Grateful Friday

 My sisters and I took a walk.  Our second cousin, Jon, drove by and stopped.  He said, "All three Dahl girls on a walk.  You don't see that every day!"

I wish it was every day.

When we got back to our house, Adam came out to chat with us.  I told my sisters about the new mop/vacuum I had and Adam brought it outside and modeled it like he was a Barker beauty and our front porch was The Price is Right.

Alas, the thing leaked!  I contacted the company and help is apparently on the way, but I was sorely disappointed.  I had to mop my floor like a regular person.

While I mopped, Adam power washed the front porch and cleaned out the garage a little bit.  It's nice to be here.  

In the afternoon, we picked up my dad and Ammon and drove to Elko.  We met up with everyone at the temple.  I think that temple session will be something I always remember.  First of all Craig and Jean Spratling, who were some of our nearest neighbors growing up, and Scott and Laurel Egbert were working there. Scott is my dad's cousin and Laurel one of my mom's close friends.  It felt good to be there with people we knew and loved.

The temple always reminds me of God's love for me and my place in the world.  I think I couldn't have been reminded at a better time.  After our session, there was a lot of hugging and crying by all of us.  And so much love.  We are bound together and I'm grateful.

I don't know what it is like for my mom; I don't know if she was there with us.  I do know that if there was any way that she could have been there with us, in the Elko temple that she loved so much, she would have been.

We took a picture outside the temple.  (Isaiah took it.  We posed and he said, "Do you want to be centered in front of the temple?"  We needed him!)

Enoch, Jennifer, Adam, me, Ammon, Olivia, Marianne, our dad and Robert

Edgar had been there too (handing me Kleenex in the celestial room), he was just already in the car.  We missed Melanee and Tabor and Katie who are still coming.  

And we missed my mom.

We all went to dinner together at Mattie's and enjoyed our time.  I love being with all of them.

I love this, by President Nelson, about the temple:

The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. 

Spiritual fortitude is what I need.  I am grateful for all the places I get my fortitude strengthened: walking with my sisters, spending time tending to our ancestral home with Adam, basking in family time, being in the temple.

I am grateful for the many blessings I lucked into.  Life isn't fair and usually that works very much in my favor.