Donny Osmond, David Archuleta, Alex Boye, Studio C

No posts this past week as I've spent many of my waking hours at the hospital with my 79 year old mother who fell and broke her leg last week.  It was a compound fracture with open wound so....she required immediate surgery.

Because of her having had diabetes for 47 years and complications from that - which have included 3 back surgeries, several other surgeries, and diabetic neuropathy, her case was more complicated and she's been at high risk for other challenges.  It's been an intense 10 days.

Thankfully, we've had some tender mercies and have felt peace even during some very difficult times.

We had tickets to the #RootsTech 2015 Conference in SLC last weekend but were unable to attend because of Mom's hospitalization.

Here's a little clip which includes my sweet parents (they're the second interviewees; Dad talks about 'Jack Armstrong; All American Hero and 'Wheaties') and my youngest daughter Ashley (in pink blouse and gray sweater who mentions Abraham Lincoln).  They were each interviewed for 30 minutes, along with about 60 other people, and then the clip was reduced to a very short 3 minute segment.

I tried and tried to post it but...it wouldn't work.  So...click on this link: Video Clip 

I only share this today because we could have lost my mother and it seemed timely to me to ponder on the significance of life; and those who have already gone before us.  It's amazing to learn of them and their lives and how we're all connected.  We affect one another!

Family History is for Everyone!
Get Started with Family Search.

Watch:  Donny Osmond, David Archuleta, Studio C:

and...Alex Boye'
"Once you find out where you're from, you have a better understanding of who you are." - Alex Boye'

Famberry: Store Your Family Photos and Stories Online for FREE

We've just heard from this company in the UK - who are doing some seemingly wonderful things for connecting families and storing photos and family stories.  We can't fully endorse them yet, as we haven't used their product, but we invite you to read about and explore their business.

I know that my family has been trying to find a way to do something similar to this.  We all use Ancestry and Family Search for many things - but this company is providing something unique and different than that; a way to help us work together, sharing, in a private environment. 

One terabyte of space for your family, for FREE, forever.

London, England (December 16th, 2014)

To celebrate the move to new server facilities, Famberry, the popular collaborative family tree builder, is giving all users who sign up, a massive one terabyte of space to store their photos and memories. That’s enough space to store over 300,000 photos, so all your family’s memories can be shared for generations to come. All for free.

As part of the project to move onto new, physically secure, high-grade servers, Famberry has been completely re-written to work even more seamlessly on mobile phones, tablet devices and desktop computers, with no additional software or plug-ins; your family can always stay connected, wherever they are.

The move to the new server cluster means that you can finally keep your private family memories safe & secure, with information replicated automatically to 3 different locations within the UK.

“This really has been a team achievement and the foundation for other exciting announcements that we plan to make over the next few months.” - Steve Bardouille, co-founder, Famberry.

In addition to the award-winning family tree building features that users have grown to love, the new version has hundreds of improvements including:

• New facilities for cropping and uploading multiple photos
• Personal photo albums for each member of the family tree
• Easier navigation for mobile devices
• Centralised timeline for the whole Family

...and much more, in fact the site continues to be updated weekly with new features based on user feedback.

Famberry are only offering this unprecedented offer for a limited time - on a first come, first served basis, so sign up today at www.famberry.com to secure a space for your family’s history.

Are We Doing Good Online?

Most of us want to 'Do Good', don't we?   How can we be more effective online?  What can we share for the betterment of others'?  Our words and messages are important.  We will, one day, give an account of all we did in life.  Are the things we're doing online appropriate and uplifting?

I think of Alma who said "For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare look up to our God, and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall up on us to hide us from his presence."

Perhaps some don't realize that the words they speak really do affect others as well as themselves.

When Elder Ballard asked us to 'join the conversation' - we took heed.  We realized the importance of these modern-day technologies.  My opinion is that they were created to be able to share the gospel, strengthen and uplift others, do family histories, and bless lives.

Whenever good is established on the earth - the adversary sets up his counterfeit.  His purpose is to weaken, hurt and destroy.  He uses