Journey to the Temple part 2

WE DID IT! No, it didn't take all day and into the night to get to the temple. This is just another beautiful picture Mathan took.
       We started our journey at 4:30 in the morning. Well, actually I started my journey at 9:00 pm the previous evening when I was lying in bed trying really hard to go to sleep. And we all know that sleep never comes when you're trying to sleep. Anyway I finally fell into fitful slumber and had a decent amount of rest before morning came.
        Our wonderful stake president gave us a great send off. He encouraged each of the youth to find a spot on the temple to call their own and to promise themselves that they would return there on the day they receive their endowments. He talked about how this journey would be difficult for some and easy for others. He encouraged us all to lift and help each other along the way and to persevere. Then we were off.
         Two girls have been my special walking buddies each morning and they waited till Mary, Mathan and I were ready to go, which wasn't till most everyone had left. When we finally got outside I gave a whoop and ran through the parking lot. I was so excited to finally be going after all the preparation!
        We started out going nearly four miles an hour and at that pace we quickly caught up to and passed much of the group. Of course we weren't trying to get ahead, that was just our normal practice pace. It was actually really fun to be able to walk a few feet with most of the people on the hike and to say hello and cheer on everyone as we passed.
       5 miles passed quickly and easily, ten miles passed with a much needed potty break and water refill, and I was still feeling good and motivated. 15 miles came much slower than the previous 5 mile increments. My feet were aching by then and my legs burning. We had kept up our speed and spirits really well, but after 15 it was much more of a challenge to keep our minds off the pain. We kept joking about how great our elbows and earlobes felt. No pain at all there. Then came our manna from heaven. A little four passenger airplane flew over and we thought is was pretty cool. Then it circled back and dropped twinkies on the road! That was a nice little lift and distraction.
        I think the hardest part for me came about mile 18. We had just flagged down the portable potty and I sat on the ground to stretch and rest for a while, but when I got up the muscles in my legs were screaming! The best I could do was toddle with stiff knees. It was really painful for a while, but finally I worked through it and could walk more freely. At mile 20 I discovered a few blisters but I didn't care at that point. Just two more miles! The walk up to the temple was beautiful and much less difficult than I had imagined. I pictured myself crawling on hands and  knees, but all I had to do was put my arm around Mathan's waist and we just plowed up that steep hill together. It took us 6 1/2 hours from the time we started walking.
      It felt so good to be finished and to sit with Mathan in the special spot that we have had since out dating days. I have to admit I felt so dirty and uncomfortable in my sweaty sunburned state. The temple presidency had asked that we not loiter around, so we didn't stay long. We will be going back soon, properly dressed, to do baptisms for the dead for whom we walked. My parents got out of the temple just as we arrived. We also saw Mathan's Aunt Lorna and Uncle Levell. They didn't believe us when we first told them how far we had walked.
     It has been an unforgettable experience. I'm looking forward to the baptisms and the closing fireside where we get to share all of our stories!
       

Journey To The Temple

In about 30 hours from now I will be embarking on a journey that I've been preparing for nearly the whole year.  For more than six months I've been walking in the freezing cold, blistering heat, monsoon rain, and northern Arizona wind in preparation for a 22 mile Journey to the Temple with the Holbrook Stake youth. I'm excited and nervous and READY! This has already been a learning experience and a blessing in my life and the main event hasn't even started. I wanted to record some of my thoughts so far.

* My body is strong and healthy and for that I am grateful. It is such a marvelous gift and I want to take care of it. I want it to be strong and beautiful and pure, like the temple.

* There is so much comfort in knowing that I am doing what I need to do to be prepared.  "When ye are prepared ye shall not fear" is a true scripture. I know it will be a challenge and it will hurt, but I know I can do it.

* Being spiritually worthy to enter the temple is a lot like being physically prepared to walk this distance. You have to be committed and focused.  You have to do things everyday that will keep you on the path to the temple.

*  When I focus on the obstacles in my path or the enormous distance that I have to cover, I get discouraged. I slow down. I stop.

* When I focus on my abilities and blessings and the distance that I have already come, I am encouraged and strengthened.

* Covenants are powerful. When you make a covenant with Heavenly Father he gives you the power to keep it, but you have to choose to use and strengthen the power given you.  I have all the body parts necessary to make this journey, but I have to choose to use them and strengthen them by daily excercise.

* Heavenly Father recognises our efforts and hard work and blesses us.  He takes our best effort and makes up for what we lack.

* Being pushed to the limit of your strength is always a humbling, clarifying, prioritizing experience.
        

Summer Synopsis

 

Here are a few of the major events that I missed... a solar eclipse not the least among them.

Andrew's graduation went off with much pomp and circumstance. It was the 10 year anniversary of my own graduation. Pretty nifty!

   Lilly had her first birthday and Ellen had her fifth. Much fun and cake were had by all.

      Mathan's 93 year old grandma Ida was cajoled into a leather jacket and onto a Harley.

The young women and I enjoyed our long awaited trip to temple square and the Manti pageant. They've been wanting to go for years and it did not disappoint.

Stayin' Alive

Hello multitude of people that read my blog. Life is good. We are all healthy, happy, and busy. My summer long silence was due in part to laziness brought on by busyness, and a dash of technical difficulty...more to follow Lilly's nap.

Spring Fever!

I rearranged my living room today...This happens roughly every six months. It's a sure sign that I'm feeling restless and unsettled.  Some women change their hair color..I rearrage the furniture. It could be the time of year. School lets out soon and the summer fun and summer speed will begin, but I'm sure it's deeper than that. It's that old impatience and thirst for change that gnaws on me every now and then.
I heard somewhere that Americans are basically hard wired to look for greener pastures. The pilgrims came here in search of it, and generations after them moved here for a new start and better opportunities, and that desire has been passed down to us. So you see, I'm not discontent. My wander lust is genetic!
I keep singing "Little Purple Pansies" to myself , but sometimes I just want to get out of this town! Sometimes this little corner of the garden seems full of weeds and I want to move! There are things that I love about Woodruff, things that you can't find anywhere else, but there are a lot of things that I could do without.
So what's keeping us here?
I feel needed here. That's one reason. There is a lot of good that needs to be done. I can't deny that I love feeling useful and valued. There are so few people here that can do what I do, whereas in bigger places people with my abilities are a dime a dozen. As much as I want change, I don't like it. Making a new start sounds exciting, but it's painful too.
I know that we won't stay here forever. I can feel that there are other things in store for us, but what?  And when? I've never wanted to put roots down here.  Since the beginning I've thought about moving, but it never seemed right. Is it right now? I don't know, but it does seem closer.

A disjointed, all over the place, random post

!     I spoke in church today. I always get super nervous, but I'm always grateful for the things I learn. Um.. and I    always cry. Even when it's a dry topic. It was not a dry topic today.
@    Today is my wonderful Mother's birthday. We had her over for lunch and used a table cloth and our best china. Love you mom!
#      My little brother cracks me up. He was doing Strong Bad impressions while we played blockus.
$     My mom and I are plotting to buy a boat and cruise Lake Powell and Havasu. Preferably one that doesn't require man power (read husband power) to load and start. We're becoming quite independent these days due to the many nights that our men have to spend on the rez.
%    Our garden is growing! We threw caution to the wind and planted early this year and are crossing our fingers that we don't get a late freeze.
^       I love my husband more than I thought possible. I am truly blessed.
&      I love my children. The other night we all went to the park around sun set and played tag and blew dandelion seeds everywhere. It was one of those moments when you are overwhelmed with deep, real, satisfying joy and you know that you are doing what heaven intended.
*       I'm leaving in half an hour to attend a girls camp meeting. I asked the YW what exactly a cabin mom does. Cool cabin moms bring fun stuff to do and let the girls stay up late. Boring cabin moms sit and read and yell at the girls when it gets late. I plan to be a moderately cool/boring cabin mom with an added measure of annoying enthusiasm about early rising. If I remember correctly YW leaders are supposed to have annoying enthusiasm for early rising.  

The Babies!

May was in a play called "Go Fish" She was an adorable crab with oven mitts for pincers. Great job May! She is missing her two front teeth and has more on their way out. She is doing well with her reading. She likes to help with scripture reading every day.
Ellen decided she needed a hair cut and chopped a chunk of hair right in the front and some of her pony tail.  I cut bangs to cover the short spot and gave the rest a trim. Ellen was crying at first when she realized how bad she looked, but she really liked the new do. She is so strong willed. It seems like a constant power struggle sometimes, but she always surprises me with bursts of sweet thoughtfulness.
Thomas enjoys singing in church. He often sings along with the hymns and makes up his own words. Tonight he was singing Ringle Bells (Jingle Bells). He likes to have everything where it belongs. He puts things away without being asked and sometimes he gets upset when things aren't right. He likes to repeat the last word he hears with a questioning inflection.  Thomas, let's go home.  Home?
Lilly likes to talk about her Dada all day long. She also growls a lot when she's a little unhappy. She loves grabbing everybody's hair, especially Mathan's and Thomas's. Jewelry is also one of her favorite things. She love to pull on and taste necklaces and finger diamond wedding rings. She has a taste for the real thing. Plastic beads just don't cut it.