Mother's Day

It was so wonderful to be 'out of dodge' for Mother's Day.  We loved leaving all of our cares behind.  It would've been a different story if we had family in town, but since it was just our little crew, we thoroughly enjoyed every moment together in St. George.

We decided to go to breakfast on Mother's Day and then venture our way through some of the sites in St. George. 

We filled our tummies to the brim at Cracker Barrel.  We only had a few minor mishaps... Luke spilling his whole glass of water all over his pants and refusing to eat anything besides bacon.. but thanks to the dry weather, he was almost dry by the time we left.

Couldn't pass up a photo op outside the restaurant in these darling rockers...

It's a good thing that we have another cute boy on the way... because this little dude has me wrapped around his finger.  Those big brown eyes get me every time.

 Sweet Myles.. and with a house full of boys.. she'll just be treated even more like the little princess she is.

 Feeling so blessed to be the mother of these two.  I'd choose these two out of any bunch of kiddos.

 So grateful to be a mom... of soon to be three.  That's about as big of a smile as Luke can muster.

 Minor rocker accident.. Dad rocked on this one's foot.  Couldn't help but capture the moment.

 After a yummy brunch, we decided to head over to the St. George Temple.  We walked through the Visitor's Center and learned a bunch of thing about the construction of it.  We were pleased to find restrooms and water as well.  It was a scorcher down there!

Initially, the kids were thrilled to be at Jesus' feet.  Luke was extremely concerned about his 'holes'. Love teaching moments like that and relishing in the tenderness of it. But.. those moments are always gone in an instant. Needless, they weren't thrilled about taking a picture. 

 It was the first time I've seen this temple in person.  So beautiful.

 I was in awe of it's whiteness... so gorgeous against the red rocks in St. George.

 I absolutely love living near so many temples.  It provides so many wonderful opportunities for our family. How blessed we truly are.

 My people. Couldn't have had a better time with this cute gang.

 After the temple, we headed to Brigham Young's winter home.  We only had about 15 minutes until church was starting and we were given the 'speed tour' in 10 mins.  Lucky us! It was just the perfect amount of time for the kid's attention span as well.

 I loved hearing all the stories. One of my favorites was about the green paint. They ordered white paint for the temple, but it arrived green. In those days, it wasn't cost effective to send it back in so they made good use of it. A lot of the interior is painted green as well. The paint was available to anyone in the town that kept up their properties. Love that.

Pictures of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve at that time.  So neat to see younger pictures of these men.. such as Lorenzo Snow.

 Brigham Young's room.. original paint colors and furniture.  This room was more like the headquarters of the church when the Prophet was in town.  Apparently, he would travel with this whole chest of drawers.. it acted as his luggage.  (Far right)

After the tour we headed to the nearest church.  It was the tiniest and oldest little building.  When we arrived, it was beyond a packed house.  Not a seat anywhere.  Because there were a good amount of church buildings in the area, we thought we could hurry and make it to another ward building.  We arrived at the next building quickly, easily in time for the sacrament.  Unfortunately, it was actually a Spanish branch.  We decided to remain in the hall to at least receive the sacrament, but they didn't bring it out.  So, we decided to head home.  Brownie points for effort, right?? :)

We headed back to our condo and called our mothers.  I'm so grateful for such wonderful women in our lives.  Women who sacrificed so much to raise us, teach us, and love us.  What a great legacy each of them has given us.  Despite the miles between us, we cherish them both dearly, and soak up every chance to be with them.

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that I've been given that same divine role; the chance to bring tender spirit children into this world and to teach, raise and love them. There are moments of defeat and despair, but there truly are heavenly moments.  Moments that provide glimpses into the eternities and who these choice eternal spirits are.  Moments which buoy me up and give me the strength to try again tomorrow.  Moments that I'll cherish forever.  I'm grateful for such forgiving and loving children who accept me as I am and for who I'm trying to become. 

I'm truly grateful.