The Jones 8 and our little entourage made our way back to Riverbend Church yesterday to kick off the diaper drive they are hosting for us this month.  Man, it was great to be back!  We are really looking forward to the day when we can make more regular Sunday morning appearances, but yesterday made it clear that we are not quite ready for that!  It took four adult helpers (thank you, Stevie, Michelle, Tricia, and Avery!) to help get The Fab Five primped, prepped, stuffed, and buffed for their big appearance on stage!  Imagine getting five babies bottled, changed, dressed, fed breakfast, calmed, and buckled into their car seats in a little less than an hour and then you can imagine why it took so much help…and oh yeah, me, Casey, and Eliot still had to manage to get ready at the same time..aaaaagggghhhh!!  In spite of the chaos, the event went great – Riverbend is always so good to us!  We skipped their morning naps, but the babies did not seem to notice (no meltdowns and no crying on stage!) and Eliot played the role of Superstar Big Sis better than ever!

The Entourage and The Fab Five

Britton Plays Peek-A-Boo While Ryan Blows Kisses

We are so grateful to Riverbend Church and the generosity of the congregation for making this happen for us!!  We are proud to be associated with a church home that puts its faith into action all across Austin and around the world.  Here are some of the other outreach programs Riverbend and its members did during 2009……

• 10,000 meals served to the homeless and poor across Austin by Riverbenders, with a goal to more than double that 2010.
• 3,000 underprivileged children received Christmas gifts that might not otherwise have, thanks to the generosity of Riverbend’s congregation.
• Over 450 volunteers serve all across Austin in September.  Riverbend’s 30/30 project (30 service projects in 30 days) touched the lives of thousands of Austinites.
• 8 trips to Reynosa Mexico by Riverbenders, helping our neighbors across the border who struggle with no running water or electricity.
• Teams of Riverbend volunteers provide meals, school supplies and encouragement to families, students and teachers in some of Austin’s most challenging public schools.
• Exploratory service and outreach trips to Guatemala, El Salvador, Uganda and Rwanda, as the Missions team researches a possible 3^rd world serving opportunity where our people can use their time, talent and treasure to make a difference in this world.

Riverbend’s motto is this:  We exist to allow others to experience God’s love and grace, both on our campus and off our campus, reaching out especially to those who are bruised, battered, broken, and bored, and are looking for help and searching for something more.  We have been members of this church for seven years now and it has been so awesome to join this church community in living out its commitment to Christ’s principles.  I never would have guessed that we would have a need to experience first-hand, but now I cannot imagine how we could have gotten along without it!

For more information on the diaper drive, click here:  Riverbend Diaper Drive.

Getting Primped Backstage

Here’s a quick update on the Fab Five from their nine month visit to the pedi last week…

– Brooklyn Faith:  16 pounds, 4 ounces, 30%; 27 inches, 75%
– Britton Grace:  13 pounds, 8 ounces, 3%; 24 inches, 3%…I told you she was tiny!!
– Jack William:  19 pounds, 8 ounces, 45%; 27 inches, 25%, and oh yeah, 90th percentile for head circumference…he still has some balancing out to do!
– Lila Addison:  16 pounds, 8 ounces, 45%; 26 inches, 25%
– Ryan Elizabeth:  16 pounds, 9 ounces, 45%; 26.5 inches, 50%

All of the babies are as healthy as can be and are developing as well as most full term, 9-month-olds.  The only developmental skill they were lacking was in the ability to pick things up with their fingers, every other milestone was checked off the list!  Thank you all for your prayers that helped to make this a reality!!!

The picture above is a sneak peek of the photos we got from our photo session yesterday at Mayfield Park, close to downtown Austin.  The babies had a great time at the park while completely ignoring the utter chaos swirling around them as we tried to get the perfect picture of the less than blissful moment!  Between me, Casey, Eliot, the photographer and a friend of hers, and our go-to helper, Tricia, I think we managed to make it happen.  Everyone was completely wiped out after an hour and a half of whooping, squeaking, jumping jacks, songs, smiles, and any other trick we could think of to get five 9 month-olds to look at the nice lady with the camera, but it was FUN, and you guessed it, CRAZY!!!

God Bless,
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net

Alright, the original three are headed south again for another mini-vacation. Casey, Little Miss Sunshine, and I are headed to San Antonio in about one hour to begin our trip!! We are headed to the Riverwalk tonight for some good mexican food, a couple margaritas, and a good amount of sweating in the August heat. Tomorrow, Six Flags Fiesta Texas is the destination for some roller-coaster riding, water parking, and more sweating in that danged ol’ August heat!!! We come back Saturday to a house full of babies, volunteers, and grandmas and grandpas (and hopefully escape that crazy Texas heat)!! Thank you to Tricia and the Harrison family along with all of the incredible “helpers” (that’s what Eliot calls the baby volunteers) who are making this trip possible!!!!

And then the big event, the moment we’ve been waiting for since it was scheduled in early June – the babies’ dedication to the church happens this Sunday! I cannot begin to express how excited we are about this day!! Not only will it be our first real venture out into public with the entire family, it will be the Fab Five’s first appearance at Riverbend Church which has been such a strong supporter of our family during this incredible time. We will all be up onstage for both services, 9:45 and 11:15, along with our superstar volunteer, Tricia Harrison, to introduce the family. The service will also include a couple of cool little extras prepared by the Riverbend staff…very exciting!!!!!

I feel a little bit out of place (in other words, a little girly) commenting on this next aspect of the day, but I have to mention what the babies will be wearing for the big show. A high school friend of Granda Bill’s, Beth Lewallen, made dresses for the girls and a suit for Jack out of Casey’s wedding dress…seriously, that is really cool!! The dresses are absolutely adoreable, Jack will be looking totally dapper, and I am pumped because I no longer have to lug that silly dress around every time we move!! Ok, really, what a great idea! On top of that, she included a monogrammed handkerchief for all of the babies – and one for Eliot, too – to be worn in their own weddings…like 40 years from now! And then on top of that she also made a pillow out of the gown’s bodice to be used to by the ring bearers in each of their weddings…which will all happen at least a year or two after I am dead and gone!! Huge, GINORMOUS thank yous to Beth for doing this for us!!!!!

So come on out for a wonderful, happy time in celebration of these five little miracles as we dedicate them to the care of the church and as we dedicate ourselves to raising them up in a Christian home! We loved the experience of doing this for Eliot when she was a baby and really value the symbolism and importance that this event will hold in our lives as a family!!

God Bless,
Ethan
http://www.joneslife.net/