Our Family Tree

We have our very own family tree.  No, I'm not talking genealogy.  I'm talking about something mushy, sentimental, and romantic here.

Joel proposed to me in a park across from the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, at the base of a tree with a giant trunk.  It was a great spot, made peaceful and lovely from the late-night moonlight glittering through the leaves above us.  I've never forgotten it.  Joel's words were simple and perfect and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

The tree looks quite different in the day time.  It is massive.  Joel's head doesn't quite pass the knotty part you can see on the trunk before the limbs separate.  I have always wondered how old that tree is.

So, on our recent trip to Utah, we decided to stop and visit our engagement tree.  We haven't been back since the original event!  Now that we have three kids (and counting), I consider this landmark to be more of a family tree than an engagement tree.

We had the camera on timer, but it was downhill from us and we didn't all quite squeeze together before the camera clicked.

We really do love each other, I promise!

Yes, we kissed.  I like kissing Joel even more now than I did then!  The kids' reactions are typical.  Ashley is awed, William is screaming, and Everett is bored.  It's a good thing Joel and I have forever to get our smooching in.

We played around in the park for a while.

(this picture was over-exposed but I'm including it anyway.)

Of course our jolly William found his good friend, dirt.

(and ate it.)

Then because I am a very nice mom, I made my kids pose in front of the Temple.

(Put your arms up and yell "Hooray!", we commanded.)

I talked to the kids about what it means that Joel and I were married for eternity in the temple.  After hearing about how we can all live together in heaven, Ashley said, "But I will need a big person to help me get all the way up there because I am very small!"

She was referring to the physical method of arriving in heaven (though I don't know how that works), but she is right in many ways.  I am grateful that I get to be the one to help my kids learn how to live righteously so we can all be with our Father in Heaven.  I know that not everyone believes there will be family units or love between couples in Heaven, but I do with all my heart.  I can't imagine true Heaven without it.  Preparing and teaching my children is a joyous job with a steep learning curve but I wouldn't wish away a moment of it.