Provo Staycation

 Ken came home on Friday and asked me if I wanted to go away for a couple days. We had a hotel/dinner package from Centracom that we could use, so we booked a couple nights at the Provo Marriott and took off spontaneously that evening. It was SO great!!! We spent hours in the hottub, had dinner at Tucano's, and just relaxed all weekend. It was the Provo City Center temple dedication, so we didn't have responsibilities in our church callings. 

 My grandson Riken and I, as well as my nephew Bowie, are all addicted to those claw machines where you spent $10 to try and win a $3 stuffed animal. Ken had some great luck with the 25 cent machine at WalMart on our way to the hotel. It looks like they threw a bunch of leftover holiday toys in there, but we were happy to win them:) 

 We didn't actually plan it this way, but the hotel was just a couple blocks from the new Provo City Center temple, which was being dedicated. So I got up super early the morning of the dedication to get a great spot to witness the sealing of the cornerstone. We didn't know who would be there to put the mortar in and were thrilled when it was Elder Dallin H Oaks. He was funny and spiritual and it was just a great honor to be this close to an Apostle of the Lord.

This temple has significant meaning to me. My first husband asked me for a divorce in October of 2010. I begged him not to leave and we lived in the same house for another two months, although I slept in the basement and he stayed in the master bedroom. I kept hoping we would work it out and that our marriage would last. On December 17, 2010, the Provo Tabernacle caught on fire. It was devastating. Really nothing remained but the outside walls, a shell of the building it had been. There were decades of memories in the building, and people were heartbroken. My husband was working in the Provo area that week, and I was curious to see the destroyed building so I drove up to Provo. I  called my husband and asked him if he wanted to go to lunch with me while I was in the area. He paused and then said "Tina, No. It's over." It was then that I knew it really was. I moved out on New Years Eve, and the end of my marriage corresponded with the destruction of the beautiful tabernacle. Fast forward to the Fall of 2011. I met the wonderful man who would become my eternal companion in August. At the October 2011 General Conference, President Monson announced that not only would the Provo Tabernacle be rebuilt, but it would be built into a TEMPLE, the most beautiful of all buildings in the church. Two weeks after that announcement, I married Ken and now I am at the dedication of the building with him. Beauty rose from the ashes for me and the building.