Kansas City Missouri Temple

When I heard the announcement of the Kansas City, Missouri Temple Open House I knew I wanted to go. I did a quick look to see how far it was from us and when I saw that it was only eight hours I knew that was a feasable drive. I saw that the Open House fell on a weekend that the kids had Friday off so I saw it as a golden opportunity to take the kids through a Temple. I knew with Anthony being ten I knew he would remember the Temple and with Madeline being eight she would probably remember as well. I also saw this as a good opportunity to teach our children what life is all about and that everything we do points toward the Temple. I knew that this would help give our kids a good foundation to their testimony of the Temple and the importance of keeping ourselves worthy and ready to enter the House of the Lord.

Shortly after Grant was talking with his cousin and learned that they were planning on going to and so we decided to travel together and make it a family affair. Our kids love playing with their cousins and so the excitement grew with the knowledge that they would be able to play and spend time with their cousins. Grant's cousin invited a few people from that they knew and since they didn't have room in their van we took Joseph with us. Now Joseph and Anthony are the same age and in a lot of ways are twins. They enjoyed talking and playing the whole way up and the whole way back. We had a few mishaps along the way which put us leaving Kansas City Missouri at 8:00 in the evening. With the help of snacks Grant and I were able to make the 5 hour drive home arriving in Oklahoma at 2:00 in the morning. We were so grateful for 11:00 church, this gave us an opportunity to get some much needed sleep.

The highlight of the trip was being able to take our children through the sealing room and to show them where Grant and I knelt 12 years ago and where our Eternal Family began. The highlight grew when we walked into the Celestial Room as a family. As we stood their together as a family I caught a glimpse of Heaven. It was neat to be in the room together knowing that we are an eternal family. I can't think of anything better to help our kids understand and to know that everything we do is to get to the temple; to partake of the covenants and blessings that afford us the opportunity to walk back into the presence of our Heavenly Father. I have a strong testimony of the temple. I love going and I love more the feeling I get when I am inside the the Lord's House. I truly feel His presence. When I walk through the doors I truly feel as though I am walking home. I hope this experience will help build in my children the same love and testimony of the Temple, because the temple is what it is all about.