Thank You

Thank you for making this chubby little man possible :)

Stephen, Judah, and I (Sylvia) want to say thank you to all of you who have and continue to support us through prayer, friendships, meals, finances, and the endless ways that we are constantly receiving love and support.  These first weeks of Judah's life have been filled with trials and joys as we adjust to the shape of our new family and learn to parent.  Everyone told us we'd wish there was a manual and you are all free to say "I told you so."  It certainly has gotten easier and our hours of sleep are increasing for the most part, but there are still days where it's hard to remember that.  Your support and encouragement are especially treasured on those days.  Thank you!!!!

The community group that meets in our home weekly has been faithful in lifting us up in prayer as we face new challenges and learning curves each week.  The frequent meals and bags of groceries that many of you have generously provided have allowed us to spend our time focusing on Judah and each other.  And it's been great to try new meals and not have to clean up!  The financial support has been such proof that God provides in ways we do not expect.  Thanks to each of you who have sacrificially given to our family so that we can continue to walk in the way God has called us.  And thanks to all of you who have come around us as friends and family, offering advice, babysitting, diaper changes, coffee dates, and so much more.  Staying away from isolation and living in community has been a huge encouragement.

As we move into the new year there will certainly be changes.  We are figuring out what it looks like for Sylvia to go back to work.  We plan to care for Judah between the two of us, so there will certainly need to be some shifting of schedules.  We are looking at whether Stephen can or should stay at Starbucks as Sylvia will need to be available for court many mornings.  Stephen is also feeling called away from serving as worship director at Lake Stevens Family Church.  Over time we've realized it is inappropriate to split a pastoral commitment between two churches, as one is always suffering from week to week and neither receive the total commitment deserved.  In light of this, we are making preparations for him to begin giving a significant number of music lessons to compensate for that income.  This will allow him to be free Sunday mornings to serve at our church and create more flexibility in his schedule as we look to care for Judah together.  Pulling back even further, we are praying specifically for a vision of what is in store and where to head in this next year as the internship comes to a close and we look to venture out into the next season. 


We cannot express our gratitude enough through these written words, but we hope the video below will help.  We love you all and hope you have a rest filled and peaceful Christmas.

 

A quick update to satisfy the masses

By popular demand...a few more photos:

 

 Last day with Grandma and Grandpa Seybold - a long walk around Greenlake.

Friends at first sight:

A friend my size!  The beautiful Kinsey Kowalski!

Thank you Joy for the delicious dinner, and Maya, for helping with the shelf ;)

In Michelle's cozy lap, I mimicked my mommy and stuck out my tongue for the first time!

And that's a wrap!

If anyone has any fantastic sleep tricks, send them our way and in exchange we promise to post more on the blog!

Making Friends

Judah has met a flurry of folks in his short 18 days of life so far.  Sadly, we haven't been diligent in snapping photos of all of them, but here are a few - enjoy!

Judah meets his West Coast Grandpa (and sleeps the entire time!)

And his cousin Loretta :)  He also met his Aunty Maria and cousin Julia.  Thanks for hanging out with us and cleaning the house! Oh, and for bringing such adorable clothes for him.

In this photo Judah is working hard to spread some baby fever to Laura.  Now we need to get Peter over to hold the sweet bundle and he'll have a playmate in no time!

And his proud and helpful East Coast Grandparents:

And last but not least...nap time with Daddy :)

Photos!

The Sweetest Boy in the Whole Wide World:

Claim your tie dyed masterpiece!

 

Thanks for the adorable hat Madeline!

Who made the "bull's eye" onesie?

 

 Baby sleeps while daddy works :)

 

Sporting the "Deep V"

 

 More to come soon!

...Coffee Date...

Judah wouldn't quite be a Seybold if his first outing, at 3 days old, didn't involve coffee.  Specifically, a Pumpkin Spice Latte...half-caf!!!  Mmmm....

Tummy Time!!!

Thought we may be greedy in monopolizing Judah's time, so we hope to start offering a few more glimpses into his world.  Starting with Judah's first tummy time!  He is one strong boy!  Takes after his daddy :)

Unto Us a Son is Given...

Hello new world! Introducing for the first time anywhere (online), Judah Edmund Seybold! When Judah was born, 10/8/2011 at 2:56pm on a sunny Seattle day in the comfort of our home, he weighed 7lb 15oz and measured 20" long. Our little baby boy is now 1.5 days old and full of wiggly energy. His proud parents are infatuated with his tiny details, for example, his cute face:

Judah's amazing birth story was so incredible its difficult to know where to start. Perhaps its best is introduce him to you simply and then unfold the story through several smaller posts, for your enjoyment and our sleeping benefit. Please be praying with us for Judah's development and future. Judah means "Praised" or "Let God be praised." We are so thankful for baby Judah; Let God be praised!

Tie Died Onsies!

Yesterday we had our baby shower here in Washington and decided to add a little West Coast flare.  Particularly, a lesson in tie dying:

The lovely shower hosts, Kyrsten and Michelle, planned a really great time with a legitimate chemistry lesson worked in.  There will be photos of tie dyed baby clothing in the near future so stay tuned!  Mom and Dad made matching baby outfits:

And a little practice :)

In other news, we've begun our weekly appointments with the midwives.  One of the recent developments was that somewhere along the line we had lost track of our due date.  Thus, a correction to our last post: the correct due date is actually October 5th!  Not a big change, but might as well set the record straight.  All positive reports so far as baby does the last bit of growing before coming to meet all of us!  

The Fall seems to be arriving here in Washington and personally, I'm pretty excited.  I've been lighting candles, bundling up, and enjoying the brisk air.  I anticipate this to be a very cuddly season.  There are a few drops of rain on the window as I type this and, contrary to my past reactions, I find myself welcoming this transition.

This week will also be the start of our first community group at our place.  Our church, Mars Hill (not the one in Michigan, but the one in Seattle), has a number of "community groups" that meet in various homes and neighborhoods throughout the city.  The goal is for the members of a group to really do life together - share struggles, joys, needs, gifts, food...  We have gone through the process to lead a group in our home and are excited to actually jump in this week.  We will meet weekly for a couple of hours and share a meal, our lives, our prayers, and discuss the week's sermon.  We are looking forward to it!

That's it for now!  Feel free to comment, email, or call and fill us in on you too!  

- Team Seybold

Here We Go!!!

Welcome to our family blog.  If you are reading this, you probably received our letter giving a little update on our lives and asking for your prayers and support.  We are grateful to have each of you in our lives and look forward to sharing with you.  We are committed in this adventure to being genuine and open with you here about our lives: struggles, joys, baby, and all that God is doing.  On that same token, we would love for you to share with us as well as we journey toward real relationships in our lives.  

Introductions aside, let's get to it!  Probably most often on our minds is the fact that we are less than 4 weeks to our due date!  (October 2nd).  The time has gone so fast!  As many of you know, we are planning a homebirth with our midwives and are trying to wrap up preparations in that regard.  Our hope is for the actual birth to happen in a nice relaxing tub of warm water in the comfort of our home.  The tub is rented, the midwives are on board, and we have met with a doula who will be present to assist in comfort as we journey through birth.  

In other news, Stephen is in full swing with his many spinning plates.  He wakes up around 4:30am and rides his bike to Starbucks for work.  I know, impressive.  Then he rides down to church for a few hours and gets home to get dinner on the table (...or something like that ;)).  I am gearing down to begin the transition out of the lives of my clients for a time.  The secret is certainly out as my belly tells all.  

In the meantime, we are striving to enjoy these last days as a couple before we add a new little member to the family!  We have been enjoying many mornings of fresh blackberry muffins or pancakes, veggies from our little porch garden, and the sunshine that seems to have just arrived here in Seattle.  

And of course...trying to cram in all the sleep we can get before our sweet little angel arrives.  It seems to be that time now.  We will keep you posted!  And would love to hear from you as well.  You know how to reach us!

Sweet Dreams,

Sylvia (and Stephen)