Kasaan and Cousins

Virginia is for Lovers

Bird, Kasaan and I flew to Virginia last week to interview to serve at Commonground Christian Church in Fredricksburg, VA. The weekend was amazing. We knew we were in the right place with each new conversation. A couple days after flying home we were offered the job and with glad hearts we accepted. It is hard to believe that we will be leaving our dear friends and especially those we have made at Harbor of Hope. We will be moving the first week in January and will be starting down there soon after. The church is 50 minutes from Bird's family and for that we could not be more excited. Just to see Kasaan play with all his cousins last week, people who love him so much was the best thing for us.

Please pray for us as we transition. For those of you who know us well...this chance to serve God is what we have been preparing for for years. Pray that God will give us wisdom to be used radically for him. Commonground is a young church with tons of vision. Vision for mission, vision for the hurting. It could not be a better fit for all of us. Thank you God.

Bird took the pic of this church just minutes from our house here in Lawrence.

Happy Birthday Kasaan!

On November 17th Kasaan turned one year old. Don't let the smile fool you. He wouldn't go in the tunnel for anything.

I don't know why but anytime Veggie Tales is on the DVD the dude goes nuts. He loves Bob and Larry. So Margaret not only made an amazing cake she also put together an amazing menu filled with Asian noodles, Spinach dip, I made iced lattes, we had home made cookies, cupcakes, and an amazing fruit tart.

So many of Kasaan's friends came over but his best friend Emma who lives with us in the house had no problem showing him what to do with that cake. I could not believe it. Margaret spent so much time perfecting Bob and Larry and then when we put the thing in front of him he wouldn't touch it. Grandma Jennings would be proud. NO SUGAR!! He literally didn't know what to do with it. He hated the feel of it on his hands and the chocolate you see on his lips is from us trying to encourage him that it was the most delicious thing he had ever put in his mouth. Anyway the kid loves Italian he loves meat, he loves yogurt and this cake stuff is too much. Honestly he didn't eat one bite. So I gave him a doughnut so he could fit in with Emma. The chocolate that you see on him was mostly from Emma giving him some love pats.

So many of our friends came over the celebrate with us. We had a limbo contest, we had an apple bobbing contest and we had a cider doughnut eating contest. It was a great day. Kasaan would like to say thanks to all who helped make his day so special.
This kid is just happy to see all his friends. We had so much fun and he better not forget it. Ha!

Baby Steps

It has been a long time since I have written from my heart. Not that the posts over the last year have been mindless babble but more that I have been guarded and not allowed my words to be vulnerable. It has been a hard year for family and I truly believe I am learning to walk at the same time as Kasaan. As he moves away from the couch and into the center of the room I am moving away from the infancy of my own closed mind. There was once a man in me who knew how to drink deep of the morrow of life. The last couple years, I admittedly have forgotten how to walk. Maybe its the accusation to Paul in me, "too much study has made you mad." Maybe it's the cold of Boston or maybe, just maybe its a weak theology of joy. I have allowed things to be too serious too often. I am guilty of too much advocacy and have neglected the simple things. Baby steps I'm telling you. Back to the laughter, back to the jokes, back to the smiles. When I was 18 months old I was diagnosed with spinal meningitis and had to learn how to walk all over again as a toddler. The last 4 years have taken a different kind of toll on my body and here I find myself learning to walk all over again. Walking in laughter. Taking myself way less serious. Trusting God's work and taking my little ministry way less serious. And if my progress truly is in line with Kasaan's physical abilities; I'll be running by summer.

Drumlin Farm!

Thanks to some of our great friends we had a fabulous day at Drumlin Farm. A farm where injured wild animals are brought to get rehibilitated and then sent back into the wild. Brian and Andrea Cutler work there and made our visit so speical . They took us back stage to see a giant turtle, a rabbit, and a skunk. We had so much fun. Oh my the Owls. How beautiful. That was our favorite animal. Oh yeah, one more great shot from Halloween.

Walking? What!

This kid has been walking every day for the last two weeks and he is so proud of himself. He you see him carrying his little lamb (which we named David) back to mommy. A little game of fetch. I throw David on the bed, you walk to him get him and walk him back to me. He is loving it. It also helps with sleep at night. By 7 o'clock his is so tired.

In and around Halloween!

Bird turned 23 on September 17th and we decided to celebrate at our new favorite restaurant. Italian of course. We had such a great day. We hiked Mt. Monadnock, ate pancakes, and ate eggplant parm! So lately we have been figuring out what the heck are we going to do for money and so I started back up at Starbucks a couple of weeks ago. I'm enjoying the coffee shop but of course its not what the next 10 years hold for us. But for now its working. Bird started working in the ER at Lowell General and is doing that 3 days a week. I'm at the coffee shop the other three days and we are able to avoid childcare that way. It works for us. So one of Bird's best friends in the whole world flew in from Cali last week and they were able to spend a wonderful day together. Janelle Lemons was a part of Bird's Bible study at the seminary and they have something very special. Janelle celebrated Kasaan with us on Halloween as we took him to a local church to hang out.

Bird 100% made Kasaan's costume even down to sewing the name on the front and back of the jersey. If you've ever seen the Green Monster for the Boston Red Sox his name is Wally. Kasaan is our little green monster, born in Boston, and totally lovable. I'm was so amazed at Bird's skill--that girl can do anything with her hands. I wish I was half as artsy.

It was a wild day. By the grace of God we were saved from hitting a dear on the highway, we were 2 hours late to the Halloween party, we dropped Janelle off near Bunker Hill at a friends, so we just drove up to see the historic spot, I mean a jam packed day. And we loved it. Kasaan didn't love the party that much--the music was too loud and he didn't know any o the kids so he clung on to me for dear life. He's like that Monster from Monster's Inc. Totally spooked by stuff.

By the end of the night he was exhausted and fell asleep in the car. Good thing mom is not scared of little monsters she just scooped him up and put him to bed.

Catching up with Great Friends

Anthony, Candy, and Isabelle Cravaritis were able to stop by for a quick visit while we were in Virginia. Anthony and I were on staff together at New Life Christian Church and roommates for a while before we both got married. Being able to see them and meet their sweet baby girl was huge highlight for us.

Uncle Eddie making Kasaan Feel Much Better

Crabbing with Aunt Birdie

Sick Boy

Family Vacation!

When you plan a trip to the beach all you think of is the tan, the breeze, the relaxation, the naps in the shade. Yes, we got all of that but we are parents now and you just can't plan for much anymore. With 13 people in a two bedroom beach house we crammed as much fun, games, food, and sun as you can in just a few days. Kasaan got to hang out with all his cousins on Bird's side including the newest addition, Eddie and Paula's son Mason. What an answer to prayers that kid is! Kasaan's first day on the beach he was as chill as we have ever seen him. We kept telling Kathy and mom, "This is not like Kasaan to be so cuddly."

That night he was up all night, screaming and keeping the whole house awake. The next day we took him to the ER where Bird was too sick to even come in...she slept in the car while KJ and I spent a couple hours in the hospital. It turned out that he had just the mouth part of hand, foot and mouth. He had big sores in the back of his throat and he was just miserable. Margaret was no better. She was exhausted and in tears with pain from a migraine. When we got home from the hospital I had two sick kids on my hands. Lois took great care of Bird and I did my best to care for Kasaan.

Oh wait it gets better. We left the beach on Sunday to go back to Northern Virginia from Delaware. It is normally a three hour drive but since it was my 31st birthday we were handed a different adventure. The Bay Bridge sits between the beach and home and on that Sunday morning there was a tracker trailer that went over the bridge. It was a horrible tragedy causing hours of delay. My entire birthday was spent in the car. 10 hours later we arrived at home just in time to go to bed. 10 hours int he car with a sick kid. Lilly was amazing though and she brought so much joy to all of us in the car.

The Maine thing about Acadia...

Is being with our friends. My favorite thing in Maine was not the view from Cadillac Mountain or Jordan Pond (if you get to Acadia this is a must) but hearing the little ones squeal with laughter, watching them pick blueberries, and leaping on the rocks in the lake. Our neighbors are studying at GCTS from Korea and they are always looking to experience "American traditions". We have grown close to them and they have seen us at our worst as new parents, both of us in tears with no clue what to do next. I'm so thankful for their friendship, God's timing is always amazing, Yoori and I both needed a friend and he provided the perfect fit.

"Dad, I'll show you how to do this one!" This was such a fun trip for me. As a little girl my family went camping almost every summer. This was only Gregg's second camping trip and you would of thought he had grown up camping too. He made great fires morning and night and scouted the forest for fallen wood. The meals were amazing and our neighbors made one of our favorite Korean meals bulgogi. We realized Gregg's tent from his single days doesn't seem as big with his whole family now. He' s a quick learner (or it could of been our fat Rand McNally road map he found in the car as a fire starter). We had great fires morning and night and they were as Max always says, "hotter than blue blazes."

Kasaan's First Chicken Fight!

It was really a David and Goliath story from the beginning that ended up being a disqualification on both children for not knowing the rules. Bird and I took a weekend trip up to Tilton, NH sometime in the last two month I really don't even know when it was but it was just the best. Our dear friends Julie and Alex live there and they invited us up for the weekend. We ate greasy pizza they took us to a great place or blueberry pancakes and then the whole Cutler family came up for a BBQ. Friends, relaxation, and water a great recipe for the Jennings.

We stayed at a mansion that sits on the Tilton Academy property. The old house combined with the beautiful gardens and small town feel was so nice.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if I'm really living this dream. God has blessed me with such a beautiful wife and the world's happiest, smiliest, baby. But it is hard to tell this kid is still a baby. His personality has come into full bloom and he is all energy and all smiles.

Way behind we know, so we'll start where we left off: The 4th of July

Living at the seminary would not have been half the experience it was without our wonderful neighbors. Today we had lunch with them on the hill but on the 4th of July we treated our friends Kwang and Yoori to a beautiful display of fireworks on the beach. Kasaan wasn't quite sure what to think of it all but we made some great memories.

I know this is a weird pic to love but holding our son close as he was a little trembly was really special. He relaxed in my arms and enjoyed the fire in the sky.

Kwang and Yoori's girls Hannah and Yannah screamed for joy as they saw the night sky light up. We had such a good time!

Mommy's Canvas

Bird has always been amazing at creating art out of just everyday stuff. So many of the things in our house or on our Christmas Tree have been her creations. As Kasaan gets older it looks like he is going to have his dad's crazy hair. When others would see this as an opportunity to mourn and wail, Bird saw it as an opportunity for art.

30 Hour Famine

I could not be more proud of our students. 15 teens raised a combined total of $3,700 dollars to help fight global "hungy". Unfortunately that is my handwriting and not Livy's. My grandpa would have said, "Buy you books and buy you books and what do you know?" Olivia laughed so hard at my mistake she absolutely loved it. She stood out in the rain for over an hour, advertising to the world that we are doing our part to make a difference. Even if we don't know how to spell.

In Case of Brain Farts.

The Underground Family

Last night at youth group was one of the most difficult nights of our life. For nearly four years we have served the students of Harbor and have loved each one of the students for who they are. We have seen kids grow to teens and skeptics grow into disciples. Bird and I have made the tough decision to move from Boston and telling the students last night was almost more than I could take. Until moving to New England I had never done student ministry before and I have such a respect and gratitude for the role and for these kids. They have taught me so much over the years and I love them so much. Last night through tears and sobs one of our girls said, "Gregg you can't go...you are like my third dad." She made us all laugh and we needed that release. So with the five weeks we have left with these guys we have decided to make the most of it. Lunches, movies, barbecues, swim parties, hang out, laugh, live, and love. Thank you Underground for making our life over the last 4 years such a joy!

One Smiley Baby!

Kasaan just never stops smiling. He loves people so much and finds so much joy in being around new and exciting faces.

Rice Cereal Yum/Yuk?

Not Your Average Joe's

With the G-Rents!

Reading Some New Books!

Among Friends!

Our Little Family

Graduation 2008!

After 3 1/2 years of classes, one mission to Spain, a 45 page dissertation, church-wide prayers to get me through Greek and Hebrew, the diploma's are finally in hand. Praise be to God to my three biggest encouragements throughout the entire process. If it weren't for my wonderful wife and my amazing parents I never would have been able to get here. The ceremony was Christ-Centered just like our education, and we all enjoyed it. I never thought it would be here but wow, what a feeling to be done. Thanks to anyone and everyone who encouraged me along the way, who prayed for us and who supported us.

Welcome Grandpa and Grandma Jennings

I'm just sitting here waiting for you guys! I really don't care about Daddy's graduation I just want to see you. So welcome back to Boston--don't worry I'm really a Cardinals fan, the hat is just so the other kids don't laugh at me!
Love, Kasaan

I'm not sure why but Kasaan has hated church. On Good Friday I heard him yelling outside the sanctuary while I was preaching and could barely go on knowing that my kid was screaming. Of course everything was fine he just wanted to eat more but when it's your kid things are just different. However, the last couple Sunday's he has been great. He is sleeping less and that helps out with his happy attitude, not having to go down in my office. Here he is a couple weeks ago, happy as a lark.