What does a dad with boys do when he has some spare time on his hands? In our house, he builds weapons. Specifically, a spudzooka (a.k.a. potato launcher).

After a quick trip to Lowe’s for supplies and back home for the assembly of PVC tubing, they were ready to launch.

Molly was either nervous that she may be the target for target practice; or excited with anticipation that she would have the opportunity to clean up potato scraps. (Disclaimer: no pets or other wildlife were injured during this activity)

After arming the spudzooka with plenty of aerosol hair spray, Derek was ready to fire.

See the potato?

As the snow cascaded down to the ground the other day, it did not take the boys long to schlep on their snow gear and romp around outside.

Molly (who believes she is one of the kids) romped around with them.

Have sled, need hill.

Minor casualty

Knowing that her brothers were playing outside, Ruthie considered joining them…

…but wisely opted to stay in her warm house.

Finally, the white candle in the center represents Jesus Christ, the pure, sinless One who was sacrificed for us.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  (1 Peter 1:18-20)

Over the past four weeks, the boys have taken turns lighting the candles, and today was Bubbie’s turn.

The fourth candle represents the one thing the world misunderstands most: LOVE.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Jesus died for the worst of sinners because of Love. He died so that we might live forever with Him.

This quote from John Piper explains well what real love is.

The love of God is not God’s making much of us, but God’s saving us from self-centeredness so that we can enjoy making much of him forever. And our love to others is not our making much of them, but helping them to find satisfaction in making much of God. True love aims at satisfying people in the glory of God. Any love that terminates on man is eventually destructive. It does not lead people to the only lasting joy, namely, God. Love must be God-centered, or it is not true love; it leaves people without their final hope of joy.

Friends of ours from Florida, the VanHuis family, wrote a story announcing Ruthie’s birth and mailed it to us. The story is told in a most creative way.

Here’s Peter is holding it up:

And here it is up close for your reading enjoyment:

We lit the third candle (a week late…oops) which represents JOY. There are a lot of things that bring happiness, but real, lasting joy comes from trusting Jesus Christ. The joy that He gives doesn’t fade when circumstances fail. The angels knew this when they announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11)

The Joy candle is pink. If you are curious why that is–like I was–read this explanation of the tradition of Lent and Advent.

Speaking of pink, Ruth wore her pink in honor of the joy we celebrated today.

After studying the history behind the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Jake and Derek tried their hands at painting while laying on their backs. Keeping in line with the original Sistine Chapel theme, which consists of numerous scenes from the Bible, the boys chose to paint the story of Noah’s Ark.

As hour

after hour went by,

they began appreciating the toil that the task took on Michelangelo way back in the 1500s.

Thankfully, Ruth was on hand to offer some constructive criticism.

And now the completed masterpiece adorns the Johanik Basement ceiling.

Perhaps preparation for something like this one day…

When the weather is uncooperative, sometimes the boys opt for recess in the garage.

Here’s what Ruth and I saw when we opened the garage door the other day…

The newest rage now is pushing Ruth around the house in the bouncie seat, pretending she’s riding a boat, airplane, race car, or other vehicle. She loves it. She loves it so much, in fact, that she falls asleep every time.

It is quickly becoming an elective course for Peter during school when I need to work with Jake and Derek.

The second advent candle represents Preparation–to get ready.

John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus 2000 years ago:

As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ” (Luke 3:4-6)

Similarly, it is good to prepare ourselves now for the day when Jesus returns to the earth. “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:13)

Cheap, flavorful, and simple to make. Plus, it’s a big hit with the kids. It’s the perfect dinner recipe, so I thought I’d share it here through play-by-play photos. And if the sight of raw chicken makes you sick, you’ll want to just scroll down to the bottom.

Before any preparation takes place, be sure needy babies are in good, capable hands.

The star of the recipe is a whole chicken (or two if you’re cooking for a house full of growing boys). We buy ours at Costco for $.89 a pound.

The seasonings and spices: onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, thyme, coarse kosher salt, and pepper (you can always take out what you don’t like and add what you do like; this is a very forgiving recipe)

Combine all the seasonings and rub onto the chicken. Be sure and put some under the skin too–this way, if you’re not a fan of chicken skin, you still get the flavor.

Once the chicken is well seasoned, put it into a gallon-size bag and stick it in the fridge overnight to let the salt and spices do their work.

Around noon the following day, gather an onion or two,

cut it into quarters,

and put it inside the chicken. If the whole onion doesn’t fit, place the extra pieces next to the chicken in the crockpot.

Place the stuffed chicken into a crockpot, and cook on low for about five hours. (new crockpot on low setting)

(14 year-old, wimpy crockpot on high setting)

After five hours, pull the chicken out, cut it up and serve with your favorite comfort food–like peas and mashed potatoes. Yummy.

Roast Sticky Chicken

One of the science experiments Jake was tasked with the other day required the use of plaster. So off to Hobby Lobby we went. Upon returning home, we read the warning label on the container and nearly changed our minds about doing the experiment. It’s not exactly your run-of-the-mill warning label:

“Failure to follow these instructions can cause sever burns that may require surgical removal of affected tissue or amputation of limb”?? Yikes!

So the boys began the experiment with trepidation.

And once they discovered that the warning label may have been…how shall I put it…a little over the top, they spent the rest of the day pouring plaster just for fun into containers from around the house.

Poor Molly (who obviously did not read the plaster warning label) wanted to join the fun.

In no particular order, here are some things we were thankful for this past weekend…

Thankful for smiles from little sisters

Thankful that I remembered to pack a jammy shirt for Peter (never mind that I forgot the pants)

Thankful for Legos…oh are we thankful for Legos

Thankful for cuddles from a certain sweet-smelling baby

Thankful for the sacrifice of family members to house a certain not-so-sweet-smelling dog

Thankful for Kodak moments that we actually captured on camera

Thankful for delicious food, the hands that prepared it, and the family to share it with

Thankful for cousins that love each other…

…and teach one another valuable life lessons, such as how to do a push-up

Thankful for phones with cool apps

Thankful for a grandpa (and great-grandpa) who has godly influence in the lives of his great grandchildren

Thankful for family members who aren’t afraid to be goofy

Thankful for gorgeous sunrises that take your breath away

Most of all, thankful that if every one of these things were taken away, we have a God who loves us more than we can imagine and promises to never leave us. He is the Giver of all good things, and way more precious and worthy of thanks than the gifts He gives.