Temple Day

Living in Utah made going to the temple a breeze compared with living in Biloxi (or almost anywhere else in the world for that matter).  In Utah, I could wake up one morning and decide that I may want to go to the temple in the evening and bam!  Babysitter? Always. Travel? 12 minutes. And if I happened to forget my recommend, it was only a 20 minute inconvenience and I could catch the next session.  No problemo.  

Well, with the nearest temple being 3 hours away in Baton Rouge, a little more planning is required.  Do we take Emerson with us and just trade off watching him in an unfamiliar city while the other person works?  Or should we maybe take another couple with us and swap all the kids between couples?  Also, reservations are necessary since sessions are few and far between so that makes timing interesting.  And if I were to forget my temple clothing, it would be a no go since they don't have spare clothing.  Memory and preparation are key for a temple trip now so this was the only time we got to go since moving to Biloxi.  We decided it would be best for our family to leave Emerson with a babysitter and just go as a couple.  My angel of a visiting teacher was kind enough to watch him for 8+ hours.  What a trooper she is, especially since she has a one-year-old of her own and is pregnant, too.  

So I made reservations for a 12:00pm session and we planned to leave around 8am and be back around 5pm.  We woke up as usual and got ready for the day.

How can a day not be great when it's started with Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch?  

We planned on eating in Baton Rouge before going inside the temple, but brought snacks just in case we ran into some sort of traffic or car trouble.  Or just plain got lost.  Thanks to Will's newest toy TomTom (whom he named Lizzy) that scenario wasn't much of a concern.  

Sidenote:  if you haven't ever tried an Asian Pear (they are the ones that come in this weird foamy thing), you are seriously missing out.  Will insisted they were great and he's completely right.  They are so good....crunchy like an apple but taste like and have the texture of a pear.  Delish, I tell you.  I have since gone back to the store and gotten 6 more.

I meant to hem Will's temple pants before our actual trip but never did (I told you memory was key, and this minor detail escaped mine.  Luckily we had a few hours so I could sew on the way).

Not too bad for a quick fix in the car, but a good ironing would sure help out.  I sat on them for the last 30 minutes of the ride hoping my bum-heat would act as a psuedo-iron-job.  It seemed to help for the time being.  

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant about a half mile away from the temple.  It was great food and totally hit the spot for us.  Anyone heading to Baton Rouge should stop at La Carretta.  You won't be disappointed.

We made it to the temple with plenty of time to spare so we snapped a few pictures.  Our session was more full than we were expecting, although we didn't really know what to expect seeing how this was new for us.  I'd never been through a smaller temple before other than to do baptisms as a youth so I was enamored with the compactness of it everything inside.  The locker room is teeny and each room inside can be accessed from the main hallway, including the baptismal font.  

We thoroughly loved the time spent at the temple and were blessed to have a nice spiritual experience.  Sometimes exactly what we need is a break from the world and a few moments alone with the Spirit and our thoughts.  I have greatly missed having the temple in such close proximity to my home and admire those who don't live close to one.  Much effort is required for most to visit the temple, and even our day-long trip was nothing compared to some.  Any visit to the temple is worth the work, though.  We were so blessed to spend a beautiful day together as husband and wife in the house of the Lord.