Vacation Day 6-- Sacred Grove and Smith Farm

You can probably see all the sites in Palmyra in just a day, but we chose to spread it out over a few days so the kids wouldn't get tired of sitting and listening and trying to be reverent. The problem we didn't realize is that there is not much else to do there in Palmyra :)

One of the places that we most wanted to be special to the kids was the Sacred Grove. We came during the time of the Hill Cumorah Pagaent so we knew there were tons of people in the area wanting to do all of the same things we wanted to do, so we decided to get up early and go to the Sacred Grove before tours even started anywhere. We hoped it would be quiet and peaceful, and it was. I think we saw only 3 or 4 other people there. This wonderful place is where Joseph Smith humbly came to pray, hoping to receive an answer to his question, which church he should attend. There was a lot of religious fervor at the time and everybody believed and interpreted things so differently. This fourteen year old boy really, truly wanted to know what to do. He wanted to do what was right. After pondering James 1:5 he decided he must ask God what we should do. It was in this quiet wooded area near his home that he went to pray. The heavens were opened and God the Father and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph. They told him to join none of the churches, none of them were the church that Jesus had established on the earth.

This is a story we have told to our children. It is a story that both Greg and I believe literally happened. You can feel the reverence of this place even though it has been nearly 200 years. I was amazed at how peaceful and reverent the kids were. We were there over an hour and enjoyed feeling knit together as we thought about and talked about the things that had happened here. I will be forever grateful for that earnest prayer offered by a young boy.

We were also able to visit the two Smith homes as well. I was once again reminded of all that was required of these earliest of Saints. They sacrificed so much. What they established then is such a blessing to me and my family now. It makes me want to more fully devote my life to the Lord and His work here on the earth.

After a lovely morning we had to step back into our normal life a little bit. I had to do laundry! I hadn't been to a laundromat since the beginning of our marriage. Liz and Jake stayed with me (what was I thinking?!) at their insistence. Greg took the others on a walk to a nearby cemetary where Alvin Smith, Joseph's brother, was buried.

We still had plenty of time to spare so we found a movie theater and all went to see Toy Story 3. It was nice to be in an air conditioned building doing something we don't do too often. It ended up being a really nice day (except for the laundry). How blessed we are to live in this day and age when we know so much about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and know that Christ's church is once again on the earth.

I know that this is a terrible picture (remember this is Greg's phone since our camera was giving us fits), but it is all we have.

This is Adam. Greg is going for some kind of effect here.

Ben at the Sacred Grove.

This is between the two Smith homes. Can't you tell how reverent they were :) They were great, actually, but here they are having a little fun. I don't know if you can tell how sweaty and hot they are and it was only 9 or 10 in the morning.

Vacation Day 5--- Church and the Whitmer Farm

NO, I will not give up. I will make it through our vacation. I struggle with brevity so these posts take a while to write.

The first thing we did on day 5 of our vacation was wake up and get ready for church. Our church is unique in that we are all connected. We were able to easily look up on the lds.org website the location of the nearest church building and what time their meetings started. We knew what we could expect: a meeting the same as we would attend in Iowa. It is always such an amazing thing to attend another ward (or congregation) in our church. It is a reminder of how amazing the organization of the church is and how connected we really are. We are learning the same things out of the same manuals. The people there and where ever you come from are all trying to change and make their lives more in line with the teachings of the Lord. There is an automatic kinship you feel just from knowing they too love the Savior and want to follow his teachings. The kids even feel somewhat comfortable because they know what to expect. It is nice to slow down a little from the vacation pace as well.

Next we drove the short distance to Palymyra, NY. This tiny New York town has great significance for members of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe that it was in this small town in the year 1820 an unassuming 14 year old boy seeking anwsers went into the woods to pray. Our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to this young boy. This was the beginning of the restoration of Christ's church on the earth once again. For us it is a sacred place.

We first stopped at the Hill Cumorah Visitor's center where you can get an overview of some the significant events that happened in the area. It also has several interactive exhibits. We enjoyed visiting with a Sister missionary who was from Samoa. Greg and I visited Samoa for 2 weeks when we were newlyweds. We were visiting my grandparents who were serving a mission there. It is one of those experiences and places that are near and dear to our hearts.

Next we took the family to the Peter Whitmer farm in Fayette, NY (actually I don't think it is actually in Fayette anymore, but it was in 1830). This was the place where the church was officially organized in April of 1830. It is a beautiful rural setting with a unique chapel that is used by a ward there. My favorite part was the tiny home that the Whitmers so graciously allowed to be used for church meetings. I felt so grateful to live in this day and age where the church has grown to millions of members. I felt grateful for the sacrifice and devotion that was shown by those early members. They gave so much of their time, talents and resources to build the kingdom. It was such a peaceful place. I think we all felt the specialness of the place and felt so grateful to be there together. How grateful we are for our membership in the Church of Jesus Christ in these Latter-days!

Here are the kids at the Whitmer farm. We were having camera troubles so there aren't as many pictures here on out and most of what we have were taken with Greg's iphone.

What a lovely Sunday this was.

Help us paint our house!

Calling all painters! We're getting ready to paint the outside of our house and need some help!

Here's what our house looks like now:



Here are a few options for the future:

A)


B)


C)


D)


E)


What's your vote? Use the poll in the sidebar.

If you'd like to suggest your own color scheme, we'd love it! It's easy to do.
Go to https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer/
Login as gregandtammy@gmail.com with password birdnest1.
Under "My Uploaded Exteriors" you'll find our house ... just drag 'n drop colors. Email us any that you like.

Thanks! We'll get back to our vacation reports next post.

Vacation Day 4-- Niagra Falls-- The American Side

Whew! What a crazy week this has been. I haven't had a minute to post. I am up to one of our favorite parts of our vacation. It was the second part of Day 4. We LOVED the American side of Niagra Falls. The Canadian side was more the "stand back and look at the view" side of the falls. The American side lets you get up close and personal with the falls. They have overlooks right at the top of the falls and look down. It gave us a new perspective on the falls. You got to feel the power in a whole new way.

Our favorite part of this side was the "Cave of the Winds". It is not really a cave. It is a series of walkways that lead up to about 20 feet next to the falls. You stand in a long line (again) and then you take an elevator down to begin your walk. As you climb up you get closer and closer to the Bridal Veil Falls. The climax is the "Hurricane Deck". It is loud and wet and you feel like if you don't watch your step you could slip and tumble down the stairs, maybe even over the rail. It was pretty awesome. The poncho they give you seemed pointless. We all wanted to experience the Hurricane Deck in its fullness so we all got soaked anyway. Jake was the only one who wasn't too sure about it. He and I only did it once. Then we stood down a deck and Greg took the kids back up a few more times. They loved it! It was sooo much fun. I wasn't too sure about bringing Jake, and he was definitely the youngest child we saw down there, but he did great. Greg carried him most of the time so he was safe. It was great to experience this as a family. It was something that was enjoyable and fun for ALL of us, which is something that can be tricky when you have a 2 year old and an 11 year old, not to mention 2 grownups and a mix of boys and girls! I would say this is a must see at Niagra Falls. It was our favorite thing we did there and one of our favorite things of our whole trip.

We topped the day off with ice cream cones, dinner and a movie at our hotel. We were all beat by the end of the day, but what a day!

Here we are at the bottom of the falls, just getting ready to start walking up. A nice lady took our picture. Notice the matching yellow ponchos. We also got matching Niagra Falls sandals, all included in your entry fee.

A view looking up from below. The falls on the right is the Bridal Veil Falls. The Falls on the left are the American Falls.

This is about as close as I dared get the camera to the Hurricane Deck. Even taking that picture was difficult. Sorry, no one from my family is in the picture, but you get the idea of the overwhelmingness of the falls (and this is the smallest falls of the three).

Coming down from the Hurricane Deck. Interesting fact: Every year they dismantle the decks and walkways because the nasty winter weather would destroy them. They rebuild them every spring.

Here is the after picture. Notice the hair plastered to the head. Pictures really don't do it justice. We were soaked. As we were walking up and others were walking down, they would just look at us and laugh and say, "The Ponchos didn't work, eh?"

Here are our snazzy Niagra Falls matching sandals. They didn't have a size small enough for Jake. I guess they don't get too many 2 years old at this attraction. Can you tell who's foot is who's?

Remember if you go to Niagra Falls, do the Cave of the Winds! You won't be sorry (unless of course you are a total stick in the mud and would just like to look at it from a far, not get wet, and not feel the real power of the falls). Go! Do it!