Spring Break Road Trip (and Roll - read to end)

When the kids' schools let out for a week we took the opportunity to visit Isaac and Meagan in Louisville at Boyce College. It was a precious time of being with our soon-to-be newest family member and beloved firstborn. There were quite a few wedding projects to work on, including flowers, fitting the groomsmen suits, and touring the church for a plan of how the day is going to go. Hard to believe Baby Isaac, who was 18 months when we landed in PNG, is now 21 and getting married! 

Culver's was our first stop. It is a rare treat, one we all LOVE!

Apparently Mom likes the car temperature too cold! The girls were in the back.

Our babies are so big they can do their own "chicken fights" now! David has Gracie, Seth has Marcie, and Will has only himself to worry about. 

Conga line?

Not a great way to start our second day. A large rock or chunk of asphalt flew up and shattered our window right where Seth's head was! Praise God it was only a window and not our son.

Isaac trying on his suit.
(He's SO handsome, isn't he?! Although I'm blocking him a bit too much.)

Seth bonding with our friends' dog where we stayed.
It was SO nice to get to be with the Dicksons, their fun pool table, and their pets!

When we first drove onto Campus the first person we saw was University President Albert Mohler. Will wanted to meet him, which totally surprised me! Dr. Mohler was intrigued by the quints being quints, and took a picture of them "to show Mary," then kindly let me get this photo.

Siblings!

Meagan and Isaac goofing around after Chapel. I promise that's not his purse. 😄

Marcie decorated one of the coffee cup sleeves at Scholar’s Coffee Shop there at Boyce/Southern Seminary. She does art wherever she goes. The coffee shop has a display of these at the main counter, and she added hers to it. (It’s a wolf howling at a moon in the mountains.)

The suit alterations and reception flowers would be a terrible stress without dear Aunt Peggy (Gavin's mom's dear friend). She even hosted us girls for a tea-time planning session. Sadly, I’m the worst selfie photo taker, and Meagan’s largely-hidden lovely face is proof. 😅 Sorry!

The boys at the walking bridge in Louisville, crossing over into Indiana.

I was so hungry I could have eaten this entire banana split! Gavin helped me a little bit. I don’t know why Louisville has so many AMAZING ice cream shops, but it’s a good thing I don’t live there year-round! Isaac is looking exceptionally covetous here.

Breakfast with the family, minus Isaac and Meagan, who were in class

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Coffee with the soonly-weds,
and a couple of photo-bombers on the side

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The boys and Gavin poked around the stream bed in Cherokee Park (where Isaac proposed to Meagan a few months ago). David found these very studious-looking glasses.

Playing putt-putt golf
(The kids were there too, but not pictured.)

Our final day, getting lunch at Burger Girl, Isaac and Meagan’s favorite burger joint - largely because they love “Burger Momma” and she loves them. ☺️

The setting of Gavin’s tendon “popping” when he rolled his ankle playing tag with the kids. The Boyce campus is so beautiful. The magnolias were starting to bloom, but we missed capturing them in this photo. 

Good news from orthopedic doc: This particular tendon is virtually impossible to sew back together, so instead they sew it to other ligaments in the area to approximate its normal function; however, it tends to “scar into” the other ligaments and tendons naturally, making surgery unnecessary for a decent proportion of patients. Gavin has had so much healing, pain relief, good range of motion, and decrease of swelling, he appears to be one of the people in that blessed group! So likely no need for surgery! Just wear the boot; following up with an actual foot surgeon next Wednesday. Thanks to those who have prayed! 

A few February photos

Just a few miscellaneous photos of February. :) 

I am planning on posting again tomorrow, Lord willing, as Gavin has an appointment with a foot surgeon for a full thickness (complete) tendon tear in his foot. It happened during our Spring Break road trip to visit Isaac and Meagan at Boyce College - details to come. We have no idea how that will impact our planned travels this summer, but it looks as though surgery will be necessary to reattach the two "halves" of the tendon. 

Seth and Will are brothers and best friends. They both like airplanes and cars, like most other boys.

Beautiful Marcie ready for a school celebration

Will enjoying his sweet littlest cousin Hannah at her birthday party

This fun cousin moment brought to you by the community treehouse. Photo from a hike a few weeks ago -  such glorious weather at the end of winter! Now that area is all green and gorgeous, with the redbuds blooming.

Keeping Up With The Joneses - February 2025

Hello everyone! 

Click here to see the latest newsletter from the Jones 8. 

In Christ,

Gavin 

Blog issues

 Hi friends! We're alive and mostly well (the odd cold or two), but I haven't been able to post new content to our blog since January 22nd, Isaac's 21st birthday. I was trying to do a happy birthday post, but no success getting any photos to upload! 

I just wanted to say we'll be back when I get Gavin home to help me. He had a big check ride today in North Carolina to renew his certification for helicopter instructing. Last week he was instructing a former Blackhawk heli pilot in preparation for PNG. It was a really productive, encouraging time. He came home for a few days this week, thank God. We miss him but are very happy he can keep current and continue investing in supporting Bible translation! 

I'll attach a video that so accurately describes our situation with our quints. I'm including the text from my Facebook post about it:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19v5HDuNdT/

The second half of this video is What she says about high order multiples and trying to support the struggling ones - girl, I feel you. We’ve had to really work on our kids (and ourselves) understanding that WE ALL HAVE WEAKNESSES, and the Lord asks us to bear with each other’s weaknesses and even bear each other’s burdens, and in so doing fulfill the law of Christ. But HOW HARD is it to not give grace to someone who struggles in a way to which you cannot relate?? They’re learning and growing, as are we, and it makes us see Jesus increasingly as the beautiful Person of the Trinity He is.

Christmas 2024

Candlelight service - Isaac is "home!"

A blessed day-after-Christmas to you all! 

Our home has been FULL to bursting with Isaac back from college, Grandpadad stopping by with donuts or dropping off groceries, the small multitude of neighborhood friends running in to play, and a few chaotically lovely family Christmas gatherings. We are rich in noise and activity and food and fun! The goodness of God moves me to tears.

I just found these photos again: Back when Grandpadad stopping in with donuts involved much more physical engagement! David is rubbing his tummy to say "please" in sign language. 😄

Observe which child was the most aggressively proactive in inserting herself to greatest advantage. She ended up sitting on his lap, front and center to the donut box. She is still the one who gets to the pigs-in-blankets fastest! (Marcie)

The dreaded "shoot your eye out" BB gun was Seth's dearest desire for Christmas!

Marmi got the kids monogrammed beanies, which they LOVE!

Will's treasure from someone's give-away pile. His books are ever-present companions.

 (His dad's sunglasses are optional.)

The kids are all doing great, enjoying their gifts and the plenty of the First World. I felt a flash of guilt on Christmas Eve when I nonchalantly opened two packages of cream cheese for our customary homemade "Danish." Cream cheese is GOLD back in Ukarumpa! I miss the camaraderie of weathering shortages with dear friends and family there. It's a place and group to which I no longer belong. Photos and objects will suddenly move Gavin and me to tears. Songs can be debilitating, and we just stand in each other's arms and cry. 

However, we're excited about and grateful for the feedback we've received regarding Gavin's ongoing role here in the USA. JAARS (Jungle Aviation and Relay Service) has been super encouraging about him flying out there to serve as needed. He brought the helicopter from PA to NC a couple of weeks ago and had a great time with his colleagues. Once a pilot, always a pilot. 😃

The "new" (used) helicopter donated by Samaritan's Purse!:

He also built an awesome sound booth for the International Linguistics Center! I am SO impressed! He loves using his hands and tools, and is steadily increasing the inventory of tools at his disposal as budgets allow.

I am finally sitting down to process through some of my thoughts from the past couple of months since learning PNG is no longer a viable option for our family. It's been too much to grasp, too difficult to express, too emotional to nail down, too changeable to write about. So much has been swirling in my mind, including a "movie" of myself standing, arms raised and eyes alight, in a colorful whirling leaf pile of God's grace, The leaves are continuously being blown about me by a steady wind of truth, and each distinct leaf as it twirls past is a specific, intimate, tangible provision or promise. I grasp and hold it briefly, but am so quickly overwhelmed by the beauty of the next leaf I see, I must open my fingers and pluck that one out of the air instead. Yet they all pile up again; they're still there; the wind doesn't blow them away. His Truth remains, ever invigorating even when terribly difficult. Ever new, unlike the leaves. Although some of the memories and thoughts blowing around and through me cause God-given grief for people, places and experiences we're leaving behind in PNG, there is still joy and wonder and abandonment. At the center of it all there is complete peace because I am in Christ and He is in me. 

My birthday dinner in November - candlelit Ramen from Marcie!

Gavin would share his feelings, thoughts, and griefs very differently, but I know he, too, stands in awe of what God has done in him as he grieves his the loss of his home, life, friends, and ministry overseas. He is a stronger, more beautiful man than he would have been if this hadn't been our painful journey. He is a better father and husband for it, a closer disciple through it. God is good. And God is giving him new beautiful gifts in the place of what we are relinquishing. Our church family is among the greatest of those blessings! I love that we are never meant to be alone on this earth. We were designed for family. Those who are in Christ have been adopted as sons and daughters of the King, born anew into Christs's Body, and destined to be His Bride through the power and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Emmanuel is truly God WITH, FOR us, IN us!

LOVING my niece's babyhood! My sister's and brother's other kids were toddlers by the time I met them. There are delightful advantages to being Stateside!

Here is a follow-up video update from our news earlier this month. We hope your Thanksgiving time was a blessing and that the Christmas season is one that points you to Christ, God with us!

Jones 8 Video Update - November 2024

We have attached a five minute video to this email as an update on the Jones 8 instead of the typical newsletter. We would be honored if you would watch it, pray for us, and respond if you are led to do so.