Albert's Update 17 April 2013

(There is another post coming with an explanation plus video on the "Old man" Stick.)

Dr Beach giving Albert the "Old Man" Stick

A Busy Semester

It has been a long time. The pressures of this semester have meant that my blog contributions have had to be placed on hold for a wee while.

I am well, but the workload has been daunting this semester. I still have a number of significant papers to complete before the end of the Semester, and so I would appreciate your continued prayers. They help!

 

In the meantime here is some of my work for you to have a look at/ listen to.

I have given my first chapel message. You can download that here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/antbqywu3vpxfl4/chapel.03.27.13.mp3

Here is a Sermon that I preached for Preaching Class.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3f1s7i1jfg8a7d/True%20Greatness%20is%20Service%20manuscript%20for%20distribution.pdf

And finally, a Paper I have just submitted:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b6gk82a5nwwn3qx/Immutability.pdf

 

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Albert

Sledding

The next day we decided to go sledding during school time. Albert took afternoon off from studying (he had no classes) and came with us to go sledding on a 'sledding' hill. Believe it or not, there are not many hills around and these 'sledding' hills are made specifically in parks for this very purpose!

It was a cold day (as you can see from the gray sky) but the girls had a blast. I also went down a few times and really enjoyed it. We borrowed sleds from a neighbor up the road. We also took some of the girls of one of the seminary families with us. My camera ran out of batteries and so I haven't got too many photo's sorry :( hopefully better next year. I also took the girls again a day later but a lot of the snow had melted already, it made for some VERY muddy (fast) sledding! (Very thankful for my HUGE washing machine and dryer!)

Going up the hill

Looking down the hill, it is a fair way down,
it's hard to see

Albert testing the hill out!

The visiting girls having a go, my girls watching

Here are my girls going

Back up the hill

On your tummy is the best!

Grace

Kate and ? sorry my photography skills are amateur!

Snow Storm

Here are some pictures of our first 'snow storm'! While I'm sure the rest of Chicago was dreading this 'storm' we were looking forward to it! It is soo magical to watch the snow fall and accumulate. I (sorry I mean we) had a 'snow'ball! "No girls you can't shovel the driveway, GIVE me the shovel!" haha I pulled rank, you got to sometimes as a Mum surely! Don't worry the girls got plenty of play time with the shovel too! (We borrowed the lovely next door neighbors shovel as well!). The snow just kept falling, and falling and falling. The school next door finished early but mostly life goes on, it's amazing really. The amount of trucks plowing and salting the roads is quite amazing also. 

Isn't it gorgeous? 

Accumulating snow

Where is the footpath again? (Grace)

Grace, Zara and Michaela building a snowfort

snow fort

"Mama" Snow Angel"

Shoveling the paths

7 Inches and going

Next morning, notice the clear roads

Final measurement about 8 inches, AWESOME!

Winter Fun

When they are not doing schoolwork, reading or playing outside they play in the basement. The girls were spoiled with lots of Friends Lego for their birthdays and so they set up a town with all their stuff. Here are some pictures. 

Grace and Michaela

The Vet

We also looked after our good friends (Aaron and Audra's) boys for an afternoon while they celebrated their anniversary. The girls and boys had a ball! Playing in the snow, making snow angels and swinging!

Grace, Kate, Zara (pink) with Michaela
and Josiah in the 'house'

Grace showing Cademon how to make snow angels!

Michaela and the boys

Kate's Big Snow Balls

I'm learning a lot about snow. I hadn't thought about the fact that there is at least three different types of snow, (there might be more haven't experienced it yet!) wet and 'dry' and snow flurries. 'Dry' snow doesn't really make good snowballs/snowmens/snow fights! Wet snow however is great, it rolls great into HUGE snow balls and makes great snowfighting material! Flurries are very light snow flakes (these got me excited at first but after having experienced real snow, a bit of a disappointment). In the photo's here is wet snow, hence the snowman(s) and snowballs! It was pretty cold that day and so most of us didn't last very long apart from Kate, she persevered and spend a good part of the afternoon out there making HUGE snowballs. She was struggling to get the snowballs into our front yard and so I went out and helped her, no wonder she was having trouble, the snowballs were very heavy even I had trouble moving them. We accomplished the 'job'with a bit of good old fashioned team work! Go Kate! 

Snowman - in the neighbors yard

All of the family including our lovely neighbor

Snowman!

Snowman number 2

Kate with snowball number 3

Having a rest, it's hard work

and now there is four

Me helping Kate

Our snowball (they were too heavy to lift
otherwise I would have  made more snowmans)

Now there are five!

Kate!

Random February

Here are some random photo's, enjoy!

Group photo of our homeschooling co-op

different pose

Guess who is often the last one to be asleep?
(Zara having a late night cuddle)

Father and daughter games at GEMS

Kate and Me

This one day after we had some snow. The day was very warm and the girls thought it would be a good idea to play with the water. I gave them specific instructions not to get their shoes/socks etc wet. Grace come up with a genius solution, well at least she thought so. Nothing got wet! Very clever Grace!