One of Those Moments

There are a few times in life when the veil becomes thin, and we can feel our loved ones who have passed on, who are still very near to us - we just can't see them. But, we are blessed to know they are there, and in those rare moments when you can actually feel their presence - so near all you can do is cry knowing they are right there, and wishing with everything you can muster that you could see and talk to them, but once that feeling abates, just knowing they are there is enough - and more.

My older girls and I had that moment last Saturday in a stadium filled with thousands of other youth, and even though we were all in entirely different locations of the stadium, all three of us felt the nearness of our loved ones - Grandpa Meldrum, Grandma and Grandpa Barker, and probably others too. 

Ogden just rebuilt our temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it is beautiful. We attended the open house as a family a few weeks ago, and even brought along one of John's co-workers who is not LDS, but had been watching the rebuilding and was curious about the inside. 

Last weekend was the culmination of the rebuild, with the rededication ceremony of the temple and a massive cultural celebration. All of the youth in every stake for the Ogden Temple district were encouraged to participate - and the stakes went above and beyond trying to get every single one of them involved. It amounted to numerous rehearsals, which were held during the summer, and culminated in two performances at the Dee Event Center at Weber State University.

As Young Women leaders, we were asked to help carpool the kids up there and chaperone. It was a day I will honestly never forget, forever etched in my memory as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when nearly 8,000 youth sang about shining their light, being Armies of Helaman, and bearing testimony of their Savior through song and dance. It was absolutely incredible - no words really can describe the feelings we all had in that stadium of the Savior's love for us, and these incredible youth who are leading the way for our future. 

Just after the rehearsal finished and the kids were getting ready for the live performance, which was broadcast to all of the stake centers so parents and families could watch, one of the Quorum of the Seventy spoke to the kids, and provided a blessing upon them, which included these words, "May the angels in heaven be witness to this event."

I hadn't thought about it up until that moment, but then I realized, of course our loved ones in heaven would be there! Both girls individually pulled me aside afterwards and told me of the special moment when they felt their grandparents with them. I know it is a moment they will cherish and I am touched that our daughters, who still so vividly remember their grandparents, know that they aren't alone, with family members who love them, and are helping them through their life. I am so grateful we had the opportunity to be a part of the event. It was absolutely incredible.

I know that my Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ lives and loves us. I know he atoned for each one of us. I know Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, who helped restore this true church upon the earth today, and have provided us with living prophets and apostles to provide us with revelation and instruction on this earth today.

Those same brethren attended the celebration, and the moment they were escorted in, the hush over the thousands of kids was immediate. The silence in the entire stadium was inspiring as everyone stood and watched the apostles and Pres. Eyring seated in their seats (Pres. Monson attended the earlier performance). It is a moment in time these youth will never forget. I am grateful for my calling in young women's that allowed me this opportunity with my girls.

Really, pictures don't do the celebration justice. It reminded me of an Olympics Opening Ceremony. Here were the pictures during the rehearsal:

During this number, Alicia was singing in the choir, to the left in the chairs, and Kimberly was in the dancing number, in blue on the ground.

 

Here is Kimberly a little closer (bottom left facing toward the camera - long dark hair):

 

I had absolutely NO idea where Alicia was in the massive choir.

 



 

 

Kim also came in carrying one of these big square things (above). The hundreds of kids held up their square to reveal the picture of the old temple, then as the choir crescendoed into their song, they flipped over their boards, and it showed the picture of the newly redesigned Ogden Temple.

 

I have no idea how they coordinated such an effort.

Actually, I said that about every number during the performance.

 





 

After all the important dignitaries left, as the audience stood in complete silence, the music to their final number came back on again and everyone took their t-shirt for the event and started spinning it above their heads (the choir had orange shirts they weren't wearing, so everyone you see above is waving it above their head here) Everyone was cheering and singing to the song.

 

Absolutely incredible. I know I've used those words too many times in this blog, not good journalist writing, but there truly are no adequate words to describe the experience.

If you are friends with Kimberly on Facebook, she has reposted one of her friend's videos recording the amazing moment after the performance went off air.

 

 

Kim had found where I was sitting and ran over after the event, so I quickly snapped this shot, and below were the girls in my car. While we sat in the massive pile of cars trying to get out of the parking lot, we had a Chinese fire drill and took this picture:

 



 

Cups Anyone?

We got back from camping, and before I could put away the plastic cups, the girls began doing this:

 

...and this is the face we get when all the cups fall down when you aren't ready.

Bryce Canyon a Few Years Back

Let's travel down memory lane for a few minutes to our trip to Bryce Canyon 10 years ago: 

 

 

 Here we have Kimberly at age 4, and Alicia at age 2.

We were still in our 20s.

Those years just slipped through our fingers, didn't they?

 

 

Fast forward 10 years:

 

Kim is now 14, and Alicia is 12.

And we have two more...
 

 We are so blessed to have these girls, even if they make us half-crazy sometimes.

Bryce Canyon

We enjoyed one last fling this summer over Labor Day Weekend visiting Bryce Canyon. We stayed in a cabin nearby that just barely fit all of us, but it came with a pool at the campground, so the kids were happy.

We set out each day doing a bunch of hikes, then we'd cruise back to the cabin, cook dinner on the fire pit, do some swimming, and crash before the next day's adventures doing the same thing.

Here's a glimpse of our fun:

That's Natalie who can't bear to look away from her Junior Ranger workbook she was working on.

All four of the girls received their Junior Ranger badges after completing all of their age appropriate assignments, including one very fascinating ranger program - that is, for John and I. The girls were utterly bored as we learned about the Lodge's history. It was fascinating! Did you know it was designed by the same guy who designed the lodge at the Grand Canyon?

 



 

We encountered a sleeping rattlesnake underneath one of the benches along a trail:

 

As we were hiking along, we came around a bend, and saw this:

 A log filled with stacked rocks. It was really a sight to behold, including these crazy ones:

 

Of course we had to add a few of our own:

 

Our girls were real troopers and hiked up a storm without too much complaint.

Actually, they only complained when it was their turn to wear the backpacks filled with our water.

 

Megan got a ride - and seriously, it was only one time for a teeny part of the trail, only because she asked John in that ever so cute 4-year-old voice of hers.

 

 

Natalie loved taking our camera and had me pose a gazillion different times along each trail.

This was one of the better shots:

 

Natalie wasn't the only one who liked to play with the camera.

Alicia took a ton of selfies. It was funny to look through all of them as I picked out the photos for this blog post.

 

 

Bryce is one of our favorite canyons, with John and I having visited it a couple of times, but we had yet to take our younger girls, so it was decided by the girls earlier in the year that's where they wanted us to take our family vacation when Disneyland got postponed to next year. 

 

 

 

 

It really was a blast. I adore family vacations.