The JM Family Adventures exploring the beauty and wonders of Creation with inquisitive minds and open hearts, seeking Shalom in all we do.
Fall seems to be upon us! It was a perfect day in West Virginia for pumpkin patch pictures last Sunday. The Shanks graciously shared their pumpkins with us and Seb went to town exploring all of the pumpkins – big and small – around. There were some ginormous pumpkins around! And Sebbie even got to bring one home = one happy camper!
Our little tyke is getting not-so-little anymore. In fact, he’s running around all over the place keeping us on our toes. He has had a special announcement that he has wanted to share for awhile now, so I finally told him it was OK to spread the news! Check out his t-shirt, which tells all…
That’s right… Sebastian is going to be a big brother!!! He expects a special delivery around the end of February or beginning of March.
We’re very excited to share this news! I’ve been feeling great (except for being tired), and I’m incredibly thankful for that, because work has been absolutely, overwhelmingly crazy… and I wouldn’t have been able to do “work” had I been sick. Hallelujah!
We covet your prayers as I continue to grow this new life inside of me. Thanks for continuing to walk the journey with us. Love to all!
And… a poem from Tim, definitely worthy of sharing:
late in the month of Feb
we'll see another Seb
our family will grow this much I know
be it a boy or girl
we'll take either for a whirl
the ride is sure amazin'
even if sometimes hair raisin'
we certainly are not pros
yet our wisdom each day grows
resting on each other and God
our heads bow, wobble and nod
Our dear friends, Jennifer Gwen & Seth James, got hitched in Portland. We were honored to attend their lovely ceremony in a beautiful setting – a gorgeous estate turned into gardens, endless fields of blackberries, a golf course, and a gazillion different places to eat and lodge.
And of course the bride was as stunning as ever.
The next day we went on a group hike in a nearby park/arboretum. The weather was gorgeous – hot for Portland, but just right for us, with no humidity, which was such a treat, compared to what we had left at home.
The tales of our trip would not be complete without showing you all what Sebastian found most entertaining about our hotel room in Portland:
Here are my two favorite boys:
All three of us…
It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, but we had a great time, were thankful for a little getaway, and enjoyed ourselves. Sebastian even survived the non-stop, almost six hour plane ride across the country. He did amazingly well adjusting to the time change, while his parents struggled a bit to stay up late at night and not get up so early in the morning. If only a 4 day trip could have been a week or 10 days! Maybe next time… :)
Congrats to Jennifer & Seth! We love you guys! Mua!
Isaac & Lauryn came to visit Grandma Judy & Papa Roy for a whole week this summer. This was the first time that Lauryn came along – Isaac was kind enough to share his grandparents with his sister. They had a week full of activities with their grandparents, and they patiently waited for a chance to see their favorite cousin, Sebastian! They got to go to a petting zoo, which they enjoyed, and Sebastian (of course) was totally fascinated by the animals. He couldn’t get close enough!
Despite my mixed feelings about petting zoos in general, it was great fun to watch the kids be so joy-filled as the animals took food right from their hands. The one thing that nearly drove me bonkers, though, was that a family showed up with a huge bag of cereal that they were feeding to the animals… instead of the animal feed that was available for 25 cents at the farm. Ugh! I guess they had some difficulty reading and understanding the signage. I feel sorry for them, but more so for the animals (even though the animals didn’t seem to mind the different flavors).
Here’s some shots of the kiddos enjoying their day:
We were approached by a friend of mine, MMS, who invited us to serve as the “Program Coordinators” for an experiential learning service trip to Nicaragua for students from Allegheny College. It seemed like a no-brainer when she asked. I heart Nicaragua in a huge way, and I’m pretty sure that Tim’s love for the country is growing with more and more experience there… and of course Sebastian was eager to see the place where his parents “found” his name. So, we packed up our bags and all the baby gear we thought we’d need for 11 days and headed to Nicaragua.
We made our way to Houston, where we met up with a group of 20 students from Allegheny College – 17 women and 3 men, most of whom are pre-health students. They were an outstanding group of young adults – interested, committed, concerned and full of energy and enthusiasm (I had forgotten what kind of energy you have when you’re 20 years old!).
Our purpose in Nicaragua was to work with Project Chacocente, a non-profit organization founded by a gringa who had visited the dump of Managua – La Chureca – and decided that she needed to do something to help out. She purchased a plot of land with the idea that her organization would assist families living and working in La Chureca to relocate and build sustainable housing, a school, income-generating businesses, and healthy lifestyles. Several families were selected to move to Project Chacocente, about an hour’s drive from the dump, and they committed to working in the community for a minimum of 5 years, after which time their houses and plots of land would become theirs. In 2010, the community has grown to 8 families.
We worked on three main projects while were at Chacocente…
The first project was building a computer lab for their local school. We did it all by hand from carrying the cement blocks to mixing the cement to laying the blocks and cutting rebar and wire reinforcements.
The second project was digging a septic tank for the toilets at the school. Currently they are using latrines, but they needed something deeper, with larger capacity. So we partnered in digging 20 feet down. It sure gets tough to breath when you’re down that deep underground! And yes, we did this all by hand…
And the third project was splitting and digging up plantain trees and transplanting them into new holes that we dug – again, by hand – in order to space them out better with the hopes that it would produce a better crop.
Lots of sweat and sore muscles were poured into these projects. Our students worked side by side with the folks from the community and didn’t complain about the scorching heat or their tired, achy bodies. They made us all very proud, and we were honored to share in this experience with them.
More to come on our adventures in the Motherland… poco a poco!
After a wonderful two weeks in Nicaragua we returned home with a day to finish planning and preparing for Seb’s big 1st birthday party. We are so grateful for super family and friends that pulled together to help us pull it off…especially since I was still in the midst of Monteczuma’s Revenge!
We gathered at the Pavilion at my parents’ church; it was a gorgeous day and we had lots of activities for everyone to enjoy and no one went hungry.
Although the birthday boy was a bit uncertain about birthday cake in Nicaragua, by the time he had his second chance, he was convinced it was a good thing. This is what he started with (mommy snuck in a blueberry muffin and decorated it with frosting and sprinkles):
which turned into this…
which turned into this…
and then this….
and finally this…
Our little tyke is getting to be such a big boy! Thanks to all for sharing in our special day for Sebastian. We were so glad to celebrate with our dear family and friends!
I hope to post a slide show or photo album soon to give you a glimpse of many of the happy faces at the party.
Sebastian had his first trip to the Big Apple, NYC, last weekend. He did marvelously well. I’m sure it helps that we spent time with great friends, “Tia” Jennifer and “Tio” Seth, who love & adore him and are just so great to be with. We had a fabulous time checking out the sites, hanging with our dear friends, eating fantastic food, and quadruple parenting Seb for the weekend. It’s super special to be able to spend time with friends who are invested in not only our lives, but also the life of our baby, and care for him as if he were their own. Sea Bass (as they call Sebastian) had a wonderful time, misses you guys tons, and says “thanks and I love you!”
Here’s my peeps on the Highline, a very cool walkway of sorts, created on old elevated train tracks. See how they’re all loving on my baby?! What a warm fuzzy vibe they emit.
No pun intended on the cool bit… it was incredibly windy! 
And even a little time for family photos…
and some mommy and daddy smoochin’ time. Sebbie didn’t seem to mind – he’s too preoccupied with Jennifer’s sunglasses.
Sea Bass was fascinated by Seth & Jennifer’s attempts at Super Man stunts…I think they’re practicing for a special routine for a special event! :) And I don’t imagine it will be too far off before Seb is trying some stunts on his own!
Our little guy still got his naptime in while we were in NYC (hooray!). He was pretty tuckered out by all the excitement going on, and took naps each day in the Ergo Baby Carrier – which we were borrowing, thanks to Rachel. We were doing a trial of Ergo baby wearing before we take the plunge and make the purchase for our upcoming trip to Nicaragua. Sebastian was quite content!
We often comment on how much work it seems to take to get us ready to get out the door and go away somewhere. But once we’re on our way and THERE, it all seems so very worth it.
Good times.
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