If you asked the kids what they miss the most about the old house, the shoe-in answer would be: the pond. Indeed, many memories centered around the pond in our back yard, especially in wintertime. And while our new back yard is superior in size to our old one, it does lack a pond.

As we prepared to enter our first pondless winter, Jim’s wheels began turning; he researched the possibility of building an ice rink in the back yard. His first assessment was that the slope of the yard–while not significant to the eye–was too great for it to work. But with my get-it-done husband, where there’s a will, there’s a way. So off to the hardware store he went.

He and the kids got to work putting the boards up.

Apparently, there’s a guy in Itasca who sells tarps made specifically for backyard ice rinks. The day Jim picked ours up, there was a line of minivans waiting to pick up their own tarps.

Then the filling of the rink began.

Despite my protests, the decision was made to let the hoses work overnight. Two hoses pouring water into the homemade ice rink through the night…unattended. You know where I’m going with this, right? I got up at 3 a.m. only to find that the boards broke under the weight of the water (recall the significant slope) and the backyard flooded with 2.5 feet of water. But Jim was undeterred. He built up the back boards and started again.

The hoses started up again, going all day, and again all night. The next day was Christmas Eve. We were on our way home from church that morning when we got a text from the next-door neighbor that the rink broke and there’s a flood. This time, the flood was in the neighbor’s back yard. Thankfully, they were gracious about it.

Time to give up on the idea of a backyard ice rink? Not a chance. Rather, Jim made it a bit smaller so that the slope was not as much of an issue.

As it turned out, the third time was a charm. After filling it for a third time, the boards held together. The boys went out to give it a try.

The next day, Ruth joined the fun in the subzero temperatures.

Meanwhile, the ice crew has been keeping the ice divot- and bump-free with an iron

and zamboni-mop.

Thankfully, according to the forecast, the ice will remain frozen for several days to come.

Merry Christmas from the Johanik family! Jesus said,

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. -John 10:10

What a wonderful reason to celebrate! We began our day by lighting the final candle of the advent wreath: the Christ candle.

Jeremy and the dog were the first ones up in the morning.

Molly waited patiently for her stocking.

The kids opened up Laser Tag; it did not take long before they formed teams and commenced a battle.

While the boys ran around the house hiding and shooting, Molly and I bundled up and went for a Christmas morning jog.

We enjoyed having the Johanik family over Christmas Eve (apparently I was too busy getting food on the table to take pictures). Little Grace continues to make us laugh with her witty remarks. Then on Christmas Day, rather than convening at my parents’ place, we broke from tradition (a key word around here among a certain 8 year-old girl) and gathered here.

My mom brought all the food here and took over the kitchen. When it was time for dessert, she found herself surrounded by grandkids!

Last weekend we visited Mom and Dad for brunch. The kids brought their skates so they could take advantage of skating the ribbon at Maggie Daley Park.

They had a great time skating, and we adults had a great time watching. It took Ruth a while to get her skating legs, so I walked the perimeter outside the ice while she skated holding onto the rail. After lapping her over and over, her brothers began to feel compassion for her. Jake took her hand, told her to keep her skates straight, and he pulled her along the loop.

Then Derek took a turn encouraging and coaching her.

This day only drove Jim further toward his decision to build a rink in our back yard. More on that coming soon!

There was fresh snow on the prairie path Tuesday morning, which revealed all the activity that took place after the snow fell. The rabbit prints were easy to identify. There was a set of paw prints alongside footprints, signifying another person had been out walking their dog before us. I also spotted unaccompanied larger paw prints, which had me on high alert for coyotes.

After a while, I became curious what Molly’s and my prints looked like. It made me chuckle, so I took a picture.

She’s a shuffler! Since Tuesday, the snow hardened, and every morning after that I see Molly’s shuffling paw prints encased in the icy snow along the entire loop of our usual run. They call out, “Molly was here!”

Last weekend, twenty schools gathered for a wrestling tournament, hosted by the Plano High School Reapers. You gotta love the rural school mascots!

The WA team competed Friday night and fought hard through three rounds. It was a double elimination tournament, so the guys had to win at least two of their three matches Friday night in order to have a chance to wrestle the following day. Derek ended up winning two and losing one match, and was the only one from the team to advance to Saturday. His faithful teammate/friend came along to support him.

Jim and I assumed that the Saturday portion of the tournament would move quickly since there were just a portion of the wrestlers left after Friday’s elimination. With this assumption, the three younger kids came along to cheer for their brother.

As the hours ticked by, however, we realized we were quite wrong about the length of the tournament. It ended up going until 4:00. These kids are troupers, though. No complaining, despite spending their Saturday sitting on wooden bleachers.

It helped that the team had snacks for the day. Ruth periodically would walk across the gym to grab a Gatorade or yogurt from the cooler. We laughed at how confidently she walked among the muscly wrestlers. It’s what life with four big brothers will do to you.

Because of Derek’s one loss Friday night, he was wrestling for third place. In order to earn third, he had to win all three Saturday matches. The first two were early in the day, done by 10:30am. Then the long wait until the championship round:  a five hour wait. Finally, he took to the mat and…

eighteen seconds later the match was finished.

He took third place

and also won the tournament award for most pins in the least amount of time.

I found this sign propped up after Ruth finished mopping the floor.

After two close encounters with coyotes on the prairie path, I decided Molly and I could use some extra insurance.

Thankfully, I haven’t had to use it, but it does bring some comfort knowing we have a defense.

After dropping Jake off at the airport the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we stopped by Costco to pick up a Christmas tree. Yes, you can buy your Christmas tree at Costco. As Ruth has asked me in the past, is there anything Costco doesn’t sell?

When we returned home, Derek leapt up into the attic to retrieve Christmas decorations. We affectionately named him Attic Man, our superhero.

With Handel’s Messiah playing in the background, the decorating began. First, Ruth and Molly inspected the garland.

Then the ceremonial first ornament was placed on the tree: football santa. This was Jim’s ornament from childhood.

Speaking of childhood ornaments, “Jimmy 1977” unfortunately did not survive the move to the new house. Alas, when we opened the ornament box, it was in pieces.  So we took a picture of it, then laid it to rest.

The final task was setting up the village and train under the tree.

I love this season!

What has this girl laughing during math?

This worksheet, which was appropriately altered to reflect a truth about our family:

Derek leads the way in milk consumption here. No osteoporosis in this household.

Ruth just completed a class at the Naperville Humane Society. When I signed her up for it, I was under the impression that she was going to learn how to care for animals.

However, each week, when she got into the car after class, I’d ask her what she learned that day. Her weekly reply was, “Nothing, but we got to play with the puppies and kittens.”

I do wonder if she learned a few things and just didn’t realize it because she was having so much fun. Either way, it was a great experience for her.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1)

We had a great weekend with family up in Michigan over the Thanksgiving holiday. The weekend kicked off with our fourth annual Giere Classic 5K. Chris and Ronnie joined us for the first time this year.

Ruth walked the short course…that is until she realized Jake was about to run past her, and then she decided to throttle up. He was a good brother and let his sister cross the finish line first.

These two were running buddies.

After the race, we relaxed, chatted and played games. Then everyone got dressed up for dinner.  Poor Jeremy forgot to pack his button-down shirt, so he wore one of Derek’s.   He was quite concerned about the excess fabric.

My mom carved the turkey…with supervision.

After a cousin sleepover, my dad took the girls for a walk to the windy beach.

Then we celebrated two birthdays. Uncle Jim and Nathan suddenly grew mustaches during the party.

The weather was beautiful on Friday, so we spent much of the afternoon outside.

Two of my cousins recently adopted puppies, and they brought them over so we could meet them. Guess who was especially happy about this?

Most of the family gathered again Friday night for a delicious meal. It was fun to have a new member at the kids’ table.

We drove home Saturday night and headed to church before having to bring Jake to the airport.

As always, it was tough to say goodbye to him. I’m still waiting for it to get easier.

We ended the weekend with hearts overflowing with thanks to God for family, and most of all for Himself and allowing us to know Him!

As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, Jeremy and Ruth are studying birds and insects in science this year. A while back, my mom informed us of a new exhibit at the Field Museum called Specimens. We were eager to check out the vast number of items the museum has on display, and the various ways they preserve the items.

So we hopped on a train and made our way to the city. We arrived when the museum opened, which meant we beat the crowds.

Not only was the trip educational

but also fun, as we watched a 3D movie about the Galapagos Islands.

By the end of the day, these kids walked a total of eight miles! I’m sure they were wishing for a ride on the elephants back to the train station.

It was a fun day with grandma, with lots of learning in between.

Just as Derek’s season came to an abrupt end, so did his brothers’. I suppose it’s never easy unless you win the big championship… and even then, the way these guys love to play the sport, there is always a tinge of sadness when the season ends.

Doesn’t this face say it all? It was the final talk to the team by the coaches after the final game, which ended in a loss. Hard to fight back the tears.

I’ll start with Jeremy. He started on the offensive line, as he was a lighter-older player. Most of his teammates were a year younger than him. But what he really excelled at was playing defensive end. He was a master at shedding his block and getting to the ball.

I love this shot of him reaching to block the kick. He wasn’t successful, but boy, A+ for effort!

Here, he’s collaborating with his teammate.

It reminded me of a pic taken of his big brother way back in 2009:

There was an additional emotional element to the end of Peter’s season, as this was his final year playing youth football. Next year, he’s on to high school football He’s been playing youth football every year since age 5!!

I can’t help myself–look at this little munchkin running onto the field in 2009!

Now look at him–one of the big boys.

He had a great season with great coaches. Two big lessons he learned this fall by being on this team were hard work and perseverance. His coaches pushed the boys physically starting on day one, that Peter would get into the car after practice, absolutely exhausted from all the conditioning.

This team practiced more than any other we’ve been a part of. And downpouring rain did not stop them.

Peter proved to be a versatile player and was a positive contribution on the team.

He enjoyed his experience and definitely exited youth football on a good note.

The youngest person in the family is now eight years old. We rang in Ruth’s special day with birthday pancakes.

She is growing up so quickly!

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)

Our family had many reasons to celebrate in October. Derek and Jake expressed at about the same time a desire to be baptized, so we arranged for Jake to fly home for the weekend. At College Church, you get to wear a nice robe!

We had family and a few friends join us. Ruth was sure happy to have cousins and friend Bethy!

Jake went first,

then Derek.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)

I had many people comment how touching it was that Jake stood on the stage to observe Derek’s baptism. It does warm my heart to see these brothers express love for one another.

Far more delightful than that, though, is knowing that these two guys have made a decision to trust and follow Jesus.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 1:4)

Afterward, we came home and had brunch.

Cousins!

And for the 8th year, we celebrated both my mom’s and Ruth’s birthdays, since they are just a day apart.

It was a special day, full of joy!

In between school and football, the boys had a steady stream of business throughout the fall. It has been a lesson in time management for these guys!

They really enjoy it, and the more they practice, the better the product.

If you want to find out more about Corenermouse Catering, you can go to their website.

Derek’s junior year football season came to an abrupt end this year. Here are some of my favorite scenes from the season:

Everyone on the team wrote on or painted a link in the team chain at the beginning of the season. The captains wore the chain as they marched onto the field before each game.

Coach Gray taping up Derek’s wrists before the game:

He started on offense as the center

and often on defense too.

We definitely saw him grow this fall, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Among other things, he learned about leadership and persevering through pain–lessons that translate to life off the field.

It seems I have some catching up to do on the blog. I blinked, and an entire month passed by! Our fall season included the start of homeschool, three football seasons, Jim coaching high school football, involvement at church, a job change for Jim, and kids’ extracurricular activities. We were so busy living that there was no time to record the happenings!

Last month we had the opportunity to go to an opera performance for kids. My friend Laura invited us, so I asked the kids if they wanted to go to an opera. When they responded by asking, “what’s an opera?” I knew we needed to go. These kids needed to experience some high culture!

They enjoyed the performance, but what they relished even more was time with friends.

We have been enjoying the fall weather, even with its high and low temperatures. The other night we actually had dinner all together! This is an unusual occurrence during this season, and boy did we savor it. The backdrop was beautiful.

The leaves of the trees on the prairie path are just starting to turn colors, which makes the daily jogs even more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, when I returned home from a run with Molly the other day, we found deer ticks on her. I was dismayed to learn that the pests continue to be active in the fall months. Arg!

It took less than a minute for one curious child to run down to the basement and grab the microscope to look at one of the despicable creatures up close.

Once in focus, he also took a picture with the ipod. This is not for the faint of heart.

Though I was mostly confident that we found all the ticks on Molly, we did keep her off the carpeted areas of the house for the rest of the day.

For the time being, I shall alter Molly’s jogging environment–from the prairie path to the running track across the street. We will not be deterred!

With three boys playing–and one father coaching–football, the sport is definitely a part of our everyday life this fall. We don’t just have four games every week, but practices every day in between.

And if that wasn’t enough, Jim and Derek went to the Air Force-Michigan game a couple weeks ago with coaches and friends.

It ended up being a fun game to watch in what ended up being a packed house.

Here are some random scenes from recent games. Jeremy is part of a new team called FCA Force.   They practice and play home games at Wheaton Academy, which has not only been convenient, but also exciting for him to play on the same field as his big brother.   Here, Jeremy is the one blocking to make a path for his teammate to run.

Dave and Judi came to cheer him on one week.

Peter is playing for the Wheaton Rams for the second year. He’s on a good team with great coaches. There was no #31 jersey to pick this year, so he snatched the number closest to it: #30. Here, he was team captain for a night game.

Jim is embracing his role as JV coach. He often comes home grinning ear to ear, exclaiming how much he loves coaching. Here, he’s praying with the team after a tough loss.

Later that same night, Derek’s fans gathered to cheer him on.