My husband and I finally got ourselves to the temple on Saturday. (A temple is a sacred place of worship for LDS people like ourselves. The closest one to us is in Washington D.C. (4 hours away) and it is only open to worthy adults - no kids allowed (until they become adults, then we hope they will go).)This meant a few things. One, we took turns taking care of Kiddo while the other went inside, for approximately 2 1/2 hour blocks at a time. Two, Kiddo spent a lot of time in the visitor's center, where one can learn about our beliefs and most importantly, Christ. She loved the movies, the space, the picture of the Lion and the Lamb, and walking up to other (bigger) children and taking things out of their hands.
It was a long day for all of us, but it was rewarding for the time spent in the temple, and the opportunity to remind ourselves that being there is worth the sacrifice of 8 hours in the car, and hours walking behind Kiddo as she enjoys the liberty of exploring.
To me, the moment I realized it was all worth while is when we got home. It was about 11 at night, and we were changing my daughter into her pajamas for (basically) her first sleep since getting up at 7:30 that morning (okay, okay, she had two 30 minute naps in the car, one on the way down, and one on the way back). As we changed her, she was insistent that we all look at her picture of Christ on the wall. "Da!" "Da!" "Da!" she would say, and point. The rest of her things, which are normally very exciting to her, held no pull. Apparently a 14 month-old is already to learn, or perhaps remember, about Christ and his love. 