Kirtland 2014

I know the title of this post says "Kirtland 2014" but I just had to sneak in these cute pictures of the girls from last night!

Kaylee (L) and Cambree (R) all smiles.

Oh how I love these girls!

This morning, we got up bright and early and headed to Kirtland to spend a couple hours with my unts and Uncles Jane & Ray and Carol & Ron, who are on a Church History tour this week.

 

We started our tour at the Kirtland Visitor's Center, then headed over to the Mill and Ashery.

Just around the bend from here is where the Saints used to perform baptisms for the living. (Back then, there was a dam, I believe, for the mill and to help with shipping logs, so the river was about 6 ft deep.) I love to imagine them being baptized here.

The other side of the river, by the Ashery:

 

Inside the Mill with our crew.

Kaylee helping daddy hold the umbrella. :)

The Ashery. I love seeing it surrounded by the beautiful trees!


Bethany touching the sample ashes in the Ashery:

The Fall colors in Ohio are SO beautiful. They amaze me every day, and serve as a simple reminder of how creative and all-knowing our Creator is. The beauty  of the changing leaves truly fills my soul.

One of the houses for the missionaries:

 

 

 

Every time I visit a Church History site, I love to think about how I am walking right where the saints walked so many years ago. It helps me feel close to them and what happened there. (This used to be the main road through town. The road traveled by cars today is a recent re-routing made to go around the Churches' historic sites.)
The sister in the foreground was our tour guide.

 

 Sisters and spouses :)

I learned today that the Churches' historical site are 100% donor funded. I thought that was so wonderful, and it made me want to also contribute to building these places that are such an important part of our history and do so much to teach and build testimonies.

After the tour, we said goodbye to my aunts and uncles and headed to the Kirtland temple.

The kids were tired and hungry, so Travis hung with them in the car as they napped and ate their lunch while dad and I walked over to the temple to take a few quick pictures.

This is such a beautiful, interesting building. My voice swelled with emotion as I told the girls that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery saw Jesus Christ right in this very place. So many wonderful things happened at the Kirtland temple, including visitations of Biblical prophets, visions of angels, and the singing of heavenly beings. And many more wonderful things happened in Kirtland, including other heavenly visions and several important revelations. I'm so glad we live close to this special place and have the opportunity to visit and share it with our girls.

We drove through the most beautiful countryside, including Amish country, on the way there and back, and saw several buggies and one wagon, as well as a few Amish people walking around as we drove. It was hard to tear our eyes away from all the interesting things and gorgeous foliage we passed by!

 

We can't wait to go back this winter for the Nativity display!