My Dad

I just got home from a trip to Maryland during which my father was buried.  He died on his 75th birthday during an afternoon nap after a good morning with my mom and his sister. 

Many people have asked if I am okay, and I am.  When my brother, Jon, died almost 17 years ago, I spent a lot of time pondering and praying about what I truly believed all the way deep down in my soul.  I believe that life continues beyond the grave.  Our spirits return home to our Heavenly Father, and we will be reunited as families after death. 

AJ and I went to the Washington, DC LDS Temple Visitor Center last Monday, and I captured this shot of the DC Temple.

Temple as special to Mormons, because families are joined, or sealed, together for eternity.  This promised blessing gives me great comfort. 

 

Utah Trip

John, Michael, AJ, and I took a quick trip to Utah to see General Conference last weekend.  Here are a few pictures from Temple Square.

Primary Temple Tour 2013

On Saturday, our ward Primary had a Temple activity which included a tour of the Los Angeles Visitor's Center and Temple Grounds.  AJ grumbled a bit about going, but he really enjoyed filling out the questionnaire and giving all the answers to the sister missionaries leading the tour.

Old iPhone Pictures

I finally pulled copies of the pictures from John's iPhone the other day.  Here are a few:

The family at Temple Square.

The ward Halloween party - the priest quorum making root beer and winning the chili cook-off.

Something funny I found at CVS: a Snuggie for Dogs.

John as Darth Vader.

A New Temple Dress

I've lost quite a bit of weight recently and have had to buy new clothes.  About a month ago, I decided it was time for a new Temple dress.  Mine is beautiful, but it is huge on me now.  I plan to take it in, but I want to wait until I'm done losing weight so that I only have to do it once.

After doing a little Internet research, I decided to make my own Temple dress.  I used this pattern (recommended by an LDS blogger):

It required a bit of adaptation as it is closed with drawstrings in the back and the neckline was a tad too low, but it wasn't too hard to put in a zipper and raise the neckline.  I promised my mom I'd take some pictures, so here they are.

It looks much better on than it does on a hanger.  I'll try to remember to take a picture of myself while I'm wearing it.

Salt Lake Temple

When we visited my sister, Mandi, in Utah a couple of years ago, we went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City and took this picture of John and the boys in front of the Salt Lake Temple.  It's one of my favorites!

Temple Open House in Atlanta, GA.

If you've ever been curious about (Mormon) Temples, here is an opportunity to go inside! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Atlanta, Georgia temple was closed for extensive renovation in 2009. Before it reopens later this year, there is a free, no obligation open house and tour. If you're near Atlanta, please take the time to check it out.



Public Invited to Tour Atlanta Georgia Temple

Los Angeles Temple Christmas Lights

For the past few years, we have visited the Los Angeles Temple grounds to see the Christmas lights. This year, the visitor center was open, and it looked like there were some new lights (LEDs rather than the traditional lights).

We had a great time!

Los Angeles Temple Visitor Center

Last week, we took a quick trip to the newly remodeled Los Angeles Temple Visitor Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). There is a statue of the Christus in front of a beautiful painted mural of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean.



There is an interactive children's area within the Visitor Center. The boys had such a good time that I forgot to take pictures.


Here are a couple pictures of one of the trees on the Temple grounds. AJ likes me to take his picture in front of it every time we visit with a camera.



Finally, there are some lovely statues just outside the Visitor Center. AJ wanted to look at each one.