The longer Molly is part of our family, the more integral a member she becomes.

She and Butterfly Ruth enjoy car rides dropping off and picking up brothers.

And she soaks up attention from brothers.

We have added a couple new acronyms to our vocabulary: the first being SAMI (pronounced Sammy), which stands for Saturday AM Inspection.

At the Air Force Academy, SAMIs are white-glove tests on steroids. For instance, the fold of the bed covers must be exact and is actually measured by cadre.

This standard for perfection leads many basic cadets to sleep on the floor, including Jake. This is typically not a problem for him, as he has always been able to sleep anywhere. However, he reported in his last letter that sleeping on the hard floor has caused back pain during the day, so he must resort to sleeping on the bed, on top of the covers.   We’ve heard that it’s inconceivable to sleep under the covers.

As you might imagine, the patriarch in our family was inspired to implement our own SAMI last weekend.

It may not meet the perfect standards of USAFA,

but it’s a start.

The second acronym we’ve picked up is DDO: Doolie Day Out. Unlike the first acronym that produces dread, this one conjures up feelings of anticipation and delight…it is the one day in the middle of basic training when basic cadets get their phones for the day! We got to talk and face time with this guy.

We celebrated the occasion with Oberweis.

Now back to the sugar fast.

With camp season being in full swing, it is a fact that campers who are active all day get mighty hungry. In one week, our family has had the pleasure of making and serving two lunches and one dinner to those hungry campers.

Even Molly delights in the preparation of the food. She patiently waits at the oven door for any scraps that may fall to the floor.

In one week, Corner Mouse Catering baked over 300 cookies!

After all the jobs were done, they went a little wonky.

The final meal we served last week was for the wrestling camp in Chicago. The campers spent time at the beach then joined us for grilled burgers and brats.

We finished off the evening by hearing the testimony of one of the coaches.

He told about the power of Jesus Christ in his life to overcome sin.

We have received a total of nine letters in three weeks from Jake. Given his love of writing (hear the sarcasm), this is nothing short of a miracle! When we pull the letter out of the mailbox, our routine is to gather in the family room while I read it aloud to everyone.

He is doing very well, sharing a lot of funny stories as well as difficult situations. Thanks to the AF media sites, we are able to see pictures of some of the stories he relates to us.

First of all, he says marching is fun.

They had a tour of Doolitle Hall last week and learned about USAFA alumni and veterans.

Love this group picture!

Every semester, cadets must take the PFT (Physical Fitness Test). They are tested on things like long jump, pull ups, sprints and the like.

The basic cadets went to a rodeo one day. This is a nice break from the “at attention” routine. Jake mentioned in one of his letters he was looking forward to eating pizza. The pictures showed that his desire was fulfilled.

Another highlight of basic training thus far was Field Day, when the eight squadrons competed against each other in various events.

Jake competed in the tug-of-war.

He’s mentioned in his letters that at times he feels like a celebrity, the way the cameras are often out, snapping photos of the basics. I’m so thankful for those photographers! And also thankful that our tall-child is easy to spot in a crowd!

The six of us remaining on Bennett Place are standing in solidarity with Jake as he endures six weeks of physical and mental trials during Basic Cadet Training by 1. giving up electronics, and 2. giving up sweets. Number one has been pretty easy.

Giving up dessert on the other hand… It has revealed to me just how addicted to sugar I am. When we get to the end of dinner, you can often find me bellyaching (literally) about how much I want dessert. I like to keep it real for the kids, after all.

In the midst of this sugar ban, Corner Mouse Catering had a couple jobs last week. One entailed baking 150 chocolate chip cookies. The second was making 60 cake pops for a baby shower. Corner Mouse is accustomed to taste testing the products to be sure they are fit for selling (their name is built upon this tradition); however, there could be no taste testing this time for Johanik employees. They overcame and still very much enjoyed the process.

Peter and Jeremy began in the morning by forming the cake balls.

They lined them up in “squadrons” with a “cadre” leading each one. (We are finding that the Long Blue Line extends all the way to Aurora, IL these days!)

Later in the day they were joined by another employee for the dipping, decorating and wrapping. They rather enjoyed themselves.

After being wrapped up and arranged on a platter, the pops were ready to be delivered the next day.

And since there was no taste testing, we hope they tasted as good as they looked!

Jim’s solution to preventing Molly’s white hair from coating the interior of the newly-cleaned black car:

Since some of us had compassion on her, the coat was removed prior to getting in the car.

According to this mac-and-cheese loving girl, National Macaroni and Cheese day on July 14 is the second best holiday of the year, right behind Christmas!

Naturally, we celebrated by eating a pot of the creamy, cheesy goodness for lunch yesterday.

Peter and Jeremy each played three playoff games over two days, which made for a sort of baseball binge for the family. Thankfully, the weather was perfect!

Jeremy capped off his season by hitting well.

Though his best position is shortstop, he took a turn as pitcher on Saturday.

Then was catcher for a bit.

Peter hit a spectacular triple in one of his games.

High five from the coach.

He saw lots of time behind home plate as catcher–his favorite position.

 

For the past nearly two weeks, we have enjoyed the old fashioned method of communication as we write letters back and forth with Jake. Ruth’s letter that she wrote last night is worth sharing (with transcription):

“Dear Jake.
I love you so much. Hope you are having a good time. I hope you’re having fun. Thanks for the letters. Remember Molly misses you so much! I hope the cadre do not !!!!! at you. I’m sorry for the bad handwriting but it was the best I could do.
Love Ruth”

There have been FCA camps running throughout the summer so far in various neighborhoods of Chicago, however, this week was one of the first camps to take place in the burbs. It’s one of my favorites because it brings together two very different worlds, using the platform of sports to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Buses arrived at Wheaton Academy from Chicago.

The kids were greeted by a drum corps, cheerleaders, and lots of high-fives. The intent was to make them feel wanted and welcomed.

They then took to the field group by group

and began their competitions and drills.

This was Ruthie’s first camp experience, and boy was she all in.

The three younger kids participated in the camp

while Derek drove the cart around, delivering things and setting up and taking down the field. I asked him if he could count this toward his hours behind the wheel for driver’s ed.

Throughout the day, the kids broke into their huddles where the leaders shared about their personal relationship with Jesus. The primary goal of the camp is that the gospel would be shared–the hope of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus.

I’m not even sure how many kids were there. There were many more than anticipated, to the point where we ran out of lunches and had to make an emergency trip to pick up more food!

The day ended with the distribution of Bibles which were donated to FCA. Leaders shared their favorite verses and signed the kids’ Bibles as a memento of their camp day.

These kids, no matter what the color of skin or what economic background, are precious to God. We are praying that the seed of truth would be planted deep within their hearts, bringing salvation and bearing much fruit.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10)

In what feels like the blink of an eye, Jake has moved out of the house. There were less than two months from the day he committed to go to the Air Force Academy until the day he reported there. And those two months were packed with many activities and milestones, graduating from high school being just one of them. Needless to say, those two months were a whirlwind, and looking back, felt like a mere two days. But here we are. Time marches on.

Wednesday morning, my mom and dad came by to take command of the other kids while Jim and I left to bring Jake to school. You’re not going to find better grandparents anywhere.

Jake’s first day of college…

…versus Jake’s first day of kindergarten.

Jake was ordered to report Thursday morning, and we arrived with Alles in Ordnung.

They brought appointees and their parents under the tent to listen to welcome messages from the Superintendent, among other school leaders.

After that we were abruptly told to say our goodbyes, then the appointees walked in to a building to begin their inprocessing. We had been warned that if anything was missing from the required documents and papers, that kids would be turned away. There was a little voice in my head asking, “are you sure he has all his papers?” It was a relief to see him progress down the staircase with a badge around his neck. First test passed.

He was told to be sure and dress blah–one does NOT want to stand out on this day or draw attention to oneself in any way, hence the black shirt and khaki shorts. As you can see from the above picture, not everyone followed that advice.

The kids walked over the Legacy Bridge after listening to a USAFA alum talk about the tremendous journey they were about to embark upon.

Jake then got his game face on and boarded the bus, where the yelling from the cadre commenced. This was also the last time we’d see him in person until September.

We subscribed to an organization that takes pictures of the basic cadets throughout their day, so all of the following pictures of Jake are from it.

Off the bus.

Meanwhile, Jim and I walked into the chapel, sat down, and talked and cried together.

We also joined a tour of one of the buildings. Our tour guide was the architect!

It was reassuring to see and hear the opportunities Jake would have here…once basic training is over.

All of the basic cadets were sworn in on Friday. It was impressive to see over 1100 recent high school graduates marching as squadrons.

There were rows and rows of parents along the chapel wall overlooking the field. We arrived 1.5 hours ahead of time, and the wall was already packed.

Can you spot Jim?

Since then, we’ve been able to catch glimpses of Jake through the online photos: playing intramural ultimate frisbee

going shopping for items such as cleaning supplies and an ironing board (I love it!)

and waiting with his squadron for a dentist appointment.

This process has been so bittersweet. We’ve felt moments of deep sadness that someone is missing from our day-to-day life at home, yet we have also experienced an undeniable peace from God that this is exactly His plan for Jake.

Jake spent his final two weeks at home before leaving for USAFA going on his farewell tour. In addition to scheduling bike rides, lunches, dinners and phone calls with friends, he spent time with family downtown at Grandma and Grandpa’s place. It was a perfect day for swimming!

After swimming for a while, many of the kids relaxed in the hot tub (with adult supervision, of course).

Who let the turtle in the water?

What’s a family gathering without Derek teaching the twins a new game?

Jake then went to say goodbye to Dave and Judi.

We will post more summaries and reflections from the past week, but the following two pictures give a glimpse of the transformation of this 18 year-old in less than 24 hours.