Life According to Jamin and Jesse

December was a busy month for us, with Christmas holidays, having two sweet college girls stay with us during their break, and being a part of Ruthie's wedding. If you have never heard of Ruthie, she has been a part of our family for 6 years. She started out as our language coach, then slowly started to work more in the ministry here with ladies/children's bible studies, along with doing all of our banking here. Those that live in the Philippines know how much of a pain it is to just go to the bank. Once a month, Ruthie helps us deposit love gifts for 20+ pastors/workers....and for that alone we are blessed to have her. She also is like a sister to the boys, along with helping to watch them while Robert and I go on our weekly dates. We will sure miss that when she moves to Germany. Oh yeah...I failed to mention she married a German....his name is Sebastian. So Ruthie will be leaving us soon! The boys have threatened Sebastian, that if he doesn't take good care of Mrs. Ruthie, they are just going to have to come to Germany and burn down his castle. Alittle inside joke there...haha! Maybe someday we will get a chance to go visit them in Germany, but not to burn any castles :)

This post is just a portion of pics I took at her rehearsal and on the wedding day. Some of the pics have been edited, some haven't. Ruthie was absolutely stunning on her special day....as well as Sebastian looking handsome. Robert, Jamin and Jesse looked pretty suave, too. In case you are wondering, Robert is wearing a traditional barong for weddings, instead of a suit/tux. It is made out of taffeta...in case u cared :)

Robert with Ruthie's dad before the wedding

Family shot before the wedding

My handsome men....even tho the suit jackets were not to their fit.

Jamin waiting for time to line-up.

One last picture of Jamin and Jesse before the wedding starts.

Ruthie and Sebastian's wedding on the beach.

Robert talking with the groom and his dad before the wedding starts.

Jesse walking down the aisle with the Bible.

Jamin walking down the aisle with the coins (Filipino tradition)

Here comes the beautiful bride...

Ruthie standing with her mom and dad before going to Sebastian.

Robert waiting on Ruthie...

Ruthie and Sebastian during the torch ceremony.

Sebastian and Ruthie Hago

The days leading up to the weding were rainy (off and on).....even up to the very minute the wedding started, it just looked like it wanted to pour. I know God must have been thinking, "I know already, I hear your prayers...." haha. Right after Sebastian and Ruthie were announced as husband and wife.....they started the pictorials. Then....it started to rain. Great timing!!! Some of us hang out beneath the food tents (we know where is most important for shelter, haha). While all the resort employees were saving the tables, and those who attended made their way to the function room (which was Plan B thank goodness), we were trying to save the chocolate fountain that happened to be right up under the crack of the two tents that were put together.

Ruthie and Sebastian during the reception....

along with Lukas (Seb's brother) and friends behind them.

Our family with the newlyweds

Ruthie and Sebastian's first dance (with bubbles)

You don't get to see Jesse real serious often....but I captured it for you, haha.

I think he's had all the fun one kid can handle.

I don't know how she did this without crying, but Ruthie sang a song to Sebastian during the reception. It was beautiful!

For those wondering.....Jamin DID NOT catch the garter. He decided he wanted to be a part of some of the games that were going on during the reception. He had no idea what a garter even was. I'm just thankful he didn't win this game, which involved the guy winner to put the garter on the girl winner's leg. He would have been terrible embarassed.....as would his Mom!

Robert posing with Carmen and Helmet Hago....Sebastian's parents from Germany.

Sharon and Autumn - good friends of ours that were also in Ruthie's wedding.

Below are pics taken a couple of days before the wedding.
Sorry this post is not in chronological order.

Robert and the boys with Sebastian....

Jamin, Brian and Jesse

Sebastian Hago - this pic makes you wonder what he's thinking....hehe...

Ruthie with Jamin and Jesse

*Jess is standing on something...he is taller than Jamin, but not that much :)

Ruthie with her cousin, Helmer, who did all the co-ordinating

and decorating for Ruthie's special day.

To Ruthie: We love you and Sebastian, and pray that God gives you a long and happy marriage!! We will miss you once you leave us here in the Philippines, but you will always stay close to our hearts!!! Ayo Ayo!!!

Because we had two Filipina college students staying with us during their break, we decided to change up our Christmas tradition just a bit. Filipinos celebrate Noche Buena, with a meal at midnight as it turns into Christmas, along with fireworks and partying. So, we stayed up for the fireworks, that ended up being a no-show for most of our neighborhood. I guess recession has hit hard here as well. Then we ate around the table at midnight with our pancit, ham, fruit salad, spaghetti (some of Filipino Noche Buena favorites)...even though none of us were really hungry. We had snacked all evening long, and were more tired than hungry. And of course, we didn't do the partying part of Noche Buena. We are too old for that tradition!!! I'm glad that we had the chance to do Noche Buena this year, but next time....we will just skip the midnight meal, and stick to our own rituals for Christmas Eve. Too much work for something that wasn't all that. And who wants to go straight to bed with a full stomach anyways??

I did learn how to make pancit tho....so that is a plus!

Pictured below: enough pancit for a small army.

Christmas morning before gifts were attacked. We decided to do a small Christmas this year. When asking the boys what they want, their wish list was small. If your kids are like ours, they really don't need any more toys. It's ridiculous the amount of toys that they have that they don't play with, compared with all the kids here that have little.

Jess got a new bass guitar and amp to go with it. Now he can jam with his dad...

Jamin's been wanting rollerblades for a long time...

Jess with his new ps2 game...

We have a Monopoly King in our house....Jesse Murphy. We have enjoyed playing this as a family. Plus it is great for math skills and business management!

Jesse and dad jamming together. Video soon to follow...

Homeschool co-op party before Christmas.....making crafts.

Our co-op family minus one family....

While our college friends were with us, we took them all over Cebu to historic and scenic places. This is taken at the top of the mountain, overlooking a portion of Cebu and Mactan.

Fiesta time in the mountains

Flat Stanley visits Magellan's Cross

*Flat Stanley is a school project of our neice in Texas. As we were touring Cebu with Jamin, Jesse and the girls, Flat's was getting the tour also. For more information about Flat Stanley, please visit this website: http://www.flatstanleyproject.com/