There were quite a few storms that moved through the area over the summer. Jake saw a challenge: capture lightning on camera.

First he faced the camera in the direction of the approaching storm.

Then he rigged the camera to a light sensor which he had programmed.

Then it was time to sit back and enjoy the light show while the camera did the work.

We have observed something very interesting during our 12.5 years of living here. Nearly every storm that approaches our area either dissipates, splits, or changes direction, keeping us from getting the brunt of the storm. Case in point:

Most folks would be grateful for this peculiar Bennett Place weather pattern, as it spares one from potential damage or injury. But some of us are not like most folks, and were consistently disappointed over the lack of extreme weather.

Despite the cell breaking up just before hitting our area, Jake was able to capture some beautiful lightning on camera.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

June and July were defined by baseball in the Johanik household.

Three boys

on three different teams

playing on three different days during the week

on three different fields…

made for quite a logistical challenge. But we made it work.

Jake displayed good multitasking as he worked on Calculus while cheering his brothers on at their games. He was definitely a trouper!

Derek played primarily first base and proved to be a power hitter on his team. On a side note, did you notice on what team this Sox fan was drafted? He could hardly even say the word c-u-b-s when he first found out. But by the end of the season, he proudly wore the blue jersey.

Peter played mostly catcher, along with pitcher and first base. He had a great season.

Jeremy appears to possess the most natural baseball ability in the Johanik family. He’s fast and has good awareness on the field. Plus, he has mastered the art of chewing gum and blowing bubbles while running the bases. Yes, definitely a natural.

His coach worked a deal with the Kane County Cougars to have a couple Cougars players run practice one day. Here’s Jeremy hitting off a Cougars pitcher:

Ruthie, along with Jake, made it to all her brothers’ games.

Sometimes, friends joined her to make the time pass more quickly. Hooray for friends!

One of her favorite things to do is take pictures. Like mother, like daughter…

Another favorite thing is to play in the dirt…

Lots of good lessons learned this season – teamwork, perseverance, working under pressure.

It’s been a long six months since we’ve shared anything on this blog.

Though we’ve done a lot of hanging around…

…our silence is not for lack of activity. The more time that’s passed, and the more bloggable things we’ve experienced, the less motivated I’ve been to get back to it.

How does one begin again? Do we pick up where we left off? Or skip over the past six months and begin with today?

Well, there is way too much good material from the summer and early fall to skip over, so we are going to do a little rewind and then proceed at a fast clip until we catch up to today.

Another reason I’ve lacked motivation to add anything is because our humble site needs a makeover. It’s looked the same since 2008…that’s like wearing the same outfit every day for five years, and you don’t need to be the fashion police to know that that’s a downright crime.

So be on the lookout ’cause we’re back.

I’ve decided recently why Spring barely edges out Summer as my favorite season of the year.

Hope. Our garden is a great illustration of hope.

Two weeks ago we planted greens with various-shaped leaves and roots…in hope that they will bear edible goods like peppers and tomatoes and broccoli.

Kind of a small picture of the seed of the gospel of Jesus that God plants in our hearts when we trust Him. By grace you are saved through faith. I am hoping for my salvation, hoping in Jesus’ return.

We protected the garden from predators because we do not want anything threatening the precious greens from being destroyed.

In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…

We labeled each row so we know what food to expect.

We are waiting patiently for what these leaves and stems and roots promise, with thoughts of eating the fruit of our garden. The expectation of future food makes the waiting bearable.

We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Every once in a while, when we leave the deck door unlocked, Molly lets herself outside. Because the door doesn’t close behind her completely, she lets herself back inside as well. This is a good thing.

However, because the door doesn’t close behind her completely, the door is left ajar for other creatures to make their way onto the deck. This is a bad thing.

Like the other day, for instance. Molly left the door slightly cracked open, and before we knew it, a sparrow had flown onto the deck.

We didn’t know if it was scared or smart, but whenever we’d go out to escort the bird out the door, it would tuck itself into the wood pile.

This happened over and over and over and over again.

After six hours of creative–yet fruitless–attempts, the boys were finally successful. It was quite a sight to see four boys, each with a shoo-ing tool, chasing after a tiny sparrow.

We asked for snow, and here it is!

Take a look at some wintery scenes from the past couple weeks.

The three middle boys were thrilled that they finally had an authentic snowy backdrop for the Hoth scene of their movie.

Jake shoveled.

A lot.

Ruthie was his little helper in the front. She took care of the front walk.

She was very “helpful”.

Jake also shoveled the ice in the backyard. Jeremy was his helper on the ice.

Ruthie eventually joined them to “help”.

Jeremy had his best buddies over for a play date. They stopped their snowball fight for a brief moment to pose for the camera.

Even Molly has been excited about the snow.

Yeah winter!

After the boys shoveled a lovely ice rink on the pond last week, they skated for two days then the ice turned slushy. Boo.

Thanks to Groupon, we had an alternative plan: skiing the slopes of Four Lakes in Lisle, IL. Yes, that’s right. No need to drive hours away…you can ski right here in Illinois.

The experience brought me back to my own high school days, since I learned to ski on the very same bump slope. It was a blast! The kids had a great time and definitely exceeded our expectations in how well they skied.

Ruthie did best when she kept her skis between mine. We found it was much more difficult to go up the hill than down. She absolutely loved the experience.

However, after a few times down, she wanted me to take off her skis so she could rest.

The boys were practically pros swooshing down the hills.

We’ll share some of the many videos from the day later!

I got this great snowball maker free with a coupon last summer, with visions of children giddily scooping up snow with it all winter.

Those visions were only partially realized one weekend. You know, that one weekend we had snow. Then it promptly melted.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep dreaming of a white winter.

Molly turned four last month. We bought her one real toy–a bone the size of my femur–and a toy that we knew wouldn’t last longer than an hour in the throes of her mighty jaw.

We were right about the cheapo toy.

But before she chewed it to shreds, we got lots of chuckles from it because of the sound it made. We affectionately named the toy Darth Lamb.

It has given rise to a whole new entrepreneurial opportunity for Jim…Star Wars dog toys. Can you just picture it? As the dog bites into a doggie Darth, the toy exclaims: Young puppy, I am disturbed by your lack of bite. Please don’t steal his idea; we’re hoping to make millions from it.

The task was dirty: cleaning up the back yard.

The boys got dirty: shoveling and bagging dog doo.

But Miss Pinky managed to stay clean and look stylish in the midst of it all.

We’re learning about birds this year and just today read about the incredible strength of a bird’s egg. It’s impossible to break an egg when you apply even force on it.

We were all skeptical…and I was secretly hoping that we would prove the egg fact wrong, which is why I grabbed the camera.

One strong boy

after another

exerted full strength onto the egg

even two-handed,

and absolutely could not break it.

Now you want to go try it yourself, don’t you?

Reminiscent of last year, we have had precious few days when the pond has been frozen this winter. So this week, the boys are taking advantage of every below-freezing minute.

The game? Hockey, of course. It definitely helps that the NHL players are no longer on strike so we may be spurred on by watching the pros.

They get into it for sure. Feelings are not as easily hurt on the ice. The oldest two are pretty aggressive against one another.

Peter is all-time goalie, with protection thanks to his baseball catcher’s gear.

He makes some dramatic saves.

Jeremy is still finding his ice-legs, but holds his own well.

Derek sits in the penalty box.

I have a feeling schoolwork will be accomplished at record pace the next few days. The ice is calling, and the forecast is warning that it won’t be around much longer.

We went on a family trip to Ikea a few weeks ago. Fun and laughs were around every corner.

Pre-reader Ruthie was quite curious about the potty in the middle of the store.

Jokester Jeremy tried on the perfect hat.

We watched Star Wars over Christmas break. This scene made a significant impact on the boys:

It wasn’t long before they were reenacting it using Legos and ice.

I grabbed an apple to cut up for lunch the other day, and this is what I found.

Who knew apples could have belly buttons?

What I’m thinking about these days…

The prudent sees the evil and hides himself,

But the naive go on, and are punished for it. (Proverbs 22:3)

Walking toward evil results in punishment, either now or later. Oh, that God would give me the strength to hide myself from the evil. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it…

The boys and I were sitting in the family room, each child doing their own schoolwork. Meanwhile, Ruthie was busily spreading blankets and pillows on the floor in the middle of the room.

One of the boys asked what she was doing. She said she just finished bringing the baby to the doctor and dropping Jake off at Science Olympiad, and now she was making the bed.

She then proceeded to go around the room, assigning roles to everyone: she was the mommy, Peter was the daddy, Jake, Jeremy and I were the brothers. Derek, wondering where he fit into this Ruthie-role-play, asked who he was.

Ruth exclaimed, “You’re Jesus!”

No pressure, there, buddy.

Despite how it appears, Jeremy is not protesting dinner.  He’s just…being Jeremy. Star Wars style.

Peter continues to broaden his baking skills.

He has moved on to jelly rolls. This one was pumpkin with cream cheese frosting.

Wow, was it ever delicious. So delicious that I never got a picture of it sliced because the slices were devoured in the blink of an eye.

Today, Jeremy had a couple buddies over to play. Peter gave them a baking lesson, showed them how to bake a coffee cake, then sent them home with their own.

Here’s what I’m thinking about lately

Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,

But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox. (Proverbs 14:4)

Jim highlighted this verse a couple weeks ago, and it’s been ruminating in my head ever since. It brings comfort to me as I scan across our often cluttered house…school books piled on every horizontal surface, cake pans in the sink waiting to be washed, even dog bones scattered on the carpet.

If it was all spotless, that would be a sign that there were no oxen. And if there were no oxen, there would be no revenue.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a big proponent of order and cleanliness, and aim to train the kids to have a strong work ethic as they grow up. But the goal is not cleanliness, the goal is ‘revenue.’ That’s revenue of the spiritual kind, not monetary kind.

School books are piled up because the boys are reading them, learning, growing. Dishes need to be washed because they are learning life skills like cooking. And well, the dog bones indicate they are learning to care for a pet…a wet-nosed, hairy pet.

I will gladly forgo worrying about keeping a ‘clean manger’ if it means gaining ‘much revenue.’