Jeremy, Jake and I experienced our first Blackhawks game early this week. Jim was the veteran in our group.

Jeremy, in his mass excitement, forgot to wear his winter coat. It was a chilly 22 degrees that night. When we got to our seats, I looked over and asked him how he was doing. He said, “I can’t stop shaking.”

I told him to put Jake’s coat on to warm up, and he replied, “I’m not cold, I’m really really excited.” This was his posture for the first hour:

Hey, Jeremy. Jeremy! Jeremy?

He peeled his eyes away from the ice so I could snap a picture, then eyes went immediately back to the action. This was one of those experiences that is most fun when you see it through your child’s eyes. He was precious.

We weren’t sure if Jake would enjoy it, but he did. He commented afterwards about how amazing the player’s skating abilities were.

I decided that watching a Blackhawks game is a feast for those with ADD. There is so much going on visually, I could hardly keep up. Here’s a slice of the action on video. In order to really have a taste of what it’s like, please turn the lights out in the room. Then turn the volume all the way up.

This actually gives me an idea for beginning our school days. Excuse me while I go fire up the strobe light and crank the music…

Fun, fun! So glad we had the opportunity to go. Thanks, Tradehelm!

God gave the command in Genesis 2: “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Adam and Eve lived happily and freely, avoiding the one tree God commanded them to avoid. They didn’t see the command as burdensome because they were satisfied with all the other fruit God had provided them. Their focus wasn’t on what they weren’t allowed to do.

Until the serpent drew Eve’s attention to the forbidden tree. He questioned God’s command and tempted Eve to do the same. Once her focus shifted to the tree, she saw it differently. It became attractive. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate”.

Sin became attractive.

Things haven’t changed much, have they? We do what we know is wrong because we look at sin and allow ourselves to be lured by its apparent beauty. But behind the veil of beauty is utter darkness and death. It’s all a lie. There is no freedom, no joy. God knows this and wants to protect us from it.

That’s why in Hebrews, it says, “let us lay aside the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.”

The view out the deck: frozen ground, layer of ice on top of the pond, frost on the grass.

The view on the deck: bacon and sausage sizzling on the griddle, waffles baking and steaming.

I love my unconventional husband.

In the beginning the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

While the earth was empty and without form, God’s Spirit moved over its surface. He was preparing to bring order and life to the earth.

It’s the same with our lives. Spiritually speaking, we are all empty and formless until God’s Spirit hovers and brings conviction of sin. He gives life, just like when God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living being.

Has God given you life, spiritually? Praise Him. Is His Spirit hovering over your conscience, awakening you to God’s reality? Respond to Him.

It’s a new year. Out with the old, in with the new. We make new year’s resolutions because with January 1 comes a fresh start. It’s a chance to improve, reassess, change. God knows we need a fresh start, a clean slate.

In my reading today, I read this:

Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.

What a great picture of a fresh start! Because Jesus Christ became one of us and bore our dark, ugly sin on the cross, we can be cleansed white as snow if we humbly come before God, confessing our sin and admitting our need for His forgiveness. And He freely forgives. Wow!

So today, I thank God today for a new year. I thank Him that He makes me white as snow, not because of what I’ve done, but because of what Jesus did. I thank Him for making me a new creation.

So, there the cooler sits.  It’s inevitable that the remaining dry ice in the cooler, left over from yesterday’s escapades, will sublimate into the air, disappear, and contribute to global warming (CO2 is a greenhouse gas after all; perhaps we should all stop breathing to save the environment.) No use prolonging the inevitable – we decided to put the remainder to good use.

Two years ago when Jake was into Chemistry (which is sooo passé now), he received the following book as a gift.

Wouldn’t you know it: Jake recalled on page 32 that there was a recipe for making instant ice cream using…dry ice!

We chopped up the dry ice using Heidi’s food processor (who knew?) which turned it into dry snow, but not the stuff you’d want to make snow angels in.  We then added cream, sugar and vanilla, along with ample quantities of powdered dry ice and turned the mixer on.

OK, so we weren’t prepared for the fact that the dry ice vapor would create a creamy bubbly explosion, but we recovered quickly.

When completed, nothing but delicious ice cream (in the middle of winter!)

Four boys (and a big boy with time on his hands) + 20 lbs of pure-grade dry ice (as in CO2 at a temperature of -109 degrees Fahrenheit) = Fun for an entire day.

Here we are making “fog”

Er, here we are blowing up a bottle for the first time…

And here “we” are blowing up a bottle for the second time. Jake was responsible for the slow-motion effects. (Notice the 2 duds next to the experiment.)

We all decided to upgrade to liquid nitrogen next time…if there is a next time (we won’t discuss the outcome of Jim trying to make carbonated soda in the kitchen).

What fun!

And now for something completely…different…

Some of you are aware of Ruthie’s fondness of the moon. She asks about it day and night, and Jake loves the fact that she’s excited about something in the night sky. He even painted a glow-in-the-dark moon on the ceiling above her bed.

But he didn’t stop there. He also created this:

From Jim – again.  (It’s nice to have some time off!)

This is the season when we say “Peace on Earth, goodwill to men”.

Heidi and I seem to be searching far and near for peace in this house. Case in point, last night as I was cleaning the kitchen, I noticed the kitchen lights above me vibrating severely after hearing loud crashes from the room above – the boys’ room.  Thanks to a new Nerf basketball hoop and ball they received as a gift, their room is now a half-court arena.  However, these boys are football players who, to my knowledge, never legitimately touched a basketball before.  So this game was more of a destroy-the-guy-with-the-ball-before-he-shoots kind of game. Today I have to spackle all nail pops in the ceiling…

As I was reflecting in the quietness of the morning on “peace”, I resolved that despite the craziness of life at times (especially living in a heavily trafficked suburb during Christmas-shopping season), I have no reason to complain – at all.  I dialed up CNN and glanced quickly at the top news stories:

From Jim today…

Tradition.  As a discipline, tradition is doing something of significance time and time again for various reasons.  Tradition adds richness and color of this earthly life and in some cases points to the hope we have in Christ and our future home in heaven. Tradition seems to come especially alive at Christmas, and I am certain our family has not cornered the market in this regard.  Getting together with family for presents and meals on Christmas Eve and Day, putting up the Christmas tree while listening to Handel’s Messiah, going to hear Handel’s Messiah with Heidi at Orchestra Hall, and the family advent candle lighting are just a few of our annual Christmas traditions.

There is a strange comfort in knowing something will happen at a given time, something you can set your watch to again and again.

When I subscribed to the Wall Street Journal years ago, few things brought more joy in the moment than reading the traditional editorial on Christmas Eve, authored by the late Vermont Royster and reprinted every year on that day since 1949.  It’s titled In Hoc Anno Domini and while not overtly evangelistic, I relish the importance it places on the freedom we have in Jesus Christ in an age when this world tries to pry Christ away from Christmas and where government continues to eradicate our freedoms.

For those who do not subscribe to WSJ, here is the editorial:

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression — for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter’s star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Ever wonder what Jake does in his free time? I just found out myself, as I was looking through a folder on the computer titled “Jake’s Stuff”. I couldn’t stop laughing

This kid has a strange sense of humor. Must get it from his grandfather :-)

Look for another entertaining photoshop creation next Friday.

This is the one time of year that the geese are actually more entertaining than they are annoying. They arrive in droves to the pond out back, and what makes the scene so entertaining is the changing terrain of the pond. Once it begins to freeze, the geese have a difficult time navigating and keeping their balance as they move around.

But they adapt. Rather than move around, they stand still. On one leg even.

Athlete.

Mathematician.

Futures Trader.

World Traveler.

…

Hairdresser.

He works that round brush like a pro, and she loves the attention. Who would have guessed?

I ran across an article the other day titled “The Five Best Toys of All Time” and I was intrigued. What could they be? Remote control car? Barbie doll? The newest electronic gadget?

I was delighted to see the list. So delighted, I am sharing it with you during this season of gift-giving–because of its humor as well as its dose of reality.

1. Stick

This versatile toy is a real classic — chances are your great-great-grandparents played with one, and your kids have probably discovered it for themselves as well. It’s a required ingredient for Stickball, of course, but it’s so much more. Stick works really well as a poker, digger and reach-extender. It can also be combined with many other toys (both from this list and otherwise) to perform even more functions.

2. Box

Another toy that is quite versatile, Box also comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Need proof? Depending on the number and size you have, Boxes can be turned into furniture or a kitchen playset. You can turn your kids into cardboard robots or create elaborate Star Wars costumes. A large Box can be used as a fort or house and the smaller Box can be used to hide away a special treasure. Got aStick? Use it as an oar and Box becomes a boat.

3.  String

You can use it to hang things from doorknobs or tie little siblings to chairs or make leashes for your stuffed animals. Use String with two Cans for a telephone (and teach your kids about sound waves), or with Stick to make a fishing pole. You’ll need String for certain games like Cat’s Cradle — there’s even an International String Figure Association for lots more information. String is a huge part of what makes some toys so fun — try using a yo-yo or a kite without String and you’ll see what I mean. Try the heavy-duty version of String (commonly branded Rope) for skipping, climbing, swinging from trees or just for dragging things around.

4. Cardboard Tube

Ah, the Cardboard Tube. These are kind of like the toy at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks — they come free with a roll of paper towels and other products but you have to wait until you get to the end of the roll before you can finally claim the toy. (Perhaps this explains why my kids — who love the small size — go through toilet paper so quickly.) The small- and medium-sized are most common, but the large versions that come with wrapping paper can be more difficult to obtain — I had a roll of Christmas wrapping paper that lasted about three years before my kids finally got the Tube. There’s also an extra-large size that is sometimes sold with posters, and a super-sized industrial version which you’ll generally only find from carpet suppliers. (Of course, carpet stores aren’t toy stores, and while their product also goes by the name Cardboard Tube it’s hardly the same thing and probably shouldn’t be considered a toy.)

5. Dirt

So what can you do with Dirt? Well, it’s great for digging and piling and making piles. We’ve got a number of outdoor toys in our backyard, but my kids spend most of their time outside just playing with Dirt. Use it with Stick as a large-format ephemeral art form. (Didn’t I tell you how versatile Stick was?) Dirt makes a great play surface for toy trucks and cars. Need something a little gloopier? Just add water and — presto! — you’ve got Mud!

(taken from http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/the-5-best-toys-of-all-time/all/1)

Inspiring, no?

I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon:

The child, in danger of the fire, just clings to the fireman, and trusts to him alone. She raises no question about the strength of his limbs to carry her, or the zeal of his heart to rescue her; but she clings. The heat is terrible, the smoke is blinding, but she clings; and her deliverer quickly bears her to safety. In the same childlike confidence cling to Jesus, who can and will bear you out of danger from the flames of sin.

Allow me to introduce the king and queen of Christmas tree decorating.

Please excuse the king’s expression. You’d be grumpy too if you were the king made to wear beads and garland.

Peter was the tailor who fitted the couple in their attire.

The tall, lean boy was given the task of lighting the tall, lean tree. In fact, the kids were solely responsible for the decorating of the tree this year.

This may not sound like a big deal, but let me share with you a little about my wonderful husband’s sentiment toward tree trimming when we were first married. He had very specific requirements for the tree: thousands of lights, big colored first, then little colored, then white; long, thin ornaments on the top of the tree (like icicles); beads; garland, no tinsel, wrapped around the tree. I could go on, but you get the idea.

So this year, the fact that he passed the baton to his children, with very little oversight, is quite significant.

They did a beautiful job, though not without some extracurricular Christmas light activities.

Later, Peter and Jeremy strung lights on the tree in their room:

Before digging in to the tree decorating, we found a great advent guide. I simply printed out the “family devotion” pages, we read the Bible passage they recommended and had a great discussion about the fact that God always keeps His promises.

There are a gazillion possibilities for establishing Christmas traditions as a family, but it really can be quite simple. There would be no reason to celebrate if there was no Christ who was born. Fix your eyes on Him. Everything else is extra.

Thankful Post #5

After being without reliable internet for a few days, I declare that I am thankful for the internet. I never thought I’d say it, but it’s true.

Additionally, the following pictures show what else I’m thankful for.

1. Smoked meat. In fact, just food in general. Jim and I were imagining with the kids the other night what life would be like if there was no variety in the area of food. Imagine eating the same thing every day, with little flavor. Good food is a gift! And we ate much over the weekend.

2. A grandpa who is spry enough to be THE one who carves the turkey each Thanksgiving. This year, his timing was such that as soon as he arrived, he made a beeline for the kitchen, put on the apron, took the electric knife my mom was holding out to him and began carving. The hellos came later.

3. Baby fixes. Never quite enough, but oh-so-sweet.

4. The kids’ table. We all had to serve time there as kids, right?

5. Generations. Four were represented in our family this weekend. This is a shot of some of the males.

6. Cousins, young…

and cousins old. The older cousins imparting wisdom into the younger ones. On this particular morning, Jackie was describing to the boys how to go whale-watching on Lake Michigan.

7. Trampolines. They help children expend energy and provide entertainment for adults.

I could go on. Actually, if I took the time to think about all the gifts I’ve been given, I could probably go on forever. But the theme that kept pressing on me was GOD’S GRACE.

Every one of these things I’m thankful for is totally, completely undeserved. I know very well what I deserve, but because of His great love, He has shown me grace. When I read about the woman who “sinned much” and, upon realizing who Jesus was, anointed his feet with expensive oil, wiped his feet with her hair, and made quite a scene with her affection, I can relate.

When the men in the room shamed her for her behavior, here is what Jesus said:

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

I have sinned much. And I have been forgiven much. Knowing this fact is the one thing which motivates me to be thankful in all circumstances, for all things. His grace is enough.

Thankful Post #4

God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night…Then God said, ‘Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. -Gen 1

Thankful for the beauty of creation–made by God and glorifying to God.

Also thankful for instruments that allow a closer look!

Thankful Post #3

Thankful for music! And fun songs about Bible characters.

What cracks me up is that this is one of Ruthie’s favorite songs, particularly the part when Jesus tells Zacchaeus to come down the tree.