So, there the cooler sits.  It’s inevitable that the remaining dry ice in the cooler, left over from yesterday’s escapades, will sublimate into the air, disappear, and contribute to global warming (CO2 is a greenhouse gas after all; perhaps we should all stop breathing to save the environment.) No use prolonging the inevitable – we decided to put the remainder to good use.

Two years ago when Jake was into Chemistry (which is sooo passé now), he received the following book as a gift.

Wouldn’t you know it: Jake recalled on page 32 that there was a recipe for making instant ice cream using…dry ice!

We chopped up the dry ice using Heidi’s food processor (who knew?) which turned it into dry snow, but not the stuff you’d want to make snow angels in.  We then added cream, sugar and vanilla, along with ample quantities of powdered dry ice and turned the mixer on.

OK, so we weren’t prepared for the fact that the dry ice vapor would create a creamy bubbly explosion, but we recovered quickly.

When completed, nothing but delicious ice cream (in the middle of winter!)

Four boys (and a big boy with time on his hands) + 20 lbs of pure-grade dry ice (as in CO2 at a temperature of -109 degrees Fahrenheit) = Fun for an entire day.

Here we are making “fog”

Er, here we are blowing up a bottle for the first time…

And here “we” are blowing up a bottle for the second time. Jake was responsible for the slow-motion effects. (Notice the 2 duds next to the experiment.)

We all decided to upgrade to liquid nitrogen next time…if there is a next time (we won’t discuss the outcome of Jim trying to make carbonated soda in the kitchen).

What fun!

And now for something completely…different…

Some of you are aware of Ruthie’s fondness of the moon. She asks about it day and night, and Jake loves the fact that she’s excited about something in the night sky. He even painted a glow-in-the-dark moon on the ceiling above her bed.

But he didn’t stop there. He also created this:

From Jim – again.  (It’s nice to have some time off!)

This is the season when we say “Peace on Earth, goodwill to men”.

Heidi and I seem to be searching far and near for peace in this house. Case in point, last night as I was cleaning the kitchen, I noticed the kitchen lights above me vibrating severely after hearing loud crashes from the room above – the boys’ room.  Thanks to a new Nerf basketball hoop and ball they received as a gift, their room is now a half-court arena.  However, these boys are football players who, to my knowledge, never legitimately touched a basketball before.  So this game was more of a destroy-the-guy-with-the-ball-before-he-shoots kind of game. Today I have to spackle all nail pops in the ceiling…

As I was reflecting in the quietness of the morning on “peace”, I resolved that despite the craziness of life at times (especially living in a heavily trafficked suburb during Christmas-shopping season), I have no reason to complain – at all.  I dialed up CNN and glanced quickly at the top news stories:

From Jim today…

Tradition.  As a discipline, tradition is doing something of significance time and time again for various reasons.  Tradition adds richness and color of this earthly life and in some cases points to the hope we have in Christ and our future home in heaven. Tradition seems to come especially alive at Christmas, and I am certain our family has not cornered the market in this regard.  Getting together with family for presents and meals on Christmas Eve and Day, putting up the Christmas tree while listening to Handel’s Messiah, going to hear Handel’s Messiah with Heidi at Orchestra Hall, and the family advent candle lighting are just a few of our annual Christmas traditions.

There is a strange comfort in knowing something will happen at a given time, something you can set your watch to again and again.

When I subscribed to the Wall Street Journal years ago, few things brought more joy in the moment than reading the traditional editorial on Christmas Eve, authored by the late Vermont Royster and reprinted every year on that day since 1949.  It’s titled In Hoc Anno Domini and while not overtly evangelistic, I relish the importance it places on the freedom we have in Jesus Christ in an age when this world tries to pry Christ away from Christmas and where government continues to eradicate our freedoms.

For those who do not subscribe to WSJ, here is the editorial:

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression — for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter’s star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Ever wonder what Jake does in his free time? I just found out myself, as I was looking through a folder on the computer titled “Jake’s Stuff”. I couldn’t stop laughing

This kid has a strange sense of humor. Must get it from his grandfather :-)

Look for another entertaining photoshop creation next Friday.

This is the one time of year that the geese are actually more entertaining than they are annoying. They arrive in droves to the pond out back, and what makes the scene so entertaining is the changing terrain of the pond. Once it begins to freeze, the geese have a difficult time navigating and keeping their balance as they move around.

But they adapt. Rather than move around, they stand still. On one leg even.

Athlete.

Mathematician.

Futures Trader.

World Traveler.

…

Hairdresser.

He works that round brush like a pro, and she loves the attention. Who would have guessed?

I ran across an article the other day titled “The Five Best Toys of All Time” and I was intrigued. What could they be? Remote control car? Barbie doll? The newest electronic gadget?

I was delighted to see the list. So delighted, I am sharing it with you during this season of gift-giving–because of its humor as well as its dose of reality.

1. Stick

This versatile toy is a real classic — chances are your great-great-grandparents played with one, and your kids have probably discovered it for themselves as well. It’s a required ingredient for Stickball, of course, but it’s so much more. Stick works really well as a poker, digger and reach-extender. It can also be combined with many other toys (both from this list and otherwise) to perform even more functions.

2. Box

Another toy that is quite versatile, Box also comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Need proof? Depending on the number and size you have, Boxes can be turned into furniture or a kitchen playset. You can turn your kids into cardboard robots or create elaborate Star Wars costumes. A large Box can be used as a fort or house and the smaller Box can be used to hide away a special treasure. Got aStick? Use it as an oar and Box becomes a boat.

3.  String

You can use it to hang things from doorknobs or tie little siblings to chairs or make leashes for your stuffed animals. Use String with two Cans for a telephone (and teach your kids about sound waves), or with Stick to make a fishing pole. You’ll need String for certain games like Cat’s Cradle — there’s even an International String Figure Association for lots more information. String is a huge part of what makes some toys so fun — try using a yo-yo or a kite without String and you’ll see what I mean. Try the heavy-duty version of String (commonly branded Rope) for skipping, climbing, swinging from trees or just for dragging things around.

4. Cardboard Tube

Ah, the Cardboard Tube. These are kind of like the toy at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks — they come free with a roll of paper towels and other products but you have to wait until you get to the end of the roll before you can finally claim the toy. (Perhaps this explains why my kids — who love the small size — go through toilet paper so quickly.) The small- and medium-sized are most common, but the large versions that come with wrapping paper can be more difficult to obtain — I had a roll of Christmas wrapping paper that lasted about three years before my kids finally got the Tube. There’s also an extra-large size that is sometimes sold with posters, and a super-sized industrial version which you’ll generally only find from carpet suppliers. (Of course, carpet stores aren’t toy stores, and while their product also goes by the name Cardboard Tube it’s hardly the same thing and probably shouldn’t be considered a toy.)

5. Dirt

So what can you do with Dirt? Well, it’s great for digging and piling and making piles. We’ve got a number of outdoor toys in our backyard, but my kids spend most of their time outside just playing with Dirt. Use it with Stick as a large-format ephemeral art form. (Didn’t I tell you how versatile Stick was?) Dirt makes a great play surface for toy trucks and cars. Need something a little gloopier? Just add water and — presto! — you’ve got Mud!

(taken from http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/the-5-best-toys-of-all-time/all/1)

Inspiring, no?

I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon:

The child, in danger of the fire, just clings to the fireman, and trusts to him alone. She raises no question about the strength of his limbs to carry her, or the zeal of his heart to rescue her; but she clings. The heat is terrible, the smoke is blinding, but she clings; and her deliverer quickly bears her to safety. In the same childlike confidence cling to Jesus, who can and will bear you out of danger from the flames of sin.