I Love the Temple!

It's almost too wonderful to believe,

but the Church is building a Temple in Phoenix. I love the Temple, and it is so exciting that we'll have one close by.

With Erik currently serving as a Bishop, he and I were invited to attend the groundbreaking for the Phoenix Temple. Thanks to my parents, who took our kids to the satellite broadcast of the ground breaking, Erik and I were able to attend in person.

Though hot, it was really neat to be able to go outside and turn our own shovelful of dirt. What was incredible, however, was the feeling inside the chapel. It felt like home to see so many friends from our old wards, and it was nice to be able to sit quietly and partake of the sweet spirit there. When we sang the hymns, there was an incredible energy present.

Before the meeting began, I was reading my scriptures, when I suddenly felt a burst of happiness. I stopped reading and looked up to see if something had changed. Just as I looked up, I saw Sister Ann Dibb, President Monson's daughter, walk in with her husband, her son, her daughter-in-law, and grandchild. She sat only a couple of rows ahead of us, but to the side. It was fun to watch her interact with her family.

After the dirt had been turned over, and everyone had pretty much cleared out, we happened to be walking past Sister Dibb. On a whim, I went up to her, and thanked her for the bubble of happiness that she carries with her. She hugged me, and told me that her family has difficulties and hard days too. Her response was just what I needed to hear, as I am facing so many difficult days in regards to parenthood & supporting my husband as Bishop. We talked for a few minutes, and it was such a sweet experience; I felt like we had been good friends for a long time.

What a great start to a beautiful day - sharing time with my husband, in a spiritual experience. Now we'll close the day, in an equally spiritual way . . . with James' baptism.

Gila Valley Temple

We took the family on a day trip to see the Gila Valley Temple,

the newest temple in Arizona.

It is a smaller temple, but is as beautiful as all the other temples.

I can't wait for it's dedication - that's when it's true beauty will come!

I love being able to walk through the temple with my children,

and watch the wonder and the understanding dawn in their faces.

On the way back home, we visited this HUGE truck.

Pictures really don't capture it's size.

There is a HUGE dump truck setting inside this even BIGGER

dump truck bed. It really was massive; they used the trucks for mining.

The rock formations were a gorgeous red color, as they suddenly popped out before us,

on our drive to the temple that morning. We didn't stop to take a picture until we were

on our way home, though. Again, pictures just don't do it justice. It was every bit as

pretty as Chiracahua, I think.

There was a great little park that we found that had old trains, and mining

"stuff" to check out. The boys had a blast, as much as their mother would

allow in their Sunday clothes, at least.

Utah Re-visited

James was finally big enough, this visit,

to fit in his Dad's old Swedish outfit.

I wasn't sure how I was going to talk him into putting it on -

he can be pretty adamant sometimes -

but to my surprise,

when I told him about it,

he said, "Do I get to wear the yellow pants,

and can I wear it for as long as I want?"

Jalen Andrew wanted a piece of the Swedish action as well,

and kept trying to steal Farmor's straw goat -

notice how he's avoiding looking at the camera because he's about to

snatch the goat yet again.

He kept stealing our straw goat at home too,

and so we finally had to put it up high with the Christmas village.

He also kept stealing the Swedish flag!

What a good looking Swede you are, James!

Since there was plenty of snow,

we got in plenty of sledding.

Grandpa Brewer found a really great sledding hill,

and the kids enjoyed sledding with the cousins.

Jalen Andrew had his fill the very first time Dad sled with him down the hill.

He played in the snow a little, but mostly wanted to be held,

and have nothing to do with the snow. He refused to wear gloves too,

which added to his fussiness. He and I finally went and hung out in the van.

He was much happier.

The extra boots at Farmor's that fit Jalen Andrew were bright pink,

and he was in love with them. He wore them everywhere!

Look for them in the upcoming pictures.

Though the girls had a great time sledding (Christine especially, who is great

fun to watch, since she crashes a lot, and laughs a lot),

they chose shopping with Kelsey and Emily over sledding again.

Go figure.

Joseph tends to be more cautious with things like sledding. He was very careful

about it all, the first time we went. The second time he went, he let loose a

little bit more, and had a great time sledding down with his Dad and Ty

as a part of a train.

James was wild man on the sled. The more speed he got,

the more bumps he hit,

the farther he sped was all good to him.

He loved every minute of it - especially the exhilaration.

Though younger than Jalen Andrew, Cy was very "cool" about the whole

sledding idea. Cute too!

THE SNOWMEN!

James, Zach, Ty & Joseph

James was much easier to handle on this trip, than I had thought.

On average, there were 4 or 5 adults in the house most of the time,

and because of the high adult to kid ratio,

I wasn't stretched so thin (like I am at home) and could give him

all the attention and time that he needed.

There were still "accidents" but since I wasn't cooking dinner,

helping someone with homework, or any other one of the million things I do each day,

I was able to handle it okay.

Jalen Andrew got to meet Great-Grandma Harrison for the first time.

He was a bit overwhelmed by the whole trip -

lots of new faces and lots of new places.

I love my Grandma! I was so glad that we got to go and see her;

it's been awhile since I've seen her.

We visited Temple Square.

Below is inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building-

it was beautiful!

As of late, Jalen Andrew has been recognizing pictures of Joseph Smith,

and calling him "Wo Wo Smith."

He was so excited to see a stature of Wo Wo Smith,

and as you can see, was reaching out to him.

Temple Square was cold!

But beautiful!

The youngest boys got some free rides around the Temple grounds.

(Did you notice the pink boots?)

Every time we would pass a temple,

Jalen Andrew would call out "Temple!"

After awhile he started calling all kinds of buildings temples,

but at first he only said it for actual temples, not even churches with their steeples.

He has also started singing, "I Love to See the Temple."

The girls - huddled close together for warmth -

Serianna, Me, Christine, Rebekah & Farmor.

The boys - Jalen Andrew with Dad, James, Grandpa Brewer & Joseph.

We like to visit the Temples that are near wherever we are vacationing.

The older kids have visited most of the Temples in Utah (we'll visit them

again with the younger kids - when it's warmer),

but for this trip we visited the Draper Temple.

And then on our way back home we visited the Oquirrh Mountain Temple;

nobody wanted to get out for a picture this time (it was cold & snowing)

and Jalen Andrew was asleep.

I Love to See the Temple

Joseph and James both participated in the Primary Program last Sunday.

The theme was My Eternal Family.

They each did a good job sharing in their own words what it was like to go to the temple.

Joseph: Family history and temple work bless all the generations of my family. "When I went to the temple when my brothers were sealed, I got to look into a mirror that showed my family going on forever. I know that our family is eternal."

James: "When I went to the temple, it was clean and beautiful inside. We needed to have Jalen Andrew sealed, so he could be our baby forever. Everyone should be sealed."

Our family, along with a few other families who have had their children sealed to them in the temple, sang a 3rd verse to I Love to See the Temple.

I went inside the temple, and stood on sacred ground.

All dressed in white and reverent, my family gathered ‘round.

With our hands upon the altar there, we knelt so close together.

And I knew that I could finally say, my family is forever.

I am so very grateful to have my family sealed to me forever!

Jalen Andrew is delighting our ward right now when we sing hymns. He always stands up on the pew, and conducts the music with great fervor, and also with a sensitivity to the dynamics. It is quite fascinating to watch him. The Primary Program was a dream come true for him, as there was singing every few minutes. He really got into his performance this time, and was actually jumping as he led. Not only were all the people seated behind us amused, but I saw quite a few of the primary children on the stand watching him and giggling (his brothers especially).

Not his best performance, because he gets a little silly when I get the camera out.

We had stake temple day on the 17th of September.

Jalen Andrew and I drove to Mesa with Erik,

and while he attended a session,

we did some errands at Seagull Book and the Distribution Center.

After that, he and I spent time at the Visitor's Center,

and strolled around together on the Temple grounds.

We found a shady little spot, where I could sit and read,

and Jalen Andrew could toss a ball around.

We had such a good time together.

At the Visitor's Center,

we visited the Christus.

Earlier, at a smaller statue of Christ,

I had shown Jalen Andrew the wounds in

Christ's hands and feet.

When we saw the Christus,

Jalen Andrew pointed to the wounds in Christ's feet.

I acknowledged the wounds,

and then Jalen Andrew lifted up the leg of his shorts,

and showed me the scab he had on his knee.

Yes, sweetie, that's right -

He has those wounds because He knew

that you would get hurt sometimes too.

I'm glad that you understand!

It's Forever

"I have a family here on earth. They are so good to me. I want to share my life with them through all eternity. Families can be together forever, through Heavenly Father's plan. I always want to be with my own family, and the Lord has shown me how I can. The Lord has shown me how I can." (Families Can Be Together Forever, Children's Songbook, pg. 188) With Jalen Andrew's adoption having been finalized last weekend, we were able to take him to the Mesa, Arizona Temple to be sealed to our family for time and all eternity, on the 21st (his first birthday). He looked so handsome all dressed up and ready to attend the temple. Inside he was dressed all in white, with a white turtle-neck shirt, a silky, white vest, and silky, white pants. He looked so sweet! I wish that I could have held him all day long in the temple. It is so peaceful, so beautiful, and so serene in there, and then to have our children with us in such a holy place, is an amazing feeling. Here's Joseph looking like a missionary - the future Elder Brewer. One of the only calm moments, James had all day. We had hoped that being in the temple would mellow him out, but no such luck. He kept busy trying to escape from the youth center, and even when he was brought into the Sealing Room, he kept wiggling, and touching everything. Here's Rebekah looking so beautiful and grown up. Christine was able to hold Jalen Andrew quite a bit in the temple, and even got to dress him in his white clothing. The workers were scrambling a bit this time, to get everything ready. For some reason, they were without a sealer, and had to find one at the last minute. Interestingly though, the sealer that they got was an old friend of my parents, Wayne Pratt, who is also the father of Dan (who sits next to Erik on the High Council) and Pam(Crow) who is in the Centennial Ward with us. Though it didn't seem all that organized this time, it left Erik and I both some time to just sit and reflect. I spent quite a bit of time in the Brides' Room waiting, and Erik waited near the baptismal font, and could hear the patterned splash through the walls. It was nice to have that down time to just sit and think. *************************************************************************** We had a small group with us: my parents, Erik's parents, Michelle & Alan, and Grandma Sandy. Sandy was able to hold Jalen Andrew at the altar, an experience that I think she'll never forget. It was neat to have her there and to participate in the sealing. Danielle and her sister Nicole, sat outside the temple waiting to congratulate Jalen Andrew and wish him a happy birthday. I'm grateful for their love and support, though I know it was hard on all of them. As we finished taking pictures, and began to depart our separate ways, the sun had just set, and the Christmas lights around the temple grounds had begun to shine in the darkness. What a beautiful and symbolic sight it was. It is in the darkness (the hard times in our lives) when we can see the light (the light of Christ) the best. His light shines all the time, but we often take it for granted (like the sunshine during the day), but in the dark and difficult times, we look for, earnestly seeking for the light to guide us through. Christ has always been that light for me, and I am thankful for His love and His guidance. I love my family! I love that we can be together forever!