Volume XII, issue i, January 2016

Provo City Center Temple

Just as the new year was beginning, we rang out the wild bells en masse by walking wide-eyed through this stunning structure with Grandma and Grandpa as they huddled up with most of their 45 grandchildren, whispering about Adam and Eve, the Atonement, sacrifice, altars, and eternal joy. The shades of earthy greens and rosy pinks created my favorite type of Home atmosphere--the feeling of being encircled with perfect love without having to be flawless. 

It is a restored structure that echoes the core of the Restoration, both doctrinally and architecturally, with vibrant color and patterns, rich dark wood, and antique stained glass so breathtaking that I found myself looking around corners for Relief Society originals like Emma and Eliza and Sarah and Lucy Mack. 

I love that white is only an accent color to emphasize what we were taught by our family matriarch and patriarch in the sealing room after our tribe mounted steep and symbolic spiral staircases: temples assist us in our heavenly ascension without demanding perfection before we enter them because Christ will make our willingness holy; everyone is equal around our heavenly parents' perfectly circular table. Now I really am feeling happy and new this year.

I designed the above graphics as a tribute to these transformative feelings in my soul and I have it hanging in my living room as a reminder not to be satisfied with being a tabernacle and not to be too hurt by the growing pains that will lead me into myself as a temple. 

On very rare occasions when the "world is too much with [me]" (as it was in January this year), Charlie gets to be my breakfast date just so I can admire both him and the most delectable breakfast burritos in the world as they sit so beautifully across from me in our little booth of comfort. I love how the burrito is almost as big as my Charlie is.

During some of our December and January disappointments with the loss of my computer, my external hard drive, my etsy shop, and our savings account for Paris, (which had to be used to fix our Suburban), there were days when that little face was the only thing that could pull me through the day.

So much loss opens the way for an equal amount of discovery, and I discover daily how much I love the people who I have the honor of calling my people. They help to create my tabernacle to temple transformation too.

One morning while munching on his breakfast, Charlie put a cheerio on his thumb and said, "My thumb looks like an angel."

There was definitely an angel right before my eyes.

One of our favorite Charlie-isms comes about three times a day when he slumps over in a painfully dehydrated state and cries out mournfully, "I'm really, really drinky!"

When Charlie refuses to go solo to Primary on Sundays I get to sit and listen to the lessons and sing the songs with the kids who are 8 and under.

On one lucky Sunday I got to listen as one of the leaders was talking about the new theme for 2016 which is "I Know the Scriptures are True." The leader mentioned scriptures that talk about how we should read the words of God and pointed out words like "feast," "treasure up,"  "search diligently," and "hold fast." The leader asked the group of kids, "What kinds of words are these?"

While all of the other kids shrieked answers like "Actions" and "They do stuff,"  I could hear Marie's calm, clear voice ringing above the din, shouting, "They're verbs! To do or to feel!"

Hmmm. . . I think somebody must be the daughter of two English Professors.