We Bought A House

I still can't believe we did it, but we are all so excited! We close in a month, so I guess more accurately, we put an offer on a house that was accepted.
It's in Forest Glen, MD. It's 1/2 mile from the metro, and one mile from the DC temple. It couldn't be more perfect!

 

The yard is what I'm most excited about! 

It's an old person's house, so we've got a lot of updating ahead of us, but it was well kept for and has a lot of nice personal touches (like a bird feeder in the back).
These pictures were definitely taken with a wide-angle lens, but they give you some sense for how it looks.

Road trips with the Marshall Brothers

I feel like this little video perfectly captures the personalities of the boys. Ben just smiles and laughs all day, and Abe gives speeches. It makes for a pretty entertaining road trip!

Our Kipawa Chronicles

Top Five Reasons Canada's Kipawa Changed Our Lives

 

1. The People. With all Marshall's present, each day meant time with unmatchable company. We loved meeting our new Neph George, reuniting with recently-returned Sister Abby (who Abe keeps calling "Ancestor Abby"), and catching up on everyone's lives. Abe and Sam got up early every day with me and Keenan and played together. Sam taught Abe everything he knew about trains, which, by the way is more than most people ever learn about trains. We had meaningful interactions with Richard, Joseph, Melissa, Keenan, Nonie, Meredith, Cameron, Abby, Kate, Julia, Amanda, Thomas, Mom, Dad, Sammy, Daniel, and George. There are no people we'd rather be sealed and stuck to. Mom and Dad, thank you so very much for making this trip happen!
2. The Adventures. As defined by Uncle Scott, "An adventure involves a certain amount of risk, and its outcome must not be too predictable. For true adventure, you do not buy a ticket and then stand in a line" (Kipawa River Chronicles, pg. 49). Whether tubing down rapids, fishing for bass, waterskiing, exploring the shores and and lake, kayaking the whitewater, or cliff-diving into waterfalls each day presented itself with new adventures. Each adrenaline-pumping adventure required physical strength and endurance. It felt great to feel sore all week.
3. The Peace. We found solitude. No cell phone service. No email access. No electricity. No people beyond our kith and kin for miles and miles in any direction.  The peace found from a week unplugged has brought us back to the tech-entrenched world much more cautious and much less distracted. Immersed in His creation, we felt a new reverence for God's power and love. The rough and rushing water pouring into Lake Temiskaming was the backtrack to a scene of God's grandeur in full display. Perhaps our growing belief and even worship of our own web-worlds (like this blog) has encouraged the decay of belief in His world.  We connected with Him as we disconnected with everything but His. 
4. The Relaxation. Floating out across the lake in an open kayak. Going on a midnight boatride for a 5-Year Anniversary Date. Reading on the deck with an indescribable view of the river and lake. Playing chess or cards with family. Releasing toxins in the 200-degree sauna and then finding what Richard exclaimed as "sweet relief" in the cool lake afterward. Playing volleyball with family. Catching frogs. Catching fish. Catching up. Laughing until your sides hurt. Feeling the testifying power of the Spirit fill a room full of testimony. Singing around a camp fire to fiddles and harmonicas with marshmellows slowly roasting. Writing. Thinking. Hiking. This time re-energized, recharged, and refreshed a weary family. The week before the trip I felt completely overwhelmed with my new job, pressures of my calling, and other miscellaneous issues (car trouble, etc.). It all evaporated into that pristine air like rain coming down after an inversion. We returned slightly sad, but ready to take it all back on. 
5. Uncle Scott and Aunt Pat. These two remarkable people played the parts of perfect host and hostess. They took us on all of the adventures. Aunt Pat has a natural beauty, a happy heart, a listening ear, and a resilient spirit. She can swim a mile-wide lake and cook up the best blueberry-rubarb pie you've ever had--all in the same afternoon. A great match for Uncle Scott. Uncle Scott is a mentor, a friend, and a leader. As you jumped into the foaming wrath of Grand Chute or shot through the Zipper rapids on your kayak you knew that whatever happened, everything would be okay with Uncle Scott there. But just because you knew you would be okay didn't mean Scott expected less of you. We wouldn't have experienced many of the things we did out there without his encouragement and mentoring. And yes, he can kayak through rapids with someone hanging onto the back of his kayak and pulling their kayak behind them (the case study requested to remain anonymous). And yes, he is made of muscle only. And yes, he has forgotten what it feels like to be sore and Poison Ivy doesn't affect him. And yes, his blog is awesome.  
6. Our Little Family. One more to grow on. We enjoyed such a great time, just the four of us. We saw the Hill Cumorah, the Sacred Grove, and Niagara Falls on the way up. We sang songs, read stories, told stories, talked, listened to books on tape, and enjoyed the scenery for our 15-hour road trips. We spent time in the mornings together, quiet times together, and I had much-needed time with Benjammer--providing us with a new, strong father-son bond. Our drive back was just as wonderful. Celebrating Our Beautiful's birthday, enjoying the abundant hospitality of Ben and Celeste, making goals based on the things we felt and learned during the week, and learning from Abe's Sunday School lesson (video of that coming soon).

I could keep going. But I won't. The lure of the Kipawa captured us. We can't wait to be back soon.

Niagara Falls

 

(A little bro-to-bro kiss before seeing the falls)

Palmyra Temple 

 The Sacred Grove

At the Smith Family Farm House (Joseph hid the plates in those very hearthstones)

 

Our view out our window when we woke up at the lodge

Diving at Grand Chute

 Uncle Scott doin' his thing

Enjoying the water

 

Cooling off after the sauna

 

Family Time!

Abe caught two fish with no help (except to hold the pole steady while he reeled)

 

 

 

Highlights reel coming soon.  And probably more pictures.