this weekend.

well, for our date this weekend.  Zach signed us up for a body language class! :)  that should be interesting.  i am quite intrigued!

so, we're doing that and heading to lunch following.

what are you doing?

oh and last weekend, we didn't end up going to DQ after the parade...we went straight to bed because i stayed up talking to my brother til 3:30 in the morning.  yeah, it was a miracle i survived the next day.

we did go to the Temple and then Pace's Dairy Ann afterward.  that was very nice.

have a great weekend!

decide.

If you decide to do something, the chances of you doing it are higher than if you didn't decide.

We learned this on Christmas. We visited both our families. We just didn't decide when we were going to leave my parents house to go to his. Yeah, we stayed at my parents longer than we should have but we never decided on a time to leave.

Thinking about this we had to say, "huh, it sure would have helped if we'd made a decision.".

Is there something you and your spouse want to do? have you mentioned it to each other and haven't decided how you're going to get it done? want to go on a great vacation? go to the Temple more? date night every week or month? family prayer and scripture study?

Answer these questions:
who is in charge of planning?
who gets the sitter?
who calls the family together?
what time?
what day?
when do we start?

Write it down! Put it on the calendar! Do it!

a pleading...

The other day I was reading President Monson's talk in the April conference Ensign. This line seriously struck me....

"I plead with you to teach your children of the temple's importance."

One line all by itself and the Prophet is pleading!

And then he continues.

"The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified."

There are many blessings that can come to our lives by attending the Temple that we are seriously not aware of. If we are going to teach our children of the importance of the Temple then we had best show them! Telling ourselves we need to go to the Temple more won't do us any good. We need to decide a day and a time and make the arrangements to go and then don't be deterred.

That is the apple. Let's do it!

bittersweet.

Did you know the Ogden Temple is closing for renovation? Yeah. That is our Temple.

It makes me kind of sad to think about it actually. For the almost 7 years we have been married, that is where we have gone. I have loved it. It makes me want to go everyday until it closes.

The new one will be beautiful. I am excited for it. It is just a weird feeling to know the Temple is going to be taken down. That's our Temple. It is weird to try and put it to words.

I love this picture and I love that I can see Zach's shadow. :)

I love the Temple. Here are some reasons why:

Vaughn J. Featherstone: Temple Promises

"He promised if members of the church spend half a day in the temple each month the following blessings would result:

1. A man would become mighty and a woman powerful.

2. It would serve as great "insurance protection" for your marriage.

3. The blessings of the eternal God will be called down upon you, and great spiritual growth will be yours.

4. Unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when Satanic forces tempt them

5. Your families will draw close to the Lord and there will be no empty chairs in the Celestial Kingdom.

6. Your children will go on missions.

7. Your children will get married in the temple.

8The veil will be thin, you will have spiritual growth, and many spiritual experiences will distill upon you.

9. You will be prepared for exaltation-with a celestial body, a celestial mind and a celestial personality.

10. You will be receptive to divine guidance and receive spiritual perception to help you grapple with your problems and cares.

11. You will see clearly how to make critical decisions that weigh heavily on your mind."

I know it is easy to make excuses and to be too busy, and I also know, with the above blessings in mind, that the adversary will do just about anything to keep us from going as often as possible.

The apple for the day is: schedule your Temple time! Go as often as you can. Only you know how often that is. Put it on the calendar and make it happen! :)

we can give children roots and wings!

I enjoyed reading THIS sweet talk. He talked about a few different things but the thing I pulled out was the importance of the Temple. The apple for today is: talk to your spouse and decide on the next time you will attend the Temple together. Put it on the calendar! Keep this date!

I recently stood in a house of the Lord with a worthy couple there to receive blessings by covenant. I invited them to make their first honeymoon last 50 years, then after 50 years to begin their second honeymoon.

I found myself looking with this beautiful couple into the temple mirrors—one mirror on this side, one mirror on that side. Together the temple mirrors reflect back and forth images that stretch seemingly into eternity.

Temple mirrors of eternity remind us that each human being has “divine nature and destiny”; that “sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally”;⁴ and that, growing together in love and faithfulness, we can give children roots and wings.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, . . .

“Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”¹⁷

I humbly witness: God lives. He “shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes”¹⁸—except the tears of joy when we see through temple mirrors of eternity and find ourselves home, pure and clean, our family generations sealed by priesthood authority in love, to shout, “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.