Temple trips and pioneer heritage

1. I am 17 weeks pregnant today.

2. My 25th birthday is tomorrow.

3. My 5-year wedding anniversary is next month on Aug. 9

Temple roadtrip
Yesterday, Scott and I drove to Columbia, S.C., to attend the Columbia temple. I was nervous in the morning because I felt sick and last time I felt sick and tried to travel it didn't end well. But we decided it made a big difference if I was the one driving - much to Scott's pleasure since I like to make him drive.

With the nearly 3-hour drive, we arrived 30 minutes before the noon session, but I had to eat (of course). So I talked Scott into taking me to a little southern place back down the road and then attending the 2 p.m. session, which was also the last session of the day. Little did we know it was also the Spanish session. We figure it out once they offered us a headset. It turned out to be a neat experience.

I brought my camera, but forgot to take pictures of us outside the temple. So I'm substituting with one of our wedding pictures in front of the Seattle temple. I've been thinking a lot about family lately... no surprise there.

Left to right: My dad's parents, Willis and Dorothy; my parents, Paul and Susan; my mom's parents, Louise and Jim.

Family
I just love that families are forever. I'm so grateful for Scott and that we are about to have our first baby. I can't imagine my life with out Scott. He is my best friend, someone I just can't get enough of, and have so much respect for...not to mention his strikingly good looks.

Pioneers in Scott's family and my family
I'm also appreciative of my parents and grandparents; for their faith, hard work and sacrifice. July is when my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints, celebrates it's pioneer heritage. After Joseph Smith restored the church in 1830, new members began to gather from all over the country and Europe. Many of them sacrificed everything to travel to Salt Lake.

Some of Scott's ancestors were part of this group. They joined the church in England, then traveled to the United States, built their own handcart, and journeyed to the Salt Lake Valley with the Willy Handcart Company. Scott was asked to speak in church today about his pioneer ancestors. It's really an amazing story, but I won't get too detailed. Let me say that the Willy Handcart Company left too late in the year and endured freezing temperatures and starvation before meeting a rescue party sent from Salt Lake. Scott has an account of the trek that talks about them boiling raw hide from the wagon wheels for food and feeding the children strips of flour bags to get what was left of the flour.

Scott's ancestor, Hannah Humphries, was nine-years-old. Miraculously, her whole family survived and settled in Utah.

My family has more modern pioneers. They didn't travel across the country or endure starvation, but they made their own sacrifices to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ and be baptized a "Mormon." They pioneered the way for generations to come.

My great-great grandma with my grandma, Dorothy Cleaver, and grandpa, Willis Cleaver, on their way to the Salt Lake Temple. My grandparents were sealed together and my great-great grandma was sealed to her husband, who had passed away.

Cleavers
My Grandma Cleaver's family joined the church in Kansas when she was about 6 years old. She died in April, leaving a legacy of 4 children, 21 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren with 4 more on the way. Most of us find great joy and happiness in the gospel and are so thankful for her and my grandpa teaching us how to live honest, good lives.

My grandma, Louise, and grandpa, Jim, with their first four children - Jon, Debbie, Ron and Denice.
The next to come was Bill and my mom was the baby.

Wrights
On my mom's side of the family, my Grandma Wright was the first to join when she was a young mom. As I've been told, she was at her wits end with her children and prayed to God for help. The next day, missionaries from church knocked on her door to share the gospel. She knew this was her answer and began investigating the gospel. She was baptized and began single-handedly towing four young children to church until my grandfather joined 7 years later. They also have a huge clan of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who have followed their example. They have served in the church for years; my grandpa is the patriarch in my home stake.

Because their generation recognized the gospel as truth, I've had the blessing of being born into a righteous family, raised in the church, be baptized, sealed in the temple, and have the comfort and knowledge that comes with knowing I am a daughter of God.

That knowledge, that I am never alone, means so much to me. And I hope to share this great heritage with my children.