It was 11:15 and the kids were asking what was for lunch. I had no plan and no motivation to prepare anything. Then Peter came to my rescue, asking if he could make some homemade pizza. He scrounged up some yeast and began making the dough, and before I knew it, the house smelled of baked bread and melting cheese.

Behold, lunch was served–sausage and mushroom pizza with a cheese-stuffed crust!

I wonder if Wheaton Academy will allow this kid to not only come home for lunch next year when he’s a freshman, but come home to prepare it as well?

Jim here, taking the blogging reigns from Heidi for this one.

Eight years ago, I blogged about the sense of accomplishment felt when I completed my instrument pilot rating. Today, that same sense of accomplishment was experienced by our oldest son at USAFA.

Heidi and I realized we have truly let go of the parenting tether when our 19-year-old son called to explain that he piloted an aircraft by himself. What is extraordinary is that Jake went from zero flying experience to soloing an aircraft in just 14 flights over two and a half weeks with the instruction given entirely from someone aged only 2 years older than him.

In an instant, Jake became what the aviation world calls a “pilot-in-command” (PIC), and that moniker comes with tremendous responsibility. As PIC, you are solely responsible for your aircraft and your actions in it – there are zero excuses accepted for not taking command and control and flying the aircraft safely. It’s a lot like life.

I felt for Jake today as I imagined him lifting off into the sky alone, tasked with carefully negotiating the glider as it was towed 3000′ above the Colorado landscape, released from the tow plane, flying freely through the thermals, and then navigating the aircraft safely back to earth onto USAFA’s giant 4-runway turf landing field. He nailed it.

Here’s a video Jake took earlier in the year that gives you an idea of what he experienced.

I have to admit that I don’t give our kids – or any kids – enough credit or confidence to think they are capable of doing impressive things like this.  What Jake accomplished today is not easy, yet he persevered through the training and the challenge. I determined today I have a wrong mindset.  Sometimes my kids’ limitations are a product of not giving them a shot at something because of my short-selling them in my mind. I’m done with that.

Here’s a pic of his grade card, detailing his progress over his 14 flights. (NG=Not Graded, U=Unsatisfactory, F=Fair, G=Good, E=with Excellence)

And the long-lived tradition of throwing a pilot into a tank of water after their first solo:

The story of Jake in the last 12 months at USAFA has been one accomplishment after another – with periodic setbacks. And through it all – and most importantly – he has identified himself as a follower of Jesus amongst his fellow cadets.

That’s quite a Pilot in Command – he’s flying well. Praise God.

I finally get the hashtag thing!

Check out our FCA Twitter account @fca_chicago

Ruthie has been my buddy on my long-ish Saturday morning runs. We both love the colors and smells of autumn and often ooh and ahh as we run (or stroll) past the vibrant colors of the leaves.

A couple days ago, we stopped to smell the roses collect the leaves.

Here’s a photo I shot of Peter at his post-season football tournament:

It reminded me of him just a few short years ago:

He runs so fast it’s impossible to avoid a blurry picture!

The way things are going right now, Ruthie is headed toward becoming a veterinarian.

Her favorite show is Doc McStuffins, a vet who cares for her stuffed animals.

She was in all her glory over the summer when she went to Michigan with Grandma and Grandpa and got to play with a new litter of puppies at my Aunt Ellen’s house.

Though I wasn’t there, I can just hear her telling the puppies what to do. Here you go, puppy, this is where you go to eat.

Here is what happens when you turn the kids loose in Dick’s Sporting Goods.

And smell the flowers.

Every Costco trip, Ruthie heads to the flower display and smells every bouquet within reach.

The boys never did this.

We earned free tickets to Great America through their reading program. We arrived right when they opened, and the big boys and I made a beeline to the newest ride: X-Flight.

See how big their smiles are? The line was short and the day was young!

Jake wore the GPS watch so he could track statistics such as speed and elevation changes.

These guys are definitely roller coaster junkies.

Derek on the Superman ride. In a harness facing the ground. Scary fun!

Jeremy rode some of the biggies like the American Eagle with no problem. I told him about my very first roller coaster experience, which also happened to be on the Eagle. I was sitting next to my Aunt Jan who told me to just turn and focus on her throughout the ride. I did, and she said I turned green.

Jeremy was much braver than his mommy and didn’t want to stop.

Ruthie was much much more limited than she cared to be due to her height-challenged stature. I can’t wait until she sprouts a few more inches and is raring to go on the big coasters.

In the meantime, she rode the teacups…

the airplane…

and her first roller coaster, The Little Dipper. She screamed with glee the entire ride. And I taught her to raise her arms when you go downhill. It was downright hilarious.

There were quite a few storms that moved through the area over the summer. Jake saw a challenge: capture lightning on camera.

First he faced the camera in the direction of the approaching storm.

Then he rigged the camera to a light sensor which he had programmed.

Then it was time to sit back and enjoy the light show while the camera did the work.

We have observed something very interesting during our 12.5 years of living here. Nearly every storm that approaches our area either dissipates, splits, or changes direction, keeping us from getting the brunt of the storm. Case in point:

Most folks would be grateful for this peculiar Bennett Place weather pattern, as it spares one from potential damage or injury. But some of us are not like most folks, and were consistently disappointed over the lack of extreme weather.

Despite the cell breaking up just before hitting our area, Jake was able to capture some beautiful lightning on camera.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

June and July were defined by baseball in the Johanik household.

Three boys

on three different teams

playing on three different days during the week

on three different fields…

made for quite a logistical challenge. But we made it work.

Jake displayed good multitasking as he worked on Calculus while cheering his brothers on at their games. He was definitely a trouper!

Derek played primarily first base and proved to be a power hitter on his team. On a side note, did you notice on what team this Sox fan was drafted? He could hardly even say the word c-u-b-s when he first found out. But by the end of the season, he proudly wore the blue jersey.

Peter played mostly catcher, along with pitcher and first base. He had a great season.

Jeremy appears to possess the most natural baseball ability in the Johanik family. He’s fast and has good awareness on the field. Plus, he has mastered the art of chewing gum and blowing bubbles while running the bases. Yes, definitely a natural.

His coach worked a deal with the Kane County Cougars to have a couple Cougars players run practice one day. Here’s Jeremy hitting off a Cougars pitcher:

Ruthie, along with Jake, made it to all her brothers’ games.

Sometimes, friends joined her to make the time pass more quickly. Hooray for friends!

One of her favorite things to do is take pictures. Like mother, like daughter…

Another favorite thing is to play in the dirt…

Lots of good lessons learned this season – teamwork, perseverance, working under pressure.

It’s been a long six months since we’ve shared anything on this blog.

Though we’ve done a lot of hanging around…

…our silence is not for lack of activity. The more time that’s passed, and the more bloggable things we’ve experienced, the less motivated I’ve been to get back to it.

How does one begin again? Do we pick up where we left off? Or skip over the past six months and begin with today?

Well, there is way too much good material from the summer and early fall to skip over, so we are going to do a little rewind and then proceed at a fast clip until we catch up to today.

Another reason I’ve lacked motivation to add anything is because our humble site needs a makeover. It’s looked the same since 2008…that’s like wearing the same outfit every day for five years, and you don’t need to be the fashion police to know that that’s a downright crime.

So be on the lookout ’cause we’re back.

I’ve decided recently why Spring barely edges out Summer as my favorite season of the year.

Hope. Our garden is a great illustration of hope.

Two weeks ago we planted greens with various-shaped leaves and roots…in hope that they will bear edible goods like peppers and tomatoes and broccoli.

Kind of a small picture of the seed of the gospel of Jesus that God plants in our hearts when we trust Him. By grace you are saved through faith. I am hoping for my salvation, hoping in Jesus’ return.

We protected the garden from predators because we do not want anything threatening the precious greens from being destroyed.

In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…

We labeled each row so we know what food to expect.

We are waiting patiently for what these leaves and stems and roots promise, with thoughts of eating the fruit of our garden. The expectation of future food makes the waiting bearable.

We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Every once in a while, when we leave the deck door unlocked, Molly lets herself outside. Because the door doesn’t close behind her completely, she lets herself back inside as well. This is a good thing.

However, because the door doesn’t close behind her completely, the door is left ajar for other creatures to make their way onto the deck. This is a bad thing.

Like the other day, for instance. Molly left the door slightly cracked open, and before we knew it, a sparrow had flown onto the deck.

We didn’t know if it was scared or smart, but whenever we’d go out to escort the bird out the door, it would tuck itself into the wood pile.

This happened over and over and over and over again.

After six hours of creative–yet fruitless–attempts, the boys were finally successful. It was quite a sight to see four boys, each with a shoo-ing tool, chasing after a tiny sparrow.

We asked for snow, and here it is!

Take a look at some wintery scenes from the past couple weeks.

The three middle boys were thrilled that they finally had an authentic snowy backdrop for the Hoth scene of their movie.

Jake shoveled.

A lot.

Ruthie was his little helper in the front. She took care of the front walk.

She was very “helpful”.

Jake also shoveled the ice in the backyard. Jeremy was his helper on the ice.

Ruthie eventually joined them to “help”.

Jeremy had his best buddies over for a play date. They stopped their snowball fight for a brief moment to pose for the camera.

Even Molly has been excited about the snow.

Yeah winter!

After the boys shoveled a lovely ice rink on the pond last week, they skated for two days then the ice turned slushy. Boo.

Thanks to Groupon, we had an alternative plan: skiing the slopes of Four Lakes in Lisle, IL. Yes, that’s right. No need to drive hours away…you can ski right here in Illinois.

The experience brought me back to my own high school days, since I learned to ski on the very same bump slope. It was a blast! The kids had a great time and definitely exceeded our expectations in how well they skied.

Ruthie did best when she kept her skis between mine. We found it was much more difficult to go up the hill than down. She absolutely loved the experience.

However, after a few times down, she wanted me to take off her skis so she could rest.

The boys were practically pros swooshing down the hills.

We’ll share some of the many videos from the day later!

I got this great snowball maker free with a coupon last summer, with visions of children giddily scooping up snow with it all winter.

Those visions were only partially realized one weekend. You know, that one weekend we had snow. Then it promptly melted.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep dreaming of a white winter.

Molly turned four last month. We bought her one real toy–a bone the size of my femur–and a toy that we knew wouldn’t last longer than an hour in the throes of her mighty jaw.

We were right about the cheapo toy.

But before she chewed it to shreds, we got lots of chuckles from it because of the sound it made. We affectionately named the toy Darth Lamb.

It has given rise to a whole new entrepreneurial opportunity for Jim…Star Wars dog toys. Can you just picture it? As the dog bites into a doggie Darth, the toy exclaims: Young puppy, I am disturbed by your lack of bite. Please don’t steal his idea; we’re hoping to make millions from it.