Pageant and Palmyra

What a trip we enjoyed to the Hill Cumorah Pageant and other church history sites in Palmyra, NY! 

B & B's, outdoor uplifting pageant, strengthened faith in the Restoration of the fullness of the gospel, eating delicious food, and beautiful vistas through the Finger Lakes. Loved it whole heartedly.

These places are important to us because it was in Palmayra that the young man Joseph Smith was called as a prophet of God and restored many lost truths and ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These plain and precious truths were lost through centuries of wickedness and lost priesthood power on the earth.

Jared and I love old Bed and Breakfast joints. Something about them makes us feel richer than we are. Like this one was located on "millionaire's row." Yeah, we're millionaires. :)

Our day was very full. We visited the sacred grove, where Joseph Smith went to pray when he was 14 years old. In his town, there was a great religious revival and many religious sects contended to grown their congregations and prove the others wrong. He wanted to join the right group and studied the Bible in search of an answer. His own words of what led up to his experience here goes like this:

"In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be^aright, which is it, and how shall I know it?

 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of ^aJames, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack ^bwisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

 Never did any passage of ^ascripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed ^bwisdomfrom God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects ^cunderstood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.

 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in^adarkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God..."

"So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the ^awoods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a ^bbeautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to ^cpray ^dvocally...

I saw a pillar of ^clight exactly over my head, above the brightness of the ^dsun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me... When the light rested upon me I^bsaw two ^cPersonages, whose brightness and ^dglory defy all description, ^estanding above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My^fBeloved ^gSon. Hear Him!

My object in going to ^ainquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all^awrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those ^bprofessors were all ^ccorrupt; that: “they ^ddraw near to me with their lips, but their ^ehearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the^fcommandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the ^gpower thereof.”

We reread those words while in this special place and had a beautiful experience. We read Joseph Smith's history and then prayed as a family. The Spirit was there and we had a peaceful reminder that what we read is true. It was the first time I have been able to that with my little family. Very special. 

This monument is erected on top of the Hill Cumorah. On this very hill in the year 421 AD Moroni, the last survivor of a great civilization (the Nephites,) finished his people's history and hid the record in the ground. This monument shows many key events leading up to the publication of this record, now published as the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. 

As part of prophecy, the record was brought forth in a time when people were righteous enough to accept it.  Moroni appeared as an angel in 1827 to the young prophet Joseph Smith. Moroni showed Joseph where he hid this sacred record, and Joseph Smith translated it into English by the gift and power of God.

In the last chapter of the last book recorded in The Book of Mormon Moroni left an invitation for all future generations who might read the book. His invitation is inscribed here:

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ^aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not ^btrue; and if ye shall ask with a ^csincere heart, with ^dreal intent, having ^efaith in Christ, he will ^fmanifest the ^gtruthof it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Moroni 10:4)

Later before Joseph Smith returned the record to Moroni, he was given permission to show the original record to other witnesses the Lord had chosen. You can read the testimonies of those witnesses here.

Yes, I am very pregnant. :) Now I am 32 weeks along.

All the different languages of the Book of Mormon. It's been taken to almost all the world!

The Palmyra Temple grounds.

The publication site of the first copies of the Book of Mormon in English. I took a picture of the floor because it is the original floor that was there back in the 1830's. So cool.

Two books that witness that Jesus is the Savior of the world. 

Pageant peeps

Props and the set. This is the scene in the Book of Mormon when Christ personally visits the America's after his resurrection. It was a beautiful pageant.

We really had a great couple of days. I am sure we will go back later when our kids are older, but this trip was extra special for me. It is the first time I went and actually remember being there. :) I was too young the last time I was there. We even discussed going back one summer and being IN the pageant with our kids. 

Here's to hoping. 

Thera-putty

Our good friend and neighbor, Shan, shared this "thera-putty" with the guy and we really have to get our own now. This stuff is awesome. It is different than play dough and blubber. The consistency is perfect for this activity. 

First, I hid a dinosaur in the putty and he had to pull it all apart to find the treasure inside. It is not easy to pull apart, so it strengthened his little fingers.

Later, I pulled out a second dinosaur and even later a little rock he fell in love with at the farmer's market.

He continuously played with these items, hiding and finding them and then acting out scenes with them, for almost an hour and a half before church today. He loved it! "Oh no, the dinos are stuck in the hot lava!"

I finally brought out some beads and he created this design. A masterpiece!

Such a happy guy. Thanks for sharing, Shan!

Radio Static

Sorry about the radio static for a while. We are alive, well, and busy. 

One recent activity was another trip to the farm, this time with new little piglets; the guy's favorite part.

Hair cut

I cut the guy's hair. It was getting a bit ridiculous. I like his curls a lot, but it was past the nice-looking stage.

before

after. like a sheep being sheared for the warm weather.

Angel friends

I love this girl and her parents. Thank you friends for visiting us! We are honored to be associated with you. 

The guy and this lady were friends before they were born. Both moms were pregnant together and our due dates were only a week apart. 

Two peas in a pod

They get along so well. They compliment each other, even in photography.

Happy Birthday, Jared!!

You'd think I would be more on top of posting about birthdays when it is my own beloved we just celebrated, but alas. I am still fashionably very late. : /

I can't even begin to describe what emotions I felt as we celebrated Independence Day and Jared's birthday. I am so overcome with love and gratitude for this man. Thinking about our little girl's upcoming birth, Jared's mom and her anticipation of birth 27 years ago, wishing she could celebrate with us, complete awe that Jared is my husband and that this is actually my incredible life..... All these feelings and more. 




















Our birthday celebrations included:

• buttermilk pancake breakfast
• morning spent with our lovelies, Charles, Mara and Martha visiting from CA
• homemade (to die for) carrot cake and homemade vanilla ice cream shared with neighbors and friends. Recipe courtesy of my sister. Gracias, Marsh!!
• frugal dinner at home
• snuggles and movies
• birthday sign up all week
• bits of love from family over the phone

It was quite quiet and it made me think we are getting old. Maybe. Happy to be home and calm. Jared's laid back like that. 

Jared knows how I feel about him, but in case the rest of you don't, here are some of my birthday wishes:

Jared, thank you for being born and sharing the last four years of your incredible life with me! My life dreams have come true and they would not be so wonderful without you working and making my paradise a reality. Thank you for your work, your goals, your love, your humor, your sacrifice, your patience, your humility, your flexibility, your strength, your growth, your tenderness, and all the years of birthdays that I will get to celebrate you. I celebrate you everyday. You are the best part of everyday. I love you so much it aches. Thank you for choosing me. 

Happy Birthday, Karla!

Happy (late) birthday, dear sister-o-mine. I celebrate her birth and her life! Karla is such a powerful woman. She has strength and determination that has helped her get through life's bumpy road. Karla's growth this last year of life has astounded me. Karla, hats off to your amazing inner strength, patience with affliction, hope centered on Christ, openness to a better life, growing personal confidence, and love for your children and others. I admire your power and know that you know where your Power comes from. Here's to another year of learning, strength, faith, and increasing amounts of happiness. I love you. Sorry my love arrives late, but it arrives whole heartedly. :) Happy birthday, hermana mia. 

Utah vacation

The guy and I really enjoyed ourselves in Utah last month, visiting family and friends and partying at Liz's wedding. We took few pictures, and the ones we got were not great. I forgot my camera and only had my phone. 

Flying in the airplane was strangely a highlight for my little mister. He loves planes and loved the airport. The day we flew back, he actually was disappointed when we didn't head straight to the planes when I told him we were getting ready to go. I certainly felt the pressure from the baby inside pushing back against the baby on the outside, who sat on my lap on both flights. It worked, but wasn't my favorite. We spent wonderful time with his four cousins, two grandparents and aunts and uncle. We enjoyed grandma's pool, cousin Lily's birthday water party, exploring the new City Creek outdoor mall, welcoming visiting friends, and especially Liz and Kevin's amazing wedding. It was so beautiful, very Christ-centered, and I participated in my first flash mob dance at the reception! A.MAZ.ING. Hopefully I can get my hands on a video to share. It was a blast, but we are also so glad to be home and back with Daddy O. 

My quiet, observant son - off to the far right

My missionary daddy! I am so proud of my parents.

GORGEOUS bride!

the birthday girl