Happy Birthday, Gina!

Having celebrated our 22nd year anniversary this month and now both of us being 44, we have now been married for half of our lives. Big whoop? Well, we are excited about it. To celebrate Gina's birthday, the boys and I decided to make her a nice dinner. Sterling, our Norwegian Pancake maker was very enthusiastic about doing a crepe dinner for her. Devin wanted to have several courses and they both volunteered to be waiters and servers for our dinner for two. Stopping by the store on my way home from work, Sterling gave me the shopping list. We had to figure out what pimentos were but then couldn't get the lid off so we never used them anyway. A few other items were secured and I was on my way home. The boys were already hard at work. Sterling had the crepes going and Devin was busy making cookies. I started in on the filling and in about 5 minutes we received a phone call that Rachael had been hit with a stick at field hockey practice and needed stitches over her eye. With some trepidation in my heart, I left Devin and Sterling alone with three active burners on the stove, a crepe maker in action and not a spare inch on any of the counters. I pretty much stayed in constant phone contact with Devin. Rachael indeed needed stitches so I took her to the hospital. Gina went back home and took Sterling to soccer practice so Devin was left to finish up. By the time Rachael and I got home the boys had everything ready. The table was set for two, complete with sparkling cider, candles, cloth napkins and servers in dress shirts and ties. Our first course was a very nice strawberry salad. We were then given broccoli cheese soup (which I didn't even know was on the menu). A most delicious chicken and pea crepe dish was our main course, followed by strawberry chocolate crepes for dessert. It was extremely well presented and tasted fabulous. Great job boys! The hour it took me to do every dish that we own in the house was worth it.

Our Forever Family

Yesterday was our anniversary, or as Gina and I like to call it, "Our family's birthday." It is hard to believe that we have been married now for twenty two years. Where did the time go by? I was scheduled to volunteer at the Spanish speaking clinic last night and we are planning on going out to eat tonight, but when I arrived for my shift the building was dark, locked and vacant. I was a little miffed as I had confirmed my shift just a week ago and this is the second time they have done this to me now. As I started to drive home, I looked at the clock and had the thought that I could take Gina to the temple and we could do sealings together.

You see, in our temples there are those who have the authority as did Peter to bind in heaven what is bound on earth. There are no limitations of mortality on us. When we were married it was not "until death do you part," but "for time and all eternity." As this authority is not limited by mortality it is able to be offered to those who left this life without having the opportunity to have done so while here on earth. It is the same principle as baptizing for those who have died as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:29. When Gina and I went to the temple, we kneeled across the altar to each other and the same vows that we took twenty-two years ago were spoken, only we were doing so in the name of a couple that had lived previously. They as spirits still have their free agency and are able to choose whether or not to accept our gift to them. That said, I certainly felt a spirit of love and gratitude in that room and look forward to some day meeting them. We now have something in common, we now share the same anniversary!

Looking in Gina's eyes, thinking of eternity, was a powerful experience. Parley P. Pratt, one of the early apostles who lived at the time of Joseph Smith and whose character was the narrator of our pageant, said the following on learning of this wonderful doctrine, "It was from him [Joseph] that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the fountain of divine eternal love…I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved–with a pureness–an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul from the transitory things of this groveling sphere and expand it as the ocean. I felt that God was my Heavenly Father indeed; that Jesus was my brother, and that the wife of my bosom was an immortal, eternal companion; a kind ministering angel, given to me as a comfort, and a crown of glory for ever and ever. In short, I could now love with the spirit and with the understanding also.”

A Refreshing Return

We could not stay away! Being in the red cast, we performed first but that meant we did not have the opportunity of watching the other casts perform the pageant. We decided we would drive up on Friday for one last Nauvoo experience. Karalee had to work early the next day and we have sent Sterling off with Grandpa to Lake Powell for the week, so Devin, Rachael, Gina and I headed up after work. We drove through torrential rain most of the way. No matter, a little rain was not going to stop the pageant, nor our enthusiasm for seeing it. When we reached the Iowa border, the road was shut down due to flooding. No matter, we'll drive up to Fort Madison and cross the river there. As we got closer and closer to the river, we became more and more antsy and anxious to be there. Nearing the bridge, Gina commented, "let's hope the drawbridge is down." We payed our fee and within seconds of getting on the bridge, alarms sounded, the barrier came down right behind us preparing to lift the bridge for a coming barge. It was quite a bit up river and we would have been sitting, waiting for a long time. Whew! That was a close one.

By the time we drove past the school, by the condos and through town we could hardly sit still. There was standing puddles of water everywhere, the skies were dark but there were just a few drops falling. The weather held, even clearing by the end of the pageant. It turned out to be one of the least humid and most pleasant evenings we have seen in weeks. Perfect.

As we neared the parking lot, we spotted Devin. Oh wait! That would be another cast member in Devin's costume. Later, looking for Rachael in the crowd I realized that the reason I couldn't find her was that I was looking for a pretty young pioneer girl in a red dress. After the pageant was over, Devin said he found himself coming up to a complete stranger and asking them how they enjoyed it. It felt so natural being there. We could have easily stepped back into our old roles.

Best of all was seeing some of our friends. Rachael and Devin were so excited to see the Wadleys, the Shirtliffs and others. Gina and I found Charly right off and loved visiting with her. While talking with her, I turned to find Brad (who plays John Taylor and was my partner for the healing scene) staring at me with his jaw dropped in amazement. He could not believe what a shave and haircut would do to my appearance! We all got a good laugh out of that.

The pageant was wonderful. There indeed were many scenes that we never saw and even more that we could appreciate even better, being farther back watching the whole performance. We were touched by the message portrayed on stage, reminded of the warmth and joy that comes with knowing God, his son Jesus Christ and following His plan for our happiness.