Washington D.C. Post Number 2

Almost 13 years ago, I travelled to Washington D.C. for the first time to visit my oldest brother and his wife.  It was on that trip that I met an LDS missionary from Corona, California serving in my brother's ward.  I had to deliver some candles to the missionaries apartment when the electricity went out.  Mike stood on the curb in a hawaiian shirt, board shorts and flip flops looking nothing like a missionary when we drove up to deliver the candles.  I drooled all the way back to my brother's apartment feeling terrible that I even had thoughts about a missionary being so handsome.  About a month later, I got a letter from my husband as he headed home to California after completing his mission.  Once I got over being furious at my brother for giving Mike my address, I finally wrote him back.  Because of my husband's persistence we eventually went out on a date as he drove the nine hours to take me to an Air Force/BYU football game.  

Here we are today, four kids later, in the city that started this wonderful ride:

The Vietnam memorial:

At the tidal basin during the Cherry Blossom Festival:

Martin Luther King memorial:

George Washington memorial from the tidal basin:

At the Jefferson Memorial:

At the D.C. LDS temple.  (Note: 13 years ago, I didn't get to go because I had forgotten my temple recommend which is what allows an LDS church member to get inside.)

Riding bikes along the Potomac River:

Tomorrow we head home.  Mike's parents so graciously have watched the kids while we have been away.  They have sure kept the kids busy going bowling, the movies, shopping, making and decorating cookies.  I am terribly grateful the kids have been in such good hands!  Mike and I have enjoyed being together, sleeping in and exploring the city that has brought us together.  But I'm looking forward to squeezing the kids tomorrow and tucking them in personally at night.  

Washington D.C.

Dear Caleb, Jacob, Michaela and Emily,

Daddy and I woke up at 6:45 A.M. (which means it was 4:45 A.M. for you).  Today we were going to the D.C. temple.  I have been looking forward to this part of our trip the most.  You guys probably remember me telling you how fourteen years ago when I visited D.C. for the first time, I had forgotten my temple recommend and didn't get to go.  I remember feeling so sad back then because I didn't know when I would ever be able to come back.

We arrived at the temple around 9 A.M. but we had not eaten breakfast yet.  We decided it was probably best to go eat so we would not be hungry while we were in the temple.  It is a little hard to focus when your tummy is making all sorts of noises.  We found a McDonald's close by and ate sausage muffins.   While we were driving back to the temple, Daddy was trying to put his drink in a cup holder but spilled his drink all over the floor!  Poor Daddy.  He felt bad and was worried that he had spilled his drink all over my dress, but he didn't.  We turned around to go back to McDonald's and got a lot of napkins to wipe up the soda that he accidentally spilled all over the car floor.  See, you guys are not the only ones that spill things.  Mommy and Daddy do it, too!

We finally got inside the temple around 10 AM.  It was so very quiet.  I did not hear anyone talking.  I love going to the temple because I feel peace.  It's kind of like when I snuggle with you guys in bed at night and stroke your back.  It's really quiet and I feel all warm inside and happy.  

While we were in the temple, Daddy and I got to sit and talk quietly in the celestial room.  It's a beautiful room where you can sit and whisper about spiritual things.  We whisper so that others can sit and pray and think.  Daddy and I talked about our family and discussed if he and I were doing what we needed to be doing as a mommy and daddy to you guys.  We asked each other if there was anything we needed to be doing differently or better?  

We feel that reading our scriptures each night, saying our daily family prayers and making sure we do Family Home Evening each week is what we need to focus on.  I am motivated to worry more about these three things than worrying about how clean the house is!  You guys know that will be hard for me.  You know how much I love a clean house.  Sigh...sorry about that.  I promise to care more about making sure we are spiritually strong as a family than anything else.  

I sure miss you guys!  I think about all of you at least three or four times every sixty minutes.  I wonder what you guys are doing, hoping you are having fun and I think how great it will feel to hug each of you on Friday!

Here is a picture of us in front of the temple.  Don't you think the temple is so pretty?

There was a building you could go into that gave you information about temples.  They had these miniature models of ancient temples.  The picture below is a tiny copy of Solomon's temple.  I thought you guys might like this since we just read in Nephi how he had his people build a temple like Solomon's temple.  So, Nephi's temple might have looked something like this:

I love you bunches and bunches! 

X  O  X O  X  O  X  O  X  O  X  O

Love,

Mommy

P.S.  Tomorrow Daddy and I will probably ride bikes around the city and along a river that is near here called the Potomac River.  Here's a map that shows you where the river is.  It's a little blurry, sorry about that.  Can you see the red letter "A"?

Guess what Daddy has been doing while I have typed this? I think he did not get enough sleep last night.