1. Long hair

2. Pigtails

3. Tights

The inspiration for this treat came from this night…

when Aunt Judi asked if we had ever made s’mores with peanut butter cups. Mmm, the seed was quickly planted in our minds. So the following evening we gathered the supplies:

First we lit the fire.

The kids roasted their marshmallows

while I prepared the chocolate and crackers.

They plopped their marshmallow on top,

squished the lid on,

and ate.

And ate.

And ate.

And ate.

If you’ve ever been to a football game, you know that what happens on the sidelines can be just as entertaining as what’s happening on the field.

As the Mighty Mite Saints were warming up for their game, someone spotted an abandoned shopping cart near the field. The little guys were attracted to the cart like ants on peanut butter.

Coach saw the potential disaster and command those boys to get off that thing right now. They did.

He says that coaching this age is like herding cats.

Meanwhile, Derek was getting fired up for his game, arm in arm with his teammates, jumping up and down grunting out boy-man sounds.

As entertaining as this is, what perhaps is most fun is watching Ruthie. Let’s just say she enjoys all the attention from Grandma and Grandpa when they come out to watch the games.

Here, she learned how to apply lipstick.

And when cousin Sammy came to the field, she had someone to partner with in all sorts of mischievous fun activities.

There truly is never a dull moment on these Saturday mornings!

We’ve accumulated quite a number of football pictures. Here are some of the best.

Derek enjoys continuing as center on the offensive line this season.

For the first time this year, he is one of the biggest kids in his division. I think he likes it that way. He’s also added defensive lineman onto his resume, and is taking great pleasure in tackling ball carriers. Because of his size, he breaks through every offensive line.

Meanwhile, Peter and Jeremy are enjoying their winning season.

Peter is quarterbacking while Jeremy plays offensive line, occasionally as the center. Every once in a while, Peter has the chance to play some defense too.

If I were to ever fulfill my goal of being a regular blogger, I would dedicate one day a week to sharing Bubbie humor with you. He provides an abundance of material.

Jim recently browsed through the photos on his iPad and found these.

Peter and Jeremy just came in from playing a game of two-hand-touch in the front yard. Whenever they play together, Peter mercifully allows Jeremy to score just enough touchdowns to keep Jeremy in the game. But Peter also always ends up scoring more than his brother.

This does not go over well with the little guy.

Jeremy walked in the house this afternoon, crying angry tears. He yelled out to Peter, “The first shall be last, so I WIN!” Maybe not exactly what Jesus had in mind when He taught the disciples this important lesson, but I’m confident that Jeremy’s understanding will grow.

Some pictures of our life when our noses aren’t in the books. Did I mention it’s football season?

Nolan and Nathan are finally home after an extended stay in the hospital. We praise God that they are healthy and in their own beds!

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139)

The season when much of my parenting (don’t hit, don’t push, be gentle, treat others the way you want to be treated…) gets thrown out the window when they step on the field. It’s also the season when the boys learn how to be part of a team, how to excel in their role even if they’re not the superstar, how to persevere through trial.

Football. One of the many reasons I love having boys. The Chiefs’ season opener was first.

They played well and won the game!

Some poses between games.

The Chick-fil-a cow visited the field. He was a kid magnet.

I turned and saw a gang of little kids running toward me, and couldn’t help but think of Sesame Street.

After a team pose with the cow, it was game time for the Saints.

Ruthie helped plan some of the plays.

The Saints played well and marched on to victory!

After reading about our family game night, you may have observed that the boys tend to pair up for competition – #1 vs. #2 and #3 vs. #4. Perhaps you’re wondering about Ruthie’s competitor. Well, sometimes it’s the dog, as shown in this video.

Jake is suspending a toy duck from the upstairs hallway, and Molly is jumping for it. Though I’m not sure Ruthie really understands the game, she decides to jump along with Molly. They have about the same vertical.

Around here, everything is a competition–from who can eat the fastest and the most, to who can get Ruthie to stop crying first. So when we pulled out the Twister and proposed a double-elimination tournament among family members, the boys were all over it.

Jake and Derek were up first.

As these two get older and stronger, the competition surely becomes more intense. I have memories of Derek “weswewing” Jake to the ground almost a decade ago. Then, it was cute and harmless. Now, they leave an impression on one another.

As usual, Ruthie provided some comedic relief in her dalmatian get-up.

After the half-time show,

Peter and Jeremy went head-to-head.

Jeremy, being the youngest male, becomes quite emotional when he senses that a loss is at hand. But he held his own until the end.

Another fun family game night.

I observed something interesting today. I was greeted promptly at 7:00 this morning by the one who normally struggles to get out of bed at the sound of the alarm. Jake came downstairs with puffy eyes. But those eyes had a spark in them.

He excitedly told me that he got up at 3:30 last night, pulled his telescope out to the backyard, and viewed the Orion Nebula, and it was so cool. He went on to share his other observations, such as the moon occlusion something or other on Jupiter.  One of Jupiter’s moons was casting a shadow on the planet, and he caught it at the perfect time.

One not-so-minor detail about this middle of the night activity: Jake pulled Derek out of bed to go skywatching with him. According to Derek, Jake had an “endless list of things he wanted to see”, and Jake intended to plow through that list together. Brother-friends on a skywatching excursion. Their deadline of course would be sunrise, as all the night lights are drowned out by the light of the sun.

Well, as Jake was explaining to me all the wonders that he saw in the night sky, the boys’ alarm was blaring in the background. It continued blaring for 12 minutes. When it finally stopped, Derek stumbled downstairs with eyes half open and shoulders slumped in exhaustion. His eyes were puffy like Jake’s but they were missing the spark. The night sky hadn’t energized him like it had his brother. Had the middle of the night activity included college football, the tables would have certainly been turned.

So this made me think: for Jake, skywatching was worth sacrificing the comfort of sleep. I might venture to add that he would probably even be willing to skip a meal or two if he had to, just for a glimpse into the night sky. It’s good to have something that trumps all other things in importance. Something you’re willing to sacrifice comfort/popularity/material things for. While stars are a great thing to observe and understand, what’s even greater is the One to whom they point. The One who created them.

And one more point–no matter what a person’s interests are (stars, college football, computers, cooking), the fact is that all things are created through Jesus Christ and for Him. All things hold together in Him.

That’s my little girl. Sugary-sweet fashion plate by morning…

Spicy, feisty fashion plate faux-pas by evening…

She insisted on swimming. It was too cool to swim. We struck a compromise.

There’s a new cosmetic fashionista in town.

Ruthie took to make-up like a duck to water.

While she could use some improvement on accuracy, she knew right where to apply the pink stuff.

And she was workin’ it.

She was introduced to the lip gloss by Suzy, and they became fast friends that night.

The kids took time out from their busy school day to pose for their first-day-of-school picture.

You may notice that there is one missing.  Uh, Ruth? We’ve got a spot here just for you…

Ruth evidently had more important things on her mind. Like catching bad guys in her police car.

That’s okay. We’ll try again later.

Welcome, Nolan Stephen and Nathan Gordon!  Two nephews added to our family.  Praising God for a safe delivery.

The kids enjoy playing with Jim’s iphone. When it returns, we never quite know what we’ll find on it.

After returning from our trip to TX, we connected the iphone to the computer, and this is what came out:

Historically, whenever I’ve seen kids with mohawks, I’ve thought That kid’s a rebel. Shame on his parents for shaving his head that way.

I am now publicly eating my words. Because when my little Bubbie came downstairs requesting a mohawk shaved on his big head, I couldn’t refuse. Peter locked onto that idea too and requested a similar haircut for himself. Derek was in the room with us during the conversation, so I asked if he wanted one too. He looked down sheepishly and just shook his head no. We all agreed that he doesn’t exactly have a mohawk kind of personality. Peter and Jeremy on the other hand…

Ironically, Derek is on the Chiefs, while the mohawk brothers are on the Saints. Go figure.

The boys have been working hard this summer. It seems that everywhere we turn, there is a task screaming to be accomplished, and it’s more than Jim and I can handle on our own. So we hire in-house.

Their little sister longs to join them, but alas, child labor laws restrict her from working such jobs.

So she opts to throw on the swim cap and provide the comedic entertainment.

Most mornings, this is Ruthie’s first uttered word as I carry her downstairs. “Bwuh – duhs?” She wants to know if her brothers are up. Being a firstborn, I can’t directly relate, but I can just imagine the excitement of coming downstairs in the morning to older siblings who are chomping at the bit to play with you.

The other day, Peter was in the midst of folding his laundry, but when Ruthie came down, they chose to use his laundry basket as a boat instead.

Her spitfire personality helps her relate well to Pistol Pete. They are alike in many ways.

Since birth, Peter has always been calmed by a soft touch on his back, his head or his arm. Well, the other day I found him calming Ruth by lightly scratching her arm. It worked like a charm.

Perusing through these pictures reminded me of this shot from a year and a half ago…

Looking at these tells me 1. time flies and 2. these sibling bonds are tight.