10.30.06
Posted in Pez & Skittle at 2:41 pm by Hannah
It was with great joy, awe, and relief, after a fast pregnancy and a looooonnnng labor that we welcomed little Skittle into our family. We were so excited to finally meet this sweet baby of ours and learn all the particulars of Skittle.
Jared Noah weighed in at a healthy 7lbs. 10oz., measuring 20 1/2in.,sporting dark (!?) brown hair and, of course, beautiful blue eyes. I had to check twice to make sure I was right in pronouncing him a boy…it just seemed odd to have a boy after having Kez. Actually it was odd to think of having any baby that was not Keziah. We have, however, settled into the idea and are quite attached to our little man.
Keziah has affectionately christened “her baby” with the loving name “Bead”. She has been very happy to add this new one to her collection of babies and showers him with hugs and kisses…she is a very attentive big sister and runs to bring his binky when her “Bead is fuss” , as she puts it. She has also taken up the responsibility of opening the steady flow of gifts that he has received and making sure they are kid approved. : )
As for Jared himself, he has shown a definite interest in his Daddy…maybe entranced would be a better term to describe it. He’ll just lay there and stare at Seth and smile when Seth talks to him. It’s really quite sweet to watch. Jared is also proving to be a water bug just like his big sis. He loves the bath and gets excited just hearing the water run…quite convenient when Momma needs to take a shower.
Personal hygiene seems to become more of a privilege and less of a right as the offspring arrives, I’ve noticed…not sure how I feel about that part of Mothering. But then again the sweet baby smiles from Jared and “I yuh Ooo, Momma!” from Keziah make all the inconvenience so worth it.
It really is amazing how babies and small children can turn a full-grown adult into a puddle of mush…especially when they’re your own.
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Posted in At this moment... at 1:54 pm by Hannah
We just wanted to say THANKYOU (cheering, whistling, stomping, and all manner of general applause) to all of you who have joined in with us through your prayers and your support!
We have been blessed over and over again as we have seen the Lord at work in our lives as a result of your prayer and generosity. We are at about 50% of our budget and excited as we see the faithfullness of the Lord in His church continuing.
I’d love to personally thank each of you by name but it would take much longer than Keziah and Jared will give me and I haven’t received permission…but to all of you who have been a part of ministering to us; please know that we have been so blessed by you. We know that supporting us is a sacrifice on your part (whether it be a sacrifice of time, money, effort or all of the above and then some) and we are honored that you would entrust us with the benefits of that sacrifice.
We pray that God will honor and bless you for the part you have played and look forward to any opportunity He would give us to thank you personally!
Know that you are in our prayers and hearts…we could not do this without you and we are so glad to have you along for this journey!
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10.29.06
Posted in Pray for us! at 7:44 pm by Hannah
The end of the year is fast approaching and with it we are looking forward to quite a few changes. As you know we are not going to Pickle Lake but will be making our way instead to Nairobi, Kenya.
SOOOoo, with the drastic change in location we are making drastically different preparations.
Please pray for us as we attempt to get all the necessary immunizations and medications for entry to Africa (hooray) and that we make wise decisions concerning our little munchkins.
Please pray that we figure out what to pack and how to pack it. 
Traveling with one child means piles and piles of “necessities”…the amount of gear that two children “need’ is outrageous. Pray that we’re discerning.
Please pray that we are wise with our budgeting and our support-raising. It can be a touchy subject but we really want to make the right decisions as to what we need and how to communicate that to the people that God wants us too. Pray that we continue to rely on the Lord and his faithfulness.
Please pray for Keziah and Jared as they can sense the change that is coming. Pray that we communicate the peace of the Lord to them and that they take the changes well.
And I’ve got to run…Jared is making his hunger known! Thankyou so much for your prayers…we are counting on you.
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04.18.06
Posted in Pray for us! at 1:41 pm by Hannah
With classes ending in May and internship postponed until January our summer/fall is shaping up to be somewhat of a gypsy summer. It has been a bit daunting as we consider housing, work, Baby/insurance, vacation, internship preparations, ect. and what each of these aspects of life will look like during the next 8 1/2 months. Please pray for us to make wise decisions as we attempt to make our plans and pray that we continue to trust the Lord with the details that are out of our hands.
And please pray that in the process of all this change our little family will hold onto the Lord and eachother…especially pray for Keziah that, even though she cannot fully understand the changes, she will continue to feel secure and be able to take the adjustment without a major upset.:smirk:
You could also pray for our little Kez as she wades through “the valley of the shadow of tooth cutting”. She is currently working on ALL of her eye teeth and ALL of her one-year molars…yes, that’s right she is cutting eight teeth all at once. To say that she’s not the happiest little girl right now would be an understatement.:sick: You could pray that we all make it through this stage with our sanity…we would greatly appreciate that, as I’m sure everyone else that has to deal with us would as well.
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04.05.06
Posted in Family News... at 5:08 pm by Hannah
It is with great joy and love that we join with my sister Kumari, (Hannah’s younger sister) in welcoming Esther Nelsie Zahara Griffin into the family. Our sweet Esther was born on February 28 at 3:12 in the afternoon. She weighed in 5lbs. 14 1/2 oz. And quickly caught on to her Mother’s sleeping habits…long and often! 
Kumari is doing well…she was in labor for only six hours and did a great job though she could not understand why anyone would ever put themselves through such a thing again. But after she had a few days with her little Esther I think labor’s intensity dimmed considerably. I have not had the opportunity to hold this dear neice of mine yet but from what I’ve been told she is quite the little angel and her pictures certainly attest to this fact.
She is a great hit with Grandpa who is more than wrapped around her little finger…He can hardly believe his good fortune in having a grandaughter just a room away! The rest of us have still to be satisfied with being smitten from afar but are looking forward to the day that we get our turn…if we can pry her away from Grandpa.
Congratulations Kumari and Esther! We are so glad to have you both in our lives!
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03.09.06
Posted in Pez & Skittle at 6:10 pm by Hannah
We are pleased to announce the mid-fall arrival of the Jankovsky’s latest model:
“Skittle ‘06”
After the raging popularity of our “Pez ’05” we realized that we had only just begun a journey that promised to be very sweet.
In all seriousness, we had actually planned on waiting until after internship for baby #2. But it seems that the Lord (knowing the dearest desires of our hearts) graciously stepped in with plans of His own. Just the other day I heard a country song with the line “If you want to hear God laugh then tell Him your plans”!
How glad I am that God sees into our hearts and overrides our fallible plans…and how glad I am for this new little blessing that God has chosen to fill our lives with. When Seth was letting my Mom in on our news he told her “well Lynn, God had shown favor to your daughter again and chosen to bless her for all the world to see”. How do you adequately thank the Lord for a life such as mine? How truly blessed I am!
The timing is almost humorous but then again God’s timing has always been rather mysterious to me. We are due September 30th…We are supposed to begin our internship September 1st. As you can probably guess we are doing some re-planning. If it comes to your mind please pray for us to have wisdom in making the choices that are now set before us.
We are excited to see how the Lord has planned and provided for the months ahead. He has proved His faithfulness over and over again even in the little things (such as providing the candy canes I’ve been craving…)
and we are so glad to know that we are in His capable hands.
Anyway, we just wanted to share our exciting news with you…and hope that you will keep us in your prayers as we prepare for another little Jankovsky to join us.
So blessed,
Seth & Hannah, Keziah , and Skittle 
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02.03.06
Posted in Family News... at 3:16 pm by Hannah
Heartfelt congratulations to Dave & Leah Harder, and Evelyn (Seth’s sister, her husband and daughter) on their new little bundle of joy "Susan Grace".
Susan was born on Saturday, January 28. She weighed in at 6lbs, 7oz, and measured 20 inches long. She has a light fuzz of brownish blonde and is generally acclaimed as one of the world’s cuter babies. Mom and baby are resting up and doing well. Evie is still adjusting but likes to look at her little sis and has enjoyed all the new toys and activites that Susan "brought along" with her. Having Dad around to play with her more is not bad either.
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Posted in Pez & Skittle at 3:02 pm by Hannah
What has Keziah not learned in the last few months would be a much easier question to answer. Her capacity to take in and retain is just incredible right now.
She started walking at ten months and since then has become almost an international traveler, journeying to the far corners of the "dark hallway", sampling the treasures of the wonderful but only occaisionaly open "neighbors room", and even making her way through the wild recesses of "Momma’s Closet".
Once she started walking she was running and then there was no stopping her.
She is everybody’s best friend, will go to just about anyone, and is rarely happier than when she is in a crowd of people…traits she gets from her Daddy. When we get to church there’s no hesitation whatsoever; she can hardly run fast enough to get to the nursury and all her friends… She’s also been learning about babies lately (since Camryn and Susan were born) and she’s quite fascinated…a little too interested in their eyes and noses but we’re working on learning to be gentle.
Her first birthday was on Friday, January 27th! I can’t quite believe that it has been a year and my baby is no longer a tiny baby but more of a toddler. And a very independant one at that. For her birthday we celebrated at Grandma J.’s and she even got to have some of her birthday cake…she was ok with it but not overly wowed.
We’ve been teaching her various signs (as in sign language) and she’s getting pretty good. I knew we had a genius on our hands when she walked into the bathroom and signed that she wanted to brush her teeth, "please". Its at moments like that when I am almost sure that I truly have given birth to a wonder child! 
Her vocabulary is not huge yet but she works on it when she’s in the mood. The other day she said "cracker" and she’s even said "Uncle Tom" once or twice. But its very much a mood thing and the only thing she says with any regularity is "Daddy"! Can we say "Daddy’s girl"?!?! There’s no question who her hero is. Right now I’m trying to convince her that saying "Momma" is much more effective than just screeching in my general direction. 
I’m not sure if she doesn’t get it or if she just enjoys the screeching too much.
But she’s also started giving kisses! First she would only give them to me but just the other day she branched out to share some with Daddy…and really who wouldn’t put up with a few screeches here and there to be so blessed by the trusting love of a kissing baby girl.
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02.02.06
Posted in At this moment... at 3:25 pm by Hannah
INTERNSHIP DECISIONS!!! This is a major (wonderful) change. Though we still have plans to make and paperwork to do, the decision has been made. We will be spending our internship in Pickle Lake, Ontario, Canada. This is a little town (Pop. 350) in CA about as far north as you can go. It is literally the end of the road…and here we thought Minnesota was the arctic north! 
The ministry there is with the first nations tribe…it sounds like it will be a lot of children’s and youth ministry. Some of our friends that have been up there said that its “one of the most beautiful, depressing places” that they’d ever been to – alcoholism is everywhere. You rarely see adults during the days (they’re home sleeping off the hangover from the night before) and the kids spend their days unattended, fighting and abusing one another. It’s definitely a mission field in need of workers.
The missionaries who are there (Ed & Lori Zabel) are Bethany Alumni and we actually met them our freshman year. We’ve enjoyed getting to know them in little bits over email as we make plans, and we’ve been blessed by their obvious love for the people they are ministering to and their eagerness to let us in on the work. We’re praying that the time we spend with there is a blessing to them and encouragement to them.
We keep hearing about the amazing work that the Lord is doing with the Zabel family in Pickle Lake from people who know them here at Bethany and we are excited to have the chance to maybe get in on some of the action.
I’ll try to post some pictures here in the next few days so you can get a look at where we’re headed. Maybe I can get a copy of the Zabel’s Newsletter as well…we’ll see.
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01.23.06
Posted in Family News... at 3:57 pm by Hannah
We welcome with joy sweet little Cameron Rose Griffin, daughter of Tim & Ginger Griffin. She made her appearance Saturday morning and weighed in at 6lbs, 3oz, with lots of dark hair and the look of a true Daddy’s girl. Gabrielle and Hanakah, the proud big sisters, are very excited and have taken up guard duty…checking up on little sis every so often to make sure that she’s still there.
There is something so amazing about newborn babies. They are so tiny…it blows my mind to think that Keziah (whose 1st birthday is on Friday) was that same tiny bundle only 12 months ago. I’m coming to understand why having babies is so addictive…they’re so lovable, you can’t help but adore them. For now I’m thoroughly enjoying having this sweet little niece just next door.
To see pictures you can check out their website at www.griffhome.com
And speaking of new arrivals; Mom and the kids (Caleb, Reuven, Paul, Isaiah, David and Petra) are moved in and beginning to settle into their new home. It is a beautiful home in the small town of Litchfied, MN. Everyone seems to be very content with the new home, as Isaiah put it "we could play hide-&-seek here forever"! The drive went well, though there were some treacherous roads they made it through alright…thanks to the Grace of God (thanks for your prayers) and the expertise of Seth and Tom. 
We are thrilled to have them close (only about and hour and a half away) and look forward to many happy hours with the Senior Jankovsky Clan in their new home. We’re already making plans to celebrate Keziah’s birthday there…Keziah by the way, is of course, quite taken with all the attention from devoted Grandma, 5 uncles and 1 aunt, all conveniently located in one wonderful place.
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