We have been gradually lengthening Molly’s leash around the house, so to speak. She is now allowed more time in the family room as long as someone is playing with her.

As the boys were rolling around on the floor the other night, Molly was mixing it up with them. I’d say she is adapting well to the family.

Around here, we like to do things differently than the crowd. Take yesterday, for instance. Memorial Day. The unofficial beginning of summer. Everybody and their uncle had the day off of work and school.

These boys launched into their math curriculum with absolutely no adult prompting. In fact, I was deliberately silent on the matter thinking it would be perfectly acceptable to take the day off.

See Jake in his sweats? That’s because he is sick as a dog with a fever and cold. He was certainly determined.

Even Peter and Jeremy got into the act–Peter worked on a kindergarten book while Jeremy scribbled on decorated his journal.

submitted by Derek

Jake and I are going on a missions trip to  botswana with our dad. we are also going with one of our friends, Hannah thompson. including some of the oneway members. we are  supposed to teach bible stories. and teach them about Jesus. We are also going to play games like soccer,volleyball, etc.

Do not leave the dog alone in the car unrestrained. Even if we’re just going to run into Home Depot for 15 minutes to buy tomato plants.

Peter handled the destruction of his car seat very well.

There is a bit of irony to this. We went to Home Depot right after Molly’s vet appointment. The vet reminded the boys of the importance of picking up their toys so she does not ingest them. He told us about the times he’s had to “open up dogs” to take out lodged toys. Hmmm…wonder if he’s ever had to open up a dog to remove a car seat…bet that would be a first.

I have always admired my Aunt Chris. She stands out in a crowd of women for many reasons, two of them being her total selflessness and the way she doesn’t speak poorly of anyone. She loves Jesus, and her life displays His unconditional love.

Right now she and my uncle Ron and cousin Ronnie need prayer more than ever, as they are walking through the fire. You can read about their recent trial here.

As I pray for them, I can’t help but ask God why He is allowing so much suffering to be heaped onto one family. From my perspective it does not make sense. But from God’s perspective, it does. Corrie ten Boom, a woman who suffered greatly during World War II, said that the suffering of the world is like looking at the bottom of a tapestry. God is weaving it from the top down, and He sees the picture developing. We’re looking at it from the bottom up, and we’re seeing all of these tangled threads. It doesn’t look like it’s making any sense at all, but it’s the same tapestry.

This is a good (short) article by John Piper highlighting what the Bible says about suffering and some of the reasons why we suffer in this life. In fact, if you’re interested in the topic, search “suffering” on the desiringgod.org website and you’ll find all sorts of articles and audio messages that teach what God says about suffering.

Maybe it’s because I live in a house with five males, but I am hyper-sensitive when it comes to modesty. I notice the lack of it in commercials, on billboards and on Jewel’s magazine racks (I’m one of those annoying people who turns smutty magazine covers around). Apart from turning around mag covers, I cannot do much else to shelter my boys’ eyes from excess skin. But I can teach them the importance of modesty and what they allow their eyes to gaze upon.

I can also lead by example.

The topic is on my mind because summer is nearing, and also because I ran across a great quote in a book by John Piper. I take this as a good challenge for myself as I choose what I’m going to wear today. Hope you can see the truth in it too.

Clothes are not meant to make people think about what is under the clothes. Clothes are meant to direct attention to what is not under them: merciful hands that serve others in the name of Christ, beautiful feet that carry the gospel where it is needed, and the brightness of a face that has beheld the glory of  Jesus.

As the author of bad dad jokes (a.k.a. my dad)  would say, this post is a day late and a dollar short. But since there is also a saying out there that goes, better late than never, I’m going to take this time to wish my dad a happy birthday.

One verse that comes to mind when I think of Dad is, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26) Growing up, he ruled our house like any good strict, heavy-handed german would. But then God got a hold of his heart, taught him grace, among other things, and replaced his hard heart with a heart of flesh.

By his example, my dad has taught me the importance of loyalty and sticking to your word, even when you don’t feel like it.

He has taught me the joy of delayed gratification…i.e. save the frosting on the cake for last; eat your dinner then have dessert. And if you haven’t already guessed, he taught me to really enjoy sweets.

He taught me to love dogs and hate cats.

He taught me to savor a good surprise.

He taught me the importance of discerning between right and wrong, and to cling to what is right.

He taught me to love the Bible and the importance of reading it regularly.

…there are a gazillion lessons my dad has taught me by word and example. I love how God has transformed–and still is transforming–my dad. I cherish our relationship; he is one of the people with whom I look forward to having a good, deep conversation.

Happy birthday, Dad. Love, your biggest fan.

We watched Toy Story a few weeks ago, and Jeremy has been quoting Buzz Lightyear. Kind of. Rather than exclaiming “To infinity and beyond!” he has been running around the house yelling, “Confetti and beyond!”

Set up the tee…

…keep your eye on the ball…

…make good contact…

…and celebrate a ball well hit.

High fives from his big brother.

What is perhaps even more impressive is how he can make the baseball levitate in the air:

Are we gluttons for punishment or what? As of last weekend every family member has had a turn in the frigid waters in our backyard. Every non-pregnant family member, that is. Someone has to take all these pictures.

Peter threw on his life vest and gingerly made his way into the pool with a little help from his big brothers.

While they were floating around the pool, Jim and Jeremy were looking on from their upper balcony seats.

And when I said every family member has taken a turn in the pool, I meant everyone–human and canine. Jim and the boys are doing their best to convince Molly that swimming is a fun activity. Toward the end of the video, you can hear Peter state the obvious by saying “she likes the sides.” It’s like she is magnetically attracted to the side of the pool. She has one thing on her little dog brain, and that’s get me onto solid ground.

Despite the fact that it was 59 degrees outside today, Jeremy really really wanted to go swimming. And how could we deny a 2 year-old what he really really wants?

Jim put Jeremy’s life vest on him and dunked him into the water. What ensued was a fierce internal battle–Jeremy cried “it cold!!” and at the same time did NOT want to get out. Derek suggested putting him in an inner tube. That helped ease the chill for a couple minutes, but soon Jeremy began complaining about how cold he was. So finally Jim threw a towel on top of him as he floated around the pool.

As you can see in the video, he is having a rip-roaring time.

…so just click here to watch a recent news story that a friend of mine emailed over to me. :)

Happy Mother’s Day.

Is there such a thing?

When the UPS truck arrived with a box full of curriculum for next year, it was like Christmas morning around here, the way Jake and Derek tore into their new books.

They have declared their intentions for the summer: Jake would like to work through his science and math curriculum, and Derek his math curriculum. After getting over the shock that they actually want to work over the summer, I was honestly thankful to see their love for learning. It’s one thing I pray about for them.

Feel free to ask us how it’s going at the end of July :)

Jim commented as we were driving to church Sunday morning that it was the first sunny Sunday in a looong time. Well, this got the wheels turning and the adrenaline pumping for a polar bear swim in the pool after church. The air temp was great…but the water hung around 60 degrees.

It didn’t stop these guys from jumping in.

Derek was the first brave soul. He stood in this position for about 10 minutes until he could feel his feet again.

Jake chose the jump-in-and-get-it-over-with method…

…then just as quickly made a beeline for the ladder.

Derek wasn’t too far behind him.

The boys willingly endured some more torture, though, once Jim hopped in. Don’t they look like they’re having fun?

Poor Jeremy wanted to swim with his brothers so badly.

Molly helping Derek warm up.

After dealing with this for the past several days (note the muddy paws and face), we were quite anxious to begin spreading mulch around the house.

It was really cool to see all four boys working together today to help bring the mulch from the driveway to the backyard. Jake was the dump truck driver (a.k.a. wheelbarrow pusher) and the other three used hands, buckets, and shovels to load the dump truck (imagination is key in prolonging young children’s work time).

Derek was a work horse with that shovel. He’ll be sore tomorrow.

Our (almost) 2 year-old neighbor even lent a hand.

In addition to spreading mulch, the boys planted some vegetables in peat pots.

Jeremy proclaimed himself the “carrot guy”, and he was in charge of planting the carrot seeds.

The fruit veggies of their labor. From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him (Proverbs 12:14).

Then Derek, who was working in the yard while the others were planting, came over to show Jeremy one of the many worms we found in the yard. No kidding, every time we dug up a weed or turned over dirt, we found a half dozen worms hiding in there. They say that’s a sign of healthy soil.

Yeah, well, try telling that to Bubbie. He says they’re bad. Fortunately for him, he has three older brothers to work on him until he turns around in his thinking.

Just for shock value, here’s a picture of the worm.

To conclude this post full of pictures, I’ll leave you with a shot of our mini tulip garden. Aren’t they beautiful?

Remember the picture of Jeremy hugging Molly a month ago?

It seems that Molly has learned how to hug back.

Jeremy’s current way of interacting with Molly is to lay down on the floor while she lays on him and chews her toys (or Jeremy’s ears if no toys are available).

Then it turns into a wrestling match.

What Jeremy doesn’t realize is that Molly is quickly surpassing him in body weight…a rapidly growing 27 pound dog, versus a gradually growing 37 pound boy!