Heaven is Here

Today I went swimming, and that helped my back (and whole body, actually) feel better. I think I am going to swim more. Abe and I also got to go to the temple tonight, and that helped us both feel more spiritually calibrated. Last Friday when we were on Abe’s work retreat, all of the wives sat around talking about God for hours, and I was so impressed with their spiritual abilities. I was particularly impressed by their capacity to receive and act on frequent revelation; hearing their stories and feeling their spirits and testimony made me want to open myself more to daily revelation. The temple tonight felt like a step in the right direction.

I also felt spiritually motivated by the book I read today. I read Stephanie Nielson’s memoir, Heaven is Here. I bawled through much of it, and after I finished I spent the rest of the day thinking about how I should be a better, more grateful person in general. She is just such an inspiring person. I actually saw her in IKEA a couple months ago, and she probably thought I was one of those rude people who stare at her scarred face, but really I just recognized her because of her blog, and I felt slightly star struck.

I took some pictures of the girls on a short neighborhood walk we did today.

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I tried to get an action shot of holding hands with Mary. I just love it when she runs up to me and sticks her little hand in mine.
I tried to get an action shot of holding hands with Mary. I just love it when she runs up to me and sticks her little hand in mine.
Lydia sang the Mulan "Ancestors" song the whole walk, and at the end, Mary thought it expedient to sing her own favorite song to herself: Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. Here she is singing to herself as she walks home.
Lydia sang the Mulan “Ancestors” song the whole walk, and at the end, Mary thought it expedient to sing her own favorite song to herself: Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. Here she is singing to herself as she walks home.