Heaven on Earth

This has been an emotional, but wonderful couple of weeks. We were able to witness two weddings in the temple: First, our "adopted" daughter Allie and her husband, Michael. And then last Saturday, our niece Kacey and her husband J.J. Also, this month we were able to accompany Sandy as she went to the temple for the first time. It is not an easy thing to receive a temple recommend, and I am so proud of her hard work and diligence in working toward that goal. I was very honored to be her escort and to share that experience with her. Having so many recent opportunities to attend the temple gave me such peace and joy. My life has been very busy lately for a variety of reasons, and it has been so uplifting to spend some time in the quiet and beauty of the temple. The highlight of my temple experiences this month was the opportunity I had to see all of our children there at the same time. Sandy's brothers and sister and our daughter and son- in law were able to attend Sandy's endowment session. As they all stood there together, I had such a feeling of gratitude and I took a mental picture I hope to never forget.

We as parents, worked so hard to instill faith and love of the Lord in our kids, and it hasn't always been smooth sailing. But, somehow, those kids were able to hold on to a firm foundation, and find their faith for themselves, put their priorities in order, and follow the plan the Lord has for them. It is a work in progress, but I am so grateful to be their mom and mom-in-law, and to have been given the opportunity to nurture and love them. They bring me great joy, and I don't know of anything that I treasure more than family relationships.