Happy Valentine's Day!

Lucky Charms

I remember growing up that getting "sugar" cereal was a real treat. We only got to have it on rare occasions like when our parents were going to the temple for the day and we would have a babysitter. I also remember that Rich and Ron's (my twin cousins that were like brothers growing up) favorite "sugar" cereal was Lucky Charms. I actually remember them taking me aside and showing me the box of Lucky Charms they were going to get to eat while their parents were away and being so excited about it. Well, Matthew has the same fondness for Lucky Charms, however, it's not the cereal he enjoys but the marshmallows. I came downstairs today to find this scene. The love for Lucky Charms must run in the family.

Wow!

Wow! was the theme of this year's PTA Reflections. Luke decided to do a 3-d art project. He came up with and idea all on his own--a jeweled tree. I thought the idea was very clever and apparently the judges did as well because he won. It was a real boost for Luke because he had been feeling like he didn't have any talent in the art area. Last term he got his lowest grade in art (it was an A-). He felt real bad about it. I explained to him that art is subjective and you just have to do your best. That didn't seem to help so I finally had to admit to him that my lowest grade in high school was in art. That seemed to make it all right. I guess those experiences you have in high school that don't seem to make sense, come back later to help you out as teaching opportunities.

Draper Temple

It has been a while since we've posted anything. Our computer has been down but now we're back on track. These past few weeks my kids have been off track. We took advantage of this time to go down to the Draper Temple open house. James had already been with the youth of the ward so we convinced him that it would be O.K. if we went without him. We picked a time in the middle of the day in hopes to avoid the crowds and we were rewarded. We were lucky to have Grandma Marcia come with us and spend the day.

Visiting the temple was a great experience. It is a "medium-sized" temple built on the hillside in Draper, Utah. Guests are directed to various churches in the area where a quick video is shown about temples, then we were loaded onto buses and taken to the temple. Because of the time we picked, we were able to walk right in and get to the temple without any waiting. The temple is beautiful. It is done mostly in blues with some accenting colors and a lot of dark wood. The endowment rooms are painted with murals depicting the area around Draper before it was settled. They were amazing, probably my favorite part. It was nice to see murals in the temple again. The celestial room is small compared to some temples but magnificent nonetheless. The kids were impressed with the beauty of the room and the peacefulness they felt there. The tour ends in a sealing room where guides share personal experiences and explain the importance of the room. They held the kids up so they could look in the mirrors and explained eternity to them.

After the tour we headed out to the church building, which is built on the temple grounds, and had refreshments of cookies and water. I was amazed that they were feeding everyone that came to visit the temple. I called Nicole and told her about it and she informed me that at the Lubbock Temple open house they actually had a buffet. It is a time when the missionaries can visit with guests and answer questions. The kids had a good time looking at the many pictures of temples that were displayed in the church and I enjoyed the artwork that they had set up. All in all, it was a great way to spend an off-track day.