Derek recently learned this song on the piano, and guess what I found on my mane a week later? My first gray hair…short, wiry, and sticking straight out the side of my head.
When I told Mr. Scientist, the first thing he said was, “How does hair turn gray?” I’ll be referring him to this website: Why Does Hair Turn Gray?
Meanwhile, I am claiming Proverbs 16:31 for my head :)
Over the summer Jake got a wood chip stuck in his foot after stepping on it outside. He took his pocketknife and (with help) cut open the skin so he could take it out before the area became infected (yes, mom, it grossed me out). That was 4 months ago.
Last night before bed, he was holding his foot saying that the spot where the wood chip was had a bump, and it hurt. I asked him if this all just started, and Jake replied that no, it’s been hurting for quite some time. Hmmm, sounded like an infection to me.
We went to see the doctor this afternoon. She took one look at it and declared, “it’s a wart”. Knowing this was a possibility, I did explain my wart history to Jake on the way to see the doc. I told him what the treatment was for my warts, and that he could expect the same if that bump on his foot was a wart. Not so.
Today, medical knowledge is expanding at lightning speed. Brilliant ideas are discovered. There’s so much technology these days, you know.
The doctor prescribed OTC wart medicine with duct tape. I laughed, but it’s been written about in medical journals as being the most successful treatment for warts. Apparently, you can even buy the tape in all sorts of colors (maybe for this very reason?). So tonight, Jake went to bed with duct tape wrapped on his foot. And for now, it’s the industrial gray variety.
Allow me share a couple of noteworthy things that have come out of this: after reading the wart medicine package, Jake looked up the active ingredient in the Merck Index. Yes, you read that right. The boy has been reading out of the Merck Index during his down time. He told me something I don’t understand about the acid that’s in the medicine, so I just smiled and nodded. He’s getting smart with that science stuff!
Also, as we were talking in the car on the way home, I was commenting to Jake on how neat it is that he’s so interested in the elements and chemicals (refer to previous post). We talked about the possibility of him becoming a doctor, since doctors study lots of science (and Merck Indexes).
Then he asked, “Mom, how can doctors be useful in ministry?”
This led into a conversation about all sorts of great things missionary doctors do for people around the world, including the U.S. We talked about how great it is when a doctor heals a person’s body, but how much greater it is when that doctor also tells a person about Jesus Christ, the only One who can heal a person’s soul.
Whatever course Jake and his brothers take in life, it is my prayer that they will truly serve God with everything they are and have. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23).
Some more pictures from our weekend in Michigan.
Jim took advantage of the fact that he was up before the sun and got some photos of a beautiful sunrise.
We got to meet Winston, an adorable 130-pound puppy who belongs to my aunt and cousins. Here’s a shot of him showing off his height by sitting on furniture like a person would:
Can you believe he’s not full-grown yet? I was so impressed with his temperament–he was incredibly patient with the kids.
Grandpa Barker and Trudy came for dinner. But before sitting down to the feast, Grandpa tried his hand at Wii Mario Kart:
And then he got down to business…turkey business, that is. One of the clearest memories I have of Thanksgiving as a kid is Grandpa carving the turkey with an electric knife. He would meticulously slice the meat, tasting as he went along. It has been several years since I’ve seen him carve a turkey, but he took up the duty again this year.
I’m not sure what got into Jeremy and Ellie after the meal, but they actually *gasp* showed affection to one another:
We spent Thanksgiving in Holland, MI again this year. The Johaniks rented a house (aptly named the Black Squirrel, for we spotted several of them while there) with Mom and Dad. As soon as we arrived, the boys wasted no time in taking advantage of the most snow they’ve seen this season.
Here’s Bubbie trying his hardest to roll the snow-boulder:
Peter sampling the white snow:
The house sits on Lake Macatawa with a pier in the backyard. It is a beautiful setting:
Grandma and Jeremy going for a walk by the pier:
In honor of Thanksgiving this weekend, I decided to look up the definition of the word “thankful”. The dictionary.com widget on the computer defined it as “pleased and relieved”. I found it interesting that thankful = relieved.
For example, if I’m thankful, I have relief from anxiousness. It reminds me of the verse in Philippians that says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” This frees me to rise above my circumstances and not be bogged down with worry. God relieves me of worry and despair.
There was a man named Horatio Spafford who lived in the 1800s. His life is a picture of true thankfulness to God. He suffered unimaginable pain in his lifetime, but out of that pain was born a famous hymn. Here is a summary of his life (taken from Wikipedia):
“The first [traumatic event] was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the S.S. Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with another ship, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died…
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, You have taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
Click this link to listen to this awesome song, sung by Chris Rice:
Having two children participate in the same sport has many advantages. They can spur one another on. It eases the amount of driving back and forth for weekly practices.
One disadvantage can occur when the children are in different age groups. And the older age group competes all morning, and the younger age group competes all afternoon. That equals a whole day.
Last Saturday, we found ourselves in that situation where Jake swam from 6:45 to noon, and Derek swam from noon to 4:45. Sarah and the kids joined us for part of the morning, which worked great for Peter and Jeremy to have friends to play with.
And Mom, Dad, and Jeanine get big hearty pats on the back because they hung in there with us till the end! I know you guys know this, but the time you invest in these kids is by far the most meaningful gift you could give them. Their faces literally light up when they see their family cheering them on. I am so thankful for your sacrifice!
Jake and Derek both swam their hardest and did a great job. Jake earned points for the Porpoise team from swimming backstroke. Derek’s big accomplishment of the day was competing in a 100 meter IM…four lengths of the pool, all four strokes.
We broke out the paint and smocks today. Some of us were a little less reserved with the paint than others…
If I could guess, I’d say Peter is turning out to be a neat-nick. He was careful to wipe his finger after every paint application. He kept showing me his clean hands.
The one casualty: Peter stepped on Derek’s painting. So much for being clean :) Here’s the sock:
For the past couple years, Jim has taken each of the boys up in the Cessna for their birthday. He flies the birthday boy to breakfast–most often to a hole-in-the-wall diner in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Apparently, this tradition trumps our previous one: letter pancakes made by mom.
These photos are already over a month old, but worth sharing. Derek has become quite experienced in both the pre-flight routine and cleaning and putting away the plane. Jim captured this on camera after Derek’s most recent birthday flight, celebrating his 8th bday.
Here’s Derek getting the tug into place so that he can push the plane into the hangar:
I’m seeing visions of weight conditioning for football here……
Success:
What do you hope in? I’m not talking about the kind of hope that you have for sunny weather tomorrow. This is big picture hope–confident expectation. Life is not easy. People have real problems. Like Jeanine and I were talking about a few weeks ago, everybody has a story to tell. And so many people are hopeless.
What do you hope in to solve life’s problems? Money? A good body? A family? Admiration from others? Good health? A good president?
None of these things are bad, of course. But they all come to an end at some point, right? My dad always says there are two certain things in life: taxes and death.
This is so important to consider–is the thing you are hoping for worth living your entire life for? Is it going to matter after you die?
Sometimes the very thing you live your life for is taken away during your lifetime. Like my cousin Ronnie. Almost fourteen years ago, he had everything in this world going for him. As a senior in high school, he was on the brink of a successful college football career. As far as success in life goes, the sky was the limit for him. Then he was bitten by a mosquito while on spring break in Florida. Everything changed dramatically in that moment. The mosquito was carrying the deadly encephalitis disease. Ronnie was in a coma for some time, but amazingly survived. But the hope of a successful college football career (and beyond) was stripped away, never to be returned. You see today, nearly 14 years later, Ronnie struggles to walk and talk. His brain has not fully recovered.
Ronnie had to re-examine his life. What was he supposed to hope in now?
God used Ronnie’s seemingly hopeless circumstances to point out some truths from the Bible. One being, our life on earth is temporary. When a person dies, their soul goes to one of two places for eternity: heaven or hell. They are real places.
Most people will tell you that if the good things you did in life outweigh the bad things, you go to heaven when you die. That is not what the Bible teaches. In fact, even if a person did just one bad thing in their entire life, they are considered unworthy to go to heaven (where a holy, righteous God lives). God demands perfection. So now you’re thinking that no one can make it to heaven when they die because every single person is guilty of at least one bad thought, word or action. You’re right on one part–every single person is guilty of at least one bad deed.
So is the notion of eternity in heaven hopeless?
Not hardly. The Bible also talks about how much God loves us. He created this earth and He created people. Because of His love for people, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth as a man. While here, Jesus was fully God and fully man. He never thought, said, or did anything wrong. But He endured horrible suffering and death. For us. It says that all the sin (cheating, hate, murder, adultery, gossip, abortion, stealing, lying…) of all creation (past, present, future) was laid on Him as He hung on the cross. He took the punishment of death for us.
Did we have to do anything to earn it? No! It was a show of true unconditional love–He knows the wrong things we do, and He loves us anyway! Three days after dying, Jesus rose from the dead and after that went back to heaven, which is where He is now.
So how can a person enter heaven when they die? Believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the only way to eternity with God. Trust that His death on the cross is sufficient. There is nothing we can do to earn heaven.
This is what Ronnie has decided to hope in. And despite his daily struggle, he is joyful because he knows that his life on earth is only temporary–he is confident that when he dies, he will be with Jesus in heaven.
Jeremy was running around with a cork.
Jake asked him what he had in his hand, and Jeremy answered “cork”.
Jake said (to Jeremy and everyone listening) “that is much too big to be a quark”. I just looked at him dumbfounded as Jake stood laughing at himself.
I asked him what’s so funny, and he explained to me that quarks are tiny particles that make up atoms. “Get it? Cork? Quark? haha.”
Judi and Jeanine joined us for trick-or-treating this year. They were a great team: Jeanine handed out candy to the kids who came to our house, and Judi hit the pavement with the boys as their “candy agent”.
After walking several houses, Jake, Peter, and Jeremy were ready to head home. Judi and Derek, on the other hand, were just getting started. Dinner had been on the table for almost a half hour, and those two were still going door to door on a mission to fill Derek’s bag with enough candy to last three years.
Jeremy dressed as our little German boy in an authentic lederhosen outfit (Johanik trivia tidbit–Derek wore this for Halloween 2001):
After trick-or-treating, Jeremy didn’t want to part with the red socks (with tassles), so the rest of the night was spent in only his shirt and socks:
And the rest of the boys: Peter was a Northwestern football player, Derek was a safari guy, and Jake was a scientist (for the third year in a row. You may notice from the photo that the lab coat is getting a little snug on him.)
You know what I appreciate about these guys? They are fully content to recycle costumes and creatively come up with new ways to use old stuff. Resourcefulness.
I had to snap a picture of Judi leading the trick-or-treat parade down the sidewalk. There was no time to waste with her in charge :)
And here is a shot of Jake helping Jeremy receive his candy and reminding him to say “thank you”. Jake showed great patience with his little brother, as he waited for Jeremy at every house:
With a household of five males, you might be surprised to learn that our favorite TV show is Little House on the Prairie. Even Jeremy asks to watch “Lee-oo House”. The shows are packaged by season and available for checkout at the library. Wholesome and free! For some reason, one night we watched an episode from Jim’s laptop. The boys piled on Jim and it was quite a Kodak moment:
We met the Gieres at the arboretum one morning in October. The kids had fun running around and wading in the creek.
All the cousins…
This next one has to be my favorite photo from the day, even though it’s blurry:
From this one picture, you can conclude many things about Peter.
1. he’s fast
2. he enjoys running
3. he has a great smile
4. he has his own sense of style
Ever since the day Peter began dressing himself, he has shown a unique taste in style. Derek, during baseball season this summer, was required to tuck his jersey into his pants for games. This inspired Peter to tuck his shirt into his pants. Every day (and night). Most recently, he absconded with Derek’s red baseball socks and now tucks his pants into them. I love this about him–he does things his way no matter who snickers at him. It makes the whole obedience training a little tricky, but that’s another story.
Later in the month, we visited Johansen Farm with the Goldings. It was a gorgeous day, and, as usual, the kids were thrilled to play together. Here they are holding the baby chicks, a favorite J Farm activity:
The Johaniks and Goldings have been visiting the farm for a few years now (how many, Tracy??), and our annual picture in the bus shows how the kids (and the number of kids) have grown!
Bubbie?
Just want to use this space to share how much I love and appreciate my mom.
When I think of Mom, one of the words that comes to mind is hospitality. She loves having people over and making them feel as comfortable as they would be if they were home (a “mi casa, su casa” kind of hospitality). She is also good at making sure they go home with full bellies. She enjoys planning and cooking meals for others, and at least from my perspective, she even enjoys washing sheets for overnight guests.
Another word that describes Mom is strength. Mom is strong both physically and mentally. I totally look up to her in this area.
Finally, loyalty (although I can think of many more words to describe Mom’s character, I’ll save them for her next birthday). She is fiercely loyal toward her family–there is no question in our minds how much she loves us. Can’t you just see the love on her face here:
“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)
Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you!
Heidi
This is about me, derek. These are my Favorite Things.
My favorite Sport is football.
My favorite Color is yellow.
My favorite Food are strawberries.
My favorite animals are dolpins.
My favorite season is fall.
My favorite thing to do is play legos.
My favorite subject is math.
and My favorite kind of flower are tulips.
And my worst favorite things.
My worst favorite sport is hockey
My worst favorite color is pink.
My worst favorite food are burnt pancakes.
My worst favorite season is winter.
My worst favorite thing to do is to be hit by a tornado.
Because I’ve been lagging in sharing pictures lately, this post will be dedicated to catching up on what’s been going on here.
The next couple of pictures are from our family’s most favorite field trip spot ever–the Morton Arboretum. Since we are studying botany in school, we capped off the chapter on flowers by visiting the arboretum with clipboards and colored pencils in hand to sketch our favorite blossoms.
Even the little guys got into it. That is, until the skirmish over the colored pencils. The boys are learning so much about how God created plants with such creativity and wisdom…I’ll have them share some interesting tidbits in a future post. As I write, we have 2 glasses of water on the fireplace mantle. One has a willow tree branch in it, and the other contains an ivy branch. We’re conducting a rooting experiment. Like cloning, but not as controversial.
The last weekend in September we went on our (more or less) annual family bike ride event: the Apple Cider Century. 25 hilly miles, and the boys did great! I’m convinced that this kind of thing is making them stronger, not just physically but mentally.
Jake and Derek are on the YMCA swim team this year. They participated in their first meet of the season last Saturday, and they rocked! The quality of the pictures isn’t the best due to poor lighting on the pool deck, but you’ll hopefully get a taste of their day. Jake excelled at the backstroke, his favorite stroke, and Derek was focused and determined to conquer the water.
One year ago, Derek was afraid to get his head wet. Today he was diving in to the deep end of the pool from the starting blocks! I’m just amazed. How is it that he can overcome fear like that? “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) Even swim meet competitions can prepare these boys for life.
Although we didn’t capture Peter and Jeremy on camera, they cheered their brothers on with excitement. It was a great day spent together as a family.
The Johaniks have taken the plunge. We are now part of the blog world. Yikes–this is a big deal for someone who has a fear of writing! Jim, Jake, Derek and I will share thoughts, pictures, and happenings every so often. Our purpose is to share what is going on with our family and hopefully to be an encouragement. “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” (Ephesians 4:29)
This is one of the first encounters Jeremy had with finger food. He has been observing the rest of us–he knew exactly what to do. Notice Peter in the background fulfilling his role of big brother, helping Jeremy find his O’s.
