The Sunday we were in Idaho Falls was a little rough. We barely made it through Sacrament with an exhausted Alyssa and several restless kids. After Sacrament meeting I took Ellie to nursery and tried to get Alyssa to sleep, but it was all just not happening. And within a few minutes the nursery leader brought a crying Ellie to me. Completely frustrated, I took the two little girls and headed back to my parents house. I figured if we weren't going to get anything out of church anyway, than Alyssa might as well get a good nap. On my way I had the thought pop into my mind that I should put Alyssa down for a nap and then take Ellie to the temple to walk around the grounds. It was divine inspiration. I dropped Alyssa off (there were people at home) and headed to the beautiful Idaho Falls temple. We went into the visitors center and Ellie was immediately drawn to the Christus statue they have there. We sat down and listened to the recording that plays Jesus talking. He had Ellie's complete attention. I don't think I have ever seen her sit so still and listen so intently. After it finished we talked about what he had said and then she asked to listen to it again. So we did. And then we listened to it two more times. We ended up spending the next hour and a half talking about Jesus, looking at the "owies" on his hands and feet, and walking around the temple grounds. It was such a sweet, special time.
At one point Ellie went up to the statue, touched Jesus' hand, looked up at him, and then while touching one of her own owies said, "I have a owie too. It's okay. It'll go away. It will be all better". She was really concerned about his owies, so I told her that because Jesus got owies and died, He is in Heaven and we will get to live with him there again. She thought for a second and then started going through all of her family and friends asking if they would live with Jesus in heaven. Then she asked if all her friends would live with Jesus and I said yes. She got a huge smile on her face, threw her little fists in the air, and yelled, "YES!" It was the sweetest thing and brought tears to my eyes.
I am so grateful for that small prompting I had and for the way it turned my afternoon around. I am so grateful for that time I had with Ellie to teach her and to be taught. I hope that in some small way she will remember this experience.
Monday morning bright and early we packed up and headed home. Usually by the end of our visits we are so ready to be home, but this time Jon and I both weren't ready. I so wish we could have stayed longer. It was such a great trip and a great visit.
Alyssa is at a hard traveling age so we stopped a lot. We planned our first stop to be Shoshone Falls since we have never been. We had a little picnic and spent a few minutes looking at the falls before we headed on to finish our long drive. I'm so glad we were able to take this trip. It was definitely one of my favorites.
