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.

Since we are on the topic of school, I thought I’d post some more pictures of what goes on here during the day.

In history, we learned about the historic voyage of Christóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus). Of course, we couldn’t merely read about this event, so we reenacted it with blue punch, pistachio ice cream and apple ships.

Part of the clean-up required drinking the punch. Let’s just say it looked better than it tasted…and that’s saying a lot.

After a few sips, we let Molly give it a try.

With the weather being so nice, Ruth and I have done her schoolwork outside just about every day.

It’s a nice break from the routine, and it keeps the inside quiet while her brothers work. Working outside has not been without distraction, however. This has been the year of the box elder beetle. I’ve sometimes wondered if they are attempting to take over the world. Ruthie loves them, so as they fly and creep around us, she watches and laughs. And they aren’t shy creatures!

Finally, we celebrated Derek’s birthday this week! He is now (gasp) 17 years old. Unfortunately, he was up well before the sun so he could finish homework that was due that day. He said it was not a happy birthday so far. But the birthday pancake tradition carried on nonetheless; we were not going to let homework put a damper on it. So we lit a candle in the D pancake and let Derek eat his birthday pancakes while he worked.

While the younger two are learning about birds and insects, Peter is tackling physical science for his final year of middle school.

I recorded his most recent experiment, with Jeremy as his assistant. Peter collected oxygen in the balloon after combining hydrogen peroxide and yeast.

I sent the video to Jake, who reminded us that the overabundance of oxygen in the Apollo 1 space capsule was a major contributing factor in the fiery death of three astronauts 50 years ago.

Jeremy and Ruth are learning about birds and insects this year in science. We are attempting to complete the insect portion of the curriculum before the weather turns cold and kills off all our specimens.

We’ve been pleasantly surprised at what six-legged creatures have flown into our lives this week so that we may observe and learn. For example, a few days ago, Jeremy caught two leaf-looking insects in our backyard.

They were quite interesting to observe, and it’s easy to understand how you would not notice them right away, given their camouflaged nature.

One of the experiments in the book required a dead insect so students can observe the body segments. (So as not to upset any sensitive children, it charged students to find an already-dead insect…don’t kill one). Well, I suggested we catch one of the beetles that have been plaguing every screen and window around the outside of our house lately, then put it in a jar with some cotton soaked with nail polish remover (like we did in the old days to make our bug collections in junior high). Then, voilà, we have a dead bug!

This idea did not float well with Ruth, who has a special place in her heart for these creatures, as has been reported earlier on this blog. She has scientifically named them “friendly beetles”. Despite Jeremy and me trying to convince her that there are gobs of these friendly beetles–what’s one less in the world–she would not cave.

All turned out well when I was jogging with a friend on the prairie path the other day. We were talking when something caught my eye on the ground. It was big and green and motionless. A dead insect! I scooped it up and put it in my pocket to bring home and show the kids.

We weren’t sure how it died, but after looking closely we observed that it was missing its head. At least we could observe the other two segments. Plus, Jeremy wasted no time pulling off a wing to observe it under the microscope. Never a dull moment.

One thing we were really looking forward to parents’ weekend was spending some time with the families of Jake’s closest USAFA friends. The guys had it all planned out: we would go to church together on Sunday then head to a restaurant where they had made reservations.

Here are three of the four guys:

What a blessing it was to get to know them and their parents! We left with hearts full of thanks to God for bringing such like-minded friends into Jake’s life.

Last year we had stayed in hotel rooms and found that we lacked a meeting place–somewhere to eat all together and just hang out. So this year, Jim found a house with ample meeting space, and we were thankful for it.

My parents left Sunday afternoon, and we were happy they were able to share the weekend with us. Monday, we went on a hike in CO Springs. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed breathing in the clean air.

Molly led the way the entire time, and she loved it.

And I think the siblings loved being together as well. What a special weekend it was!

All cadets are required to attend every home football game; therefore, a non-negotiable part of parents’ weekend for the family is going to the game. Thankfully, it’s something we all look forward to!

Before leaving for the stadium, I took Molly for a long walk. Due to certain spastic lab behavior, her first trip to Colorado was likely her last; thus I took a picture of her with mountains in the background so we may remember the moment.

Tailgating is a game day tradition at USAFA. Each squad sets up their tent, a grill, and serves up food. We approached the sea of cadets and families.

Before the game began, they had cadets jump from planes,

as well as four F-16s fly over. The sound was deafening!

Jake and Derek were happy to reunite.

Ruth sported her cheerleading outfit.

It was a beautiful day, a great game, and most of all so good to be all together as a family!

Compared to parents’ weekend last year, the weather was much milder, albeit cloudy and windy. We were significantly more comfortable in the stands. While we waited for the parade to begin, Jeremy and Ruth met a 21 year-old falcon.

It was too windy for the jump team to perform; however, the gliders flew and landed on the parade field. This was of special interest to us, as this is what Jake learned to do last summer.

Then the cadet wing marched onto the field. Jake bore his guidon well!

Once his responsibilities were through, he gladly handed the guidon over to any sibling who wanted it.

It was so good to reunite with him!

After the parade, Jake showed us his room for this semester. He remains in the Raptors squadron, and I found this mural in the dorm hallway pretty funny.

We ate a picnic lunch with his squad, then toured the Aeronautics building, along with a couple of his friends and their families. Jake declared this as his major last year, and since then, we have learned what a tight bond these Aero engineering cadets form during their school years.

One classroom was particularly impressive: the ceiling was covered with model airplanes, several of which the boys have built over the years. It was one of many, many moments of the day we wished Derek was there with us.

Ruth flew an F-16 simulator.

Later, we toured the airfield. We hung out in the hangar for a long time.

This was surely a highlight for the kids, as they were able to hop in the gliders. I could see the wheels turning in their heads as they imagined themselves as cadets one day.

Jake demonstrated that he can indeed fit his 6’7″ frame into one of those gliders!

Ruth opted to try on the jump harness. She had fun ascending and descending.

We saw where Jake signed his name on the pool of water he was thrown into after earning his soaring wings.

Then he sat in the next plane he will learn to fly as he goes on to earn a pilot’s license. His co-pilot was right by his side.

It was a full day, and we were exhausted by the end. We got home and played a game of cards while receiving regular updates on Derek’s football game back home.