One of my dreams had always been to see the Salt Lake Temple in person. I will never forget driving into the city on a cold and a rainy Thursday evening. The temple was lit up and looked even more beautiful then I had imagined. I couldn't believe I was actually looking at it in person!
A few days later, my family and I were walking around the Provo City Center Temple. I was so excited to have these temples so close to where we lived. The kids also loved walking around the temple grounds and looking at these amazing and beautiful buildings. I wanted the temple to be a focal point of our lives and so we visited a couple more and then a couple more. It was then I found out about the 17 in 2017 challenge. The challenge was to visit all 17 temples in Utah. Logan, Brigham City, Ogden, Bountiful, Salt Lake, Oquirrh Mountain, Jordan River, Draper, Vernal, Mount Timpanogos, Provo, Provo City Center, Manti, Payson, Monticello, Cedar City, and St. George.
A couple temples were gonna take a bit more planning because they were quite a drive. Vernal was a good three hours away and Monticello was a four hour drive - that is just one way and we went there and back in a day!
The morning we were planning to leave to go see the Monticello temple, I asked Aaron if it was worth it? Thinking about an eight hour drive with three kids just didn't sound like much fun. We thought about staying the night, but hotels prices were pretty high, and we really didn't have the money to do that. That was also the last weekend we could go before winter hit. Aaron didn't want to travel to Monticello in the winter which I understood. I was ready to cancel the trip. Aaron, however, felt very strongly that the sacrifice we were making - our time, money, and sanity - were all going to be worth it. He felt very strongly that we were going to be blessed for our efforts to achieve our goal.
He was right!
We have been blessed beyond measure.
I sit and think about the blessings that have come our way over the last year and I am overwhelmed by the love Heavenly Father has for me and my family.
From help with Aaron's job to filling our lives with wonderful friends and ward members. Our year was blessed because of Him.
The day we visited the Ogden Temple, Aaron's sister had just passed away that morning. It brought such comfort to look at my children, in front of this beautiful temple, and know with all my heart and soul that families can be together forever!
Hannah has told Aaron and I that she wants to get married to her Daddy in the Provo City Center Temple. I hope she keeps one of those dreams. I am happy to see her love for the temple grow as we make them a priority in our life.
The only temple we didn't get a picture off, although we did see it, was the Jordan River Temple. It is undergoing some major construction at the moment and was surrounded by a giant fence. It will open in the spring for an open house and we are itching to go. It will be an unbelievable experience to go inside with the kids.
We have lots of stories about each temple we visited, and learnt a lot of very interesting facts.
I am so grateful we accomplished this challenge.
It was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope we never forget.
It was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope we never forget.
We are looking forward to seeing the Saratoga Springs Temple be built, and are anxiously waiting to walk around the grounds and snap a picture. The kids will look so much older then.
We are also planning on continuing our temple hopping and hope to visit the Las Vegas and California Temples soon.
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