Ben's Basketball Game

Riding the pine

Ben's been playing basketball this year with the local recreational basketball league.  It has been the highlight of his fall and winter.  His team is currently 3-3.  Last weeks game was the most fun game to watch so far.  In the first half, they were up by 9 points.  His team was totally dominating the other team defensively and really winning the battle of the boards.  They were running their offense well and every time they sent the ball into the paint, they scored.

Then the second half . . . The other team came back and with just a few minutes to go, they were up by 1.  Our ringer, George, came down and scored to put us by one with less than a minute to go.  We stopped them on defense and all George had to do was dribble out the clock.

It was very intense.  Ben played a really well.  He scored and even got to the line to shoot two.

On a parenting note, I didn't have my best game.  I am a pretty vocal spectator. (Surprise, surprise!)  I know all of the boys names and cheer them all on.  I'm always positive.  I never talk to the refs.  They are high school kids who are just learning.  They get about 70% of the calls, sometimes intentionally.  If they called every double dribble and traveling, the game would go nowhere.  Well, at one point, Ben was taking the ball out and he passed it and the ball hit the back of the backboard (out of bounds).  The refs didn't call it and play continued.  At the next dead ball though they said it was out ball.  The opposing coach yelled, "It should be white ball, that was out of bounds when it hit the back of the backboard."  So I yelled fromt he other side of the court, "Let 'em call the game."  The coach looked right at me and said, "We've got to remind them sometimes."  Thankfully, that was the end of it.  I didn't say anything else.

We asked Ben and Caleb later if they were embarrassed by me at game.  They said no.  I hoping to keep my mouth shut a little more at this weeks game.

B-Ball Ben

Ben has started playing basketball this year with the local rec league.  It has been really fun to watch.  They lost their first game. (video below)  This past Saturday though, they won 21 to 12.  Ben was thrilled.

Sharp Dressed Men

These boys are becoming young men before our eyes.  It is a wonderful process and one that I am thankful that God has allowed me to be a part of.

My Boys

10 Years of Benjamin Donald

Ten years ago, we brought a little baby back to the residence hall at Calvin College.  He screamed nonstop for the first few weeks.  When ever he wasn't eating, his little stomach was gurgling and he was howling.  Once we got him on formula though, he changed over night.

Over the past ten years, he has grown into a wonderful young man.  He is really beginning to own who he is and it is a ton of fun to watch.  I have watched him recently really take on the role of oldest and most responsible in the family.  He is a lot like his dad, which I have apologized to him for more than once.

I am looking forward to how God draws you deeper and deeper into his love.  I pray regularly, like Paul did, "that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Ephesians 3:16-19

We love you, Benjamin.

First Day of School 2012

When mom is also teacher, it complicates things sometimes, especially when mom is recovering from a cesarean section.  It also simplifies certain things as well.  Getting all of the kids ready to start at the neighborhood school I think would have been pretty difficult over the last few weeks.  Today was the first day of school for us though.  Amanda started off slowly with just jumping into math today.  I will begin history on Thursday.  We'll see how things go.  

This year we added Molly, our fourth pupil to the Gammons home school.  She is very excited.  I asked her at lunch how it went and if she like it.  She said she loved it.  She said she has her own math book.

We look forward to another grace-filled year of educating our kids at home.  Amanda is amazing in her patience, strength and skill.  The class is full of great students.  You can see the class roster below.

Ben, almost 10-years-old, grade 5

Caleb, 8-years-old, grade 3

Matthew, almost 7-years-old, grade 1

Molly, 5-years-old, kindergarten

Lucy, 2-years-old

Nathan John, 3-weeks-old, diaper school

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ESV)

Big Brother, Little Brother

All of the kids have been very helpful since Nathan has come.  Ben has especially enjoyed toting him around in the Baby Bjorn.  Here are some pics.

Vids Party

The vids party originated at Brad's house as an excuse for Brad to be able to stay up late and play video games.  The recurring parties have been highlights for our boys.  This time around they went to Gregg's house.  As you can see it included some retro Nintendo, Wii and PS3.  According to Ben they were up until 12:30 AM.  What's better than hanging with your uncles playing vids and eating popcorn?

Ben=Gregg

Amanda saw this picture of Ben last night and said he looked just like Gregg.

What up, Craig?!

Summer Sports Co-op

For the last three summers the kids have enjoyed a home school summer sports co-op. Every Thursday night we get together with a bunch of other families and play baseball and soccer. It's not very serious, but the kids have fun. Here are some shots from last night.

Quotes: I helped.

When Amanda got back from the grocery store, she was impressed to find that the kitchen was spotless, everyone was dressed and that the dishwasher was even running.  Caleb was put in charge and did great.  Amanda said, "He's so much like your brother!"  Uncle Joe likes a clean kitchen too.  Caleb comes from a line of men who know how to help in the kitchen.

When I got home we were hanging out in the kitchen with Ben and I asked him if he helped at all.  He said,

"I helped.  I cleared my place and got dressed."

Ben is a little bit more like his dad.

Fat lip

Ben got a couple of fillings on Monday.  Because of all of the numbing, he bit his lip.  Now he's dealing with what you see below.

This was yesterday.  It's bigger today.  He's on some antibiotics though.  We'll hope he starts to feel and look better soon.

My Boys

Christmas '11

What happened to us this past Christmas.  I just looked back in the blog and I guess I just didn't post much.  So here's a few pics and comments.

Santa (Shube's builder) came to our house for Christmas. Lucy talked about how scared she was of him for weeks. "Santa.  SCAWEE!"

Ben decided it would be a good idea to make this face in most of his Christmas pictures.  A good time was had with the Nagel family this year at Christmas.

Fourth graders at our church get help in lighting the advent candles at Christmas time.  Ben did the midnight Christmas Eve service.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  He did great, but by the end he was pretty tired.

Our little Lucy Ruth turned 2 after this Christmas as well.  We are thankful for all of God's Christmas blessings.  

If you've ever been a grade school boy . . .

then you've spent a few evenings like this.



The boys have been hoopin' it up in their room a lot lately. Joe and I passed lots of time on our Nerf hoop in our bedroom. The technology has advanced bedroom basketball ages. No more orange spongy ball with a cardboard basketball. The hoop the boys just got is plexiglass with a blown up ball and everything.

BONUS POINTS:
Can you name the sound track?

First Skate at Providence Pond

The boys tried out the pond for the first time last weekend.  We are excited for what the winter will bring.

New skis

When my mom was here this fall, she got cross country skis for all the boys.  Today was our first day out.  It was great.  We are so thankful to live in a place where we can do this just outside our door.  The boys started on the driveway and once they got that down they headed into the back to break some trail.  When I watch the boys in situations like this, their personalities all stand out so prominently.  Matthew is our natural athlete.  He looked as if he had been skiing all his life, very fluid and effortless.  Caleb is quiet and determined.  He put his nose to the grindstone and got to work.  Ben started out complaining about the cold until he made it into a race with the other two.  Then his competitive side came out and he was off.  Molly, our sweet little girl, came out and stuck right next to Matthew.  They are best friends and it's fun to see how much she loves him.

We look forward to many more days of skiing at Providence Farm.  Thanks, Mom, for the skis.

The race is on.

And Ben is the winner.

See all the skiing photos here.

December

"The Assassination of Lincoln" by the Gammons Players

This is the kind of stuff you do when you're educated at home.  The boys were studying Lincoln's assassination.  Amanda sent me these photos of the kids' subsequent production.  I especially love the performance of the actress portraying Mary Todd Lincoln.

Tender Hearts

There have been tender hearts lately at our house.  The tender hearts are mostly in the men of our home.  When Ben had his birthday, I took him out for breakfast and when I was telling him all of the things that I loved about him and my hopes for who he would become, out came his tender heart.  Red eyes.  Little tears.

His tender heart came out later when we gave him his gifts.  He loved the little camera we gave him.  He said to me, "Dad, thanks for my camera.  It was my best gift."  Then red eyes, little tears, "Actually, my best gift . . . was you."  I hugged him hard, real hard.

Matthew's tender heart comes out all the time lately: when we were at breakfast together, when he told Gigi thank you for his 6 trip, when I thanked God for him at the dinner table, and many other times.

Caleb's heart is different.  His tender heart is out more when he's happy.  It looks like kissing me, telling me he loves me, and sitting close on the couch.  He longs for control, so it usually doesn't get too far down the tears road.

I just read Molly Piper's post about still missing her dead daughter Felicity four years after she was stillborn.  Tears welled.  I am glad when my tender heart peaks out.  It helps me know I'm still struggling.  When my heart becomes hard and there's no emotion, I know I need to get back in the fight for my soul.  I pray that each of my kid's heart remains tender.  It is a tilled soil that is ready for the gospel of Christ.  God promises to remove our hearts of stone and give us a heart of flesh.  A friend used to ask "When was the last time you cried?"  He used it as a measuring stick for how we were living.  I know tears come easier for some of us than others.  My grandma used to cry over Hallmark commercials.  I'm not sure I ever remember my dad crying.  More than the tears, I hope for the tender heart.  There are things in our world that should hurt us and things that should overcome us with gratitude.  I'm thankful for both and the tender heart that responds to each.

My Hope For My Boys

I have been very limited over the last year or more in my times of uninterrupted thought, times when I have energy to vision for myself and my family, to hope and ponder what God has for our future.  With life beginning to settle down, I am once again finding this gift.

Lately, I have been doing a lot of thinking about my boys and what I hope for their growing up years to be.  Ben is about to turn 9-years-old.  There's no turning back.  We're about to get in the thick of it.  Ben will remember everything from here on out.  Amanda is reading a book that my mom sent entitled Boys Should Be Boys by Meg Meeker.  I pulled the following from Amazon which said it was on the back cover.

* Why the most important factor in shaping your son's behavior isn't "peer pressure" (it's you)
* How to preserve your son's innocence (and why it's essential to help him grow up)
* Why boys need less, not more--whether it's computer games, organized sports, or lessons
* How to talk to your son--the pitfalls that moms and dads face
* Why it's not normal for teenage boys to be moody and rebellious
* Why teaching your son about virtue isn't an option, it's a necessity

Pretty much the gist of it is (from what Amanda has told me) that what boys need most is their fathers and to be pushed to be adventurous and given the time and freedom to take those risks.

I was talking with a good friend last week about this topic and about how when I was younger I had many fun and memorable experiences. Many of them were us getting into trouble. For instance, we used to drive around town with one of us on the roof of my parents Olds 88. They would lay across the roof and hold on. Anyone of us could have fallen off there and died. Probably not the best idea, but it was a great story to tell afterwards. I told my friend last week that I hoped that my boys would live lives that would lead to great stories that would also honor and glorify God.

I think one thing that has happened in the last four or so decades is a shift from fathers being the primary early influences on boys to mothers be that influence. Mothers naturally are more worried about the personal safety of the boys. How many of us have heard mothers (and even fathers now) say to their kids at a playground, "Johnny, careful or you're going to get hurt."? I want my boys to be put into situations where the worst thing that could happen to them is that they might get hurt or die. I think that boys are put and putting themselves into situation where the worst thing that could happen is for them to lose their souls.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

Mark 8:36

If your boy is downstairs on his computer all day, he's probably not going to get hurt.  But there's a good chance he could lose his soul.

One of my new favorite artists is Andrew Peterson.  The song below talks about boys living lives where there is a tale to tell.  This is the kind of life I hope for my boys.  This is why we moved to the farm.  This is why I push them to work.  This is why I push them to read amazing stories.  This is why I pray for them.  "The joy in the journey is enough to make a grown man cry."  Ben, Caleb, Matthew, I look forward to your telling the tales.