Thursday, December 11, 2008

Church Sites.....one last time

Our journey today took us to Liberty, Missouri to see the Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith was imprisioned for 4 months. The prison has been recreated to show what the conditions were like inside. The walls are 4 feet thick. The floor under the straw is the original rock floor. The sister missionary that took us on our tour today told us that The Community of Christ musuem in Independence, Mo. has the original door to the prison, an interesting bit of information that we didn't know. Todd and I have been to Liberty 5 times now since moving to Kansas and we learn something new every time. There is such a Spirit at these church sites.From Liberty, we drove to Independence. We have always talked about The Community of Christ's interesting building, but didn't know anything about what was inside, until today. The outside has a tall silver spire that twists up like an ice cream cone. The museum inside was very interesting. They had a lot of information on Joseph & Emma Smith and the early church as we know it. It was very fascinating. From here, we walked across the street to the LDS visitor center. We always enjoy the tour here. In December, there is a display of about 300 Nativity scenes set up from all around the world. Each one is so different and unique. During the tour, I started comparing our experience over at The Community of Christ to our church's visitor center. Both had a lot of great information, but one was lacking the warm, peaceful feeling you get when learning these things. I am so grateful for the early saints who sacrificed everything they had, even their lives, to give us the church organization we have today. I gain a deeper appreciation for them with each visit to these wonderful church sites that we have been blessed to be close to over the past 2 1/2 years. We are going to miss visiting all these places! At the end of the tour, there is a pioneer playroom for kids. Paige loved sitting on the wagon. Carter and Hali were in school today, so that's why they are not in the pictures.



Hali's Gymnastics

Hali had her last night of gymnastics tonight, which meant we could go inside the gym to observe and take pictures. It made the night more special to have Grandma Pingel and Grandma & Grandpa Sanderson there to watch Hali. She loved performing for them! It's been fun to watch her become more confident, especially in the balance beam.


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Kansas BBQ

We are moving from Kansas one week from today and trying to squeeze in all of our favorite things. Tonight it was BBQ for dinner. Kansas has some of the yummiest BBQ restaurants, Arthur Bryant's and Vermont Street are a few of our favorites. We have been so excited for grandparents to come this week. We picked Grandma Pingel up from the airport yesterday and Paige talked her leg off the whole way home! I was getting Paige ready for bed and she asked me if she could go look at Grandma again. I told her she needed to go to bed, and she said, "I just want to look at her again." It's been a while since we have seen family and we appreciate them coming to celebrate graduation with us. Grandma & Grandpa Sanderson flew in today and Paige was once again excited to go to the airport.