priesthood and that when Bruce gives her a blessing, it comes from Heavenly Father, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. She kept going on about wanting to see the marks on Jesus's hands and feet, so I asked her why. She said she wanted to see them so she would know it was Jesus. I asked if she would know Him without seeing the marks and she said she didn't think so, so we asked her to close her eyes and imagine He was standing with her.

We asked her to describe Him...

Is He short or tall (tall)
Long hair or short (short)
Beard or no beard (beard)
What colour hair (brown)
What is He wearing (a white blessing dress)
Would He be frowning or smiling (smiling)
How would He make her feel (happy and she would feel the spirit)

Then we asked her what she would say to Him... she said she didn't know. So we asked what He would say to her, and without missing a beat, she said that Jesus would tell her "I love you". By this point, my tears were flowing freely. Then Beebs told us, she would tell Him that she loves Him too.

We finished by talking about how much He loves each of us, and that He would probably call her Beebs instead of by her given name, since that's what she is called by those who love her most. It truly was the sweetest, most tender conversation and even as I type it up, I can't help but tear up.

These are the moments, the ones that make motherhood 100% worth the heartache and tears, the rough times and bad days. There is truly no greater joy than sharing a spiritual moment with a young child. I am sure Beebs learned a little bit tonight, but I know I learned much more than she did.

The love I felt for Beebs as we engaged in this conversation about made my heart burst, and that is just a fraction of the love our Father in Heaven and our Saviour Jesus Christ feel for us. Jesus Christ did extraordinary things out of love. I absolutely believe with all my heart that when Beebs and Christ meet face to face, the very first thing He will do is tell her how much He loves her, and I am sure that is what He would tell each and every one of us. All that He did was done out of love... the miracles He performed, the parables He taught, His willingness to suffer for our sins, to be beaten and humiliated, to be crucified and ultimately to break the bands of death and be resurrected... all of this was done out of pure and unconditional love, for God the Father, and for us.

Our devotional tonight has lit a fire under me, and given me the desire to "Go" and be better, to be a more righteous daughter of God, a more loving wife and mother, a better follower of Christ, because I know that He loves me. And I love Him.

We Love To See The {Gilbert} Temple

On Tuesday afternoon, Bruce and I had the amazing experience of taking our wee ones to a temple open house. The Gilbert temple is on the other side of the valley from us, but the open house was well worth the drive, even with Man Cub's less than stellar mood throughout the tour.

The Gilbert temple is absolutely breathtaking. Bruce and I have been blessed to visit many different temples in our marriage and I can easily say this was the most stunning of all temples we have been inside. (Though the Newport Beach temple is still my absolute favourite) The chandeliers inside the Gilbert temple are the most elaborate, sparkly things I have ever seen. 

We went to the open house with our recently baptized next door neighbours. It was fun to watch them take in the beauty of the temple and answer as many of their questions as we could. But my favourite part was definitely watching Sunshine as she experienced the peace and magnificence of the temple. She was so curious about everything we saw and I think she learned a lot about why temples are important and what a sacred place they are. I hope her experience wih seeing the inside of the temple will help her to understand even more about why Bruce and I enjoy going to the temple. At the end of the tour, she reported that her favourite part was the chandeliers in the Celestial Room and that being in side the temple made her feel "like Jesus was close by".  

Beebs was pretty silent through the tour, which is unusual for her. She just walked along with us, with no complaints of being tired or wanting to be carried as we treked up and down numerous flights of stairs. That alone was a huge indicator of how captivated she was by the beauty of her surroundings. Her favourite part was "the moose holding the baptism water". I about died trying to suppress my giggles when she told us that. Bruce was able to keep a straight face and explain that they were oxen, not moose. She told us that she felt Heavenly Father send the Spirit to be with us inside the temple. Oh how I love my girls!

Man Cub struggled throughout he tour. He was so exhausted but refused to nap on the drive over. By the time we got inside the temple, he was done. He fussed and fought being held through the whole thing, only settling down as we entered the Celestial Room. Even he recognized the strong spirit in that holy space. I couldn't help but wonder how thin the veil is for him, and if he realized that the Celestial Room was as close to heaven as he could get for the time being. He was so calm, just pointing at the beautiful lights and smiling. 

As we left the temple, the crowds outside did not allow for a good family snapshot in front of the temple, especially since by that point, Man Cub was about to lose his mind. I did manage to get one of him and Beebs playing in the water feature outside the temple, something I would never let them do myself. Thank goodness for Daddy! 

I am so grateful for the chance we had to show our children the inside of The House of The Lord. And now I'm more excited than ever for our new temple to be complete! I feel a renewed desire to be in the temple serving as often as I can. What a blessing to have several temples, so close by.