The House of the Lord

I may be kind of biased, but I love these pictures.

A great man once said,

"When you come to the temple you will love your family with a deeper love than you have ever felt before. The temple is about families" (R.H. Winkel).

I couldn't agree more.

When we arrived in Mesa two weeks ago, I made it a goal to attend all three temples--Gilbert, Phoenix, and Mesa--before continuing on to Kansas. I knew it would require effort because of their holiday closures, but I knew I could do it. Luckily I had a handsome man by my side for each trip, and we had the pleasure of my parents' company at the Phoenix Temple.

On Tuesday we drove 30 minutes and attended the Gilbert temple, which was dedicated March 2014. It was absolutely stunning.

On Friday, we all drove 60 minutes to the Phoenix Temple, which was dedicated in November 2014. Attending the temple with family, especially parents, is really special. I am glad we got to take advantage of this opportunity.

Finally, on Tuesday of this week Marshall and I drove a short 10 minutes to the place we got married--the Mesa Temple (Dedicated October 1927). We hadn't been back to the inside of it since we got married three years ago, so this visit was special.

When we lived in Fairbanks the temple was a 6 hour drive away. We made it a priority to attend about every 2 months, which we nearly did, and we saw blessings from doing so. Now that we are closer to more temples, we know we must take advantage of such a privilege. Each time we attend the House of the Lord together, our bond as husband and wife (as well as best friends) is strengthened. I've never been really good with words, so I have compiled a few quotes about the Temple that really touch my heart and explain in more eloquence how I feel about such a Holy place.

"As we touch the temple and love the temple, our lives will reflect our faith. As we go to the holy house, as we remember the covenants we make therein, we will be able to bear every trial and overcome each temptation."-Thomas S. Monson

"The temple was a place of learning for the Savior when He was on the earth; it was very much a part of His life. Temple blessings are available once again in our day." -James E. Faust

"To you who are worthy and able to attend the temple, I would admonish you to go often. The temple is a place where we can find peace. There we receive a renewed dedication to the gospel and a strengthened resolve to keep the commandments." -Thomas S. Monson

"And ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken."-Doctrine & Covenants 43:16

"At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can 'see' things that we were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known."-Boyd K. Packer

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."-Malachi 4:5-6

Hoping for a Rainbow

I'm really not sure if I ever thought this day would come. The day that I made it past 13 weeks pregnant without losing the baby. #miracle. I know I am not out of the woods yet, and honestly, when are we really? I am just trying to live every day with gratitude for the life inside of me, living with hope for the future. Part of me wanted to wait until next week, when I was past 14 weeks and officially in the 2nd trimester, but I couldn't wait any longer. I've been getting a little thick in the middle, which is getting more difficult to hide, and I feel like I haven't been able to be completely honest with friends when they would ask, "how are you doing?" All I wanted to talk about was how nauseous I was or how nervous I felt. So now, the news is out, whether or not you already suspected something was up. Seriously though, the 1st trimester is not for the faint of heart! There were many instances when I thought I would lose the baby, but dee...

I'm Pregnant! .....

...or so I thought. And you did too. Happy April Fools Day! I had been having baby dreams and feeling nauseous on and off during spring break, and I knew I would test immediately when I returned home from our road trip. The test was barely visible and I didn't believe it, so I said nothing to Marshall. That night I had a dream where the next pregnancy test I took was a solid double line. Well, two days after the first test, I got my obvious positive. I was so excited. Not knowing if it would be a good pregnancy or not, I tested again two days later and the line was darker, so I felt confident. The past two pregnancies I miscarried at approximately 6 or 7 weeks both times, so I was pretty nervous about this one. What if it happened again? Would I be strong enough? Knowing that I needed extra strength and prayers, I asked roughly 40 of our family and closest friends to fast and pray with us on Easter Sunday. That Sunday I was on the top of the world. I felt so strong an...

The Power of a Slice of Bacon

Nothing to do with a Army PT test, but this was at the "Beat Beethoven 5K" on the 13th of April I have always been a big supporter of setting personal goals and making a plan to follow through with them, especially when it comes to athletics and performance. But I also know that these goals really are a personal endeavor, and no one can make another accomplish the goal. The motivation and effort has to come from the individual setting the goal. But I may be wrong. A slice of bacon might have the power to help a person accomplish a certain goal. Let me explain. Ever since my husband entered the Army, just shy of 2 years ago, he has been saying he was going to get a perfect score of 300 on his PT test. I believed in him, and kept waiting for him to come home from his PT tests with that perfect score. But he seemed to always come shy of the elusive 300, by just a couple of points. How could I help hi...

Tender Mercies

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