This has proven to be a week of firsts for some of us. Not only did Peter learn to ride a two-wheeler, Ruthie ate baby cereal for the first time.
After thinking about it for a minute…
…she decided that she really likes it. Really likes it.
And now her furry friend has another reason to stick close by.
The story starts with our hero, a six year-old boy who just learned how to ride a two-wheeler on Wednesday.
And his pesky loving three year-old brother, who happens to be a police officer in his spare time.
One morning Mr. Cop was taking the local public transportation to get to work. He is a good guy. He willingly sat at the back of the bus so that the young lady could have the front seat.
As he prepares to hop off the wagon, he eyes his target for the day.
Because the newly licensed biker was entirely focused on staying on the sidewalk and not falling over…
…he unfortunately did not see the speed trap, nor did he notice just how fast he was going. And Mr. Cop was in prime position with his radar gun in place.
Do you know how fast you were going, sir?
If you ever really want to get Molly excited, just ask her if she wants to go see Samson.
Guess who’s sitting in the Bumbo seat? A big thanks to Aunt Sarah who came by with baby-friendly equipment and a new batch of clothes for this rapidly-growing girl. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: I am extremely thankful for these hand-me-downs! They have been such a blessing. Even if (and that’s a big if :)) I enjoyed shopping, I would not have the time, what with all these other children underfoot. Thank you, Sarah!
And naturally, as soon as Ruthie was on the floor, guess who parked herself right next door?
I’m telling you, it’s like clockwork. Then the interaction begins.
First the exploratory fingers go out.
Then the sniffing.
For the last two years, Peter’s gotten a bum deal in that Dad is in Africa during his birthday. As such, our annual father-son birthday flight either happens before or after I get back. This year, every time I tried to fly with Peter for his b-day flight, either the weather was poor, planes were scheduled or I had to work. Poor guy.
18 days after Peter’s birthday, we managed to get a flight in. Today we took off from Naper Aero to meet the family for dinner at our favorite restaurant, Pilot Pete’s in Schaumburg, followed by a night flight around Chicago. Peter requested that Jeremy join us, which turned a 3 year-old boy who likes to talk a lot into a downright giddy chatterbox. (I had to turn Jeremy’s radio off during take-off and landing just to be able to concentrate.)
While I generally opt for the beauty of a mountaintop over the city, there’s something about seeing the skyline of Chicago from a bird’s eye view.
This will never get old. Happy 6th Birthday Peter!
Our GPS track and a video.
Look who’s sporting a new swim suit:
With a hood for protection on those hot sunny days.
And now that Ruth has her own suit, we needed to try it out, you know, make sure it works okay. And it was these guys who came up with the idea:
From the time her big toe hit the water, it was clear that Ruthie liked it. She splashed a little and kicked a lot. But she was serious. Very serious. She didn’t crack a smile the entire swim.
Babies spit up. It’s a fact of life.
I’ve attached instructions on how to take a burp cloth and dress it up a bit with some ribbon. When you wipe spit-up with something cute, it makes the job more enjoyable, no?
This method could also be used for hand towels by finding some nice ribbon and sewing it onto the edges of the towel.
Look what we found in The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss:
Let’s see those tooths, Ruth.
Come on, open up…
I can almost see those pearly whites…
There they are!
This is worth watching in full-screen mode…
Peter’s birthday this year has turned out to be a birth-half-of-a-month.
The celebration began in February when we had family over for dinner.
Peter and Hannah – best buds for 6 years now!
Bonding time with Aunt Judi.
Then on March 9–Peter’s actual Big Day–we went to the Planetarium and gazed at the (fake) stars.
Ruthie enjoyed the field trip from her comfy seat.
Then Grandma and Grandpa treated us to dinner at Red Robin, per Peter’s request.
Judging by the look on his face, dinner easily trumped the Planetarium.
And to top off the half-month birthday celebration, Peter had his buddy Luke over for some play time.
Jake and Derek, the social coordinators for the party, made up a scavenger hunt game for them.
I could go on for hours about all the things I absolutely love about Peter Stephen. He is a special, unique little guy, and I am thankful to the Lord for putting him in our family.
“I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:2-3)
This is my theme since Jim has been in Africa. There was a book written many years ago called, Who You Are When No One’s Looking , which is a great question to ask when talking about integrity. So whether my house is full of people or empty, or whether my husband is around to keep me accountable or not, I will walk within it in the integrity of my heart.
When Jim was in high travel season a few years ago, God opened my eyes to see how much garbage I was watching on TV whenever he was gone. So I made a commitment not to watch TV alone. This was totally not a legalistic move, but a way for me to honor God by not setting any “worthless thing before my eyes”. What later became clear is that not only was I watching garbage, but I was wasting hours of time.
I’ve been reading a commentary of sorts on the book of Ruth in the Bible. Basically, the author states that the implications of the book of Ruth are so much bigger than we think.
“One of the great diseases of our day is trifling. The things with which most people spend most of their time are trivial. And what makes this a disease is that we were meant to live for magnificent causes. None of us is really content with the trivial pursuits of the world. Our souls will not be satisfied with trifles…
We live in the Swiss village but stare at the wooden figurines in the window rather than lifting our eyes to the ‘everlasting snows.'” (John Piper)
He goes on to assert that the book of Ruth teaches us that when we follow God, our lives always mean more than we think they do. We were made for a purpose far greater than ourselves, so every step of obedience we take is significant. Satisfaction in life comes from not being caught up in the time-wasting trifles.
There are advantages to having:
1. big kids
2. big kids of the same gender as the little kids
The kids and I went to the YMCA Saturday night for a swim. Jake and Derek offered to take care of Peter and Jeremy in the boys’ locker room, which meant I was responsible for..Ruthie. Just Ruthie.
We girls sat on the pool deck (Ruthie does not own a swim suit) and watched the boys splash around for a while.
They even wrestle in the water.
In case you ever wanted to know, here is what I see every night as I am preparing dinner.
Two sets of eyes staring at me for two different reasons.
The baby is hoping I will pick her up and cuddle with her. The dog is hoping I will drop a morsel of food on the floor.
Here, the dog realized that the oven had the food, not me.
Silly dog.
Jim left last week for Botswana, Africa to boost the work of missionaries who are supported by OneWay (Ray and Cynthia Mensah and their adorable kids are pictured above). For the third year, he will be joined by Wabash College athletes. They will be traveling to villages in Botswana to run sports camps and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
You can read about their adventures here.
So, Ruthie, how does it feel to have a new tooth?
It’s a great title for a children’s storybook, don’t you think?
Ruthie had her 4 month appointment with the doctor today, and lo and behold, the doctor informed me that her first tooth has erupted out of her gumline! I’m sure I would have discovered it on my own eventually. Ahem.
Ruth’s Tooth. Ruthie’s Toothie.
And in other baby accomplishments, remember this from last June?
Like brother, like sister:
Of course, the paparazzi was hiding in the bushes in the family room ready to capture the bad hair morning.
And look who’s attempting to calm her hair down:
This girl will never take herself too seriously.
If our home page looks muddled, keep refreshing the page until it looks right.
It’s a new year (kind of), and with a new year comes a new blog theme!
“Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways…your children shall be like olive plants all around your table.” (Psalm 128:1,3)
I absolutely love the picture this verse paints, and since Jim and I are in the season of raising children, we are naming the theme of this blog after the verse. This is quite intentional, and perhaps even counter-cultural. In a culture where children are considered an inconvenience, we are choosing to believe God’s word that counts children as a heritage from the Lord, a reward, like arrows in the hand of a warrior, a cause for happiness! If I believe this about the children God has given us, then I can cancel the pity party that says, poor me, I can’t sleep in, travel the world, read a book in an afternoon, skip dinner preparation, take a shower in peace…you get the point.
And what’s up with the image of olives?? Let me share something that I recently learned about cultivating olive trees.
Apparently, there are two different methods of planting olive trees in the mediterranean part of the world. The first method takes a branch from an already existing tree and places it in a hole dug for the new tree. The branch is then watered and fertilized. Eventually the tree grows and bears fruit.
The second method also begins by cutting a branch off of a mature tree. But rather than planting it in the ground, it is placed into a soil plug and cared for in a nursery until it is strong enough to be transplanted. While in the nursery the little sapling is watered and fertilized. In due time the gardener sees that the plant is ready and he transplants it into the field. Eventually it bears fruit.
So what’s the difference between the two trees? The quality of the fruit.
Upon leaving the earth to return to heaven, Jesus commissioned His disciples (and us) to go and make disciples. So when I look at these little people under my care, I must seriously consider how I’m training (discipling) them. Am I giving them the bare minimum they will need to grow and bear fruit? Or am I tenderly nurturing them by teaching them God’s word, praying for them, equipping them for life so that they will bear great big juicy fruit?
Hence, the new theme, Growing Olive Plants.
With all the talk about airplanes in this house, it was only a matter of time before Ruthie began taking pilot lessons. Alas, the ranking of her instructor is questionable.
Bear with me, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, hence three posts in a day. This one is just too funny not to share. You would be correct to say that the Johaniks are easily entertained.
We’d like to share some more dinnertime entertainment, brought to you by Ruthie.
I think this gives us a glimpse into her life with four older brothers (and a football-loving dad).