I love to see the temple.

I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll cov’nant with my Father;
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:
A fam’ly is forever.

Today. Today was a perfect day. I'm not sure what made it so perfect. It might have been the wonderful devotional by Amy Jensen, or maybe it was the fact that class was cancelled so I could go spend time with family, it might have been checking off 15 miles of biking and 20 laps of swimming off the lazyman iron man, or it might have been seeing friends at the Relief Society Birthday Party. It could have been anyone of those things- or all combined- but what made today so absolutely wonderfully perfect was the temple.

There is something about the temple that puts me at peace and just brings joy to my life. It is everything combined. It is the sound of the oxygen pump making it possible for the man at the front desk to tell me "thank you for coming." It is the smiles of the workers, and hearing my name called. It is getting a side hug from an 80 year old man who tells you you are beautiful. most of all it is knowing I am in the house of my Heavenly Father, that I am living my life right (or at least trying), and that I am doing work for those who have gone before me.

I am not sure how to connect this with Integrity or Character- I guess it is all encompassing. Regular temple attendance is something we have been instructed to do by church leaders and we will be blessed for going. It should be a priority in our life. It isn't always easy to go- and Satan will try his hardest to prevent you from going- but it shows that you live by what you believe by going. The workers are there every week, giving up hours of their life to make it possible for me to go. I am always in awe by their love and selflessness. Oh brother- I adore them so soo much!

I love the temple. And I am looking forward to the day that I can go through the rest of the temple.

the most beautiful day evvvvverrrr

the city of london has nothing on the country.


not a thing.


today we went to the temple which was out near Kent, and it was the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. we were originally supposed to take a coach but the reservation got lost so we had an adventure with the train and taxis, and it was wonderful. the train was wonderful because it gave us all some time to just talk. i was sitting with cali, cami, elly, tiffany, chelsey, lauren, and ashlee. i loved hearing about their lives, and funny things that had happened to them. the taxi was a little scary because of driving on the wrong side, or the left side, of the road. as soon as we arrived at the temple i just felt so at peace. my mind was clear, the air was clean, and the sky was perfectly blue. we did baptisms and then ate in the cafeteria, where they have a french chef. it was delicious, and cheap, which is always a plus. and then we spent some time walking around the grounds. the grounds were gorgeous. cami and i decided that we never wanted to leave. i could have spent all day walking around and would have loved ever minute. so we told rodger we werent going back and were just going to stay there forever. his response, "okay, what should i tell your parents" it was tempting, but the program is just to grand to not stay with.

waiting at the train station

these two ducks were my favorite. they were so beautiful and always stayed together. eternal marriage? i think so

the grounds were stunning, and a perfect place for wedding or engagement pictures. cami and i were practicing for when we come back with our soon-to-be husbands.

There were flower bushes everywhere, and everything was so vibrant. 

london, england temple.

cali and i.

when we got home naps were the first thing on the agenda. i hadnt gotten to bed until after 2 30 and we had to be ready by 8 30 this morning. i was out like a light, and felt like i had been hit by a double-decker bus when it was time to get up. then it was off to see war horse.

on the way to the show we decided to take the stairs. there were 193 spiral stairs. we were dying by the time we got to the top. happy work out for the day.

outside the show. the show was on drurey lane, aka where the muffin man lives!

lauren, me, and amberley at the show. we were so excited to see the horse puppets in action.

the show was wonderful. it tell the story of joey, a horse, who ends up being in WWII and his owner Albert. Albert raised the horse and they had a "special" (for lack of a better way of saying it) bond, that was so touching. however, Albert's father sells him to the army, and Albert ends up sneaking into the army as a 16 year old to try to find his horse. but the most amazing part were the puppets they used for the horses. the horses were so life like, they had three people operating the puppets and had everything down perfect from the noises of the horse, to the flick of its tail, to even just breathing. it was insane.

an example of the horses

it was a hard show to watch, in the sense that it took a lot emotionally. the war was dark, and depressing. it was called a musical, but it is not your stereotypical musical. it was not happy and light like legally blonde, or have a ton of singing like les mis. i would almost call it a play enhanced by music because it wouldn't be the main characters singing song but rather folk songs being sung in the background. but by the end of the show i was emotionally drained. im not one who normally cries at shows (surprising because i cry at almost everything else) but i was bawling at the end. i had to control myself in order to not draw attention. the show was very well done, and the puppeteering was probably one of the most amazing things i had ever seen.

a trailer for the show