I love to see the temple...

I'm going to deviate a little from my usual subject matter on this blog and talk about this past weekend. As many of you know, my sister Kirsti is engaged to be married this Friday. Because she plans to be sealed to her fiancé Rich in the San Diego Temple, she was allowed the privilege of joining the ranks of endowed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her first time through the temple was on Saturday, and Cody and I were present. It was amazing.

First, let me say that I just love the temple. Cody and I used to go every week back when we first got married. Then our outings decreased once I get pregnant (I wasn't always up for a temple session...those of you that have been pregnant before can relate), and now with Joshua it's even harder to get there due to the need to arrange for a sitter. But it was incredible to go on Saturday and once again feel the Spirit in the House of the Lord. What made it even more awesome (and I mean that in the literal sense of the word) was that my little sister was there, too. I have a special bond with my sisters, and to be able to attend the temple with one of them was such a special experience for me. My parents were there as well, which was also wonderful. I think Kirsti had a very good experience.

I remember when I first went through the temple. It was July 26, 2003, and I had just received my mission call a week earlier. It was at the Los Angeles Temple. I don't remember a lot of specifics from the whole experience, but I do remember what it felt like to pass through the veil and be welcomed by my parents and other friends who were present in the Celestial Room. I imagine that's what heaven will be like--and if so, I can't wait to go there. It just made me feel so happy. And now I know what it's like to be on the welcoming side of things. It's wonderful. I just kept looking, waiting, eager to see Kirsti and give her a great big hug. I hope this doesn't sound morbid, but I am so excited to die and then be able to welcome family members into heaven (assuming I make it there, of course). It's just a very special feeling, and nothing compares to it.

I look forward to the day that Brianne will enter the House of the Lord as well and be endowed with celestial power. I can't wait to be there with my entire family. Those of us who are endowed will all be there this Friday, barring any complications, to witness our dear sister Kirsti be sealed for time and for all eternity and to welcome Rich as a new member into our family. Then, one day, the same will happen for Brianne and then we can all be there. Oh, I just can't wait. Families really are what the Plan is all about, after all. And I'm so glad to know that I can be with mine forever. =)

Random Tidbits of Our Life

I fail at keeping my blog updated. I am so sorry! Life is absolutely insane these days, though, with me trying to put in extra hours at my BYU job so I can take two weeks off starting next week--and that's on top of working my normal 8 hours at BYU and 2 hours of transcription work. Yeah, I'm crazy. But we do have a few things to report.

The first piece of news is: JOSHUA IS CRAWLING!!! He started doing it last Sunday, and he's getting better and better at it every day. He's still wobbly, and he can't go really far distances (like all the way across the room in one fell swoop, I mean), but we're just amazed that he can move forward in the first place. I have a couple of cute videos of him crawling on my cell phone, which I will post as soon as I figure out how to get videos from my new phone to the computer.

I do have a few pictures I wanted to share =) First one is a picture of my boys saying goodbye to me from the top of the stairs as I leave for work...sorry that it's a little blurry: This next one will probably embarrass Cody, but I thought it was funny. So, Cody doesn't like to shave. He has really sensitive skin, and shaving really irritates it. This means that there are often long stretches in between when he shaves (he's lucky he's not a BYU student). Anyway, I think it had been about a week since he had last shaved, and he finally realized he'd put it off for too long when he saw the redness on Joshua's cheek after Daddy gave him kisses. You can't see it incredibly well, but there it is. Poor kid:
I absolutely love this next picture. I was talking to Kirsti on speaker phone and Joshua was sitting on my knee. When I told Kirsti she was on speaker phone and Joshua was there, she said, "Hi, Joshua!" And he looked directly at the phone and gave this huge smile! I got him to smile again and wouldn't you know it, there he is showing off his two little teeth. It's probably the best picture we have of his teeth as of yet:
We have church from 9-12 in our new ward, and this means Joshua often doesn't get his morning nap (I did get him to sleep after feeding him during Sunday School, but within 5 minutes of sitting down in the classroom, he woke up. I think it was just too noisy). So Daddy and Joshua took a nap together, which I thought was just adorable. Oh, and for those who are curious, Cody is wearing what's called a CPAP machine, which treats his sleep apnea and helps him breathe more easily, which in turn helps me and Joshua sleep better because he doesn't snore anymore. See, everybody wins! Aren't they cute?:
Life, as I said before, is just making me go crazy these days, so I apologize for not keeping things updated on here. Hopefully things will calm down once we go to CA and FL. Until next time!