Conor at the Temple

During the course of our trip to Arizona, I thought it might be a good idea to stop at the three temples we would be near, so that Conor could feel something of the sacredness and importance of these magnificent buildings and begin to commit within himself to one day be worthy to enter them. He's been to the Los Angeles Temple many times, but I thought it would be nice for him to see other temples. There is much he doesn't understand yet, but he knows that because of temples families can be forever, and he knows that his upcoming baptism is the first step he needs to take in order to one day enter The House of the Lord.

The first temple we stopped at was the Gilbert Arizona Temple. This is a brand new temple and I'd been dying to see it. It is so beautiful! So glorious in every detail! I can't wait to come back to Arizona and have time to do some work inside. The building is absolutely stunning! As we walked around, I told Conor to focus on the feeling he had inside being on the temple grounds. It's really wonderful.

I love the windows! Such incredible craftsmanship!

While we were in Show Low, we drove up to see the Snowflake Arizona Temple. This temple is near and dear to my heart. My first husband and I were one of the landowners who donated this land to the Church so that this temple could be built. We got to be involved in the groundbreaking and construction process and then present in the Celestial Room with President Gordon B. Hinckley for the dedication of it back in 2002. This was the temple I went to many, many times seeking peace during the most difficult time in my life. I have had sacred experiences here, and it was special for me to be here again.

Grandma and Grandpa Holiday come to this temple every Saturday to do work for our family. Before going inside, Dad posed for a picture with Conor.

There was lavender blooming all around the temple. I love lavender.

But it's also very windy and sunny in Snowflake! And that makes it hard for good picture taking!

I have a picture of me and my three older kids standing next to this Angel Moroni statue before it was hoisted to the top of the temple.

Lastly, on the way home we stopped at the Mesa Arizona Temple. This is the temple that my parents and grandparents were sealed in, as well as my brother Josiah and his wife, Sarah. When I lived in Mesa for seven years, I came to this temple often, and I love it. There is an incredible Christmas light display at this temple every year as well that is worth attending.

Again, a very sunny day, especially for a blue-eyed boy!

To escape the heat, we ducked into the Visitor's Center for a bit. Our Los Angeles Temple also has a Christus statue.

Conor spent some time exploring the different displays and we watched a few of the movie presentations. Everything the Church does is done so well. It was wonderful to take a break from our drive to feel the powerful Spirit of the temple.

I'm going to put together a little book for Conor with these and other pictures we took at the temples so that he can remember these experiences. Hopefully, he will tuck them away in his heart and desire to one day go inside to receive his own blessings and to serve the Lord.

The Dylan Boy Graduates

Oh, this boy of mine.

He is tangled up in my heart, and there have been some knots. But over the years, we've untied them with love and acceptance and patience.

I have really missed him these last three years. As involved as I've been as a mother, it's been strange to not have had many high school memories with my oldest son. I've missed so much, but there has been mercy in that absence as well. We needed the time apart, and he's needed space to grow. He's figuring things out, and I've been able, with the distance between us, to separate him from his actions. Him, I adore. Completely and unconditionally, I love him. His choices? Well, they haven't all been my favorite, let's say. But they're his to make, and ultimately, I trust him. He's a good, good kid. Sometimes he doubts that, but I'll keep reminding him.

It's hard to believe that another child is grown up. We drove to Arizona to attend his graduation ceremony. My dad lives in a nearby town, so we stayed with him and got to visit a bit, long overdue. Dylan didn't really enjoy high school. He tried not to attend any more than he had to, and he was really feeling burned out on school altogether. He thought he might not attend college, and rather just focus on working, since he isn't sure what he wants to study anyway. But then he found out that he was awarded the Presidential Scholarship for the local community college! He and I had worked on the essay and application early in the year, but then I never knew he actually submitted it. Turns out, he won! Full tuition, books, and costs! He was so thrilled, and I am beyond thrilled for him. He really needed that validation. So now he is excited to start taking college classes in the fall, and I am proud of him. He is such a bright, capable young man, and he can do anything he sets his mind to. I'm excited to see where his path leads.

We attended the pre-graduation party at his dad's house, which was lovely, and then we walked across the street to his school. It was nice to gather all together to celebrate this boy.

There he is! He did it!

This picture means so much to me. Dylan and I have come a long way together. I think he really knows now how very dear he is to me, how much I love him.

Oh, my boy. My heart is yours. If you could see what I can see in you. If you knew what I know about you. You have every reason to feel blessed.

As am I. Thanks for the ride thus far. You make me better.

The Garden So Far

Oh, man, I really debated whether or not I was "up" for a garden this year. My life feels so different than it ever has since I became a working mother. I tried to give myself permission to just let it go this once, but the Spirit worked upon me, ever so gently, nudging me to the seeds and soil. 

"The prophet said to plant a garden. . ." The words to the Primary song entered my mind. I thought about my efforts to be self-reliant and prepared and frugal, and well, it just feels wrong to work toward those goals without using the seeds I already own to grow some of my family's food. So, even though I was months later than usual, I decided to just do it already, and trust that my efforts would be blessed.

On March 17th I planted my seeds. Talk about a green way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! And new this year, I am using grow lights. I have wanted to do this for a few years because I always end up with "leggy" seedlings. 

On March 20th, the first seedlings appeared! The Lacinato kale! Interesting, since that is usually a very slow germinator for me.

One week after planting the seeds, nearly everything was up. The light is adjustable, so I kept it just about two inches from the top of the plants and raised it as they grew. And they grew fast!

This is a week later, two weeks after planting the seeds! These are the zucchini and squash plants, lettuces to the left.

Here are some tomato plants, bell peppers coming up to the left, spinach on the right.

Spinach, two varieties.

Amazing! When the plants were three weeks old, I started taking them outside for a few hours to harden them off. The first day I set them outside and went to sleep for a bit only to wake up and find all my Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce burned to a crisp (that's the lightest lettuce toward the very bottom of this picture.) It happened to be a record hot day. Oh well. I had plenty of other lettuces growing.

After a week of hardening off, and the plants were outside all day and night, I transplanted them into the garden.

I used the Square Foot Gardening spacing that I love so much, but without the grids this year since I'm growing so many tomatoes that don't really need the grids. I focused on planting what I really, really want, instead of a little of a lot of things. More favorites, less variety.

This translates to 9 San Marzano tomato plants (for the best sauce EVER), several other varieties of heirloom tomatoes, some spinach and kale, zucchini, crookneck squash, eggplant, red bell peppers, pickling cucumbers, and some lettuces.

Here's the kale:

A yellow squash plant:

Lettuces:

And now two weeks later, here's the way things look in the garden, six weeks after planting the seeds:

(The Fordhook Giant Chard is still growing from last year.)

Bed 1: Tomatoes, zucchini, and kale.

 A zucchini blossom already!

The kale:

Bed 2: More San Marzano tomatoes, kale, and another zucchini

Healthy and strong!

Bed 3: Yellow Pear and Cherry tomatoes (which I need to buy cages for), spinach, lettuce, squash, and cucumbers (back along the trellis).

Pretty lettuce.

Spinach.

Eggplant. This is an Italian variety. It's been very slow growing, so I hope it will make it. I grew three plants.

These are the pickling cucumbers (with little red bell peppers there to the left that also need cages). I have not had good luck with cucumbers, so I'm hoping for the best. You can see the leaves on the bottom turned white. That's because when I first transplanted them I was watering overhead and the leaves got sunburned. The new growth seems okay, so fingers crossed.

There's already a baby cucumber!

A baby red bell pepper.

And here's the Chard jungle still growing strong from last year, but which needs thinning badly.

So far, besides the Black Seeded Simpson lettuce that I fried, since transplanting, I've only lost one tomato plant and one pepper plant. Not bad at all, I think.

Gardening is good for my soul. I'm so glad I just went ahead and put those tiny seeds in the soil. Watching them grow reminds me of miracles and progress and bounty.

Three things I need to pay more attention to in my life.