One Special Day

I was able to receive my endowments in the Bountiful Temple on Friday, July 16th. I was so excited for this event to take place that the night before, I could hardly sleep. I was of course nervous since I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I was more excited than anything since I knew I was making the right decision. I had finished all my interviews a few days before which just made me all the more anxious to attend the temple for myself. My mom came down to be my escort so she got here Thursday afternoon so we could get everything ready to go. Rob took the day off so he could watch the kids. What an amazing man I have. He is so supportive of my decision to go to the temple. He knows what a huge step this is in my life and he didn't want to miss it for the world even though he couldn't go in the temple with me. My mom and I had to be at the temple by 12:30 pm. I was blessed to have my sister Diana and Rob's 1/2 sister Terra be there too along with a few people from my ward go to support me. Since it was a Friday, the place was buzzing with bride and grooms which can always make you smile. When we got to the recommend desk, the Spirit was already finding it's way deep inside my heart. There is definitely no better place to be at then inside the temple. I had such a sweet old lady to help me get from place to place. That always makes you feel like 110% special. It was quite weird to have to use my maiden name again since I am so used to using Stowell as my last name. Everyone kept saying Bosh and I would just start looking around to see who that person was not registering that it was me they were calling and/or talking about lol. There are so many high-lights of the day but I have to admit, being able to spend alot of time in the Bride's room was such an honor. I have seen pictures of this room in that Temple Magazine and have loved it for many years but to actually get to see it in person was just an incredible honor. Another crazy cool thing, was that out of all the lockers in that building, the set of lockers I was assigned to was 1105-1108 which is such a coincidence because Rob's number in his family is 1106 (Don't ask, it's kinda confusing to explain the # thing) but he uses that as our truck number too, so of course, this is the locker I chose because it has such a special meaning in our family, plus I told Rob it was a 'sign' that was directed to him. Ha Ha. I have to admit the best piece of advice I received prior to entering the temple was from my Stake President where he said, "Forget about figuring out what is going on the first time you go because it will come with time, just take the opportunity to feel the spirit." I sure was glad that I had that piece of advice because the temple ordinances were completely different that what I had envisioned. I had such an amazing feeling that nothing else mattered to me and I was able to walk away with an undeniable feeling that Heavenly Father was so proud of me and that I am such a beloved Daughter of God. I am so looking forward to being able to go to the Salt Lake Temple next week to watch my sister-in-law receive her endowments and I can experience this whole thing again, yet this time, I won't be quite so confused and I can actually get more out of it. :) After we were done with our session, my mom, sister and I did a little photo shoot to always remember this day. I was so glad that my mom remembered her camera because I never even thought to take one.

This is me near the entrance of the temple. We tried to get a picture of the whole temple including the Angel Moroni on top, but we couldn't quite master the feat unless I looked to be about 2 inches tall in the picture. :)

This is alittle bit more of a close up of me.

Me and my sister


And this is my mom and I.

After we got done at the temple, we went back to my house and got Rob and the kids so we could celebrate by going out to dinner at Sizzler. It is a tradition in our family to go out to eat after and it was one I didn't want to miss. Hey, any opportunity for me not to cook and/or do dishes I am all for. :) We had a fun time where Maysie amused us with her musical chairs attitude (Actually this one amused my mom and Diana more than Rob and I), her over abundance of wanting to visit the ladies room and her ice cream eating ability. Needless to say, it was almost disastrous I am just glad I had an extra pair of clothes for her to change into.

All in all, it was one amazing and special day in my life and I am so glad that I made the decision to face my fear a few months ago so I could go to the Temple and receive all the blessing that the temple has to offer me at this time.