Nauvoo....inspite of it all

Friday we headed to Nauvoo. My sister was going through the temple for the first time. She was also sealed to our family. It was a rough road there and back...but wonderful in the middle.

Friday, about 4 minutes before we were ready to leave Parker upchucked all over the floor, door, himself and me. It was gross. We changed his clothes and decided to still make the trip. 10 minutes into our drive he did it again in the car. We came back home and changed his clothes. We knew that this was an important day for our family and for Vicki and that we needed to go. So, we packed him back in and brought a special cup.



3 more times on the way.....he fell asleep then woke up to puke. But this time we had a cup that he could do it in, so for the most part there was not a mess. We arrived about the same time as my parents. We stayed at the villas....they were little apartments. My dad could not find the key and the office was closed. They went to get the number while Ben and I stayed behind. It was freezing. I handed Ben the credit card and said, "Make McGuyver magic happen." 30 seconds later we were inside. I do not recommend this tactic to anyone:)

My parents pulled up a few minutes later.....it was funny!

We ate dinner and I put Parker to sleep....one more time....in the bed.

Saturday morning we woke up and my parents, Vicki and I went to the Temple. It was amazing. Just the spirit in Nauvoo is amazing. It was the first time I had been there since I was pregnant with Parker. It was good to be back. The session was different this time...I don't know it just seemed different...in a good way. Afterwards Vicki was sealed to our family. The whole experience was awesome. Thinking about where we came from and how everything was created. I think that is the amazing thing about our church is that it is the same as it was when Adam and Eve were alive. Nothing has changed. Not the gospel. Not the teachings. It made me stop and think about my testimony and how much I needed this experience.

Speaking of testimonies. A friend of mine had a baby about a month ago and he just passed away a week or so ago. He was born with complications and was not expected to last through the week, but managed to last longer than that. His mom has such an amazing love and testimony of the gospel. Every time I read her blog I cried. Not really because what she was saying or expressing was sad, but because of her relationship with our Heavenly Father and her beautiful testimony. She has made me want to be a better person, mom, wife, daughter, friend. I needed this experience in the Temple to put things back into perspective.

Anyway, we decided to stay another night, so Ben and I did another session together.....I need as many blessings as I can get:)

That night I got sick....blawww
Mom got sick.....

The dive home was not good....
Ben got sick as soon as we walked in the door.

And last night my dad got sick.

We are healthy now....well at least we are.

The funny thing is that we had a hard time on the way up and on the way back. But inside the temple everyone was healthy. We were happy. It was so peaceful. I am excited that I belong Christ's true church. I am happy that I am sealed to my family for time and all eternity and not just here on earth. I need to go to the temple more. I need to be thankful more......

-The big downer is...we all felt horrible by the time we left that no pictures were taken. Oh, well! I guess we will just have to re-enact the next time we are in Nauvoo:)