Southwick: Our Forever Family: Logan to home

I woke up really early on Friday morning (after only about 3 hours of sleep...I guess girls never get too old to stay up chatting. I enjoyed bunking with Cathi Chisholm and Heather Obray in the dorms. I felt like I was a college kid with roommates again!) to join the youth and leaders for a morningside at the Logan Temple grounds as we watched the sun rise over the mountains. It was way earlier than I wanted to be up, but I'm glad I didn't miss out. The youth each received a letter from home (what missionary doesn't like receiving letters!) that the parents had written prior to their departure, afterwhich Bishop York shared a few comments then opened it up for testimonies. Both our girls shared their testimonies. I am always amazed at their strength, faith, courage, and resilience. I can't imagine what they have endured over the past few years, but they have come out (and will come out) stronger because of it.

All bundled up...and ready for a nap!

I pray our girls will always "look" to the temple. (Amber is on the right in the pink shirt and Laurin is in a gray sweater in front of her.)

Reading their letters from home.

After about an hour, everyone returned to the dorms to get dressed for breakfast. This was where I said good-bye and started my trek home. I was fortunate enough to have Jeff's parents volunteer to watch the boys during the morning (they went hiking with Grumpy) then our neighbor, Jon Chisholm, had them over for the afternoon where they went swimming with their friends. This allowed me to leisurely wind my way back down the mountain and towards home. My first stop was back to the Logan temple where I did a session. There are currently 16 temples in Utah. I've already been to several of them, but this was my first time in the Logan temple. I loved being inside the walls that pioneer hands built. I am always fascinated at the construction of the older temples and the sacrifices that went into their existence. I enjoyed lingering in the Celestial Room before leaving to head over to the Logan Tabernacle. I've come to discover that many of the old Mormon towns have tabernacles (St. George, Salt Lake, Brigham City, Logan, etc.). These tabernacles are almost as impressive (construction wise) as the temples themselves. After wandering around those grounds and tabernacle, I started the trek home. Since I was so close to Brigham City, I stopped there to visit that tabernacle and take a couple pics of the temple before I headed home. I'm again so grateful to live in a place where access to a temple is just a short drive away. I am grateful for the blessings I receive because I choose to honor the covenants I made therein. I am even more thankful to have been sealed to my best friend in a temple and to know that he will be my husband for eternity. It was a great day of reflection as I spent some time alone.

I loved this view of the temple. I was searching for the words "Holiness to the Lord. House of the Lord" that are engraved on the temples. I found it on the first cornerstone looking protrusion on top of the first window. What a gorgeous temple!

There are over 2,600 pipes in that organ.

I loved this statue of a family looking towards the temple (which you can see visible between the mother and father's shoulders)

When I got home (like I mentioned before) the boys were happily playing with the neighbors in their pool. Once they returned home, they told me about their hike and Dallin mentioned that half way through the hike, he remember to take pictures for the blog! I have trained him well! Here's a couple pics from their day.