Back To The Motherland...Day 3 & 4

It might be time to start being more brief. And while I realize the pictures are FAR more interesting than the lengthy narrative, the pictures may have to be added later. It takes too long to download them...slow connection...so put on your happy imagination caps and hold on tight...

Saturday morning, Chris woke up early and went to the temple to do an endowment session. I kissed him good-bye and then woke up a second later when he came back into the room.

Did you forget something...I asked sweetly
Uh...no.
Are you not going...I questioned.
Amy, it is 11:10 a.m....I have been gone for almost 4 hours.

Yes. Jet lag can make you sleep and sleep and sleep...even the kids were still sound asleep. The miracles of Melatonin cannot be overemphasized.

I jumped up and got ready so I could head over and do the last endowment session which started at 12 p.m. What an experience! I was dressed in white, sitting in an exquisitely beautiful endowment room next to my mother, across from my father, listening to the session in danish, sitting next to a danish girl who was visiting her in laws, in the beautiful temple in Sweden!!!! As my mom and I sat in the celestial room together at the end, we both commented on how absolutely amazing this experience was. Who would have ever, ever, ever thought we would be doing this? Life has a way of being more glorious and amazing than you could ever dream or plan...when the Lord is in charge. There are the hard moments and the trials and disappointments but they serve to make us stronger and better able to to taste the sweetness of these precious experiences. The feeble plans I thought I had for my life have been NOTHING compared to the places and people and opportunities the Lord has provided. The temple was so sweet. Meeting the wonderful people my parents work with was such a blessing. They work with such amazing, humble people who have a strong Spirit that radiates from their very beings. What choice people! The Spirit was so strong and it is a memory I will forever cherish.

My mom gave me a tour of the temple...it is such a beautiful place. It feels so Scandinavian and radiates the warmth, simplicity, and beauty of this country and its people. My parents have such a deep love for the work they are doing and consider it such a privilege and a blessing to have the opportunity to be here and work beside those that serve in this temple. There is no end to their energy and enthusiasm and gratitude...what an example and legacy they are leaving for their children and grandchildren. I am so grateful to belong to them.


The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and exploring the area. We visited the local bakery and stocked up on enough cake and pastries to get us through the weekend. We had to make a plan...we are going to start at one end of the counter and each day, work our way down. The kids drooled from the moment we walked in until we dragged them back out. I have never beheld such a divine display of food. We went and peered through the window to see mom's bike "Dotty"...so cute. We had a delicious dinner and then watched the first session of conference on their TV here at the house. Lovely day!

Sunday was Easter...the kids woke up, ate breakfast and then got to go on a little Easter egg hunt around the house. I love Easter in Sweden. Houses and businesses are decorated with tree branches covered in beautifully colored feathers. They have great big giant paper Easter eggs that they set around the house and it just looks so fresh and spring like...especially after a long, dark winter. The Easter bunny did double duty this year...Chris and I had brought some small Webkinz animals for them but the Swedish easter bunny brought great big chocolate bunnies and huge plastic eggs full of candy! We're coming to Sweden from now on! Papa and Chris walked across the street to the church and attended Priesthood session while the girls and kids hung out at home. Mo fixed an exquisite meal of ham, lemony potato salad and creamed peas...scrumptious...every bite! We all attended the Saturday afternoon session of conference over at the church...HB fell sound asleep and Mo sacrificed her seat in the cultural hall to take her home and put her down for a nap!

The night before, the kids and I had helped make bunnies out of washcloths for the American couples serving in the temple here. Apparently there is not a washcloth to be found in this country and a couple of them were longing for a good facial scrub...so I had brought a couple of packs of washcloths and we decked them out for Easter. We tied bows, stuck candy in the back, and the kids made really cute paper Easter egg cards. After our afternoon conference session, Matthew played a rousing game of chess with Papa while the rest of us went across the street to the guest house and delivered our little goodies. It was so fun...

We came back to the house and Chris and I took the kids on a special "spiritual" easter hunt outside in front of the temple where we searched for different items in nature that represented different aspects of Christ's atonement and resurrection. At the end, we gave them each a small Book of Mormon and a pack of those "picture" stickers to mark different verses. This kept them busy through about 10 minutes of the next session of conference...

I feel asleep early. It has been such a fantastic experience being here. The air outside is so clean...the water is so clean and tastes so good. The people have been so friendly and helpful. The snow flowers look gorgeous poking their little heads out of the snow. I feel so blessed. I love it here...I love being with my parents. I love sharing this experience with my children. I love that they get to see one of the places they come from and understand a little of the culture and spirit that runs in their veins. I am so grateful for the opportunity to participate in conference...especially on Easter weekend. I'm so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that unites us no matter what corner of the world we call home.

I feel so blessed.