For my birthday things really changed. Instead of going out and having tons of fun things were kept simple. So simple that I hardly did anything in hopes to not jeopardize my healing.
I woke up to birthday treats galore.
I gawked and drooled a little bit but all these things needs to be put on hold so we can head to the Provo City Center Temple open house.
I really wanted to attend the open house and with Mike having the day off this seem perfect.
The history of this new temple is that it use to be a tabernacle. But caught fire several years ago. Utah communities were so sad to see it go since it held such rich history. That the following General Conferenance President Monson announces that he was going to rebuild the tabernacle and turn it into a temple. So now there are 2 temples in the small town of Provo. But everyone knows they needed it with the MTC and BYU in the same city.
At the open house there were areas outside showing the before and after photos of things tabernacle that are now turned into things new for the temple. Like this staircase post. The one on the left is the new one. And the one on the right was from the tabernacle. You can still see the charred pieces from the fire on it. There was other examples too but this one really caught my eye. They are exactly the same.
Anyways the inside was beautiful. Photography is not allow so I'm just going to describe it best I can.
There was so much wood. Dark rich wood everywhere.
Flower printed wall paper. Flower embellishments on wood banisters, door hinges, windows, etc.
There is a spiral staircase that is a tight squeeze but so beautiful. The sun was shining through the windows so the stain glass shined such beautiful colors onto the carpet.
There was a fire exit right in the chapel. Probably where it was located before so my guess is it stays locked so no one enters accidentally.
The walls and ceilings are painted with such beautiful nature scenes.
There was a grand staircase that was so beautiful that I wanted to slide down the rail. Of course I didn't.
There are a lot of stairs. From the outside it doesn't look that way. But once inside this was the first thing I noticed. I opted out taking the elevators since I would have missed all those tiny details that made this trip amazing.
Our kids loved seeing the wedding rooms. Each one had a different chandelier inside.
One of the "wedding"/ sealing rooms was so small that it looked like it was a janitors closet before. It maybe fit 4 chairs. We told our kids that even though it's small that big and amazing things will happen in this room.
I was so happy to walk through this new temple. It made me appreciate the gifts that God gives me even more. The gift of recognizing his love. The gift of my forever family. The gift of eternal life. The gift of repentance. And so many more gifts that I left here feeling so much better that I forgot all about my pain. At least for a little while.
At the visitors center area the sister missionaries were taking pictures for those visitors wanting to commemorate their visit. So we got one and of course I'm rocking my brace in it.
So after our amazing tour we headed home and about 15 minutes away from home that's when my pain/discomfort hit. So Mike took my home so I can lay down. This seems to be the only thing that can calm my back's throbbing pain. He took Mason and Hailey to meet their other dad. Lily and Cati waited for the pizza delivery man. And I just ended my day watching Netflix.
My sister-in-law asked me if I was going to celebrate my birthday by doing anything. It sucked saying no. But Mike and I have decided that we're going to re-do our birthday later this summer. Sort of like a 1/2 Birthday Celebration. Mine since I'm stuck in a back brace and Mike's since I was in the ER on his bday. I really know how to celebrate birthdays! :)
