Home At Last... but Missing Nauvoo!!!

Family pictures
All of the family cast members
The stage at night after all is quiet.
The Nauvoo Temple at night... so beautiful.

After a long trip home, we finally made it late on Tuesday night. Yesterday was spent the day trying to make sense of the huge pile of I don't know what that was hauled out of the Yukon. It's amazing how much stuff can be packed into a vehicle, a roof top carrier and a hitch haul. To make matters worse, we were in such a hurry to check out of the hotel room that it was all literally stuffed into the trunk anyway possible. We ended the trip in Nauvoo with an amazing few last days. On Saturday, Mark and I were both able to attend the temple, followed by testimony meeting for the cast and then our closing night on the stage. It was a tearful day to say the least! We also stayed in Nauvoo an extra day on Sunday to see the core cast perform "Our Story Goes On" - it a great show in which the cast performs about 15 different Broadway tunes. We were also able to see a concert that night - The Nashville Tribute to Joseph. It was a fabulous show - even when we got totally rained out and had to see the performance inside while everyone was dripping wet! It was well worth the stay.

I just can't describe in words how wonderful this trip was for all of us. It was an amazing time to bond together as a family, to get to know others who share the same beliefs and values as our family and to also share the gospel with so many others who attended the pageant each night. I know for me personally, I have grown so much from my experiences there and I truly came home with a new view on life and certainly a much, much stronger testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, of my savior Jesus Christ and of the great importance of service towards others and sincere care for those that we serve. Time went by sooo quickly that you had to learn things through the mistakes.. there was no time to be upset at someone who may have offended you, you just had to forgive and move on. The friendships that we made there will truly last through the eternities and I am so thankful for all that have helped me through their examples to me. It was amazing to see how we all bonded together, knowing that we were all working for a common goal. It was a sobering note to think that the saints who lived there long ago most certainly were looking on as we practiced and performed. After all, we were sharing their story... real, true stories of those who lived through so much persecution, heartache and turmoil. It does not matter what religion you are, it was very inspiring for all who were there to think about what these people went through all to defend and protect their religious beliefs. Nauvoo is one of the most BEAUTIFUL cities you will ever see (the name in Hebrew actually means - beautiful city) and it is stunning to think that these people had to give up all they had to move on to where they would be safe from the mobs and those who hated them just because of what they believed in. I am forever thankful for the opportunity we had to be a small, small part in this pageant.

Our trip home in the car was reality smooth.. all things considered. The kids were wonderful despite two long days in the car. We were all anxious to get home, but sad at the same time to leave Nauvoo. The kids had all decided that they wanted to move to the country and live close to Nauvoo. Who could blame them - the views of the Mississippi River are stunning and the corn fields are actually really nice to see as you drive! We would all love to have a little extra room to run around. We were so blessed on the trip in so many ways. I just don't have the time to write all the things down that we experienced while we were there. Hopefully over the next few weeks, I'll have some more time to write all the things that I hope to. One of our dear friends at the pageant that had been in it the year before, told us the hardest part was going back into the real world and getting back into the routine. I didn't understand at the time, but now I know what he means. Now it's off to getting kids to bed and all the routine stuff again.