the greatest joy

It is our family tradition to take our children to the temple as their very first outing. We took Evaleigh when she was 4 days old and on Sunday we took Avett when he was just over 48 hours old on the way home from the hospital.  We tell them how grateful we are that they came to our family and bare our testimonies to them that our family can be together forever.   

When we got to the temple Evaleigh took off running in the grass and giggling for her daddy to chase her.  I stood there with Avett in my arms and watched them go all over the temple grounds.  She would stop and point at the temple and smile.  When she came back she brought me a purple flower that she picked.  I couldn't imagine my life getting any better than that moment and my heart was exploding with grattitude for the life my Heavenly Father has blessed me with.  

 

When I originally thought about taking Avett for his first trip to the temple I didn't think about having Evaleigh there.  But as we were preparing to be discharged from the hospital my heart ached at the thought of her not being with us.  So my mom packed her up and brought her to the temple so we could all be together.  That is just how I feel about the eternities.  It simply wouldn't be heaven if my husband and my children weren't all there.  I've always loved this quote by Elder Holland, 

“I don’t know how to speak of heaven in the traditional, lovely, paradisiacal beauty that we speak of heaven…I wouldn’t know how to speak of heaven without my wife, or my children.  It would not be heaven for me.  Now, you can say that’s wishful thinking, you can say, ‘ Well that’s just because you love each other and you’ve gotten cozy here on earth and you like each other’s company.’ It’s a lot more than that.  It's eternal."

 

As I sit here with my 5 day old baby in my arms I feel a warm spirit around us.  The past few days I have felt so close to Heaven with this special little spirit who has joined our family for forever.  I am so grateful for the gift my Heavenly Father gave to me as a woman to be able to bare and bring forth children with my husband in to this world. It is my greatest joy.  

Away

We've been in Florida on the ranch with our family for the past week, it's been lovely. Evaleigh has exploded with firsts in the past week. I think she is just trying to keep up with her cousins. She rode her first horse, cut her first tooth, started talking and making so many more sounds. She tried her first lemon, she started making fishy pop sounds with her mouth, and is just getting cuter every single day. I just don't want to even go home!

such is life

When Evaleigh was 4 days old we wanted to teach her something very important.  Before she was born John and I came up with the idea to take her to the temple as her very first outing.  This is something that we hope to do with all of our children after they are born.  So, on the way home from her doctor's appointment we drove by the Atlanta Temple.  We got out of the car and stood outside of the gate and told her about the gospel of eternal families.  We told her about how she is sealed to us forever because her mommy and daddy were married in the holy temple.  

How grateful I am to know that we will never be parted from her no matter what happens to any of us.  I am so happy that when John and I were married we were sealed together by the power of the priesthood.  This sealing goes through out the eternities and not just 'til death do us part'.  We are an eternal unit and because of this, our children will be ours forever and ever.  To me heaven would not be heaven if I didn't have my husband and daughter by my side.

We stood there and talked to her for quite some time as cars passed by us on the road.  Although she was sleeping I'm sure her little spirit heard what we were saying to her.


As we were heading back towards the car we experienced irony at its best.  After we had just had this incredible spiritual moment with our 4 day old daughter something awful happened.
 John stepped in a pile of dog poop on the side walk.  
Really!?!? Reeeeallyyy?! 
I suppose it was a life lesson right then and there.  Just as you are trying to do the right things and be good, opposition comes along to try and screw it up.  We laughed so hard doubled over on the sidewalk and then I almost cried because every laugh hurt my c-section incision.  It was a moment we will never forget.  John wiped off his shoes in the grass and then we tried to salvage the experience.
We drove off singing "I Love to See the Temple" to our beautiful sleeping baby.  


* to learn more about our church you can visit mormon.org or ask me questions!*

i'll eat that sour cream for you

This weekend I went with my soul friend to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain.

It is voted one of the top five arts & crafts shows in the nation.

Did someone say ARTS AND CRAFTS?! Oh, I'm there!

I grabbed some Green Apple and Blue Raspberry Italian Shaved Ice and Lisa got a burrito from Enrique's Place and we began our trek through the forest lined with hopeful vendors.

It was so much fun to walk through the woods in the coolness and shade of the trees.  The wind would blow just enough to remind us that fall is on its way.  

There was a lady selling homemade drink mixes and we were able to sample some of them.  We tried the Caramel Apple Cider and my eyes got wide and I could taste fall!  

I left with two bags of hand-ground Pioneer Porridge and Ground White Grits.  I can't wait to have them for breakfast.

When we left Lisa and I went to the Atlanta Temple for a few hours.  

I love the temple so much.  

It is such a place of peace and comfort to me.  I was so happy to have been able to take my daughter inside with me!  

I could feel her excitement as we were inside there together and she began to move around.  

I felt so relaxed and hopeful for the rest of my life as I sat in the temple and contemplated silently.  

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to go inside the temple and leave all of my cares behind and have time to feel like spirit and feel God's love for me.  

(and I know Evaleigh felt it too!)

easter

(our beautiful atlanta temple in april during the open house)

I know that my Redeemer lives.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives.

He lives, He lives who once was dead.

I am so grateful for this sacred day to remember the great sacrifice of my Savior.

Happy Easter

Spinning, Laughing, Dancing

Friday night my love and I had a spontaneous love filled dance party in the living room at my parents house.

We were giving my mom and nanny a private performance of the dance that we have been learning with the youth in our church.  Every Tuesday we have been meeting up with about 80 youth and helping them learn the dance that they will be performing for our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, when the LDS Atlanta Temple is rededicated in May.  We have also been asked to help them learn the songs they will be singing for the Temple Cultural Celebration as well.

This assignment has brought us so much joy.  We are so humbled and grateful to play a small part in helping these youth feel the joy of the temple.  We love the temple so dearly and we could not be more excited to finally have the temple open back up.  It has been hard to be without it for the past two years.  We are grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the peace that it brings.

I know...I know...

It's still only November but I couldn't wait any longer.  Our Christmas Decorations have been going up for the past week now.  I started listening to the Pandora Christmas music station on November 1st.

For John's birthday my mother gave us a firestarter to have our FIRST fire in our fireplace.  We can't wait.  But this Atlanta weather just really cant decide what it wants to be.  Today I rolled up my pants legs and didn't even wear a coat. WHERE ARE YOU WINTER??

I went to Hobby Lobby to return some knobs that I got for (this) project.  I had planned on just getting my money back but in true female fashion the crafts were screaming my name not to leave the store empty handed.  So...I succumbed.

I wanted to get a couple of wreaths to go in the living and dining room areas.  So, I took a look.  

80 bucks...90 bucks...for a wreath!?

Heck, I'll just make my own. So, I found plain wreaths that were on sale for %50 off so I got them for $4!! Then I picked up a few berries and went home and got to work.

I wanted something really simple and clean.  So I went with earthy colored berries.  I love how simple and beautiful it turned out.

Cost: $6 each as opposed to $80.  I'll take it!

Then I took some extra old lace that I used to make this (earring holder)and I glued some berries on to the lace.  Then I hot glued it closed and used it as garland to go around the chandelier in the dining room.

Mr. Murphy and I started seriously dating around this time last year so this is a particularly special time of year for us.  I love thinking back to all of my memories from last year.  I am so pleased with how our lives have progressed in this past year.

I remember going down to my Nanny's for Thanksgiving last year and texting John the whole time missing him and longing for his presence.  My Nanny asked me if I thought I was going to marry him.  I told her there was no possible way.  She disagreed.

(mr. murphy is wearing a hat that I made. he sure can rock a flower)

We had our first kiss on December 3rd 2009 and we were engaged on January 3rd 2010. Grandmothers sure do know best. (and apparently can tell the future.)

Happy Holidays my sweet friends!  Enjoy every single minute of it, this time of year goes by fast!

Heart and Soul

I spent Saturday here...

with them...

i have pearls on my shirt. this makes me happy.

(i'm not so secretly jealous of her long gorgeous hair. i'm so tired of looking like a colonial soldier with my short ponytail.)

The tender mercy happened after our 3 and 1/2 hour journey to the Columbia, South Carolina temple. (i CAN'T WAIT for the Atlanta Temple to open back up soon so that we can have a temple closer) When we got to the temple I ran in to an old friend in the temple.  We had been in the Hillard North Carolina Singles Ward together and she was GETTING MARRIED that very day!  

So, she invited my sister and I to come to her marriage sealing.  Turns out she married a boy that my sister and I were in PRIMARY with! So, we got to see so many people that we knew when we were little kids!  It was great.  I saw my old bishop and his wife.  That felt good.  She was like a mama to me when I lived in Charlotte.  We also saw Nina Hemby, an old family friend.  It felt like a family reunion in there.  

I wonder if thats how heaven is going to be,  seeing people you didn't even remember how much you loved and missed, but then instantly feeling those ties of love again?

Tyra and Cameron were BEAMING.  Their sealing ceremony was so special and an incredible spirit was in that room.  They looked so happy and I was reminded of when I was sealed to my husband for time and all of eternity.  

How grateful am I for that sacred blessing.  I can feel the power of that phenomenal binding tie.

Then one of the best parts was when I got to see this girl.  She was also there for Tyra's wedding.  Jamie is my soul friend.  I was in North Carolina when she was learning about the Mormon Church.  We became close very quickly and I went to a few of her lessons with the missionaries.  She was so ready to accept the gospel and was baptized last summer. I sang at her baptism.  We were instant friends.  We stayed up late playing volleyball at church.  We went to playgrounds late at night with our friends and we pushed each other around in old grocery carts.  We shared deep feelings and many of the same struggles. I love her dearly and cant WAIT for her marriage to Jay in December in the Raleigh Temple!

It was a very special day and I can't help but to feel that we were there for several very special reasons.  I missed my John who was yet again at his Saturday interpreters course.  But when we came home he, mom, and I went to Honey Camp and he serenaded us by the fire.

Dear Weekend,

I love you, I wish you'd come around more often.  This weekend was perfect.  I really loved camping, being with my mom for her birthday, making breakfast for lunch with my sister and her husband and John today, and going to the temple on Saturday.  Hey, thanks for being so fun.  See you in 5 more days.

Love, The Murphys

A Perfect Florida Friday

Perfect day. Perfect, perfect, perfect day.

For the first time since John and I became husband and wife, we went back to the temple where we were married.  We came down to Florida this weekend to be with our amazing family that lives in Avon Park.  We arrived last night at about 3am, snoozed til 8:30am and then got up and headed an hour north to Orlando to worship in the Orlando temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It is one of my life goals to go to EVERY LDS temple in the world.  So far, I have been to more than 30 different temples.  There are about 120 LDS temples in the world right now, so I'M ABOUT A FOURTH DONE! (Although they keep building them, which is going to make this goal harder and harder to beat!)  John better get a fancy job so we can travel everywhere, cause this lady likes to travel.

I felt so emotional as we arrived.  Seeing the place where our eternal family began filled my heart with joy.  I can't express the happiness that I feel when I realize that I have the absolute knowledge that John and I will be together forever.  NOT just "til death do us part".  I would be so sad if what we have ended with death.  We believe that death is just a new beginning and that our family will be forever.  Literally, forever.  That is heaven to me.

Handsome boy in front of the temple.

(gorgeous clouds)

We went with our dad and our step-mom Kathy.  We are lucky to have amazing parents on both of our sides.  My father-in-law continues to amaze me each time we get together.  When John and I call him from Atlanta to chat and I say hello, it warms my heart to hear him say, "Well hello sweetheart!" on the other line.  I love that man and I am so grateful to John's parents for helping raise him to be the man he is.

Today was a day filled with love from the Lord.  We love going to the temple and feeling the power of the spirit.  We are so grateful for our knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are so grateful for the worship that we can participate in inside of the temple.  We know that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and we love Him with all of our hearts and we hope to serve Him all of our lives.

(On the way to the Country Club for dinner after going to the temple.)

Bye Temple, we will miss you.  Til' we meet again.

To learn more:

www.mormon.org