Crude Technical Prowess

So I am very proud of my crude technical prowess (I love it when authors use the title in the actual text, it lets you know that it's important).  I'm no Samuel Richards, but I can get along.  I wanted this awesome video about media and technology from Elder Bednar to teach the young men about video games.  Here is the video (in English)

And here is the German counterpart that I spliced together in a 100% free manner (free except for the 2.5 hours that it took to figure it out and the computer that I already owned.  And I think I had a chocolate bar while I was making it, so let's just say it was not necessarily free, but a very reasonable price)

All I had to do was download the English video, download a program that let me pull out just the audio, separate the music from the English narration, piece together the German narration from the translated version of Elder Bednar's talk, and than slap it all together on windows movie maker.  Yes folks, it was that easy.

Baverian Alps

Scotts photos from his trip to Garmish with Tim, Janice and Dan.

Touchy Touchy

Sometimes when the kids are really tired or hungry, or just upset from lots going on, they will be a little touchy.  The other day, Timmy got really angry with me and yelled "You broke our Entertainment!"
"Are you mad at me?", I replied.
"Yes, because you broke our Atonement!  You broke our rules, so you can't get in here!"

I think what he meant was that I spoiled all their fun.

Hoensbroek Casteel

I know, I'm just getting lazy now just slapping pictures on the blog without much commentary, but I figure it's better than nothing, right?  Anyway, we went to a castle across the border in Niederland.

I'm not sure whether Timmy looks like a very sporty guy in his warm ups or an extremely old guy in a jumpsuit.  Either way, this room was very cool.

I thought that this sign was rather unnecessary, until I had smacked my head 4 or 5 times going down the stairs.  Those medieval people were definitely not tall.

Cool shot of some of the brick work.

The courtyard as we were running out of there in the pouring rain.

Classic armor shot.

OK, this is worth mentioning.  I know it's not in focus, but if you really can't read it send me an email.  I've been using this text as grounds for leniency at the home-front.

Another castle.  Go castles!

Another Family Home Evening

I know this is getting a little repetitive, but I'm definitely seeing how fast the kids are growing up, and I'd like to look back on some of this stuff and remember all of the little things that we did.  Anyway, since we made cardboard swords and re-enacted a Book of Mormon story a bit ago, I thought we would continue in that direction and have a lesson on the Armor of God.  This is based on Ephesians 6:10-17, We watched the old seminary video (seminary is like bible study for high school students), which the kids loved, and then I made armor for them out of some of the millions of moving boxes in our basement.  They loved it, and are constantly asking us now if they can put on the armor of God.

Uncle Dick

My mother's uncle Richard passed away last week.  I was sorry to miss his funeral, being on the other side of the world, because I loved my Grandpa and all his siblings.  Richard ("Dick") was the last to go.  I was also sad to miss the funeral, because in my experience, going to a Cracroft funeral is like attending the best comedy stand-up you can find...and that in a church no less!   All good clean fun, as well as tender memories and a strong spirit of the truth.  The Cracroft's are people who live the gospel well, but have fun doing it, and don't take life and themselves too seriously.  Uncle Richard's comic emails, Christmas letters, and articles will be sorely missed.

I anxiously await the recording or transcription of the funeral talks.

In the meantime, I was emailed today a classic Uncle Richard quote, which I am told he used to express his excitement to get to work as mission President in the Swiss Mission.   "I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony.  I don't know where to start!"

I will never forget his talk at Grandpa Cracroft's funeral.  He emphasized the vast difference between the potential of man and our heritage and destiny, with our current state.  How sinful and pitiful we are.  And then he said something to this effect, "Some people get discouraged by this vast difference between our current state and our eternal, godlike potential.  Paul Cracroft thought that it was......funny!"

It has reminded me many times not to get discouraged over my own weaknesses and the imperfectness of those around me.  It reminds me that it's OK to find humor and even laugh at how incredible it is that we are the children of a perfect God, heirs to his glory........but that we can have faith in it just the same.

http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=2841