Draper Temple Open House

The week of Jan. 27th, Stephanie and Jeff went on vacation to Orlando, and mom came down to babysit. My poor dad had to be alone....bless him forever for his sacrifices!! But it was fun to have her with us. On the 29th, Jenna, mom and I went to the Draper Temple Open House while the other kids were in school...




The architecture reminds me of the Mayan Temples, how they are square, the steps were very steep...It was beautiful. A friend from school, Missie, her mother was asked to crochet a tablecloth for one of the sealing rooms....Missie got to help out. Unfortunately they weren't out for the open house, but will be in place for the dedication...



And they served us refreshments afterwards, which Jenna was excited to have a tea party with her bunny and blanket...

Week in Idaho....The Twin Falls and Rexburg Temples

My mom and I were able to see the Twin Falls Temple during the open house on the 13th of August. It is beautiful! They used the Syringa flower, Idaho's state flower, throughout the wall paper, carpet, stain glass, chandeliers, EVERYWHERE!! They had the Shoshoni Falls painted in the ordinance rooms....once again, it was just beautiful! Afterwards, we went to see the Shoshoni Falls....Who would have guessed in an area so desolate, flat, and dry there would be a little oasis...


My dad and mom have worked really hard one their home in Arimo, ID. It is a beautiful home, plenty of room, and of course, it has to have a lot of space for gardens and a work shop....


They planted watermelon....


And of course we had to try some....


The Rexburg Temple....


We also went to a session at the Rexburg Temple on the 19th. Crazy to see all of the construction going up, and how different everything looks. It actually makes me a little sad. It is also beautiful, with wheat in the stain glass, carpet, and walls.....



It is fun to see, even though they may look alike, the differences of each temple is fun to pick out. Then we went to the Idaho Falls Temple Visitor's Center, and watched the Joseph Smith Video. I absolutely love that video! I always am amazed at how humble and good the Prophet was. I always tear up during the scenes with Alvin....to see their relationship together, and how joyous Joseph must have been to hear about baptisms for the dead. We are truly blessed...



We saw Stephanie and Jeff's baby girl, Kaitlyn. She is in the Rexburg Cemetary. Her little spot is green, she has a cute basket Stephanie made for her, and the trees are growing. It is so peaceful, and a beautiful view of the Temple on the hill. It was a personal reminder of the promises for Eternal Families...While we were in the area, we went to Sugar City, so we saw a tribute to Thomas Neibaur, a soldier in WWI and served in France. It was neat to read about his experiences, of heroism. He was only 19 years old!! It made me wonder what I would do in his situation.....

Temple Square with the Bares

The Bares invited me to go with them at the 6th of Dec. to see the Joseph Smith movie and the lights at Temple Square! Some of the favorite highlights were walking up the circular stairs to gaze at the Christist, the reflection pond with a nativity scene surrounded by lit up bubbles, hearing the narration next to the tabernacle....

Stephanie and Jeff's family...


The kids and me...

Christmas at the Bares 2008

After we came back from Cincinnati, we spent the holidays with the Bares. Stephanie picked us up at the airport and we came home to a winter wonderland!! Luckily, I was put on call at the hospital until 10 pm, so I was able to spend the evening with the family. We started out with Christmas dinner, followed by the Nativity reading. Here is the cast!!

Jared was Joseph and Alyssa was Mary...


Aimee and Jenna were the angels...


Stephanie was the Pianist and Dad was the Narrator...


Jeff was the shephard, Mom and Me were the Wise Men...


Afterwards, Jenna was found holding baby Jesus...



To keep up the Hebdon family tradition, we opened up a Christmas Eve gift....pajamas!! So that we could all sleep warm while "visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads"....

Cincinnati at Christmas Time 2008

So, Jeff was great and added my pics to a cd....so yeah!! I get to finally post what has been going on in the past few months....

My mom, dad, and I left Utah on Dec. 18th! We were so incredibly excited to see Kevin's family!?! It had been over a year, and a trip long over due. When we finally got in, due to bad weather, it was really late, so we snuck in the house, and waited til the kids came home from school for the grand surprise!?

We always love going there, and visiting all of the sites...the kids were troopers!! We went to the Cincinnati Conservatory. It is so incredibly beautiful there. You could even smell the oranges....I miss oranges from Cali!! They had a miniature town replica of the city...


This is Adam...


This is their family...

My favorite part was at the tropical forest...


This is mom and dad...

We also went to a building that displayed an up to scale train replica with the city in the background...



While we were walking down the street, Rachel and I had to grab this cute pic with the kids...



One of the "must do's" in Cincinnati is to visit Jungle Jims!? K, if you are ever in the area, you have to go!? We absolutely love it. They have foods from all over the world....meats of every kind (some that make you cringe just to look at them, including heads), and fruits of all variety. I had to take home a pomelo and a persimmon to try. The pomelo was heavenly, just like grapefruit, but the persimmon left a few puckered lips!?! We found out later that it wasn't ripe enough...too funny!! Anyways, my pics didn't turn out there :0( So sad!! But the kids did visit Santa there...



We went to a private farm that is known for their display of Christmas lights and story settings from the scriptures all the way to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the second time that we have been there, and it always touches me to know how much this family wants to share their love for their Savior...



Also, Beth was asked to accompany the ward choir with the family for the Christmas Program. She did so incredibly well! She even brought me to tears. It was one of the best I have been too, the music really brought the Spirit in. Beth has an amazing talent, one that she can always use throughout her life. I wanted to get a pic, but we always ran out of time...

This is Beth and I with Santa at Cabellas...


We returned back to Utah on the 24th, I had to work at the ICU. It was absolutely crazy!? We ended up waking up at 3:00 am to leave for Louisville just to make sure that we would make a flight (we were on standby). Of course, we had to go through the security checks, yeah, the one were they frisk and wand ya....guess who had to be checked TWICE!? Yeah, me!! I guess it's that sweet look, ya can't trust it!?

Thank you, Kevin and Rachel for letting us spend those days with you!! It was so much fun to see you again, to experience the Christmas Spirit, and to make more memories!!