A Project of Love

Back around January e-mails went out announcing the Thompson Family Reunion being held in July in Nauvoo. Amongst the details were a few assignments needing to be volunteer for. One of them was a Family Book with updated pictures of everyone and a brief paragraph about what is going on in each families life. I thought that would be a really neat project and something that I would love to do, and besides I already have a binding machine at home; so I quickly volunteered for it. I then put the project on the back burner as I had time and there were other things going on that needed my attention. Though it was on the back burner I didn't forget about entirely. As time grew closer to the Reunion I sent out the e-mails requesting the information and as the information came in I began putting the books together. It was really neat to see what everyone is doing and how life is treating them. I decided to add another book into the bunch and that was a coloring book for the kids. I got this idea from when I helped with the Cooper Reunion and putting together coloring books for that one. Our kids enjoyed it a lot I thought why not do one for both sides of the family. I found the coloring book nicely tucked away on the hard drive and began editing and adding a few pages. I took out the Cooper side of the family and added more pages about the Thompson/Baker ancestors. As I researched the family I gained a deep love and appreciation towards these family members who gave up a lot for the gospel. Many of the ancestors left nice comfortable lives for the gospel and some never saw their family again. The one common thread they had amongst them all was a deep love for the gospel and our Savior Jesus Christ. They had that eternal goal in mind, they saw it and they lived it. Through these books I realized my roll as a mother is to carry on these traditions and beliefs of these ancestors to our children so that they can live their life with the same conviction and testimony as their ancestors; and hopefully they will carry it on to their children. The temple resonated through my mind as I worked diligently on these books. I am grateful for the power and blessings of the temple that take family members today and bind them with family members that lived long ago. I am grateful to be apart of an eternal family who loves and loved the Lord and who let their testimony shine through their actions.

After all the information was put together and all the pages were created to be just right the printing began. In my mind this project seemed but a small and simple task but as I picked up the printing and as the color pages were printed off at home, I was surrounded by mounds and stacks of paper and things got to be a bit overwhelming, this was no longer the small and simple project in my mind. The kids and I worked together at organizing all the stacks of paper and then making an assembly line; and then they simply entertain themselves and I punched and bounded away. Though at first things felt a bit overwhelming things turned out to be just right because of a little bit of team work-but if you think about family is all about team work none of make it back home to our Heavenly Father without a little team work.

I am so grateful that I was given this opportunity to put these books together and to be reminded of the richness in ones life from being part of an eternal family. This richness doesn't come from man, but from living the gospel of Jesus Christ.