If only I had the right words...

It's been one month since we've returned from our vacation to Nauvoo and I still can't find the right words to put our time there on paper or this blog. 



But I can honestly say that it was the trip of a lifetime.

We began talking about making this trip happen three years ago.
Maddie was 13.  Davis was 9 and Cooper would have been five.
Brent has shared with me since the day we were married, that as a young 13 or 14 year old boy, he had made this trip with his family and it was the foundation of his testimony.  He said he wanted to make that trip with his own family one day and we promised each other, lots of years ago, that we would.
We set a goal that when Maddie turned 16, Davis turned 12 and Cooper turned 8 that we would take our family to walk in the footsteps of our Prophet Joseph Smith and the early Saints.

Our itinerary was packed full.
Here is a glimpse of what our days were filled with...
Day 1:
- land in KS
- visit Richmond
- visit Lexington
-eat at Strouds (fried chicken NEVER tasted so good)

Day 2:
- visit Farr West
- visit Haun's Mill
- visit Adam-ondi-ahman
- visit Liberty Jail
- play at Worlds of Fun

Day 3:
- visit the Federal Reserve Bank
- visit Independence
- visit the Truman Library
- eat at Gates Bros. (what an experience!)
- attend the Royals baseball game

Day 4:
- play at the College Basketball Experience
- meet up with the Higgins family for lunch and
- visit the Negro League Baseball Museum
- spend time with my childhood friend JoAnne and her beautiful family
- eat at Oklahoma Joe's (BBQ in a gas station - it comes highly recommended)

Day 5:
- drive to Hannibal
- experience all thing Mark Twain

Day 6:
- drive to Nauvoo
- visit Carthage Jail
- explore Nauvoo
- Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo show

Day 7:
- carriage ride (ask for Elder Shepard. His stories turned a carriage ride into a truly beautiful experience for me)
- explore homes
- Baptisms for the dead in the Nauvoo temple (Brent took Sis and D)
- Women of Nauvoo show in the RS gardens
- country fair
- Nauvoo pageant

Day 8:
- wagon tour
- explore homes
- temple session for Brent and I (I've never felt so close to my mom)
- High Hope & Riverboats show
- Sunset on the Mississippi show (lots of fun and laughter)

Day 9:
- Trail of Hope (the walk down Parley Street to where the Saints crossed the river and left Nauvoo behind)
- explore all the Joseph Smith homes and sites
- souvenir shopping : )

Day 10:
- drive back to KS
- a little more souvenir shopping
- fly back home

Our time in KS was booked pretty solid.  We enjoyed mixing up the church sites with some of the other things the area had to offer.

We slowed things down in Nauvoo.  We had time to explore, rest and get out of the heat (record breaking heat indexes back there) and explore some more, all at our own pace.  We stayed at the Zions Mercantile Hotel, which I highly recommend.  We had two rooms and a view of the temple which was only a few steps away.

These are only a few of the 500 hundred pictures I took.  One of my favorite photo subjects was the Nauvoo temple.  I never tired of trying to capture the temple in all its different light.  Depending on the time of day, where the sun was or wasn't in the sky, the clouds or lack thereof, all made for something different and extremely beautiful.
It felt like holy ground.  And it is.

But truly it was all about this...

I've never spent a more enjoyable 10 days with these people I'm blessed to call my eternal family.  At times when there could have been whining and complaining, there never was (with the exception of a minor little moment from our 8 year old red head being extremely hot and tired one morning).  There were smiles and laughter all around.

I had the kids take a few minutes and write down some of their favorite memories.
I asked specific questions and then they answered in their own words.  Here are just a few...

Cooper: "I really liked Liberty Jail because I felt the Spirit there and I was happy Joseph Smith knew Heavenly Father would protect him and nothing would happen to him."

"When we were at Carthage Jail I felt good because I knew Joseph Smith had been there but sad when I was in the room and saw the bullet hole but I know it was Jesus' plan."

Davis: "Seeing the Nauvoo temple was a highlight for me.  The feelings I had in the temple were overwhelming.  Doing baptisms for the dead in the same place that the early Saints did them was an experience I will never forget."

"I really liked visiting Adam-ondi-ahman where we stood on Preacher's Rock.  It was cool to think about Joseph Smith standing in that same spot and teaching the early Saints."

Maddison: "Carthage was an amazing place because I was able to stand were Joseph and Hyrum stood.  I was able to put my finger in the bullet hole that went through the door and killed Hyrum.  Joseph Smith was an amazing man and prophet.  I could feel the Spirit so strongly there.  I know he died for us and for the Lord's plan to continue for the church."

"The pageant was very spiritual for me.  I even had a few tears...I felt the spirit and saw everything Joseph went through in his lifetime.  It made me so grateful for him and the man he was so that I could have the gospel in my life and not go through those same persecutions that he and the other early Saints were faced with."

And of course I have my own tender feelings about how this all came together and created a  beautiful piece of our family tapestry but I can't share all that here.  I am making a memory book of our trip to give to each of the kids for Christmas.  It will have ALL of our pictures : )  and all of their personal feelings.  Both funny and special.  And a letter from their mom and dad so they can have our testimonies in writing for generations to come.

Nauvoo is not just a random spot on the map, not just a place in our Mormon history and not just a place to visit if it works out.  Nauvoo is must for you and your children.  The day before we had to leave for AZ we were visiting the home of  Heber C. Kimball and the sweet senior missionary sister taking us through told me something I won't ever forget.  She said, "Nauvoo was not just for the early Saints.  Nauvoo was for you and for me."  I reflected on all I had heard and learned and felt over the course of our trip and tears rolled down my cheeks.  I felt the power and truth of those words and I've pondered them many times since.  Each time I am filled with such an intense witness from the Holy Ghost that yes, Nauvoo was for me and I will treasure it and hold it dear.

Nauvoo is a feeling.
And it stays with you.
It wraps warm, comforting arms around you and fills you up to overflowing.
Overflowing with peace, beauty, knowledge and gratitude.
Gratitude beyond words.
It's tangible and felt good in my hands.
You want to linger in its sweetness.
You want to bottle it and bring it home in hopes that this feeling will forever stay.
Yes, Nauvoo is a feeling.


And to my fam-a-lee...Thanks for sharing it with me!!  I love you each 17 : )

Now here's to planning our trip to the Sacred Grove!!