Great Day!

Friday night (February 4th), Jared and I got the wonderful opportunity to go with Jessica to the temple for her first experience to do Baptisms for the Dead.   Jessica and I were able to be baptized for 22 female family names, Jared did the baptizing and Grandpa Wolf was a witness.  It was a delightful evening to share with my daughter.  I was overcome with a great joy with the knowledge of what kind of a young lady Jessica is and the choice that she made to go to the temple that day.  I can't help but think about the feelings that I had in the temple that night and can't wait for that one day that all of my children will be around me in the temple.  That will be a glorious day. 

If you would like to learn more about Baptisms for the Dead and temple work click HERE. 

Temple Dedication

What a great and exciting day today is!  Today we get to go to The Gila Valley Temple Dedication.  The girls are excited to go because this will be their 1st temple dedication that they have been able to attend.  I am just as excited because I have only attended one other dedication, the Nauvoo temple back in 2002.  Church was cancelled today in the entire state of AZ so that we all could attend this great event.  It's pretty amazing to me that church would be cancelled everywhere.  That to me shows that it is such an important day. 

Fossil Finders

So I finally figured out how to add video again to the blog. (For those of you who are wondering how...I had to go back and switch to the old version of blogger. When I am done uploading I will switch back to the newer updated version again.) This was such a cute little video of the boys telling about some of their "fossils" that they found at Red Knolls. (Sorry that the picture is sideways. That is something that I still need to figure out how to fix.) Click on the picture to watch the video.


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Gila Valley Temple Open House

Jared and I took the kids to the Gila Valley Temple Open House on Friday, April 30th. We drove down after the girls got out of school on Thursday and stayed over night in Thatcher, AZ. We swam, attended the open house, saw the home that Spencer W. Kimball grew up in, and explored the Red Knolls. It was an awesome weekend. I loved being with the kids, especially in the temple. 

How come every time a kid goes to a hotel one of the first things they do is jump on the bed? 

Jacob & Jayden checking out the refrigerator to see if it really worked. 

After a long day the boys finally passed out.  The next morning we found part of the cookie still in Jacob's mouth that he was chewing before he fell asleep.  Too funny. 

After breakfast the kids were ready to go down for a swim in the hotel's indoor swimming pool. 

Jessica having a good time. 

Jocelyn showing off some of her skills. 

Jayden ready to get out and get warm.  Brrrrr....

Jacob didn't have fun swimming until the very end.  He sat in the corner and had this pouty face on for a good portion of the time. 

Jayden in front of the Gila Valley Temple. 

Jocelyn in front of the Gila Valley Temple. 

Kelm kids April 30, 2010

Gila Valley Temple

The Red Knolls

View from the top of the Knolls. 

Kelm kids with all their treasure that they found.  The boys thought that we were on a fossil finding expedition.  They were so excited when they found their "fossils".  What a great place for the kids to wander around and use their imaginations.  

Temple

After the pizza field trip the boys and I had a few errands to run downtown so we decided to make a stop and go to the Mesa Temple.  It was our lucky day when we arrived because they were starting to set up the big beams of the stage for the upcoming Easter Pageant.  The boys were mesmerized for 20 minutes.  We went into the visitor center so they could see the Christus.  Both Jacob and Jayden wanted to hear the little presentation twice!  They were so excited to come home and tell Jared about how they saw the nail prints in Jesus' hands and feet and they heard Jesus talk to them.  It was such a fun afternoon to spend with the boys.  We should go down there more often for little outings.  I am including the last picture so that I can remember this stage with Jayden.  He is going through the awkward smile stage.  He can smile if he closes his eyes (notice the picture of him while sitting on the fence) or he can make a weird face with his eyes open. 

Reflections

Memorial Day weekend and the month of June are bittersweet to me. They bring back many memories of my dad and of him passing away, but June also brings happy memories of me finally being sealed to my family.

One of my favorite things about my dad was how he used to tell stories and talk to EVERYONE! One story that I heard multiple times was about my dad's friend. This friend was recently remarried to a woman that had young children. He was not used to having kids around the house anymore because his were all grown. One day he took the boys to the gas station with him, and he left them all there. He only discovered that they were left behind when they showed up on the doorstep wondering why he left them. My dad razzed him forever about that! Even as I am typing this, Jared is laughing because of this story. It is not only because we knew this man but because we can still hear the way my dad told the story.

If you were heckled or given a bad time by my dad you knew that you were well liked. When Jared and I first started going out together my dad always called him "JoAnn's long haired Indian". (In case you didn't know Jared back in those days, the story will make more sense when you find out that he had very long hair.) The first time that he came over to the house he had to leave before the dessert was offered. I dished him up some dessert and told him to take it home with him. My dad heckled Jared for years of whether or not Jared ever brought back the bowl. (In case you're wondering, the bowl was returned the next day.) My girls were the first grandkids so of course, he also gave them a bad time. He always told them if they couldn't tell him when their birthdays were that we weren't going to be able to celebrate them. One joke that kind of backfired on him was when he tried to tease Jocelyn into putting grapes on her pizza. Mmmmm...she loved adding this on her pizzas for quite awhile.

June 6, 2006 was such a great day for me. I was sealed to my parents and my dad was sealed to his parents and sister as well. My little niece Tara was also born that day. What a great day to have a little precious spirit come down to earth and be a part of the Gnehm family. I wonder how many stories Grandpa Gnehm filled her with before he let her come down here!