A few weeks ago, our very faithful Kenmore washing machine that we bought in 1998, stopped working.  I had been worried about it for a while and looked at washing machines a year ago but one salesman--who can't be selling very many washing machines!--told me I shouldn't get a new one until my old one really broke because the new ones aren't as good. So when my old one broke, we did some research.  We looked at Consumer Reports (which might not be as unbiased as they say they are), I talked to friends and put it on Facebook, and we looked at the online reviews.  The online reviews were unbelievably negative.  I was really conflicted.  I could not decide what to get.  At one point we were considering getting the old style of washing machine since the new ones seemed so unpopular. Finally we went to the store and talked to a salesman who seemed pretty knowledgeable.  And I decided to get the LG front-loader.  From what the salesman said and my...

When Lincoln came home, we had one day to get our family pictures done before my oldest son and his family had to leave.  It took me a while to pick the pictures out and then it took a while for them to edit the pictures but here they finally are! Lincoln's picture was taken later so it looks a little different.  He had Bell's palsy from his shingles on the day we did the pictures so his smile looked pretty different from the usual.  Did you notice that 1/3 of my children, 3 of my 9, currently have braces?  I actually feel really fortunate that we can afford the time and money to do that.  But hopefully at our next big family picture, everyone will be done with braces!

Last Wednesday, Everett entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.  He will learn Armenian there for 9 weeks and then he will travel to Armenia to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ for almost two years.  We were sad for a minute to say goodbye but I'm really excited for him to have this opportunity.  I am convinced that is absolutely the best thing he can be doing right now.  I am excited for the learning and growth he will do as well as the chance he has to serve the people of Armenia. We said goodbye in stages.  His older siblings said goodbye on Tuesday night after he got set apart and over Skype (David and Stephanie).  His younger siblings said goodbye in the morning as they went off to school.  Then just Scott and I took him to the MTC. We won't be able to post any pictures of him on social media because of the privacy policies in the Eastern Europe area.  So I'll post lots of pictures now! Tuesday night: ...

On our way home from Palmyra, we decided to go a couple of hours out of our way to visit the recently opened Priesthood Restoration Site along the Susquehanna River.  This is where we believe that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist which gave them the authority to baptize.  This site also has the restored Isaac and Elizabeth Hale home where Joseph and Emma lived for a year as well as the home where Joseph and Emma lived on their own. We spent a couple of hours there and I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes but we had a long way to go that night.  It's a beautiful setting, very much in rural Pennsylvania.  However, on the day we were there, cars at a racetrack nearby were detracting from the peace and quiet.  I'm guessing that's not as big of a problem on weekdays. The Hale Family was quite well-off for their day so their home was probably nicely decorated with wallpaper and carpet. ...