Dreams Realized

 The highlight of my week was taking these cute munchkins...

...to the Provo City Center Temple open house.  It was gorgeous, as was to be expected.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to take my kids inside the House of the Lord and talk about the sacred things that happen there.

I love my eternal family!

I'm a sentimental sap, consider that a warning before you continue.

I looked at that photo above and immediately, my mind jumped to a scene from my life.  Nick and I were engaged and when he'd leave me for the night at my townhome, we'd go down to the unfinished basement, kneel together on a piece of carpet, hold hands, and we would pray.  We'd pray for our future together, and we gave a lot of prayers of gratitude.  Then, we'd talk.  Talk of this adventure we were about to embark on.  Talk about finances, career plans, and our dreams for the future.  We talked about starting a family right away (we were "old", no time to waste) and what we wanted for our children.  This memory swirled through my head as I saw that photo of us and our children, because our life is a dream realized.  I feel so incredibly blessed to have that faithful man by my side and those beautiful little people that have joined us in our journey.  And I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, which provides direction and peace in my life.

And the adventure continues.

On a lighter note, do you see that Maren has a purple chin?  She sucked a cup to her face and, several days later, is still paying the consequences.  Makes me smile.  We all have to do it at one time or another.

Also, it was an especially sweet treat to have our friends follow us through the temple tour.  Surprise!  We got to end this wonderful afternoon with a dinner out with friends.  Cherry on top, for sure!