For about a year and a half, Noah has wanted to go inside a temple. Ammon and I go every month and Noah knows how special the temple is to us. He knows that he has to be 12 years old before he's able to serve in the temple. We found out that the Atlanta temple was re-opening after some renovations. Before a temple is dedicated, it is open to the public for tours. We knew we HAD to make it happen for Noah to go inside a temple. I called my sister, Michelle, who lives close to Atlanta and plans were made to go to the temple open house. Noah was so excited. So so so excited. We watched a short video about temples and were then escorted through the temple. Before we went in, they put shoe covers on our feet to keep the temple clean. They boys loved that part. Griffin actually cried when we had to give them back. I walked with Griffin and Ammon walked with Noah. Noah was in awe the whole time. Griffin asked to touch everything. : ) Their favorite part was the Celestial Room. It was bright and beautiful. There was a huge chandelier that Griffin thought looked like a christmas tree, and mirrors that went on for eternity. It filled Ammon and I with joy having our family together in the temple. I am so glad we were able to make the trip to the House of the Lord.
(Noah, Griffin, Tate, Toby, and Troy)
As we were walking back to the car, we realized we hadn't taken a picture yet. Here are the boys with the temple in the background. I was talking to my mom a few days later and and she said that I should ask the boys about the temple and record their answers. I tried but, it didn't go over so well. Here's how the conversations went:
Noah - Age 4
Mom- Where did we go on Saturday?
Noah - Temple and the zoo.
Mom - What was your favorite part of the temple?
Noah - Learning about all the rooms.
Mom - Which room was your favorite?
Noah - The most beautiful room of all.
Mom - Do you remember what that room was called?
Noah - (shakes head)
Mom - Did you get to keep something from the temple?
Noah - Yes! The thing that helps me remember the temple. But I don't need it. I can always remember. (we were given a brochure of the temple)
Mom - What did we have to wear in the temple?
Noah - The things that cover your shoes.
Mom - Why did we have to cover our shoes?
Noah - So we won't get the temple dirty... Is that enough talking? Because I'm trying to delete some pictures off my Explorer.
Griffin - Age 2
Mom - Where did we go on Saturday?
Griffin - The temple!
Mom - What was your favorite part of the temple?
Griffin - We didn't get the temple dirty. And we didn't get the zoo dirty. And we didn't get Toby's house dirty.
Mom - Which room was your favorite?
Griffin - That room and that room.
Mom - Tell me more about the temple.
Griffin - Can I get in Meeko's cage? (Meeko is our puppy)
Yeah, we'll have to do that again. They weren't very talkative when I tried to do this.
