The Senkbile Scoop

A Concerted Effort

2009-08-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

So, I'm giving this blogging thing another try. I have come to own the fact that I will never be the pastor's wife who artfully explains entire passages of scripture, details an extensive list of home projects that I have accomplished...all before lunch or poetically describe the many strange and yet wonderful things that my children do each day. BUT I do think that I could make more of an effort to keep my friends all over the world a little more 'connected' to our family and post pictures that only those same friends could appreciate.

In order to make my first post 'back' a little less verbose, I have decided to summarize some the last 6 months of our lives in bullet form...

Recently, our family has:

- Moved from Omaha, Nebraska (USA) to Cape Town, South Africa. We did this because JD took the job of Africa Director for the Acts 29 church planting network (www.acts29network.org)
- Found a house to live in, which we truly enjoy and found a car (no small feat, let me assure you)
- Welcomed a new member to our family six weeks later...this addition's name is Sloane and she is now 5 months old
- (JD has) traveled back to the States, Uganda twice and is about to leave for Zambia in a few weeks
- We have celebrated Cohen's second birthday...party to happen this weekend
- had a summer,(winter here) intern from Minneapolis, Minnesota live with us for almost three months (we just said goodbye last night)

Other than this, we have done a few trips around South Africa and generally worked on adjusting to life in a new home. Below, you can peruse some of our latest pictures of the kids...enjoy!

It's like Cohen doesn't realize that this face is a complete admission of guilt...

What I truly love about this shot is that it's taken in the DEAD OF WINTER...man, we truly do live in paradise

Birthday Boy. Not sure if the 'smile' on Cohen's face is as a result of the new basketball hoop he got for his birthday or because he's seething inside at being made to wear his dad's latest Ugandan purchase

My pretty...teething

Sloane Adine Senkbile

2009-03-03T06:03:00.000-08:00

Saturday we welcomed our little daughter into our lives and could not be happier! Sloane was born at 11:50 in the morning, weighed in at at 7 lbs and 6 oz and was 20 inches in length. Her arrival was a little shorter than her big brother - 3 hours from the first contraction to the cutting of the umbilical chord, which Michele was thankful for! (Especially after big brother, Cohen's, 19-hour journey)

We came home from the hospital the next day at lunch time and have been settling into life as four. Cohen is still trying to acclimate to not being an only child anymore. Wrestling and running are very much a part of our lives around here with a little boy and I think he is somewhat confused at this not being much of a part of Sloane's routine yet :) All in all, he is doing really well and has been going on a lot of 'adventures' with dad during the day while mom tries to get the hang of nursing again.

Baby girl looks much like her brother did when he was born...a head full of jet-black, slightly curly hair, dark eyes and skin, and very long fingers and toes.

More details about life for the Senkbiles to follow...but really we know that, all of you are just interested in seeing what she looks like, so here you go, enjoy!

Mom and Sloane about two minutes after she was born

Very excited to be weighed and measured :)

20 minutes old and waiting to take a bath

Sloane's first bath, at about 25 minutes old

Daddy and his princess ... quite ridiculous already!

Big brother Cohen trying his best to give 'gentle love'...

More pictures of our first few days at home, to come...just thought we would get the first couple on there for everyone to see.

Thanks for all your prayers and support, from all over the world ... literally!

Silly Mommy Part II

2008-10-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

Note to self: this is why we take a bath and put on our pajamas after dinner. And, this is why when mommy rolls out pizza dough, she should make sure that little boys have been removed from the table before turning around to put the pizza in the oven...

...Silly mommy...

Chores

2008-10-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

So, we've been thinking for a while that Cohen has had like 14, almost 15, months of free room and board. I mean, we're all about him feeling welcome and all that, but we want the kid to grow up to be a man... so, we're going to get started on the whole chores thing. Vacuuming first...

(sorry, couldn't get the video to rotate)

Ahh...Fall...

2008-10-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

For the ten years that I have lived in this country, I have tried hard to maintain my South African identity, knowing that I would probably eventually live there again. Sometimes this has involved resisting 'absorbing' too many American traditions, or having too much of American culture rub off on me. This is not because I dislike America, or any of my American friends, but simply because I want to never forget where I have come from and the traditions and cultures that have shaped my identity as a South African citizen.

Having said that, though, one American tradition that I have no intention of resisting... the annual fall trip to the pumpkin patch. Now that we have a son, this is even more. I love the hay rack ride, the pumpkin picking, the hot chocolate, the petting zoo, all of it. Last fall we took Cohen on his first trip to the pumpkin patch and since he was 6 weeks old and it was about thirty degrees outside, it was not a resounding success.

This year, however, was a different story. It was a beautiful autumn day outside, seventy degrees, and now that Cohen is 14 months old and walking around (and apparently adores animals), this year was wonderful fun. Enjoy the pics...

This Just In...

2008-08-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Baby Senkbile number two is due February 2009. Last Friday we found out that Cohen is going to have a little sister. I must confess, I am more excited about the news than I thought I would be...always thought I would be a boy mommy, but obviously that's not the case. So, we will gladly be accepting any or both of the following:

1. Advice on how to be a girl mommy
2. Girl names. Our list of boy names is enormous, sadly not the case with girl names

Little Smasher

2008-08-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today was Cohen's first birthday party, which we are sure we enjoyed more than he did. Not because he wasn't having fun, but more because we think he was completely oblivious to the fact that we had gathered in his honor. One thing to which he was not oblivious, though, was his 'little smasher'...his own personal birthday cake. Words cannot describe, so we've just included a video clip - enjoy!

Two Birthdays

2008-08-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

August 4th marked one year that Cohen has been a part of our lives and we have had fun, this week, reflecting on his birth, our first time meeting him and all the 'firsts' that we have enjoyed over the last 12 months. This child has been a true joy and we feel blessed to be his mom and dad. There has been much room for sanctification along the way and we have certainly been made aware of just how 'us'-centered our lives were prior to this gift of a son, but there has been much more room for joy, fun and laughter. This kid is a riot and we couldn't imagine life without him!

Here he is in his first football jersey...Thanks Uncle Chris and Aunt Amy!

Our second 'birthday' of the day was celebrating Michele's first day as an American citizen. We were sort of bummed when we got the notice to say that Michele's federal interview and American History exam were on the same day as Cohen's birthday, but as the day unfolded, we started to see how this could be sort of cool - every year we'll celebrate two birthdays on one day!

Oh, yeah, and there was a swearing-in ceremony that happened to fall on Monday, too, meaning Michele got to complete the process in one day, which almost never happens...boo yah! The coolest part about this: with all the countries in which Michele now claims citizenship, she has more passports than Jason Bourne.

Wobbly World of Walking

2008-07-25T14:44:00.001-07:00

It seems our little guy discovered his legs in a new way this week. For a while now, I have thought that perhaps Cohen would just crawl into Kindergarten, but it would appear that he is going to walk, as others had suggested. Don't get me wrong, I am not typically one of those parents whose child has to perform certain tasks at certain milestones to be assured that he is normal. In fact, my desire for him to walk was entirely selfish - I can no longer carry him without feeling like my arms were going to fall out of their sockets. Those of you who know Cohen, know that looks are deceiving and while he does not look much bigger than the average 11-month old boy, he did in fact, reach 30 pounds by the time he was 2 weeks. (okay, slight exaggeration)

So, back to the walking. I was pleasantly surprised at how awkward this looks. Those of you who have kids are probably thinking this is old hat, but it never occurred to me that Cohen would not think to bend his knees, at first. The result is what looks like an attempt at a Mixed Martial Arts demonstration...much kicking into the air and showing us that, lest we have not noticed, he truly is big man on campus now...

Silly Mommy...

2008-07-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Every good parent and babysitter knows that unless it's time for naps, a quiet baby is not always a good thing. Today, I was working on some admin work for overseas and I suddenly realize that I haven't heard a peep out of Cohen in a while. I walk in to the kitchen and here is what I find...

Silly Mommy!

A Year of Watching Things Grow

2008-07-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

As we have already mentioned, we are growing our first garden this year. What started out as little plants and seeds are now sprouting big, healthy, green leaves with little vegetable buds; promises of delicious treats to come.

It's also been a year of watching our first son grow and become someone that we enjoy more and more everyday. A little 'bud' who started out as my 'little burrito' in a receiving blanket has become a 24-pound ball of energy, after whom we find ourselves chasing and running, just to keep him out of trouble.

We have watched Cohen find his hands and feet (and subsequently learn to suck on both), we have watched him learn how to point at moving objects (especially the garbage truck each week) and learn how to smile, giggle and wave at all his favorite people.

Next month we plan on celebrating his first birthday and feel so blessed that we were chosen to be his parents - what a joy to experience these last 11 months with him. Bring on the next year of fun!

Missionary Pictures

2008-06-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

So, part of becoming a missionary (other than all the godly stuff, like Jesus asking you to go across the world), is a bunch of media stuff, like making prayer cards, brochures and all sorts of other things that you distribute to people who are interested in your ministry.

In order to do this, you need to make sure that you have a good family picture. JD and I are so seriously pathetic when it comes to taking pictures, that we decided to hire someone to do that. (I like saying things like that because it makes me feel rich and fancy, like I "have people" - only thing is, our friends, the Moseleys did it for free, because in all reality we aren't rich or fancy and we don't have any people.)

Anyway, below are the pictures of our most recent photo shoot...on another note: it's not easy to get a 10-month old baby to care about your prayer card pictures.

Double Fistin'

2008-06-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

Folks, there comes a time in everyone's life when you're looking at your baby, wishing that you could be a kid again. One such moment happened for me yesterday. We are currently in Colorado for training on how to be missionaries, cross-culturally. Each meal, we sit with other almost-missionaries and talk about very godly things, of course.

At the end of dinner last night, I went to clean up after Cohen and began by pulling his high-chair out from the table. Below is a video of the next minute of my life in which I truly wished that I was, once again, 10 months old. At what other time could you get away with this kind of refined behavior?

Rocky Mountain High

2008-06-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

Currently, our family is in Colorado Springs at 'Mission Training International.' MTI is an organization that trains those of us who hope to be missionaries, cross culturally. MTI aims to fully equip missionaries to deal with stress, choas, transition and the adjustments that may arise from moving your family overseas to live in another culture.

One of the cool things about mandatory training in Colorado for three weeks, is that you get to be in some of the most beautiful creation in the United States. Today was our walk through The Garden of the Gods, which is majestic to say the least. Cohen especially enjoyed yelling at the rock climbers all morning, who of course were completely ambivelent to his existence, but, as you may have guessed, it deterred him none.

Chunky Monkey

2008-06-07T13:34:00.001-07:00

What kind of a mommy blogger would I be if I didn't have an entire post dedicated to the newest addition to our family? Our son, Cohen was born almost a year ago and yes, it's taken me this long to get anything online. These are some of our more recent pictures of our Chunkey Monkey, who also responds to: Coco, Cocomo, Cokey Bear and Chubba Lubba. (Things that are probably only cute until you're about two.)