A Trip to the Nauvoo Temple

We were able to attend the temple as a family in Nauvoo....

and spent the time doing sealings.

This is actually the first time James and I have done sealings since being sealed ourselves.
{We're lame like that}

So it was a neat experience to kneel across the altar from him again. Felt 20 again!

It's a lovely feeling to be in such a special place, with people you are sealed to for time and all eternity. I couldn't have asked for a better family.

The Prophet's Last Ride.
If you read the inscription below, you'll understand the reason for these statues of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum.

Beautiful day!

Today we took a little impromtu trip up to the temple. I had to buy some things...and it was such a beautiful (yet windy and chilly...) day. The girls always enjoy going up to the temple...Bella especially lights up at the mention of it. Which makes me happy because she remembers the temple trip we took as a Primary Activity last year.  As we were driving up there, she kept asking if her "friends" would be there, too.

The flowers are all starting to bloom and just look gorgeous! It makes me upset at myself for not planting bulbs at the right time last year. I had this big plan to plant a ton of Iris and tulips, but it just rained too much and I never got the chance!

I love seeing all these beautiful flowers popping up! I can't wait to take the girls to the Botanical Gardens this spring!

Oh crap! Our tree fell down...

Kidding...it didn't...but we finally got it CUT down. We were outside cleaning the van and some dude came by and bartered a decent deal with James, so it's all gone now! Just a big bunch of sticks and stumps sitting out by the curb. Thank goodness, too....cause the dude was showing us just how rotted out and close to falling over the tree was...and we probably would have had a big hole in our roof the next time a big storm came thru!

We are kind of sad, tho...no matter how mangled and rotting that tree was, it provided some nice shade in the summertime. She will be missed!

Last night, I was able to go to the temple and be an escort for a friend I visit teach. It was her first time going thru and receiving the ordinances. Such a wonderful experience! I loved being able to sit in and listen as they explained the different steps to her, it reminded me of how much I had forgotten and how I need to make a better effort to go to the temple regularly! One of the temple workers had asked how long it took us to get there, and we live close...only about 30-45 minutes and she says "Oh, you are so lucky" and isn't that true?? When I was growing up, the closest temple was 6, maybe 8 hours away...we would go up as a youth group and stay overnight. Even after they built the St Louis Temple, that was still 2 hours away from home...easier to make a Saturday trip. Then after we were married in the Las Vegas Temple...we were so close, that we could go and make it a date night, but we hardly ever did....so, I hope that we can make a better effort to go to the Dallas Temple.

I know the Lord blesses us when we make that effort and do the things he has asked us to do. The promises of the temple are so sacred and special, it's nice to have that reminder on a regular basis of why we are here and what we have promised to do for those blessings.

"We unavoidably stand in so many unholy places and are subjected to so much that is vulgar, profane, and destructive of the Spirit of the Lord that I encourage our Saints all over the world, wherever possible, to strive to stand more often in holy places. Our most holy places are our sacred temples. . . . We must strive for holiness by being 'an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity' (1 Timothy 4:12). In this way we can maintain and strengthen our own individual relationship with our God." ~James E. Faust.

Our Primary Temple Trip.

Saturday we took our Primary Temple Trip. I've never done anything like this before, so I didnt know what to expect. But it truly was amazing! When we first got there, they had the kids sit in this big waiting room just off the foyer. The spirit was so strong even in those first few moments...the kids were so reverent and I was so happy to see that they KNEW they were in a sacred place!
The Temple President and Matron came in and had an opening prayer with us, then spoke a bit about the temple and we sang a couple songs. He then handed us the Temple scrapbook (the format that I took the books I made in the last post from) and sent us out into the BEAUTIFUL afterrnoon. I seriously couldn't have ordered a better day for this activity.

Truthfully, this is the part I was scared of...the Temple lawns are vast and I just knew those kids would take off running....but of course, they proved me wrong and we stayed in a semi-together group. I thought that someone from the Temple would do the tour...but again, wrong. So, I was very thankful I had put together those books and read thru the material put in them...and I have to say I gave a half decent tour....please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times...permanecer sentados por favor. Haha...or not. Bishop took some FANTASTIC pictures of the kids and I'm trying to work up something great for them as a keepsake. "Say PIZZA!!!" Our cute little primary. We had a decent turnout. I love these kids!
The end of our tour....the Bishop explaining the importance of being worthy to enter the Temple and showing the children what an Temple recommend looks like.

During the tour Bella says to her daddy: "Are you going to marry me at the temple?" I thought that was THE cutest thing...a girl's first Prince Charming is always her daddy. And of course, I get teary-eyed now thinking of one day sitting in the sealing room watching her kneel across the alter from a boy who is worthy. There are so many things to look forward to in this life, aren't there? I'm so grateful for the ordinances the temple provides so that these experiences don't have to end...being sealed for time and all eternity.

I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll cov’nant with my Father;
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:
A fam’ly is forever.

I love to see the Temple.

One of my responsibilities in my calling in Primary is to help take care of the Quarterly Activities. Our next one was scheduled for September and I had been throwing around ideas, including one that included taking a "flight" to other countries and explore other cultures (such a cool idea I found on Sugardoodle.net, of course). But, our Bishop made a request that we take a trip up to the temple. So, we moved our activity up a month because this months theme in Primary is Temple Blessings Unite Families. Very fitting way to end the month!

The temple president will take us all on a tour around the temple. At first I was scrambling, trying to think of what else to do for this activity....cause a tour would only last what? 10 minutes, maybe? But then the Primary president sent me this "scrapbook" they use when giving tours...which was just a few sheets of paper with some facts about the temple on it. So, we went and turned those few sheets of paper into "My Temple Walk About Book" and I was SO AMAZED at how much info this tour will include. I'm hoping the kids will enjoy it, too!
The inside of the booklet.

I'm hoping it let you click on each picture.... Ü

The Wedding!

Mt Timpanogas Temple

Laura and Joseph Booth
Married for Time and All Eternity
December 27, 2007

The sealing was amazing...pictures afterwards were

nice and freeeeezing....

The girls looked way too cute in the dresses

my mom made for them.

We're goin' to the temple.....

and we're gonna get ma-a-aried!

So, we survived yet another Kirchmann wedding, which are notorious for drama and shaving of mustaches' (my father-in-law got mad at James and I's wedding and shaved his off)....we barely made it thru a Bachelorette party where Kari had to walk around the Desert Passage Mall in Las Vegas with helium balloons tied to her extremities and thru blistering 110 degree heat outside of the temple while taking pictures. I barely survived wearing THE most uncomfortable shirt ever made :). But I live today to tell the tale!
But it was amazing being at a sealing in the same temple that James and I were sealed in....so of course I cried thru the whole
ceremony! The sealer did a great job, he spoke about some things that truly touched my heart. I remember him talking about how one day Kari and Matt would be standing here watching their own children be sealed to their forever sweethearts. I could very much picture Bella in her white dress, staring into eternity with her mate (and Aubree, too :). At the reception, Bella was sitting on my lap while we watched Kari and her dad dance to their daddy-daughter song, and the lyrics just made me CRY...it was that Tim McGraw song "My Little Girl". Just thinking about my girls, growing up so fast.
Kari, James' youngest sister, looked just like a princess....Bella was quite enthralled with her Tia. She would just sit and stare at her in her pretty dress. So...now we welcome Matt and Kari Nelson to our family! They make a great couple!