Isaac’s 1st Birthday

Isaac celebrated his 1st birthday on Tuesday!  We had a birthday meal followed by cake for dessert. Isaac really enjoyed the cake (as you can see from the photos!) He ended up with his tummy smeared with jam and cream and went straight into his bath!

As we look back over the year since Isaac was born we have so many things to be thankful to the Lord. Our time in the USA was very special and we would love one day to go back and visit all our friends.

We are currently in the middle of a 10 week block of travelling around the UK each weekend to visit churches and for Matthew to preach. We are now getting adjusted to the travelling, although it is tiring, particularly for the boys. We really need the Lord’s wisdom and strength as we think about our future and where He would have us serve. Matthew is working full time during the week and is trying to juggle/balance work, family and sermon prep!

Noah started playgroup in September and goes 3 mornings a week. He loves being there and has made a lot of friends already. He particularly enjoys playing outside in the sand pit and on the tricycles

Isaac can now stand and pull himself along the sofa (or anything close by!) and I don’t think he is too far off walking. Naomi takes him swimming once and week and he loves it, and seems to have no fear! He loves playing with Noah and getting into mischief! Yesterday I found that he and Noah had raided my pantry and eaten a large number of snacks!!

Naomi has started helping out with a mums’ and tots’ group run by the church, which meets every Thursday morning. It can get quite busy (!) but is a great way to meet other mums. She also goes along to a church ladies’ meeting, which is a good way to keep in contact with friends from our home church (whilst we are away on Sundays).

I’ve uploaded some pictures of Isaac’s birthday and other things that we’ve done since August.

Back in the UK

We have now been back in the UK for almost 2 months. We have unpacked all our boxes and our house now has some order to it! We are enjoying being back in our own home, and having family nearby. Almost every day Noah asks if he can go and see grandma and granddad!  Isaac has recently started crawling and can pull himself up to stand, although he usually chooses something unstable to hold on to! He is also very interested in Noah’s toys (particularly the ones he is playing with) and so Noah is becoming very protective, and trying to find safe places  for them where Isaac can’t get to.

The boys are enjoying having a back garden including a trampoline and sand pit and we often play outside (if its not raining, which is something we are having to get used to!).

Matthew has  started preaching at various churches who have ministry positions available. We’d value your prayers for safety as we travel and also as Matthew preaches. We need wisdom as we see where the Lord would have us serve. Please also pray for the boys – Noah has now  realised that we are not in York on vacation, and he has been very unsettled the last couple of weeks, although he has improved a lot He gets a bit confused when we go to a different church and keeps asking when we are going back to ‘our church’ at Grace Bible!

We have just enrolled Noah into a local play group and from September he’ll be there 3 mornings a week. They do lots of things outdoors and get very muddy, which is just what Noah will enjoy! It will also be a good way for him to make friends, along with those from our home church in York.

Matthew is working for his parents at the moment, doing a number of projects including building a garden shed and re doing a bathroom. He is enjoying doing some manual work for a change, and being outside

Naomi has now got the house in reasonable order and she and the boys visited her parents for a few days in August.  She is also arranging visits with friends to renew old friendships and make new ones.

Noah’s 3rd birthday was August 9th and a few Saturdays later he had a number of friends around for a party. He thoroughly enjoyed having so many children to play with and they all found it great fun to run around the house chasing each other! Matthew’s dad had also planned a couple of surprise parties for Matthew’s mum (whose birthday was also in August). One of them involved a Ceilidh (pronounced ‘cay – lee’) a type of barn dance with a small band, which was great fun!  Naomi’s parents also came over to visit last week and her dad helped cut down a monster bamboo plant that had taken over the bottom of the garden!

We’ve included a few pictures of the boys and our house here.

Final Days

We have 4 days left before we arrive in England – we fly Wednesday July 1st and arrive on Thursday. The weeks since Graduation have flown by – we have now sold everything we wanted to and have given the rest away to friends at church. Our apartment is beginning to look bare and every so often Noah starts to get worried and ask why people are taking our things away! Its a hard concept for him to grasp and we would appreciate your prayers particularly for him and Isaac as they adjust to a new home and friends etc.

Last week we were able to go to the San Diego County Fair, which was an experience!! It was held at Del Mar Race Course and had a variety of food (particularly Texan BBQ) – one food stall had a recorded jingle that started out “if your bellybutton is gnawin’ at your backbone, then come on down to Juicy’s”!!! There were lots of rides, market stalls and demonstrations, a barn full of prize animals, food competitions, a pie eating contest and (our favourite) a turkey stampede!! The showmen filled a large remote-controlled truck with feed and then they let the turkeys loose to chase after it! It was very funny to watch We walked past a field where they were giving elephant rides, and saw a sign advertising a FREE trapeze ride…but it cost you $10 to climb the ladder! I’ve included some photos of the fair and other things that we’ve done in our last month.

We were also able to go to our church’s annual Family Camp, which is held on Palomar Mountain (the highest mountain in southern California). Apparently each year they have very hot weather, but this year we spent the majority of the weekend in and out of a cloud! It was freezing cold but lots of fun Phil Johnson from Grace Community Church spoke on the man born blind from John 9. It was a lovely time of fellowship and we were so glad to be able to go this year.

Last week we had a GBC tenants and neighbours’ BBQ at our apartment which was a lot of fun. During term time things are so busy that its not often possible to have a proper relaxing get together and I think it was only the second time we’ve all been able to be together. We will miss these friends so much and have been really blessed by them, and by living in the church apartment.

Matthew helped out at the annual IBCD Biblical Counselling Conference this week, which is based at our church. He is preaching at both morning services tomorrow and we will be saying our last goodbyes to our friends from church. It will be sad to leave – we have made so many good friends and learnt so much from them and our pastor and his wife, but we are looking forward to coming home and seeing how the Lord leads us. 

We will go back to our house in York, and Matthew will be looking for work during the week and then preaching at various churches at the weekends. 

We would value your prayers for our final few days and particularly our journey home, this time with two children! We fly direct to Heathrow and so have been able to minimise some of the travel process – pushing 2 carts of 7 suitcases plus hand luggage, 2 car seats and then a double stroller will be interesting!!

Thank you for all your prayers and emails over these past 2 years – we have appreciated them so much and look forward to seeing you all soon!

Here is the link to the photos.

Graduation!

Matthew’s graduation ceremony was held on Saturday morning and he now has an M.A. in Biblical Studies! On Friday evening we went to a ‘dessert reception’ held at the seminary for the graduating students, their friends and family, the seminary faculty and trustees. The students were introduced, five students gave a brief speech on their experiences at Westminster and Dr. Hywel Jones gave the charge to the graduates. Saturday was the official graduation ceremony and it was lovely to see so many of our friends come and support

We had to leave fairly early on after the ceremony and photos as a couple came to look at our car… and bought it!! This has been such an answer to prayer and we thank the Lord for His kindness. During the afternoon we visited our pastor and his wife – watching the FA Cup Final and it was great to spend time with them, and to relax (which we haven’t been able to do very often these past few weeks!)

It will be nice to have a slightly slower pace of life now although we have thoroughly enjoyed our years at seminary. We have sold virtually all of our furniture and are planning on spending time with our friends in the last few weeks we have left. Matthew will also be preparing sermons and doing all the paperwork etc needed to make the transition back to the UK.

I’ve uploaded pictures of the graduation here.

Naomi, Noah and Isaac went to a new park for our last park day, complete with a water play area and the children loved it! Half of the regular park day ladies are moving on this time round, but we know of several new students with families who are starting in the Autumn so hopefully the numbers will increase! It is a bittersweet time now as we are looking forward to coming home, but will miss our church and so many good friends here in California. The Lord has been so good to us and we know that He will provide for our future, too.

Here are a few other photos of the boys.

May

Matthew is coming to the end of his last semester at Westminster Seminary. He has exams this week on Thursday and Friday and then several more next week. A week on Friday we have a Graduation Dessert Reception held at the seminary and then the graduation ceremony takes place on Saturday May 30th. Matthew is currently away at a reformed baptist conference (of which our church is a member) in Indianapolis and flies back Wednesday evening.

Matthew took part in the ‘Strimple Classic’ last Saturday – the annual seminary softball game to mark the end of the spring semester. He made a great catch, but unfortunately the camera focussed on the fence and not him, so all I got was a blur!! Afterwards the seminary had hired a Mexican food ‘cookout van’ for dinner and the children enjoyed playing together on the field.

This Saturday Naomi is going along to a brunch hosted by the seminary for graduating female students and seminary wives – we’ve had several ladies’ events throughout the semester and its been a great way to get to know them and have fellowship with them.

At the beginning of May we also went to California Adventure (a theme park next door to Disneyland, owned by Disney but full of Pixar film characters – A bug’s life, Monsters Inc. etc). We used our free tickets from Disneyland and went along with Brad, Kristin, December and Isaac and had a great day out! I’ve uploaded pictures here, and the other album has pictures of other things we’ve done this month.

The Triple Birthday Party!

On Satuday we had a triple birthday party for Noah and his 2 friends. Noah and Andrew’s 3rd birthdays are in August so we thought it would be fun to have an early party so they could celebrate with their friends, and Calvin was 2 on Saturday so it made sense to do it altogether! We held it on the grassy area at our church and the children enjoyed chasing each other with water pistols, riding tricycles and cars, using sidewalk chalk, opening presents and generally having a fun time. We finished the party by having a barbecue. You can see some pictures here.

Spring Break 09

We enjoyed our Spring Break 2 weeks ago, and having a few more family outings. Wednesday was Naomi’s birthday and we spent the day at Disneyland! They have the policy that you can get in for free on your birthday, and then Matthew was given a free pass by a friend who works there We really enjoyed the day -Matthew went on a number of the big rides and enjoyed taking Noah to Autopia (where you can ‘drive’ a car), a Finding Nemo submarine and getting his (Noah’s!) picture taken with Mickey Mouse! We finished the day by watching the Disneyland street parade and Noah was very excited about seeing Winnie the Pooh and other characters  

During the week we also visited the Escondido Farmers’ Market (and sampled various fruits and bread) and then we had an early dinner and watched Finding Nemo with Noah (his first time) which he loved. We also went to the Wild Animal Park and walked through a hothouse filled with giant butterflies, which was an experience! They landed everywhere and we had to make sure that we weren’t taking any out with us!

On Sunday we went for a walk to Elfin Forest (where there have been recent sightings of mountain lions!) and as we were going up the trail we met several people who told us to beware of the giant rattlesnake further up! Matthew and Noah were rather excited (Naomi, less so!) and we saw the last 2 feet of it slither into the bushes, complete with black and white rattle on the end. At this point, Noah made up a snake dance and Naomi was wishing we were back in the UK! 

Our church held a brunch between the 2 services on Easter Sunday and we had a lovely time of fellowship. Matthew preached in the evening service and will be preaching at the church plant in San Diego on the last Sunday morning in April.

Matthew has 5 weeks left before he graduates (3 weeks of class time and 2 weeks of exams), which is not long at all! He is on track to graduate and is really enjoying his last semester. We have had some contact recently with churches regarding possibilities for the future and are very aware of the need for the Lord to guide us as a family – please pray for us!

Naomi is planning a Park Day trip to the Wild Animal Park this week and is getting ready for the triple ‘early birthday party’ for Noah and 2 friends which will be held on May 2nd. We have sold all the furniture that we can, and just have the essentials left. We now have a lot of room in our apartment and Noah loves driving his car round and round without bumping into things

Isaac is now 6 months and loves to eat! He is a happy baby and enjoys interacting with Noah. He has started ‘creeping’ and Naomi often finds him at the opposite end of the cot to where he started, or that he’s rolled over and turned 180 degrees (all without her seeing, of course!)

This coming Saturday is our church’s annual ‘Ladies’ Spring Tea’ which Naomi is planning on going to. It is an evangelistic event and and the speaker is a pastor’s wife from a local church. Last Saturday the ladies hosted a joint baby shower for Isaac and a girl called Chloe who was born 5 days  after Isaac. That was a great time of fellowship and several of the ladies shared verses of encouragement for us mums! Some of the ladies are involved in a scripture quilt ministry – they cross stitch squares with a verse and picture and then these are made into a quilt to hang on the wall. They are usually presented at the baby shower and are a lovely way to remember the ladies at GBC

Click here for Disneyland photos

March Update

Matthew is almost half way through the Spring semester already! He is enjoying his studies very much. He has just finished his counseling training last week! He is also preaching more regularly at church. He had several months off around Isaac’s birth, but things have settled down now so he is back on the preaching rota every 4-6 weeks.

Naomi is enjoying her seminary evening class – an English Bible Survey  - and learning lots! She and Noah are also enjoying the seminary park days. The numbers have grown over the past 5 months as 5 babies have been added to the group! She is planning a buffet lunch in May for the group, as at least 3 families will be moving away.

We’re also planning a triple birthday party for Noah, Andrew and Calvin (two of Noah’s friends), in early May. We decided it would be fun to have an early birthday party and celebrate with their friends (Noah and Andrew’s birthdays are both in August). More details and photos to follow!

The reality of us leaving in July is slowly starting to sink in, as we begin to photograph our furniture and have only sold a few items. We continue to appreciate your prayers for our future as we explore possibilities for ministry in the UK, and particularly for our boys as they adjust to a new home and make new friends.

Here are some recent photos of the boys

Photos

To see our Christmas photos you need to scroll down to the post before the newsletter one – entitled ‘Happy New Year’ and the link is at the end of that post

New Year Newsletter

Here is the text of our new year newsletter. We’ve not been able to upload the file, but if you would like the PDF version with photos please email us and we’ll send it to you.

Dear friends,

As 2009 begins, we thought it would be good to write around to friends to share some of our news from the last year and some of the picture highlights.

In June we decided to explore some of Northern California. We made the 10 hour drive up to Sacramento and stayed with some friends of Matthew’s family. We had a great time with them and Noah enjoyed the railway museum, walking round a fish farm and panning for gold in the American River at Coloma (where the gold rush started.) We then headed off to San Francisco for 2 days and explored parts of China Town, Fisherman’s Wharf and rode on several cable cars. We stayed with a family in Monterey on the way home, visited the aquarium and enjoyed spending time getting to know new friends. It was a much needed break after a busy semester and a great opportunity to see more of California.

We flew back home in July for 8 weeks and spent our time between York and Stoke on Trent, with a week in Milnrow and 2 weeks in St. Ives where Matthew joint led a Beach team with Vinny Commons. It was lovely to see our families and friends, albeit briefly! Naomi’s sister Julia got married to Brandon Nelson at the end of August and then we flew back to Escondido 2 days later, in time for the start of the Fall semester.

The beginning of term was extremely busy as we arrived in Escondido on Monday night, moved into one of our church’s apartments on the Tuesday and then term started on the Thursday! It has been such a blessing to live in the church and we are very grateful to them for their generosity. There are two other families living in the church and another family with a son, Andrew, the same age as Noah, who live next door. We are enjoying having some of our friends close by and Noah and Andrew are very good friends.

Isaac Mark Seymour was born October 13th at 2:11am after a very quick labour, which was an answer to prayer! He weighed 8lbs 2oz and looks almost identical to Noah! We have been very thankful to our friends at church who have helped us attempt to navigate the US health system, and to the ladies who provided us with 2 weeks’ worth of meals after the birth. Naomi’s mum came out to stay for the following 2 weeks which was a great help, and Noah enjoyed seeing his grandma again. Noah loves being the big brother and has really taken to Isaac, which has been a blessing, as we weren’t sure what would happen! The transition to 2 children has been fairly smooth, although meal times are a challenge – particularly as Isaac gets hungry around the time Naomi starts cooking dinner!

October also included our second trip to the pumpkin farm, although I think we picked the wrong day to go as the temperature reached 38 degrees C!

We joined a number of families from church for Thanksgiving at the end of November, hosted by our pastor and his wife. It was a great time of fellowship and a lovely opportunity to look back over the year and see how the Lord has taught us and blessed us in so many ways.

December was a busy time for Matthew as he had 4 papers to hand in as well as revising for his final exams. His parents, sister and grandma came out to stay with us for 3 weeks over Christmas and we have enjoyed showing them the sights of southern California. His parents and sister gave a concert at our church for friends and for us so that we could hear them sing. Noah has been so excited to have his grandparents to stay and Naomi has appreciated all their help with the boys!

We’re still very involved with our local church here in Escondido. We’ve made some precious friends and we’ve also learnt a lot about what it means to be a community of believers caring for each other in prayer and in practical ways. One of the things that was a big help to us was  when Isaac was born people brought meals for the family for a week. Each day a different lady would ring to say that she was assigned to provide the meal and then it would be brought over at around 5pm for dinner! This was such a great help to us in the first week with Isaac, we’re very thankful for the church family.

Naomi has continued to meet up each week with her friends – 2 of whom have had babies a few weeks after Isaac was born, and 2 more who are expecting in early 2009! She has also gone along each Tuesday with Noah and Isaac to ‘Park Day’ – a mums and tots group for seminary wives, and from January she will be in charge of organizing the group. Naomi has enjoyed a number of really close friendships and she will really miss these new friends when she leaves.

Matthew’s courses began at the start of January. He has two courses: one looking at the Christian Life and another on preaching Christ from the book of Judges. Both are going well and he is finding the lectures very helpful. One of the big things that this particular seminary is known for is its focus on preaching Christ from all Scripture, and this has been a great help in thinking about how to preach the Old Testament in a way that is faithful to the whole message of the Bible.

He is also continuing his NANC counseling certification and has done around half of the fifty hours of supervised counseling that he needs to complete the course. He teaches the church youth group every other Sunday and is on the preaching rota. His course finishes in May and he graduates the last Saturday in May. We are not leaving Escondido until July 1st, which gives us some time to sell our furniture and car etc, and to say our goodbyes. Initially we will go back to our house in York, and would value your prayers as we look for a suitable situation to serve. We’ve taken some steps to explore possibilities, but nothing certain has arisen yet.

Have a blessed 2009!
The Seymours