Winter....fun!?

Since my last post, Andee and I have been settling back in nicely to our home in Illinois.  We fell quite easily back into our normal routines, Andee started a new rotation in Bolingbrook, IL, about 15 minutes from our apartment, and I started a new part-time volunteer Reception/Administrative position at Harvest Bible Chapel!  PTL!!  It is great to be working again and feeling productive and contributive!  This has been a big prayer of mine for a while, and God is faithful and operates in perfect time!  So excited to be working with such wonderful people and for such a wonderful and amazing God!!!

On my first official day of work, I was just sitting at the front desk like normal, texting with Jenna and telling her about my awesome new job!  She casually asked what the name of the church was, and of course I replied thinking nothing of it, since the topic of conversation was already involving the church.  About an hour later, as I was just about to take a lunch break, who walks through the front doors but DAVE ESPEUT!!!!!!!!!!  Davie in Illinois!!  How did he get here?  Well, he was driving Jeremy to Bible College in Michigan, and then decided to just keep on driving and come for a quick visit in Illinois!!  I was so shocked and happy to see him!!  We then took a long lunch and headed to Chilli's, and then Dave joined me at work for a couple hours to hang out, and then we met Andee at work!  We then ate a yummy meal at our apartment, and Dave got to hang out with Andee too before heading back home.  And here is the kicker - Dave had to work the next morning!!!  He ended up leaving Lisle at about 7pm, predicting his arrival time back in Scarborough to be about 4am!!  And he worked only a few hours later!  What a great friend!!  So thankful to him for driving all the way to Illinois to see us!!!  Love you Davie!!  p.s. the tree in the photo is a recent purchase, $25 for the tree and all the decorations!  Great after Christmas Deal!

In the midst of our little taste of home with Dave coming to visit, we have also participated in many-an-Illinois activities that were photo worthy!  We had a big sack of slightly stale bread, and what better use than to feed the hundreds of geese and ducks that inhabit our property!  There were too many to count!  It was freezing, but it was fun!  A couple days later, on an unseasonably warm day, the geese were somewhat confused as to why they couldnt go for a swim, and so ended up just hanging out on the ice!  It was hilarious to watch them walk with unstable steps, and when flying in and landing sliding all over!  Haha, I laughed so hard and had to take a picture!

One of the first activities Andee and I attempted was skiing!  There is currently no snow in the Chicagoland area (really weird for this time of year), but the ski hill is covered in homemade snow!  Andee had been skiing before, but looking at his ski jacket tag determined that he had not been since 2004!!  That's 9 years ago!  And of course, the jacket still fits!  And since I have never been skiing before, Andee taught me how!  He is a great teacher, and never gets frustrated with me even in my panicked state of  "I'm doing the pizza but I'm going too fast!"  It was a slightly terrifying but really fun experience, and the best part about it is that as 4 Lakes renters, we get to use the ski hill and rent all the equipment for free!!  We have only been skiing once so far, as the weather has dipped to a disgustingly unseasonably cold and windy temperature, but are planning to try it again when the weather gets back on track!  Or unseasonably warm, I wouldn't complain!

We rounded out our winter adventures in January by visiting the Cosley Zoo to see Bob and Robert the cats (Bobcats...yup.)  They were super cute as usual, and one was prowling around and posing for our photos!  It was a pretty cold day, but enough bundling and the promise of wild cat viewings was enough for me to brave the outdoors for a little while! 

Since these unseasonably cold temperatures are sticking around for a while, my instincts are telling me to hibernate until further notice.  As I am sitting here typing this blog, it is currently snowing very lightly and covering the ground and the frozen lakes with a beautiful dusting.  From inside my warm apartment, which I do not plan on leaving today, this is exactly the type of winter I can embrace.  Happy hibernation everyone!