Why We Celebrate

Our favorite thing to do on Memorial Day is attending the Dacula Memorial Day Parade. We have only missed it one time in the last 12 years--and that was last year, because we were in Utah.  There was a new addition to the parade this year; an acknowledgment of the fallen soldiers from Georgia. It truly put into perspective how the tragedy on 9/11 continues to affect the lives of so many.

There are 194 men and women who were honored.

As the veterans from WWII and Vietnam pass, the crowd cheers and applauds very loudly. People whistle and yell in respect for them. When we realized what was happening and who was passing, a complete silence unanimously came over us. We stood there and silently applauded for those who shed their blood on our behalf. I have to say that it was overwhelming. 194 may not seem like a high number if you're comparing it to a thousand, but seeing almost 200 people holding a poster with the name, age, rank, and date of death of someone who died while serving our country is very sobering. 

Everyone cried.
  

I tried to capture how many people were passing.

I love the reenactment of Iwo Jima.

Kayleigh has dreamed for many years now, that all she wants is to be in the parade. She finally had her chance this year by passing out fliers for Betsy's Ta Vaci performing group. Cozette is a teeny tiny performer and was also in the parade.  What is so funny is how miserable Kayleigh looks. She even laughed when she later watched herself. And I am not the greatest at taking videos. I need to work on it a bit.  

After the parade, we were looking forward to a leisurely day at the pool and a cook out at our house with the family. When we reached our van was when the real excitement happened.

But that is another story.

Stay tuned.

A Post About Kayleigh

Kayleigh recently mentioned that I had not blogged about her in a long time, so I decided to write a post just about her. Today is her last day of being in middle school. She enjoyed being a peer leader this year. In about two months, she will be in the 9th grade--which means Brad and I are about to have a child in high school.

I can't believe it.

Kayleigh also got braces this week. Poor little thing has a mouth full of metal! She is still wearing her expander as well. She has been in quite a bit of pain this week and likes to remind me of it. I like to remind her that sometimes the process of being beautiful is painful. She just rolls her eyes at me.

I told her last night that all we will do this summer is party. She really liked that idea. I do not like that we only have five summers left before she leaves for college. This will be her first year attending Especially for Youth. She has been counting down for since January for this.

She is my best girl.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Need I say more?

Cozette's First Talk

Cozette gave her first talk in Primary today. The topic she was to address was the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days. Truly, it was. She did a fabulous job standing in front of the Primary children, and was not nervous a bit. She really liked speaking into the microphone. She was so proud of herself after she was finished. I am thankful that our church instills confidence in our children at such an early age. 

Here is Cozette's talk:

When Jesus Christ lived on earth, he established his church. The church was taken from the earth after Jesus died. When Joseph Smith was 14, he wanted to know which church was true. He prayed to Heavenly father to know what church he should join. Heavenly father and Jesus Christ appeared to him, and told him not to join any of the churches.  In 1836, the prophet Joseph Smith restored the true gospel of Jesus Christ—the same church that existed when Jesus lived on earth. 

I am thankful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love Jesus, and I want to be like him. I love primary. I have so much fun with Sister Hammond and Sister Goodyear. 

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Happy Mother's Day

I started crying at this picture of my dad, and other men
from our ward attempting to clean up the remains of this home.

The devastation is overwhelming. 

I had a very special Mother's Day with my mom, daughters, and sister this year. I awoke this morning to a home absent of Brad and Everett. They were in Alabama, along with Papa, helping with the tornado relief effort. Everett came home and said that he was grateful for what he has, "so many people have nothing now," he expressed to me. This has been a day of reflection. I am thankful to be a mother. I am thankful for my beloved husband--for my dear children. I have been blessed with wonderful parents. I love my Mom. She is so dear to me. I love my mother-in-law.

My blessings are endless.    

My Dad told us about a home that looked like a tree had cut it in half like a knife.

Everett said he saw the the roots of a tree 

that were bigger than our kitchen.

Tonight the ladies in our ward, received an email from our Elder's Quorum President, with the following email message attached from the daughter of an elderly gentleman who received assistance today.

"How do you thank people enough for sharing their faith.  There's no way possible. To all the wives, mothers, and grandmothers who shared their sons to help us in Moody, AL you can be very proud of them all. They have given me the best Mother's Day gift possible. They worked on my 84 year old father's property  all day. He told me this morning he thought he would never see his shop again because of all the trees, but now he can. He is in stage four lung cancer but it thrilled his soul to see your fine young men working for him, a total stranger.  We can never repay you, but know that we will always remember you and thank God for revealing Himself to us through your church.

Thank you, 
Judy Martin

Brad and Everett told me about this family. Brad shared how they graciously provided drinks for them. He said that at one point he looked for Everett, and saw him dragging a tree limb with one hand and was drinking a soda with his other.

This has been the most meaningful Mother's Day of my life.

The Re-dedication of the Atlanta Temple

It would be nice to know how many people were influenced for good because of the open house and re-dedication of the Atlanta, GA Temple. There must be thousands--I sincerely believe that everyone who entered those sacred doors felt something heavenly. I had the unique opportunity of working several shifts at the open house. My sister, Nikki, and I spent an entire day serving as ushers and tour guides. Being with my little sister and serving as an usher in the temple was a wonderful experience. During my shifts, I saw the faces of over a thousand people. It seemed the entire spectrum of humanity was represented.

My location as an usher allowed me to observe people several times as they toured the temple. There was one woman in particular that made an impression upon me. As she walked towards me, we smiled at each other. She had very long flaming pink hair, she wore a halter dress, and she was tattooed all over her body. It would be easy to judge her appearance, but her hair color and tattoos are not what I recall about her. I was humbled at the quiet reverence about her countenance. It was easy to see that she was in awe of her surroundings and was humbled by the beauty of the temple. I knew that she was touched by what she saw. And she touched me. She was a reminder that we are never to judge others. Only the Lord knows what is in a persons heart, and I believe that I had a small glimpse of hers.

I witnessed several v.i.p. tours, not that these people were treated any better, but these were people who were at the temple for special reasons. I enjoyed seeing a Jewish rabbi. He was interested in every detail, and I could also hear him asking questions. There was a contractor who toured because the church is interested in buying property from him. He wanted to see what the LDS church does with real estate they purchase. I found that to be very interesting.

There were countless members taking their families through. Children oohed and ahhed as they walked the beautiful halls. Brad and I took our children, too. While we were in the sealing room, Cozette said, This is where my Mommy and Daddy were married!" Then she pointed at the alter and said, "And that is where they put their cake!" Brad and I also served at the temple together. He helped with parking outside, and I helped with the tour guides again. At the end of each tour, I would grab a cookie from the hosting tent and meet him at a gate to pass him cookies.

There are experiences in life we hope to never forget. Brad and I discussed how we wanted to always remember the powerful spirit that was at the temple during the open house. It was tangible, and we could see it on the faces of everyone we encountered. We visited with many friends. I was overcome with a feeling that this is what heaven will be like. We were promised there would be miracles because of the open house. The greatest blessing for our family is an increased desire to serve and a greater testimony that the temple is the house of the Lord. I left with a resolve to try harder to be like my Savior.  President Monson said the re-dedication of the temple was in essence an opportunity for us to rededicate ourselves to the Lord.

That is what we hope to do most.

If you stumble upon my blog, and are interested in learning more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, please click here.

Once in a Lifetime

President Thomas S. Monson

In honor of the rededication of the Atlanta Temple, my children had the rare opportunity of participating in the Atlanta Temple Youth Cultural Celebration "Southern Lights" at the Atlanta Civic Center. The theme was, "Ye are all the children of  light." Jesus Christ is the light of the world. As Southerners, we strive to follow His perfect example by letting our lights shine.  The program celebrated Georgia's rich history through music and dance and honored the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in our area. The youth choir performed special music such as, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" and a special song written just for our celebration titled, "Ye Are All Children of Light."

About 2,500 youth in our temple district were involved, and they practiced for months. Some came in spite of great difficulty due to the recent outbreak of tornadoes in their area.  Many left homes that were destroyed.  Each ward had a dance, song, and costume specialist. Hundreds of hours were spent in preparation for the celebration. There were times the task seemed daunting, but our youth and leaders were able to rise to the occasion with much dedication and hard work.  Truly, this was a labor of love. 

There were about 26 dances performed, all depicting the history of Georgia. Some of our favorites were the Charleston, swing, a Singing in the Rain medley, and country line dancing. The crowd went wild as the boys from the Sugar Hill stake performed a spectacular rendition of The Stomp. Our ward was part of a group that celebrated Georgia's love for football. We had a drum line, the color guard, cheerleaders, and football players, and the marching band represented through dance. Kayleigh and Everett were part of the marching band and performed to 76 Trombones. It was a synchronized dance, and the 300 youth on stage were a sight to behold.

I asked my children what the cultural celebration meant to them.

Kayleigh said, "This has been meaningful to our family, because my mom was in the 8th grade when the temple was first dedicated, and  I am in the 8th grade now and have loved being a part of the re-dedication of the temple. Having the temple closed for two years has given me perspective and an understanding of the reality of so many youth around the world. They have to travel for days and sometimes under very difficult circumstances to get to the temple. I will try to never take for granted having a temple so close."   

Everett answered by saying, " At first I did not think that I was going to be able to participate in the celebration, because I was only 11 when the announcement was made. But then I learned I could be a part of it, because I turned 12 before April 30. I was really excited about that. I play baseball and this is a pretty hard sport, but learning this dance for the celebration was even harder! At first, I did not think I could do it, but I tried my hardest and wanted to do my best for the prophet." 

This has been a once in a lifetime experience for our family. Kayleigh and Everett will draw upon this for years to come. They have created memories that will last forever. Their testimonies have grown and their resolve to do good has been strengthened. This has been life changing for them.

The best part for me and Brad was the surprise of having seats so close to the stage. Nikki works with our stake in public affairs. She called me on my cell phone and said, "I have two seats waiting for you. Hurry up!"  She explained where she was sitting, and as we walked into the auditorium, I thought I must be mistaken as we inched our way closer and closer and closer to the stage. We were about seven rows from the orchestra pit. I had a perfect view of President Monson.

We were told that he was really getting into the performances.

There are no words to express the wonderful spirit of the evening. We watched our youth with complete joy and with an understanding that they are truly doing their best to shine their light unto all the world.


 

Kayleigh and Everett after the show.

It's nice having a V.I.P. in the family!

This was a backdrop on stage during the finale. The choir was singing as the youth filled the auditorium.  The room was dark as each youth shined a tiny flash light. It was an awesome sight.