Nauvoo Weekend

My brother Isaac has been working at the new Indianapolis temple doing carpentry, and he's made quite a few friends who have become our friends, too. One of them, Rich, recently got married and has been working on preparing to go through the temple. He went for the first time in Nauvoo, Illinois and invited us all to be there, which was a great excuse for a weekend excursion! I hadn't been in the Nauvoo temple since the open house, so it was a special treat.

My Grandma Shoaf came, too. I had quite a few names to do in the temple, so a group went early to do baptisms and initiatories. My 83 year-old grandma did all the baptisms! She's a rock star. I wish I'd been there to see it, but I didn't get up early enough. That's what I get for sleeping in, I guess.

Apparently, Adelina's best time of day is the morning, but I'm never with her in the morning! This time, though, I got to be with her and we had our first real bonding time. She played and smiled then let me put her to sleep later. I'm making headway. :) Oh, did I mention she didn't like me when she was very little? Would let anyone else hold her, but as soon as she came to me, she'd start crying. Temperamental baby. The sweet moments are totally worth it, though.

After the temple session, we ate lunch then went out to explore Nauvoo a little bit. Most of us had been before, but it's always fun to see the sites, and it's so touching to hear the stories of these faithful Saints who gave everything they had to follow the prophet.

I love the Mississippi River shoreline there, especially at sunset. We saw some barges, and Holden and I jumped up and down long enough to get one of them to blow his horn at us! Everyone said we couldn't do it, but boy did we show them.

That night we went to the see the cute show that the senior missionaries put on. I would love to see my dad in a show like that! I think my mom would eat it up.

We left on Sunday, but we stopped at Carthage Jail, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred. I'm so grateful for the prophet and leader that Joseph Smith was, and the ultimate sacrifice he made so that all of us, including me, could have the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.