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if you look closely at the picture above you will see something that is a rarity up in these parts. no, no not bandit, though he is the studliest dog around...it is what is cast just beside him. yes, it is a shadow!! we got our first full weekend of sun AND warmth and we took advantage of it :) we headed down to the small city of puyallup just 40 miles south of seattle. we walked a little bit of the downtown, had some good old fashion diner food, and then headed to lake tapp.
i put this picture in because we have been getting requests to see if my belly was really growing- well, it is. it is definitely getting more uncomfortable to sleep but let me tell you...this baby boy is getting stronger and stronger. i absolutely love feeling him kick and it is wonderful to have aaron feel him kick too. more belly shots to come in these last 12.5 weeks!
towards the end of our time walking around the lake, we decided to walk to the end of a green space and throw the football back and forth. on our way back to the car low and behold just 30 feet above a bald eagle soars overhead. it was one of the most magnificent and beautiful things either of us have seen. the eagle was so big yet so graceful. he made a few circles and the perched himself in a tree above the parking lot.
this little guy was so cute, i couldn't resist including him :)
to top it off, the clouds finally cleared and we were able to see mt. ranier in all its glory.
"I tell you that that if these should keep silent, the stones would cry out." luke 19:40
we had a great Easter weekend. aaron finished up his first week at the architecture/design firm and it is going really well, praise the Lord. We spent most of Saturday sleeping in and lounging around, both enjoying a respite from work.
Easter Sunday is always a glorious day for it elicits remembrance of a truth we should live from every day...the truth that sets Christianity apart from all else... that Jesus rose from the dead. we enjoyed a great message at church and then spent an evening with our good friends, the Clarks, eating good food, having good conversation, and watching a good movie.
this is my journal entry from Easter 2007 and it is my prayer that it is from this perspective i live: 'my whole being and its purpose is contingent on the resurrection of Christ.'
another update here from the garrett family. we are in week 21 and 4 days already which makes our countdown 18 weeks and 3 days. wow, our baby boy is growing quickly and thus so is my belly! we have been following the baby's growth and development week by week and he is now the length and weight of a banana :) i love bananas! but he wont stay this size for long. weight gain is rapid during this time!
aside from the blessing growing inside my belly, God has given aaron a job in architecture. we are thankful and pray that aaron gets a lot of great experience and hours! God is good and we look forward to continuing the adventure He has for us. More updates as they come along :0)
wow, 2010 is here! aaron and i spent our new year and really the first 2 weeks of january abroad in europe. it was a long trip full of sweet times as part of a team from our church in bellevue. we went to italy, austria, and france to support the calvary chapel church plants there by putting on concerts, helping out with the children's ministries, and building relationships. europe is a dark place spiritually, but God is big and He did big things while we were there- it was a true blessing to be a part of it.
another big blessing was being able to see rome and its ancient architectural wonders. we saw ruins from near the time of Christ and definitely during the time the apostle paul was writing his letters! aaron was able to see many of the places he studied in his classes at cal poly, two of his favorites throughout the entire european trip was the pantheon (rebuilt in 110 a.d.) and san carlo alle quattro fontane (which is basically church building that is truly a sculptural piece). this was an important piece in architectural history because it broke away from the flat facades and made what you see in the picture below. we also saw st. peters basilica and the cistene chapel, the trevi fountain, spanish steps, and really so much more.
as mentioned above, we went to salzburg, austria with a 5 hour layover in vienna. we took advantage of that and hopped on the train to go to the center a vienna. now, i didn't think i could see anything more magnificent than the cistene chapel, but as we entered st. stephens cathedral in vienna i was wrong. this gothic cathedral really took my breath away and i was to find out that that would happen many more times throughout the rest of our trip in austria and france. salzburg was cold! but it was picturesque. the snow on the hillsides and the castle were beautiful. we just had a few days in this little town and both aaron and i agree that it is somewhere we would definitely want to visit again.
france was our last european country. we flew into nice and stayed in cannes at a cute little hotel. we had some delicious baguettes with wonderful tamponade and spicy mustard. i really liked the calvary chapel in nice. the families that we met there were so nice and hospitable, and the small town venue ended up being my favorite concert. aaron was also able to play a couple of his own songs and i must say that my husband has quite a talent!
after nice/cannes and saying au revior (good bye) to the group we had been traveling with, aaron and i hopped on a high speed train, traveled 5.5 hours north and met mandy in paris! now for those of you who dont know, i have known mandy since kindegarten. it is almost hard to fathom that aside from my blood relatives, mandy is the person in my life i have known the longest- a true friend. mandy and her husband, david, opened there cute little home to us and let us stay for the long weekend. aaron and i quickly got a hang of the metro and took the day exploring many of the major sights of paris- arc de triomph, notre dame, the eiffle tower and hotdogs wrapped in baguettes! we also spent and afternoon with mandy at the gardens of versailles, which was frigid cold but it was beautiful. this last weekend in paris was perfectly timed relaxation overall. after the previous 2 weeks of travel adventures and grabbing food from vendors at the train stations, our time in at mandy's was full of good home cooked food and sleep.
and on january 18th we headed back to the USA. i will say that it was definitely a great feeling to be back in familiar territory, back in our own bed and shower, and reunited with bandit!
the days are getting crisper, with the fog rolling in and the christmas lights glowing. we bought our first christmas tree last weekend and decorated it with lights and the few ornaments that we have. we have made ginger molasses cookies and have already hiked around in some snow!
it is winter time up here in the state of washington and soon it will be christmas. but let us not forget what christmas is really about. it is about God's unfailing love for each one of us. He in all His glory became a baby, born in a manger.
'Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.' 2 corinthians 5:18-21
He was man yet without sin and came to give the good news of salvation and to be the source of a true and everlasting love with God. if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, seek Him out honestly and you will not be disappointed. we pray and hope that you will know Him and experience the peace and joy that only He can give.
i love science. i always have. and what has always continued to fascinate me is the human body and all its details down to the molecules. now my sister can probably draw you the structure of the amino acid chains or give you a lecture about carbon double bonds and their strength or angles- i love that she can too because she is such a smarty. i like more of the physiological processes on the organ level like the heart and how calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium play a role in this very important muscle beating so that the 5 liters of blood you have in your body can perfuse the rest of the crucial organs- and all this is done without us thinking about it. and i must say, whether it is the specifics of molecular geometry or the function of the heart there is no doubt in my mind that it has been designed intelligently. the greatest miracle, that is beyond science for me is the conception and development of a human being inside another body.
yesterday morning, aaron and i found out that i am pregnant and that God has blessed us with a miracle! and truly it is! i am probably about 4 weeks into my pregnancy and already the baby's heart is starting to beat in a steady rhythm. all this to say, we are continually amazed by God's wonderful handiwork and are so thankful to God for all that He has provided us. please, those of you who read this we would appreciate any prayer for the health of our growing baby as well as for me.
it is thanksgiving week and i thought it fitting to write a blog about the many things we are thankful for. someone on facebook wrote that she was thankful for non-denominational holidays. well first and foremost, we are thankful for God Himself and for Jesus our Lord and Savior. for His unfailing love, the true peace and joy only He can give, and for being our hope. we are thankful for this beautiful place He has us in- for cold, crisp mornings and for rainy afternoons. we are thankful for the ability to feel the warmth of each other and to have emotions. we are thankful for family and for friends and for the capacity to love. please those of you who are reading this, stop and think. what are you living for? what does your hope rest in and will it be there when the all else fails? look to Jesus, the author of our salvation. the One who made this universe and all that is in it...made you and me. He knows you and wants to have a close relationship with you.
aaron and i get to be a part of an exciting project this coming december 27 through january 14 2010, with our church Calvary Chapel Eastside.
we will be traveling with a team of 12 to Rome, Italy, Salzburg, Austria and Nice, France. we will put on 4 concerts with Seattle recording artist Austen Case, where aaron will be playing lead guitar. working closely with 4 different local churches, our vision is to use music to reach this generation with the Gospel of Christ. it is exciting to simply join God in the work that His Spirit is already doing in europe!
in addition to music, we look forward to partnering with the churches in various events for youth and adults that will address socio-cultural, scientific and Biblical worldview issues. we will also bless and refresh the pastors and their families, and engage in women’s and children’s ministry. likewise, we will remain open to other ministry opportunities with homeless, sick, service projects and the arts. certainly our time and effort will not be wasted! our team has our work cut out for us as we prepare to venture to rome, austria, and france- the picture is much different in these places where christians are a small minority.God has already done so much just in providing me (andrea) with the time off and enough vacation accrued to take this step of faith. He is also continually growing aaron's knowledge base regarding apologetics and how science simply displays the elaborate handiwork of a Creator down to the cellular level! we would love it if you would partner with us as our prayer support. please keep us in prayer as we prepare for this big trip: finances, health, spiritual equipping beforehand, and effective communication when we are there.
'oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.' psalm 34: 3
