Baby Bump, Bread, & Beautiful Sabbath Day Worship

"Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I'd have cherished every minute of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle." -Erma Bombeck

It's official. All of the children are now officially in school. I sit in peace and quiet as we speak. Can you hear me purring? I vowed that I would do no housework this week, that I would simply bask in the quiet that is my home and read or scrapbook. But this house is a disaster! I could not relax surrounded by such human devastation. So I suppose I'll do some cleaning today, but first...a little blogging.

Yesterday ended up being a fairly busy Sabbath day. We got up bright and early for the dedication of the Ogden Temple. I love living in a technological age. Back in the day, very few members of the church got to participate in a temple dedication because you can only fit so many people in the Celestial Room of any given temple. But thanks to satellites, thousands of members of the LDS church got to sit in chapels all over the valley and be a part of the dedication. It was a beautiful meeting. I had to hold back the tears at the end as we sang "The Spirit of God".

What a joy it was to have the whole family together. I look forward to the day when all of my children can join Neil and I in the temple. I had to snag a snapshot after the meeting. You take for granted having all of your children with you all of the time, and then one of your children moves out, and you wish you had cherished that time a little more. I'm certainly cherishing those moments now.

Once home from the dedication, Neil and I grabbed a bite to eat then drove up to Snowbasin to meet Alicia and Ryan. Nine years ago, around this very time of year, I took these engagement photos of my baby sister and her new fiancee.

Oh my goodness, they look like babies! I can't believe it has been nearly a decade. Yesterday, I took these pictures.

Oh, the steady passing of time. Alicia and Ryan have waited so long for this little one. I don't know why the Lord chooses at times to wait to bless us with the righteous desires of our hearts, but I am gaining more and more faith in God and His timing. There is no question that this is the right time for this little spirit to join Alicia and Ryan's family. We just can't wait to meet her!

We had to sneak this photo shoot in between rainstorms, but man it was worth the beautifully saturated colors! I'll share just a few more of my favorites. 

Cute Alicia showing off her beautiful baby bump.

These two will be amazing parents. 

Neil and I got home with just enough time for Neil to make some  Pulla to take over to Sunday dinner with the Watsons. Someday I will tell you the story of the day 21 years ago that Neil showed up on my porch with this heavenly Finnish sweet bread and secured himself the final two percent of my heart. Jonah  remained in his normal spot, perched right next to his father doing whatever his father is doing. Needless to say, this bread disappeared in a blink of an eye, and Jessica giggled with delight as Neil wrapped a loaf for her to take back to Logan. Whether she actually shared it with her roommates will be interesting to find out. I know I put on my greedy pants anytime Neil bakes a loaf of Pulla. 

A Sabbath day comprising of worship, family time, and feasting. Those really are the best kind of days.