Tuesday, June 23, 2015

I love seeing my kids happy!

Amusement parks are not my thing.  I don't like most rides...they tend to make me sick...and I don't love crowds.  But I do love to see my kids having fun and see them happy.  So I love that each year Alfredo's company has a Lagoon Day.  We are friends with many of the other employees so it's fun to see and visit with them and even ride some of the rides with them.  The company provides lunch and gives away prizes.  And my kids have a ball.  So I am happy.  This year, Alfredo's cousin Sandra and her children Becky, Junior and Katie came from Las Vegas to visit and to spend the day at Lagoon with us.  Also, two of Michelle's cute friends, Tia and Liv, were able to come along with us.  And my dear friend Brenda and her daughter Aelora came.  So it was a fun day all around!

Mostly, Alfredo, Becky, Junior, Michelle, Liv and Tia went off to ride the roller coasters together.  I spent most of the day in Kiddieland with Ella, Gabby, Sandra and Katie.   Brenda, Gabby, Ella and I even toured Pioneer Village, which I haven't done in years...and I'm not sure if my kids ever had.  We did all go on Rattlesnake Rapids together and some of us got drenched.  It was Gabby's first time, and she didn't love it.  Which is unfortunate, because it is my favorite ride!

It was a cloudy day and so the temperature was pretty nice all day.  It rained a little bit, but mostly just a fine drizzle and so it wasn't bad.  The weather really ended up being pretty perfect.

Our Group!






Ella and Katie loved Bombora.  I think they went on it 5 or 6 times!


The swings are Gabby's favorite ride.  She went on them at least 4 times.  I didn't mind riding them with her.







Such cute girls.  This was as we waited in line together for Rattlesnake Rapids.



Eating Dippin' Dots


Despite the face, Michelle did like her Dippin' Dots.

Such a fun day.  Michelle was bummed that Cannibal wasn't open yet.  But she got to ride Wicked several times as well as other rides that she liked.  So, I was happy because my kids were happy.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Record keeping

Tonight I was reading Jacob 4 and was struck by verses 1-3.  In verse 1, Jacob says he cannot write much because of the difficulty engraving on the plates.  He says in verse 2 that he knows that the record will give his children and people some knowledge concerning them.   And, then, in verse 3, he says,  "Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their firstaparents." 

Despite the difficulty of engraving on plates, they rejoiced and labored diligently, hoping that their words would be received with grateful hearts.  That pricked my conscience a bit.  From the time I was in 7th grade until I had my first child, I wrote in my journal faithfully.  For most of those years, I wrote at least once a week and often more regularly than that.  But after having children, I have not been as dedicated at keeping a journal.  This blog does serve as a journal to a large degree and I do get it printed out into a nice hardcover book each year.  But I can do better.  It is simple and easy to keep a journal in comparison to engraving on plates.  It can be handwritten in a book, typed on the computer or recorded here on my blog (although there are some things that are too private to post here.). I can do better and I am going to try to do better myself and help instill that habit in my children as well.

I know President Kimball said, "Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep The Lord in remembrance."  I know that to be true.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Day 4: Last Day in Nauvoo

Monday was our last day in Nauvoo.
 First off, we took a carriage ride through Old Nauvoo.  The carriage ride showed us many of the homes that could be toured as well as some of the homes that can not be toured and told stories about those who lived in these homes.  I really wish I had brought my journal with me on this trip...or at least a notebook.  While I know I felt the spirit, I really can't remember the details that were shared.  Except one.  I was very touched by this quote from President Hinckley:
"Today, facing west, on the high bluff overlooking the city of Nauvoo, thence across the Mississippi, and over the plains of Iowa, there stands Joseph’s temple, a magnificent house of God. Here in theSalt Lake Valley, facing east to that beautiful temple in Nauvoo, stands Brigham’s temple, the Salt Lake Temple. They look toward one another as bookends between which there are volumes that speak of the suffering, the sorrow, the sacrifice, even the deaths of thousands who made the long journey from the Mississippi River to the valley of the Great Salt Lake."
I just love that imagery...Joseph's temple and Brigham's temple standing as bookends. 

 So grateful for the temple.   After our carriage ride, we went to the temple and did Baptisms.  It was another wonderful experience.  A member of the temple presidency spoke to us.  We were told that the baptismal font in the Nauvoo Temple is the biggest in the world.  He talked about how family history and temple work are done for real people, people who lived and loved and who need our help to progress.  He also let us walk to the bottom of this amazing spiral staircase that stretches up toward the top of the Nauvoo Temple.  He spoke of eternity.  Michelle really felt like her time in the Chicago Temple and the Nauvoo Temple were the highlights of the trip for her.  

Then we went to see a show at the Cultural Hall..."Just Plain Anna Amanda".  It was a cute and fun story about a girl named Anna Amanda who wants to be important.  She keeps borrowing items from other townspeople to help her feel important...but ultimately she realizes that the best person for her to be is herself.



 I found out on Sunday evening that my friend Leslie's niece is a performing missionary in Nauvoo.  I had seen her name tag and wondered if she was related to Leslie.  So after the show I introduced myself, explained how I knew Leslie (we were in the same singles ward about 15 or so years ago) and gave her a hug from her aunt.

After the show, we headed to the Family Living Center.  At the Family Living Center, you can see demonstrations or even participate in pioneer era activities.  Michelle helped make a rope and was able to get a rope to keep.  We watched them creating a rug out of strips of fabric on a loom and learned about that process.  We learned about the process of making candles.  And one of the sisters there had the same last name as a family in our ward...so I asked her and she is their aunt/great aunt!  It's a small world! :)


 As we learned about candle making, I found it interesting to hear about the courting candle.  The candlestick had spirals and the courting couple were allowed to visit until the candle reached the top of the spiral.  The father could/would either wind the candle down to the bottom of the candlestick so that only a small amount of candle poked out at the top if he didn't like the young man...so that they only had a short time to visit.  Or if he did like the young man, he could twist it so that more of the candle was above the top spiral so they'd have a longer time to visit.

 Whenever we travel, we get photos of the signs of the states we are in.  The signs for Iowa (which is where our hotel was located...only 20 miles or so outside Nauvoo) and Illinois are on a bridge and it wasn't a safe place to stop and get photos so Michelle just did her best out the car window.

 One thing we didn't get to do was the Oxen Ride.  We ran out of time.  Another thing that I wish we'd had time for was the Trail of Hope.  It rained a fair amount while we were there, and so the official Trail of Hope was cancelled.  Basically, it is a short trail where the wagons lined the street as they were leaving Nauvoo.  If you looked behind you, you could see the town and the temple.  (On the carriage ride, we rode down the Trail of Hope so we kind of got the experience.)  Along the trail, there are signs posted with journal entries of different saints who left Nauvoo.  I read a few of the signs while we were on the carriage ride, but it moved too quickly to read all of them. I think that would have been very moving.

Michelle was hungry and it was lunch time so we headed up Mulholland Street to do a little shopping for souvenirs and to get lunch.  We'd eaten at Annie's Custard on Saturday...they had delicious waffles topped with custard.  That's what Michelle wanted for lunch on Monday, so we ate there again.  Very tasty.

Then, sadly, it was time to leave and start heading back to Chicago.  We stopped at this beautiful spot just outside of Nauvoo to take a few last photos.  There was a very small waterfall and it was a lovely little area.



 Our drive back was long.  We were listening to A Pillar of Light (the first book in the Work and the Glory series).  Michelle was tired and slept a fair amount of the drive back.  Overall, things went well.  But it rained nearly the whole drive and there were several times when it was raining so hard that I could only see a few feet ahead of me.  Especially since I was driving in unfamiliar areas, that made me quite nervous.  And twice my phone got an emergency alert (with a beeping noise like an emergency broadcast on tv...but thankfully it only lasted for a second or two) that there was a flash flood warning in effect in that area.  That only added to my nerves.  But fortunately, we made it safely to our hotel and checked in.  Michelle did her own hair and liked the way it looked and wanted a photo.  :)   Then we returned our rental car, had a bit of a fiasco getting back to the hotel but made it back and went to sleep since we needed to leave for the airport at 4:15 A.M.  Fortunately, everything with our flight home went smoothly and it was so nice to be home again.  Such a wonderful trip!!  However, next time (when Ella turns 12), I will either take her to Palmyra instead...or fly to St. Louis instead of Chicago.  Chicago is a neat city, but the traffic was insane and we spent too much of our time driving.

Tired but happy...our last photo together on this trip!


Friday, June 19, 2015

Day 3: Nauvoo

Our third day was Sunday.  We attended church with the missionaries and the Spirit was so strong.  I was especially impressed by a talk by a Sister Heninger from Utah.  She was also the sister missionary that guided us through Carthage (but I will get to that shortly).  She spoke about missionary work and our need to share the gospel with our brothers and sisters.  It's a topic that we, of course, have heard before and will hear again, but the spirit was strong as she spoke.

After church, we walked around the grounds of the Nauvoo Temple.  It is so beautiful.











After walking around the Temple, we walked around the Women's Garden.  Such a beautiful, peaceful garden filled with statues depicting the roles and worth of women.  Truly, having walked through this garden and had many other wonderful experiences, I personally feel so grateful to be a woman in this church.  I feel cherished and beloved and feel that my role is important.



I especially love the statue of the mother and daughter with the daughter holding a violin.  Each statue contains a verse of scripture.

Then Michelle and I headed to Carthage.  We got there before it opened, so we walked around the grounds and talked with one another.  To begin the tour, we watched a 20 minute video describing Joseph and Hyrum Smith's arrest and imprisonment.  I cried as Joseph bid goodbye to Emma and his children.  They had already suffered so much.  Michelle and I were listening to a talk on CD entitled Emma Smith:  An Elect Lady.  She endured so much.  Then Sister Heninger took us on a tour of the actual jail...which interestingly had been used as a home from a number of years.  Sister Heninger explained that it was a low security jail and so the jail warden and his family lived at the jail.  In fact, the warden was so impressed by Joseph Smith and his companions that they were invited to eat dinner with the warden's family.  

We went upstairs and first went into the cell room.  The actual cells had been removed when this was used as a family home, so this was a recreation of what it would have looked like.  Small, especially when you consider that there were a number of men sleeping in this small room because several men accompanied Joseph and Hyrum to Carthage even though there weren't charges against them. Most of the men were ordered to leave so their lives were preserved, as Joseph had previously prophesied they would be.  The cell room was dark.  The warden had actually feared for Joseph's safety and  had moved Joseph to his own bedroom.  That day, Joseph, Hyrum, Willard Richards and John Taylor were together in the bedroom.  John Taylor sang, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief."    About 100 men, members of the mob, attacked the jail.  They  ran up the stairs and began trying to force their way in.  Joseph, Hyrum, Willard and John barred the door and tried to protect themselves, but there were too many members of the mob.  Hyrum was shot in the face with a ball...the hole is still in the door (see below).  He was hit by 3 other bullets.    John Taylor moved toward the window, hoping oto jump to safety.  He was hit and started to fall out of the window, but a bullet from outside hit his pocket watch and pushed him back into the room.  He was hit by 3 more bullets, crawled under the bed and hid.  Joseph moved toward the window.  He was hit by two bullets from within and one bullet from outside...and he fell out the window.  Sister Heninger explained that after the mob attacked, they ran downstairs to ensure that Joseph Smith had indeed been killed.  Willard Richards knew he needed to escape or he would be killed.  As he was standing to leave the room, he heard John Taylor say, "Take me with you."  John was badly injured, so in order to protect him he carried him next door to the cell room.  He laid John down on the straw and then covered him with a mattress to hide him.  Willard Richards was not injured at all, fulfilling a prophesy that Joseph Smith had made a year earlier.   The mob was about to return inside the jail when someone shouted, "The Mormons are coming!"  The mob dispersed...even though the Mormons did not know what was happening and were not coming.  
The dank cell 




 This is the window Joseph fell from.  Below is the door where you can still see the bullet hole from the ball that struck and killed Hyrum.

My testimony of Joseph Smith was already strong, but the spirit was there bearing testimony to the truthfulness of this account (and if there are any errors in my recounting of the events...then the errors are mine, errors of  my imperfect memory).

After Carthage, we headed back to Nauvoo.  We toured more of the homes.  Brigham Young's home was one of our first stops.  I am a descendant of Lorenzo Dow Young, Brigham Young's brother, so Brigham's home held some special significance for us.  The missionaries that led us through Brigham Young's home showed us some of his dishes that had been found.  They were broken and had been painstakingly put back together.  They pointed to a plate that was whole and never broken.  They explained that this is how we come to Earth...whole and pure.  But through our choices, we become broken and hurt and in need of healing.  And the Atonement can heal us.  But unlike the plates where we can see where they were glued back together, the Atonement has the power to heal us completely...to make us new again like the unbroken plate.


This table was in Brigham Young's home and was where the Quorum of the Twelve would often meet.
 We toured the beautiful Seventies Hall.  This was like the MTC where missionaries received instruction before setting off to preach the gospel.  The amount of missionary work that happened at the time, despite so much opposition, is pretty remarkable.  So many husbands/fathers left their families to proclaim the gospel.  It is a sacrifice to send a child on a mission, but to me it seems it would be even harder to send a spouse on a mission, often for 3 years, and be left behind to care for the family alone.  Such tremendous faith these men and women had!

In the Seventies Hall, upstairs they have some of the items that were found as the Church was restoring Nauvoo.  There are also records of the Seventies that lived in Nauvoo and you can look to see if you can find any ancestor's names.


 On Sunday, we also visited Heber C. Kimball's home.  He only lived in the home for 4 1/2 months before he had to leave Nauvoo to head west.  It was a beautiful home.  I read a biography of Heber C. Kimball while I was in college...and even all these years later I feel a great love for him.  He was a remarkable man, a magnificent missionary and a wonderful husband and father.  I could feel the spirit as I walked through the halls of his home.  


Michelle liked these series of drawings.  I am pretty sure they were displayed in Heber C. Kimball's home, done for him by a local artist if I remember correctly.




And these next few pictures, I can't honestly remember which house they were taken in.  I know that the drum actually belonged to the person in that home.  I know that most of the other pieces are just period pieces...but they give you a nice idea of what these homes might have looked like back then.




We also saw the gunsmith shop and the shoe shop and the silversmith shop and several others.  In the silversmith shop, one of the young sister missionaries said I looked familiar.  She looked vaguely familiar as well. After they taught us about silversmithing (one cool fact...they designed each lantern holder to be unique for each family so that you could recognize which family was approaching as you walked down Nauvoo in the evenings) and told us about William Huntington's conversion, Sister Anderson and I started trying to figure out how we knew each other.  It turns out that she lived in our ward when Alfredo and I first moved into our home...nearly 13 years ago.  I remember her mom quite well even though I haven't seen their family in many years.  But Sister Anderson was only 8 when they moved up to Bountiful, so I am surprised she would have any memory of me at all.

I know I have already said this, but the spirit was strong as we toured these homes and learned more about these early pioneers.  My gratitude for them increased exponentially.  This was a truly sacred experience and so special to share it with my daughter.  I am so thankful I was able to have this experience.