Quite an Impression

Last Friday my family had a wonderful opportunity to attend the Draper Temple open house. When I first heard about the open house, I knew I wanted to take the kids. By the time I actually got around to requesting tickets, all the Saturdays were gone, so I decided I'd take them out of school to go. After all, they go to school almost everyday, but how often do they get to walk through a temple?
So, Friday rolls around and I feel crappy. I was dizzy and nauseous. Nate ended up staying home that morning to take care of me and the kids. That was not the plan. He offered to stay with me all day or take the kids to the temple open house. While I felt like garbage, I also didn't want to miss out on the temple...so, long story short (too late) I got ready and we headed out.
By the time we got there, I was feeling much better. We started at the church to watch the video. My children were all surprisingly well behaved. Even better than a group of teenage girls sitting behind us (not that it was hard to be better than that). Then, we boarded the bus for the short ride up the mountain.
We stepped into the temple and immediately felt the spirit and reverence that was there. Once again, my children were doing great. I think it's like my friend Christie said, they just get how special that place is.
As we walked to different areas, I talked to my children about some of the important things that take place. The baptismal font where Jacob will be able to go next year, the Celestial room, and of course the sealing room. In that room, we looked at the mirrors so we could see our eternal family. It was so amazing to have all of us there together and to know that we can stay that way for all eternity.
Throughout the rest of the day my kids talked about how neat that was. How beautiful it was. Saturday night I told Brandon that we had church the next day. He was so excited and asked if it was the temple church. He wanted to go back.
It turned out to be a great day to spend with our family. I hope the impression it left on my children stays with them for a very long time. Long enough that they want to work towards an eternal family.
There was one downside to this whole thing. Nate took such good care of me, he ended up getting sick the next day.

Happy Birthday, Brandon

Today Brandon is 5! I remember vividly this day 5 years ago. It was a Friday. I went to the hospital to have some tests done to make sure he was ok and there was enough amniotic fluid since I was going to go past my due date over the weekend.
After an ultrasound, the nurse hooked me up to some machines to monitor Brandon's heart and my contractions, if there were any. My mom was with me and said it looked like I was having contractions, so the nurse took the papers to the doctor for him to look at (not my doctor). He said everything looked just fine and they sent me on my way.
I went shopping with my mom (this ends up being a pattern for me)and had to keep stopping to hold on to the cart because my stomach hurt so bad. I had induced labor with my first 2 kids, so I wasn't sure what it felt like to go on my own. However, I was pretty sure this wasn't it, since the doctor had just told me 30 minutes ago that I wasn't in labor.
We finished our shopping and I had my mom drive home because I was in so much pain. I called my husband to come home and take me to the my doctor's office so I could find out what was going on. He checked me and I was dilated to an 8. Fortunately, my doctor's office is in the hospital so I walked myself down to labor and delivery with my husband following close behind.
By the time I was ready and checked again, I was at a 9. Brandon was born a very short time later. Now, 5 years later, I am so grateful to have this little guy in our family. I say, "little" because he is for his age. He also doesn't talk a whole lot, but when he does, he's bound to say something sweet.
In fact, he doesn't miss many opportunities to say, "I like you, Mom."
Brandon, I like you too. A whole bunch.