I’ve learned that going to wrestling meets and tournaments to cheer on the team is an enjoyable way to pass the long winter months. The WA team has more wrestlers than ever before, and it’s great to see the boys improve as the year goes on.

A couple weeks ago was the conference tournament. I caught a glimpse of Derek aiding the coaches.

He had a good day

though lost the championship match in overtime, thus taking second. His feelings about this are written all over his face.

Last weekend was the infamous Midnight Rumble in Rockford. This is definitely our least favorite tournament because of the late night and far distance. But these negative feelings were assuaged as Derek wrestled his way to first place.

It’s neat to see the team continue to bond and sharpen each other.

Derek’s final match was against a friend of his from Chicago Hope. And they were still friends after wrestling each other!

Molly turned 9 this month, which is equivalent to approximately 63 dog years. She is considering joining the AARC (American Association of Retired Canines) soon.

If she could read, she’d probably need readers.

Despite her age, though, she still often behaves like a spry puppy. She sure was excited to open her birthday present.

And play with it.

Molly has been part of the family for so long, it’s hard to remember what it was like without her.

A few days ago, a neighbor alerted us that someone had broken into several cars in the neighborhood, so be vigilant. We were concerned to hear the news, but didn’t think much about it after that.

Then the other night, while Peter and Ruth were at church waiting for each of their weekly events to begin, they perused the archives of our Ring front door camera. Lo and behold, they found a clip of a man trying to open our front door at 12:30 am Sunday night!

We sent the video to the police yesterday morning.

Then I seized the opportunity to turn this chilling reality of thieves attempting to break in and steal into an object lesson. How much more important it is to guard our hearts!

Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

The WA wrestling team competed in Kewanee, IL again this year. Last year I drove alone to watch Derek, but this year the whole family went to cheer him on. He was certainly glad to have Jim there.

Because he had a bye the first round, it was a while before he had his first match; but when he did, he won decidedly.

In between matches, Ruth and I walked the halls. Or rather, I walked while she skipped, hopped and jumped.

Derek’s second match went much like the first, ending in a win.

Meanwhile, another wrestler’s sister came to cheer on the team. Ruth was happy to have a friend to hang out with.

Unfortunately, the final match didn’t go quite as planned. Derek took a knock to the head which ended the match early, and he ended up placing second.

He fought hard, and his family fan club was there to root for him the entire day.

What are the kids doing while the backyard ice rink is a backyard reservoir of water during these days of above-freezing temperatures?

Hanging in the hammocks Jake got them for Christmas. Jim drilled holes into the ceiling joists so the hammocks can be used even in the winter months.

A couple weeks ago we took a field trip to the Nature Museum in Chicago, where you can interact with butterflies year round.

We had just wrapped up the science unit on butterflies, so it was rewarding to be able to see them up close after learning about them from a textbook.

Jeremy consistently had the camera out, taking pictures and video.

We were surprised how close the insects allowed us to get!

It was also fun to see the different varieties and vibrant colors.

The kids enjoyed having grandma join us.

Then when we got home, it was time for Ruth to finish up math facts…with a little help from Molly.

I could hardly capture Peter on the camera as he skated on the ice the other day because as soon as I focused on him, he was out of the frame.

It’s good to know some things haven’t changed. Here he is in 2014:

and again in 2008:

The timing of Christmas break and below freezing temperatures could not have been better. The rink saw quite a bit of action during the final weekend of break. Jim and the boys took to the ice for some friendly competition.

See that pink blur in the background? That’s Ruth sledding down the neighbors’ deck stairs.

These two were frequently competing for the puck.

This happy guy gets the award for being “all in” at all times. More on that later…

Taking a break from the rigorous action:

After dinner, the crew went back out for some night hockey.

This time, Ruth joined the action.

Then the competition heated up among the boys, and Derek commented later how extremely intense Peter is on the ice.

More than once, Peter found himself skating full speed toward the puck–and at the same time toward the rink wall–and falling head over heels over the wall, landing outside the rink.

Thankfully, every time this happened, though he was expecting pain in the moment, he came out unscathed.

Looking at the weather forecast, this was our final rink action for the foreseeable future. Good thing they squeezed every moment they could while the rink was frozen!

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

This year marks the tenth anniversary of our family blog! Woohoo!

I have found that journaling–whether by blog or personal journal–has been a helpful tool to number my days, as the Bible urges us to do. So here we are, embarking on another new year.

We said goodbye to 2017 with our friends the Neatherys. We also were joined by Dave and Judi’s 2 year-old nephew for part of the night.

The next day we had the kids gather for a picture. Michael wasn’t with us in person, but his fathead stood in his place.

Not long after that, we brought Jake to the airport to send him back to school. It was an abrupt ending to his break, but we sure did enjoy the time with him.