Like a Child at Home

For FHE (Family Home Evening) tonight we went to the Payson Temple grounds.  They just dedicated it, and since we hadn't gone to the open house I thought it was a good time to see it.  I think this is the first time we've taken Jake to a temple (that he would remember at least).  He was so excited-especially about the water features.  We talked about how it's a special water fountain so we don't splash in it ;)  Temple etiquette 101.  We talked about how every temple has an angel moroni and that every temple has inscribed on it: "Holiness to the Lord.  The House of the Lord." He was excited to see the letters on this temple and see they were the same as the picture I had printed out.  We looked at the windows and talked about how they were special/had pictures in them.

 In the Payson temple, because the area has apple orchards, in the stained glass windows they have the different stages of an apple blossom blooming-bottom floor/just the buds, all the way to the celestial windows where they are flowering/fully bloomed, also symbolizing our spiritual progression through the temple/life.  I love little tidbits like that.

We walked around the temple and watched a few short clips about the blessings of the temple and sang I love to see the temple.  It was the best FHE ever.  If you haven't taken your lil ones to walk around the temple in awhile, I highly recommend it.  I was having kind of an anxious day and I was amazed (you'd think I'd get used to it already) of the calming spirit that settled in as we walked around the grounds.  The power is real.

Here are some pictures I took with our nice camera.  I secretly am harboring a desire to actually get some nice lenses/learn how to actually use my camera/learn photoshop and then travel around taking professional pictures of the temples and make a website (ok, well code would) and put them all up for free.  Somehow I think it's wrong that you have to pay so much money to get gorgeous pictures of temples, and wonder if a lot of people just don't have many temple pictures up in their home because they can't afford it.  Anywho, be sure to click on the first pic and look at them through the slideshow-much better resolution

going down!

Jake, come on man-almost had the perfect picture-love the light streaming in

water!

love this one (above)

again, for Jake, the water was the best part

love when you get lucky shots like this! The sunset bouncing off of the temple provided the perfect backlight haha

Love my Family and that God loves us enough to give us these amazing sacred refuges on earth!