As we have for the past several years, we spent our 2018 Thanksgiving in Michigan. We were excited that both Jake and Tiffany were able to join us!

They made the long drive home the night before we were to leave for MI.

After a few (short) hours of sleep, they piled into the car and we all drove up to Holland, Michigan. It was a packed car, as not only did we bring food for the long weekend, but also the dog!

We played some Nertz when we arrived.

And the next morning was the Giere Classic race day!

This has become quite a tradition.

Again, Mom went all-out by providing t-shirts, bib numbers, and medals.

Everyone ran their race well…

with some making it more of a competition than others. These two have been fierce competitors for 18 years (and counting).

Then we enjoyed a post-race breakfast.

Through some creative geometry, we managed to arrange a long table to accommodate our large group.

Jim was tasked with carving the turkey…under supervision of the master.

It was nice to visit with Chris and Ronnie during the weekend.

And also nice for Jake to connect with his great-Grandpa. They speak the same language.

The next day we took advantage of the gorgeous day and beautiful backdrop by taking pictures.

Grandma and Grandpa with their ten grandkids!

After that, we got comfy and played on the beach,

in the yard,

and in the house.

One reason the kids claim Thanksgiving as their favorite (or at least second favorite) holiday is because of the time we spend as a family. We play, have heart-to-heart talks and just enjoy uninterrupted time together.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Following is a slideshow of Thanksgivings past, dating back to 1999!!

Hello! We’re back, and we have a lot of catching up to do. I’m going to start by summarizing each month this blog has been on sabbatical, starting with last November.

As an aside, you may be wondering what the catalyst was to get this blog up and running again. Jake and Tiffany just started their own blog as a subdomain of this one! Check it out: jakeandtiffany.johanik.com

After turning 18 in September, Derek acted on his right to vote for the first time in his life. What a good citizen.

We are enjoying our animals. Jeremy has decided that Cinnamon actually helps him perform better on his English homework when the guinea pig sits atop his shoulder.

And Molly continues to serve as my running partner on the prairie path. She vigilantly watches for squirrels, rabbits, coyotes and deer; all of which we saw regularly during November.

On a whim, we went to Great America one weekend. It was cold. Too cold for any roller coasters to run. It was a bust, but we made the most of it.

The WA football banquet happened. It was sad to officially recognize the end of Derek’s high school career. The team prayed at the end of the night.

And how about these handsome brothers…

Peter played in the evening service at church one Sunday. Here they are rehearsing before the service:

Jeremy’s FCA Force team made it to the championship in Michigan City. The boys spent the night in Indiana the night before the big game.

Literally the day after we returned home from that, it began raining by the back door. Raining shower water from the upstairs bathroom. Guess who got to work right away?

We figured if we were going to replace the leaky tub, we might as well replace tile and paint.
Jim employed the help of the kids, who ripped up floor tile. They came away with bloody fingers from minor cuts and scratches; but as my dad used to say, it built character!

Derek, Peter, and I represented the wrestling team by scoring a basketball game one night. None of us knew what we were doing, but we picked it up and managed to successfully score and time the entire game. (apparently, I need a class on how to take a good selfie)

Derek gave a speech on character at the National Honor Society induction ceremony. He actually enjoys public speaking. Here’s a portion of the speech:

**Be on the lookout for a separate Thanksgiving blog post**

The day after we returned home from Thanksgiving in Michigan, a terrible ice storm came through and downed trees and power lines. There was quite a bit of destruction in the area. Our trees bowed under the weight of the heavy ice.

But the worst was yet to come… amid the 25 degree temperature, the power went out for several hours! We started a fire in the fireplace, wrapped up in winter coats and blankets and hunkered down.

Boy, did that day make us thankful for electricity and heat!

And following tradition, we capped off November by decorating the Christmas tree as Handel’s Messiah played in the background.

As part of our Geography studies, we enjoy trying foods from various parts of the world as we learn about them. A few weeks ago, we studied Germany. The German meal is a unanimous favorite to date.

We made soft pretzels from scratch,

along with bratwurst and sauerkraut, with creamed spinach on the side.

Before digging in, Jim reminded us of a comical video highlighting the “beauty” of the German language.

The meal was made complete with some Apple Streudel.

We learned about homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures a few weeks ago and learned that milk and cream are examples of homogeneous mixtures.

We did an activity where we separated the fat from the watery part of whipping cream by shaking the cream in a jar for several minutes. The result?

Butter! We sprinkled some salt onto the solid creamy goodness, spread it onto toast,

and enjoyed!

The end of October seemed to sneak up on us. Ruth wanted to dress up as a scarecrow, so we had shopped early in the month to buy some fabric to make a skirt. Thankfully, we had everything else on hand.

As the weeks zoomed by, the fabric sat untouched; until October 31 when I rushed to stitch a skirt together. It came together quickly, but I still wondered how and why I waited until the last minute to complete it!

I had Bible study that night, so I never even saw the kids in their costumes. Jim was home carving our pumpkin family

and so we relied on the neighbor to snap pictures of Ruth and Jeremy in costume.

This little guy borrowed Jeremy’s football helmet and Broncos jersey for his costume. It warmed our hearts to see his excitement.

I had bought a big bag of candy from Costco, and when I got home from church that night, though we had given out almost the entire bag, the candy bowl was as full–with all the same type of candy–as it had been before the trick-or-treating began. I was reminded of the year Derek renamed trick-or-treating to trading candy. Indeed, it was another successful year of trading candy.

This is a good news-bad news story. I’ll start with the good news.

Jeremy’s team played their semi-final playoff game last Saturday and won!

They were awarded a cool trophy

and earned the chance to play in the championship game…in Michigan City…over Thanksgiving weekend. This is great for the team, but unfortunate for Jeremy since the the game is played during a weekend we are out of town. So while the Force team will go on to play one more game, Jeremy’s season is over.

This was his second year playing on the FCA Force team, and he enjoyed his season yet again. He has a coach who loves the sport of football and loves the boys on the team even more.

And now on to the bad news. WA made it to the playoffs this year. Because of their low seed, they went up against the second-best team in the bracket; but despite the odds against us, we had much hope that we could prevail.

The team ate a meal together the day before the game, as they had done every week during the season. Coach gave a compelling and motivating talk, and Jim reported that the boys were captivated.

The game was played in Coal City–a 1.5 hour drive away. Derek’s faithful fan club had made it to every game during the regular season, and I made it clear that there were absolutely no expectations that they drive out for this game. I even tried convincing them not to come… but there was no keeping them away.

That Friday night was even my mom’s birthday! So we celebrated in the stands:

Sadly, even with all the fan support and hope, WA fell to the Coal City Coalers. It was devastating to this senior who poured his heart and soul onto the field.

There were many hugs and tears.

I was especially overcome with emotion when Peter–who had dressed for the game and watched from the sidelines–walked up with tears streaming down his face. Tears not for himself, but all for his brother. He was fully empathizing with Derek, knowing his brother had just played his final game of high school football. I’m even tearing up writing this.

Derek remained on one knee, alone on the field, for a long time, thinking back over the past four years. Coal City graciously kept the lights on for him, as he both mourned and thanked God. One of the coaches finally walked up to him and walked him off the field, and as they walked off, the lights turned off. It was a fitting end.

This was a sad sight Saturday morning, knowing that he would never again put on this uniform.

And never again wear this helmet. Although, looking at its banged-up condition, I wonder if anyone will ever wear this helmet?

As a thank-you, Derek wrote notes and gave my mom and Judi flowers. They (along with Dad and Dave) were so faithful to make every game. Judi even took some days off of work in order to cheer for her nephew.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23)

Petco confirmed that the two guinea pigs they sold us were females. Seriously, the employee actually examined each one before handing them over to us.

We brought home what we thought were two females…sisters, friends. Sugar and Cinnamon. Cinnamon and Sugar.

Until one fateful night when we returned from a football game around midnight. Sugar had been “growling” at Cinnamon all day. We were concerned that she would become aggressive toward her cage-mate.

But what we saw next made us realize that Cinnamon was no female; and Sugar’s “growling” was actually a mating call.

CinnaMAN.

Petco offered to take Cinnamon back; but Jim convinced them to give us another cage instead. So instead of cage-mates, the piggies are now neighbors.

Ruth was born nine years ago during football season. The beginning of playoff season, to be more precise. As I look back on pictures of her birthday from years past, the pictures of the birthday girl are surrounded by pictures of her brothers playing football. This year was no different.

Her birthday landed on a Saturday this year, and Saturdays are youth football days. We let her stay home with other brothers since Jeremy’s game was in the morning; however, birthday pancakes had to be pushed to lunchtime. She didn’t mind.

Thankfully, Peter was happy to prepare the birthday pancake lunch while we drove back with Jeremy from the game.

We gathered around to sing to and celebrate the birthday girl.

Later that day, we celebrated with more family.

Ruth enjoyed playing and being silly with cousin Grace.

The next day, she and Jim planted her second favorite flower: tulips. We will anticipate their arrival next spring!

The older Ruth becomes, the more I love her personality. God has given her such a joyful disposition. I tell her brothers all the time what a great sister she is…and they actually agree! She doesn’t complain (much) about watching a thousand football games each fall; she loves playing whatever her brothers are playing–including laser tag in the basement; and she doesn’t take herself too seriously.

I pray that God will continue to mature this nine year-old in her faith and direct her steps throughout her life.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

Last week, we learned about the pH scale and the difference between acids and bases.

Jeremy was especially excited to test the pH of various substances. A common sight these days is a litmus paper sitting on the counter, waiting for Jeremy to explain what he recently tested.

We discovered how much air makes up styrofoam by pouring pure acetone onto styrofoam cups. Jeremy had the idea to pour the acetone into a dish, then put the cup into the puddle. We took a time-lapse:

But what won the kids’ hearts over to science this year was a smoke bomb experiment. It was a lesson in exothermic chemical reactions, using potassium nitrate and sugar. We were expecting a bunch of smoke to come out. We got that…and more. Here’s a video of it in slow-motion:

Science this year is literally the bomb!

Every year, we find ourselves in the thick of the fall season and remark how FALL = FULL. The calendar is full, and our demands and responsibilities are full. With all the practices, church activities, and schooling, though, I am thankful that our home remains a hub. Everyone eventually makes their way back home and we can reconnect.

I decided to compile some assorted pictures from the past couple weeks in order to give a glimpse into the FULLness of fall.

Molly and I hit the prairie path almost every day. It’s become so much a part of our daily schedule, that for my birthday, I received a belt leash so that my running can be hands-free. Our access to the prairie path is a gift!

School is humming along, and we continue to greatly enjoy homeschooling.

The kids steal cuddles from the piggies often throughout the day.

Ruth joined the children’s choir at church and loves it!

Jim’s friend and teammate from Wheaton College was in town this week with his family from Oregon. It was great to catch up with them. Another college friend and teammate is coaching at WA with Jim, so the three of them got together for a pic after practice.

Thanks to great parent photographers, we continue to have memorable football moments captured. Have I mentioned lately how much Jim loves coaching?

This guy is having a superb first season of high school ball, donning his dad’s jersey number from college.

And this guy is exiting high school ball with a bang. The only time he is off the field is when he gets a bloody nose or some other malady.

And fall marches on…

We were offered tickets to the MLB wild card game a few weeks ago between the Cubs and the Rockies. Jeremy joined Grandma and Grandpa in the city to watch the big game.

Despite not ending the way Cubs fans wanted it to, the game was exciting. It also went long, going into extra innings, lasting past midnight.

After spending the night in the city, Jeremy commuted back to the suburbs with Grandpa. Off to work and school…

Each day of homecoming week had a theme, and the student body (including the two students who live in our house) really got into it.

On Monday, freshmen wore blue and seniors wore red…

Space Tuesday…

Those are the planets orbiting around Derek’s head.

On Wednesday Peter dressed as a hippie and Derek pulled out his toy soldier costume from homecoming two years ago.

Thursday they went as nerds. I wondered how this day was different than any other school day?

I always enjoy watching them walk to school together, but this particular week was especially entertaining.

The past couple weeks, we’ve been reading and learning about the periodic table of elements. Our culminating activity last Friday was making the table of elements out of cookie bars! First, the baking.

Then Jeremy arranged the cookies in the proper number of rows and columns while Ruth mixed color into the frosting.

Ruth was determined to pick out just the right colors, and Jeremy was happy to do the frosting.

After hours of work, we had a final product.

After dinner that night, everyone had fun picking out the elements we wanted to eat up. Shall I go for the hydrogen, or the silver? Who knew the elements could taste so scrumptious?

It was a successful team effort!

(This project reminded me of Jake’s research of the elements ten years ago.)

I remember Jake’s senior year of high school being filled with “lasts”, and here we are three years later, Derek in his own senior year, experiencing the sadness of “lasts”.

Last week was the last football game on home turf. He certainly made the most of it, playing one of the best games of his life.

Derek, who is the antithesis of a showboater on the field, showed emotion after a sac. This, ironically, was caught on camera by the local newspaper.

What no one knew is that it was an inside joke between him and Peter.

The seniors and their parents were honored before the game, which brought about unexpected emotion in all three of us.

It was the last time praying as captains before a home game.

We were grateful to have some old friends come to visit!

The homecoming informal dance was later that weekend.

Derek, along with six other guys, was voted onto homecoming court.

Lest all this go to Derek’s head, we are keeping things real by playing around with the fathead he received before the football game.

We’ve had some good conversations about the importance of finishing this chapter of life well, even while experiencing the sadness of all the “lasts”. Jim and I desire and pray that Derek’s life would honor God, both in this chapter and all the chapters that follow.

“So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:3)

This high school senior is a serious student by day,

athlete by night.

I thought I’d give an update on the homeschool front. We are off to a great year! Jeremy and Ruth learned about states of matter in science.

We had some fun learning about amorphous solids: is it a solid, or is it a liquid? Yes!

We made lava lamps:

and saw the reaction that occurs when certain atoms combine:

We’re also having fun in Geography. The other day, Jeremy made a treasure map for Ruth to follow.

And while some subjects are naturally enjoyable, others are less fun and more work. Ruth has made clear her opinion about handwriting:

The guinea pigs daily help Ruth with her schoolwork. Here, Sugar is coaching her through her English lesson.

The piggy even joined Ruth for breakfast one morning. I have mixed feelings about this.

We learned about Canada in Geography last week. That Jeremy has become pretty good with the pencil, eh?

Derek turned 18 last week. How we got here so quickly, I do not know. What seized my heart for a moment was the realization that this would be his last birthday celebrated at home before leaving for college, wherever that will be.

The celebration began a week before his birthday, as we gathered with cousins for a quintuple birthday party! Three Gieres and two Johaniks were sung to!

Most of the cousins went for a dip in the pool while Derek held down the condo fort.

We ate birthday pancakes on the morning of his birthday; though they had to be eaten quite early due to school and other various demands of the day.

The football game on the Friday after his big day resulted in a win! Early on, the sky put on a spectacular show.

We, the fan club, were happy for the team.

The seniors gathered for a couple pics.

It’s neat to see how they’ve come together over the past four years.

Later that weekend, we had yet another celebration with more family,

with more candles to blow out.

The munchkin fan club looked on.

I love how Derek is maturing in his faith and love for God. He remains teachable, with a compassion for others. I can’t wait to see how God uses him going forward!

My son, if your heart is wise,
My own heart also will be glad;
And my inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak what is right. (Proverbs 23:15-16)