March 20

I'm posting this late, because it saved as a draft darn it! But see below :) 

We are driving home today! We were planning on just going to Kirtland OH and stopping, but we decided to just go all the way home. What a week it's been! Let me start with last Sunday, the 13th

We visited historic downtown Kirtland. Wow. I have been there before but something was different his time. In the School of the Prophets I was taken over by the Spirit. I had endless steaming tears and my heart was so full. We shared some really special moments and testimony with the few people there and the sisters leading our tour were so inspired. We finished by singing the Spirit of God and just sat there. No one wanted to leave! It was beyond words. Marcus loved seeing all of it for the first time!

We then headed to Palmyra. We are so grateful for my mom. Not only did she bring her suburban and make this trip so incredibly COMFORTABLE, but she helped so much with Harper and was always volunteering to take care of her or stand up with her if she was getting busy so that Marcus could experience all of this his first time uninterrupted. We went to Grandin print shop, the Joseph Smith homes, and the Sacred Grove. Marcus has always had on his bucket list the Sacred Grove. Even after it started to sprinkle and mom and I head back to the car, Marcus spent some more time in the Grove by himself. I'm so grateful for this time for him! We also went to the Hill Cumorah and the visitor center. One evening my mom kept Harper and sent Marcus and I to the temple. Wow. What a beautiful session! There is a window in the temple that is tall and clear that looks directly toward the Sacred Grove. Pre Hinckley made sure of it. It's beautiful. What a great night!

 

We ventured on to Niagara Falls and crossed the border into CA just in time for the clouds to blow over and the skies to be clear as clear! It was gorgeous! We knew the nice days may be limited so we went to the Falls. We did the Journey Behind the Falls, the story of Niagara, we had the best time! Harper was in awe of the water, I think she was baffled by it! But even as an adult, I find the idea of the falls so incredible and daunting! It seems fake, it's so beautiful!!! We ate some dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and headed back to the hotel. Friday we went to the Butterfly conservatory and went out for wings per Daxton Pulhams suggestion haha. Friday night Marcus and I went to our first hockey game! Holy cow, when in Buffalo. They take it VERY seriously. Mass loads of crazy hockey fans! We had so much fun!! We sat 10 rows up right about the penalty box, it was so crazy! I didn't realize they just let the players fight! It was bizarre!! But we had SO much find and by the end we were so into it!! 

The Kirtland temple was closed when we were there so we stopped back by on the way back. It's owned by the reorganized Community of Christ so it's always an interesting tour but it's a beautiful piece of history! At the end of the tour she said she likes the group to sing the spirit of God so I was able to play the piano in the Kirtland temple! It was pretty great!! 

All in all, it was such a beautiful week! We had the greatest time, we felt incredibly blessed, we are sooooo beyond thankful for my mom... Like Marcus said " it wouldn't have been possible without her". We loved all of it! Now back to reality. 😩 luckily Mom is staying around for a few days! 

Marcus: back to school after spring break. Has a few busy two weeks, lots of papers and some quizzes, but was grateful for the break! 

Andrea: so ecstatic to have mom stay here for a while! Love having her around and all the help she is.

Harper: turned 18mths this week on the trip 😩😩😩 she is so beautiful and so big. She is smart, loving, funny, inspiring, determined, independent (more than mama would like)... Harper has grown to be such a beautiful little toddler! She is such a good, happy girl! She has changed our life for the better. She says more words than we can count, has a few phrases she uses a lot "I don't know" "okay mom" "No, no want" lol thank you for everything... She is so great! 

March 13th

I have a friend, she has inspired me. Blogging has always been a dream but with Harper being 18 months, I've realized more than ever that it's something I really desire to be better at! Even if it's something short each Sunday :) 

Marcus: Marcus had midterms this week, he did good on one okay on another. He had a lot of no shows the past two weeks which has been annoying but be patient base is great and we couldn't be more grateful for that! Gma and Gpa left on Tuesday and he helped me tons with a RS activity Thursday. He was my right hand! Thank you babe! 

Andrea: I had the most fun entertaining my grandparents for a week while they visited Indy. We went to the zoo, the children's museum, we had so much fun! After taking them to the airport Wednesday it was RS activity, full speed ahead! Thursday's activity was a huge success, RS birthday dinner checked off the list! 

Harper: Harper's vocabulary literally expands every single day! She is way too smart, she out smarts with her little attitude every day. She loves to play with stickers, sing into whatever she can pretend is a microphone, play outside any chance she gets, and torment Reina (that was a particular interest this week...) her 4 canines have been popping through and three of the four are through! One more! 

Friday my mom arrived (drove...crazy) and we left for Spring break adventures Saturday! We are hitting Kirkland OH, palmyra, NY, and Niagra Falls. We are so thankful for mom being with us on this trip! We visited the John Johnson home today, we were the only people there so it was an awesome tour with lots of extras. It's incredible the magnitude of what happened there. The Spirit was so strong in one of the upstairs rooms where many revelations occured. I had heard it all before, even been there and seen it, but my heart was touched and I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. My gratitude and respect for Emma increased leaps and bounds now being a mom, knowing what she endured and how many babies she had bury and what she had to watch her husband endure. It's awe inspiring! We are off to Palmyra tomorrow. Can't wait!