It's February 1, 2016 and we spent the morning at the new Provo City Center Temple open house. I was really looking forward to it. We had Oliver stay home with Grandma and Grandpa so we could talk with Kate and Daniel (and chase them without being outnumbered) about what we were seeing. Of course they are little, but I'm always surprised what they remember. We've been doing scriptures at night for months now. We use the pictures from the Gospel Art Kit which has a verse about the picture as well as a summary of the whole story the picture is depicting. We keep each picture for several day, telling them the story each night, asking them more questions about it as each day passes. We finished the Old Testament pictures and now we're in the New Testament. It's been a great way to do scripture reading with them now. I'm pleasantly surprised at how much they remember. As we were getting ready to go to the temple Kate said she wanted to see where people get married. I didn't realize she had put that together, but was excited that we would be able to show her. So taking them to the temple and having them see and touch and experience was something we didn't want to miss.
The lines moved quickly, which was helpful in keeping Kate and Daniel preoccupied. We first were directed into a room were a 10 minute movie about temples was shown. We were also given white slippers to put over our shoes. Neither Kate nor Daniel was very excited about the slippers (not sure why) but were soon distracted by the movie. We were on the very front row and Matt pointed out sealing rooms to Kate when they were shown in the movie. I wondered if any of our kids would get married in this temple. I'm excited, of course, for our kids to grow and get married, but I am in no hurry for it to happen either. The last 5 years have felt like drinking out of a firehose at times - with the big kids getting bigger faster and the little ones coming so quickly and changing so much...!!! It can be so overwhelming at times. But I just try to take deep breaths and hold on. The temple is a wonderful place to do that. The big kids came with Shanine and I got to talk to Amy about it. She said she loved it and talked a lot about the ways they kept things or themes from the old tabernacle in the design of the temple. I love that, too. Here are these two little people who I love with all my heart as we're leaving the movie room to start the tour. We were asked not to take any pictures (I did sneak one more of the entrance to the temple... I figured we weren't inside, so technically it was ok). 
The tour itself isn't very long. I wish we could have had more time, though I understand that thousands and thousands go through every day and it isn't practical, but still a girl can wish. It's simply beautiful. The halls are kind of narrow but very tall which continually drew my eyes up. The art work alone could have been it's own tour. We showed Kate the sealing rooms that we went by and I was hoping to show her the brides room, but it isn't part of the tour. At the end of the tour they had a great display of pictures of the tabernacle and throughout the years and some of the charred things that survived the fire (a post and scriptures) and they found in the excavation of the plot (coins, marbles, even the faces of some porcelain dolls). They also showed that they found some original painted trim on some plaster that had been covered up. So they used that same design for the brides room.
I would have loved to spend more time reading all the displays, but the Littles were being, well, little. Matt said he'd take them upstairs to a pavilion with a Christus statue so I could read a little more (bless his heart!). I didn't stay too long. When I got upstairs Matt pointed to a woman coming my way with a big smile. It was a good friend from my cohort and first years of teaching, Kathryn Robinson Dodds. Her family just moved back to Utah. We had a great time catching up. We also saw Betsy Johnson's Sister, Jessica, and her family who had come down from Idaho for the open house. It was fun to chat with them. However, the Littles (and I suspect Matt, too, who had been trying to keep them out of trouble while I chatted) were ready to go home for lunch. We did attempt to get a picture of us with the statue before we left, but Kate was not interested. We love her anyway.
I have long had a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That testimony has sustained me through challenges and sorrows. It has also been the light that illuminates joy and purpose in life. And now with a family, a wonderful husband and children, I am overwhelmed at the peace, the joy, the promise that it brings. I love to see the temple.
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