And done...

So after moving to the new room and getting "settled" in we were able to take some better photos. So here are ones of the Garcia clan.

Daddy and Baby! Does he look like daddy or mommy?

The Garcia's...YEA!

He's Here!!!!

We have a boy...7 lbs 13 oz. He was a weeks early and was born at 11:57 am. Special thanks to Karla who was a great coach and help during the 2 hours of pushing that Jill had to do! She was such a champ and I am very proud of her! He is definitely cone headed, so I will try to take some more pics as his head becomes normal again.

He is healthy and all boy! Thank you Lord for such a precious gift and the opportunity to raise a young man up in your ways! We praise you for this miracle and are excited to see what you will do in his life.

Thank you for all your prayers.

Love

Aaron and Jill.

Update

She is at 9cm and they are paging the Dr now. So hopefully anytime now we will greet baby Caleb into the world!

It Begins...

So Jill started having contractions this morning around 12:45am. By 3am we decided to call the Dr. and they said to come on in to the hospital. So we arrived and they admitted us. We are currently 5 cm and 75% affaced. The epideral is in and things are 100% better for Jill now with the contractions. They were definitely not fun! Nurse says we are just sailing at this point. Here are a few pics of the labor room. It is definitely nice!

More updates to come!

The Big Reveal...

Last week I wrote that I would have a big surprise at the end of this week, well, here it is!!! We were blessed by some WONDERFUL people in our lives, who gifted us with a 3d/4d sonogram session this afternoon!! There are no words that can express the emotions I felt looking at my sweet baby boy, watching him move and kick, suck his foot, grab his ear, yawn and smile, all while still in my growing belly!! WOW! With our sonogram, we received a DVD of the entire thing, 25 minutes long, a CD with almost 50 pictures of him, and even some black & white and sepia printouts of some of the best shots we got! As I was laying there watching him on the big wall (they had the images projected onto the wall in LARGE form, it was so cool!), I couldn't help but think about my absolute favorite chapter in the entire bible, Psalm 139. Honestly, up until we found out we were pregnant, and even now, up until today, I always applied it to myself. I was created in my mother's womb, I am fearfully & wonderfully made, I am unique. But today, I was blessed with a whole new outlook and understanding of that Psalm. I understood it as if the Lord was reading it to me about Caleb. The first few moments I saw him up on the big wall, I could not believe it was him, and I was overwhelmed with joy, contentment and true excitement of what is to come. And yes, I did cry (not surprising though!). All in all, this was one of the best days of my life, and I will cherish these pictures of Caleb forever. Who knows if I will ever have this opportunity again, but I know for today, I am going to cherish every single moment of this pregnancy I have left...and then the real adventure begins!! Enjoy the photos!!

I think he has my round nose here

This one is a little awkward, but the two little things in front of his mouth are two of his little toes (the others are blocked by his arm)

He was trying to get his little foot in his mouth here

And mission accomplished! Yes folks, that is his foot!

He was clearly getting tired of us pushing on him so that he would move and cooperate a little more. He yawned probably 4 or 5 times during the 25 minute time span. So precious!!

This one and the next are probably my two favorite. He has such a sweet little face, I can't wait to soak him up when he gets here!!!!

Caleb, we love you so much and cannot wait to meet you! You already are so much a part of the joy I experience daily! Thank you Lord, for such a gift as this sweet little life!

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139: 13-16

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Getting back into shape

So you might be asking yourself why I am already getting ready for Halloween. Actually, this is the gear that was loaned to me by a friend here in Dallas. I have been wanting to start biking for exercise for a while, and just have not had the money to buy the gear to do it. So I decided to ask Don if I could borrow his bike to see if it would even be a worthwhile investment.

So today I decided to go ahead and see how my body would like/ dislike this type of exercise. Here are my thoughts 30 minutes after my first ride:

1) I am out of shape. I was doing really well by going to the gym 4 days a week before I hurt my shoulder and I was in pretty good shape. Not so much anymore!
2) I am not sure if it is the shorts (again borrowed) or what, but I would say that the nether regions were not doing so hot about 5 minutes into the ride. This can be damaging to the motivation to keep going, but I did anyway (11 minutes total for first ride time).
3) I like this much better than running. For one thing, I can't run because of my herniated disk in my back. I tried it, but wound up walking home after my second run from my back giving out. It is low impact, and I feel like I could go much longer without pain. We will see if this is the case when I wake up in the morning. I am curious if I will be super sore, sore, or not at all sore. I will let you know.

Over all, first day not to bad. Not great, but am looking forward to doing it again, which I guess is a good sign. I will continue posting to let you guys know how it goes.

P.S. Since I am borrowing the gear for only 2 weeks, I am also keeping my eyes and ears open to anyone not riding their bike that wouldn't mind me using theirs for a while. I need to talk with Jill about money and where we are to maybe start saving up for one of my own (along with everything else we are saving up for :-) ).

First Days

So my first couple of days at my new job consisted of meeting mostly everyone that works there minus those that were out of the office or on vacation. I learned how to use some of the systems necessary to perform my role there. For those of you wondering my title, it is NOC (Network Operations Center) Support Technician. I also found out a couple of perks that I will be getting with this new position:

1. They will pay for all training materials and tests so that I can become certified. Something Jill and I have talked about me doing.

2. I get a company cell phone, which will be the new Iphone. Really excited about that.

3. Reimbursement for my DSL at the house. This is great because I was just bumped by AT&T to the Data Max plan which gives me up to 10.5 Mbps. Really, really fast for those of you less techy people reading this.

So early on in the day I found out that most everyone there are dog lovers. In fact one of the ladies brough her 11 month old Mastif to work. According to them this is a normal occurance for employees to bring dogs to work (I enjoy this since Jill and I can't have pets yet).

By mid day the two Bills (whose team I am on) and I went to Walmart and Tom Thumb for a grocery run. We were picking up ingredients for homemade ice cream since one of the ladies had brought there ice cream maker. So around 3pm we all gathered in the break room to enjoy this tasty treat.

Now obvioulsly I did do some work, but apparently around holiday weekends the office kind of slows down since our clients kind of slow down as well. In fact I left at 2:30 my second day. I have a feeling I need to enjoy this since it could be the calm before the storm. They assured me that things will definitely pick up soon.

So all in all I had a great first couple of days, and look forward to the days to come.

Transitions

So for those of you who have not heard, I have started a new job! It all started about the time that Jill and I found out that we were pregnant. I started looking at the budget and what I brought to the table financially with Wired PC Guys, and just started praying that God would show us where he wanted me to be vocationally so that He could provide for our family.

It wasn't but two weeks later that I got a phone call from my old boss with Accenture asking if I would be interested in a position at Celanese on a contract basis. I gave him an answer that same day after talking it over with Jill and our Community group, and since he needed to know pretty quickly. It just didn't seem to be the best move since I would be making less money, and there was no guarantee that this would turn into full time gig.

Well the next day I had lunch with Don and he decided to throw me a curve ball and encouraged me to speak with Tom Wright who is the IT Director at VentureNet. He encouraged me to do this because he found out that there were two positions they were trying to fill. So I contacted Tom that next day and setup a meeting with him over breakfast. I did this because two days in a row I fell like I have been nudged a little to see what opportunities were out there.

As I spoke with Tom about where Jill and I were with a new baby and wanting to try and allow Jill to stay home, he got excited by the fact that I was now looking for a full time position elsewhere. He proceeded to tell me that one of the positions was still open and that he would love to me to look into taking it. He wanted to make sure that the man I would be reporting to would be on board so we set up a lunch appointment the next Monday. After this we definitely continued praying multiple times a day for this opportunity as to whether or not this is what God wanted for us.

Lunch went very well, and by the end of it they had given me an offer letter. This was exciting since it was going to be a salary position, with paid time off and bonuses and holidays. You would be surprised how nice things like vacation and sick time sound when you haven't had them for a little over a year. So after much prayer and conversations with Jill and our friends we decided to accept the offer.

I e-mailed my new boss with the news and I started July 2, 2008. We are excited to see what the Lord will do next, and are anxious to meet our new little one.

Coming Soon...

To the Garcia house near you, a brand new addition to the family. That's right Jill and I are expecting our first little one come January 11th, 2009(current due date), and we can't be more excited, overwhelmed, and blessed! As of today we are 9 weeks along, and we have heard the baby's heart beat (a fast little 174 BPM) and had the first sonogram take which you can see above.

We actually found out almost a month ago when we took the home pregnancy test. It was weird because the night before we were going to take the test I had this really weird feeling like it was going to be positive. Don't ask me why I thought this, but I did. So I told Jill that when she took the test to let me see the results first. So morning came, Jill took the test and I waited a few minutes then looked at the results. I walked out of the bathroom and said "Sorry honey..." which was followed by Jill's very disappointing sigh, "...looks like we are going to have to find a new place for your office since we are going to need it for the nursery!" This was followed by Jill jumping out of bed as if she were 7 and it was Christmas morning.

We thank the Lord for answering our prayers and continue to rest in him through the rest of the pregnancy and beyond. It is funny to look back at just the last few months. First we finish paying off our debts then we are now expecting a little miracle.

We ask for your continued prayers for Jill (she has been feeling nauseous pretty much all day for last few weeks), for the baby's health, and the overall pregnancy. We thank the Lord in advance for how he will show himself through this little one. We will keep you posted on any changes and when we find out the sex of the baby, which we will be doing.

Love you all!

Summer Movies

This summer is shaping up to be a good one for movie goers. This week kicked it off with the awaited live action, comic book turned movie IRON MAN!

Jill and I braved the opening night and saw this great movie, and I will say that even if you have never read the comic or even hate comic books, this movie is still well worth the $10 bucks for movie tickets.

There are two comic book movies that stick out in my mind. Those being Batman Begins, and Spiderman (not the one that came out in the 80's). Iron Man, has rounded out the top three in my mind. The main character Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is at best a money hungry, womanizer, who enjoys all the toys in the world, and owns his own weapons manufacturing company, but lacks a true family. The people closest to him are his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow), Col. James Rhodes (Terrance Howard), and Obadiah Stane who helps Stark with Stark Industries.

This is not the Peter Parker story of a man who turns into a superhero by being bit by a genetically enhanced spider, or even Bruce Wayne who relies on fear and gadgets to defeat his foes, as a part of the revenge for his parents being killed in front of him. Tony Stark is a genius who uses his brain to make brawn through his one of a kind (at least for the moment) suit that allows him flight, and strength among other things, in an attempt to help those that can't help themselves.

I won't go into details, but suffice it to say, I would be willing to buy this movie once it comes to DVD, and even go see it again in the theater. It is funny, action packed, and actually has good acting with a well delivered script. Jon Favreau, the director, hits this one out of the park. Keep an eye out for him in a cameo as Stark's personal driver. Also make sure you STAY TO THE END of the credits for a short scene by a special guest actor.

If you disagree with this review, that is great....really! If everyone liked and disliked the same things, this world would be boring. I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.

A new way of eating...

So Jill and I have decided for the month of May to only buy our groceries at Whole Foods. Most of our friends and family know that I am the natural/ organic eater in the family, but Jill has been great in coming on board with this for the month just to try it out.

So we went today, and just to let you know Whole Foods is great. They might not have what you would find in the normal corner grocer, but it is much better for you (mostly)! We have decided to go once a week as to keep the cost down, and by doing this we only purchase dinners for that week only, and any other random things we might need like bread or milk.
Week one we spent $120, for all breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the week. So if that is the average for the rest of the month we are looking at spending just under $500. Now, we do have money set aside for "eating out", but the hope is to not eat out so much by eating in.

If you have never been to Whole Foods I strongly recommend it. The staff goes above and beyond to make you feel important and like you are the only person in the store. Our first visit, Jill and I forgot to grab a cart or basket. Seeing this, one of the staff offered to grab one for us. He went, he got, and found us to give us the basket. It was awesome. I have never been given this kind of treatment in a grocery store.
Well we will keep you up to date as to how our new eating style goes and if it is worth it!

Our newest family member!

We've jumped in with the crowd and have our first pet! "Hopper" joined our family only two days ago and I'm already loving it! Since Aaron is allergic to cats and we're not ready for a puppy, I've been asking for a bunny for about two years now. I am a huge animal lover, especially when their cute and furry. Aaron surprised me at work on Wednesday with Hopper. Hopper comes from a client of Aaron who was trying to minimize household pets (they already have 2 bunnies & 2 dogs). They gave us everything to go along with Hopper including his cage, food, bedding and toys! We're in a "trial" period right now, to make sure Aaron's not allergic to him, but everything seems to be going great so far outside of an allergy to Hopper's hay. Just means I'll be his housekeeper and will be the one making sure he has clean bedding and litter! Anyway, here's a few pics of Hopper's first day in his new home!

Be blessed and encouraged!

A Long Time Coming

WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!! Oh how I've longed to say those words for sooo many years and so many different reasons! Our opportunity finally arrived on the night of January 11, 2008. That night will be forever ingrained in my mind as one of the most special and freeing nights of my life! As most of you know, Aaron and I have been working our tails off since we were first married to get out of debt and be free from the financial burdens that come along with owing money to others. As hard as the road has been, it has been equally rewarding. Some of the things the Lord has taught us during this season of life:

-The Lord is faithful
-The Lord will provide for our EVERY need
-The Lord is patient
-The Lord desires to give us His best, not for us to settle for what we think is best for ourselves
-The Lord loves us unconditionally

There's not many times in my life I can honestly say I've been obedient to the Lord, but I will say that EVERY time he has asked me to obey him, I have never had a single regret. There truly is a different kind of freedom that comes with being debt free.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us, with us and encouraged us along this journey. We are so excited to continue down the path that the Lord has for us as we venture into our next phase of life!

Time and Time Again...

I've been thinking how pathetic it is that we have this great blog site, available for anyone to find out updates on us, if they care to, yet somehow it only gets updated every couple months!! So sad!! If anyone still checks for updates, my greatest apologies for not giving you something exciting to read, much less anything new at all!

Since my last post, many things have changed! The biggest news is that we are FINALLY done with the apartment stage of life! We are renting a wonderful 3/2 house in Richardson, and are absolutly loving every square inch! We've gone from about 800 sq. ft. to almost triple that! I've got my own wonderful office setup and Aaron has his own separate office setup as well! It works out great since we are both running our own businesses out of our home, we each have our own space to spread out and use. The downside to renting is that it makes no sense to try and do any updates since we don't own it, so we're getting used to the 1950's kitchen and windows. The rest of the house is wonderful, with the original dark hardwood floors throughout and the nice big rooms. I'll update with photos next time, it needs to be cleaned first!

Another big thing is that Aaron's business is going well, (http://www.wiredpcguys.com/) and he has taken on working at our church 20 hours a week as a contract IT person. I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to have at least some consistent income to be able to budget with!

My business is going great as well(http://www.expressyourselfcreations.com/). I have greatly expanded my life of products to include journals, notepads, fridgepads, baby books, pregnancy journals, planners, binders, address books, family binders and more! I am constantly coming up with new ideas and barely have enough time to even try them out! I had a chance in June to have a booth at McKinney Trade Days (for all of you who don't know what that is, it's an organized outdoor flea market) Texas is widely known for our upscale flea markets! Although the weekend was a flop, caused by none other than the awful turential downpors we have experienced for weeks on end, I did meet a wonderful lady there who does a lot of the upscale jr. league shown in town and she offered to let me setup with her for free in exchange for help with her embroidery business! SOOOOO exciting! So come October and November, I'll be super busy with a different show almost every weekend! I can't wait to see what the Lord does!

We have projected December as our magic "get-out-of-debt" month and so far we're right on schedule! This is very encouraging for us and has been a long time coming! It finally allows us to begin thinking through the family stage of life, andno one is more ready then I! The Lord has truly blessed us with Aaron's business and mine as well and I am encouraged and brought to my knees everyday thanking him for his rich blessings and provision! I find myself more aware of prayer now, since I spend lots of time praying for jobs for Aaron, and praying for the Lord's will with my business.

We are still plugging away at our church(http://www.watermark.org/). Being involved with the high school ministry is wonderful! We love the kids and I have had the great pleasure of helping out one of my closest friends with her group of soon to be sophomore's. I am so excited to dive in with them this fall and help her lead them into a deeper relationship with the Lord. I know it will help keep me on my toes! Aaron still loves to help out with the programming side of things. He's so great up on stage when they are doing all the funny youth group skit stuff! He makes me laugh like no one else can!

Our community group is going great. Having a close knit group of friends to share life with is so wonderful! We are getting ready to meet a new member of the group in just a few weeks as well. Karla, one of the wives, and also one of my closest friends, is having her 2nd baby, a little girl!! We can't wait to meet her! We've had the blessing of watching Dustin and Karla start their family with Noah almost two years ago and to see him grow into such a little man is so amazing! I can't wait to see how great of a big brother he will be to baby girl!

I guess that's really our only update, for now at least! I"d love to hear how each of you are doing! I'm praying for you and love you all!!

Jill

New Adventures

Well, it's been a while since I last posted anything and since quite a bit has happened, I thought it was about time to give an update! So far 2007 has been wonderful. We had a great Christmas in Houston with Aaron's family and started off the new year rested after taking over a week off! It was great! As mentioned in the last blog, Aaron was to have some great job opportunities happen in 2007 with the company he was contracted to work for, Celanese. Nonetheless, he had a great opportunity arise, just not where we thought it would be coming from! The middle of January, a friend of ours, Don Dinnerville, whom we know from church, and whom Aaron has done some business for before, IT Support, came to Aaron with a business proposal to partner with him and his company, WellDon!.net. We immediately started praying over this because it sounded almost too good to be true, better pay, flexible schedule - since Aaron would be setting his own appointments each week, and working for himself, not making money for someone else. I quickly jumped the gun and told him he should immediately take it!! But, after a few long talks with Aaron, realized that I needed to step back and allow the Lord to really show HIS plan for us. We were in the waiting room with Celanese to see if they were going to offer Aaron a full time employment offer and did not want to shut that door until it was time, so we waited, and waited, and waited for the Lord to do his work, not only in our hearts, but also through testing our patience and obedience to him. After almost two months of waiting, just last week, Celanese confirmed that they had no spot for Aaron at the moment, and so we decided it was time to change careers and start anew! Aaron has given his notice to Accenture (the company he was actually employed by), and will start working with Don on a full time basis, doing computer tech and IT support work the middle of March. We are both so excited for this new opportunity and adventure and I know that the Lord will continue to be faithful and provide for our every need! I am so excited for him to really pursue what he has tried to start for over a year now, WiredPCGuy.com!! Please pass the word around if you or anyone you know has computer problems, give Aaron a call!!

As for myself, I last mentioned that I was planning on starting my own greeting card business. Well, I'm still planning to start my own business, and continue, somewhat, with cards, but have expanded to journals! Pregnancy journals, regular journals and cards will be my main products, with the possibility of expanding in the future. All can be customized to have the person's name on the front or just the general cover in the pictures below. While it's still not official (I haven't registered with the state for an L.L.C., yet) the company name I have chosen is, Express Yourself! Creations. I look forward to having an online e-commerce business/website, as well as marketing to local boutiques in the Dallas area and possibly doing a few trade shows in the future. I am so passionate and excited about this new venture and cannot wait to see where the Lord takes me and teaches me through it! I'm also continuing to do flower arrangements for weddings through word of mouth and enjoy being able to use that gift to bless people on their special day!

As for us, we're doing great! Debt payoff is going well and we've decided that, Lord willing, we're going to try and take a trip to Italy towards the end of this year, kind of as our get out of debt gift to ourselves! Julie (my sis), Ben and the kids are getting ready to move in May. Ben is just a little over a week away from finding out where he will be going for residency!! How exciting, and stressful it is all at the same time!! Raleigh is their #1 pick, with Denver a close 2nd. Of course, I approve of either one, they are both more beautiful places, and have cooler weather than Dallas! We are still volunteering with Student Ministries at Watermark and loving every moment! The kids are so amazing and clearly love the Lord so much!! They are encouraging and challenging as well within my own walk of faith. I wish I had known that much when I was their age!! Our community group is going great. We continue to spur each other on to greater things and hold accountable our walks with the Lord, marriages and relationships with others in our lives. One of the couples is expecting baby #2 and we're all so excited to meet this little person! It's so amazing to sit back and watch the process, every little detail. I can't wait for the Lord to bless us with a little Garcia! Well, I guess that's it for now. I pray all of you are doing well and enjoying this year! Until next time...God bless!!

Merry Christmas, not Happy Holidays!!

2006 has been a year full of trials, tribulations, lots of prayer, joy, blessings, new friends and new family! Corbin James Garcia ( nephew) joined us in January, we finished up Apartment Life in June, got plugged in with a new Community Group and continue to grow in our marriage and relationships with family and friends! One thing has remained consistent through this past year and that is the overwhelming peace of Christ!

Ok, so what's new?!?!? I (Jill), started a new job at the end of August at Dallas Semiconductor/Maxim. They make analog semiconductors, I don't really know what those are, but I'm learning! I am the Executive Admin for the Director of the Automatic Info Business Unit. The people are wonderful, the atmosphere is amazing, very relaxed and down to earth. I work with about 50 engineers so it does stay interesting (I'm learning engineer language, but it's coming very slowly!). Aaron is still working as a contractor for Accenture, contracted at Celanese, an Oil & Gas company here in Dallas. There are possibilities of some great opportunities for him this coming year, so we're praying for the Lord to lead and guide our decisions. WE SOLD THE VOLVO!!! For those of you who don't know, we've have two very hard years with the Volvo and for four months had been trying to sell it. The Lord provided in amazing ways throughout those four difficult months and through a series of events, we have sold the Volvo and now have my parents old Camry and my Camry, both paid for!!!

2007 is going to be a great year, there is no doubt in my mind! We're setting some pretty lofty goals and look forward to being disciplined to meeting those! Getting out of debt is #1!! We're prayerfully, about 8 months out and I am definitely counting down!! The Lord continues to provide for us in ways we could never imagine and continues to show his love and faithfulness to us as long as we are following him.

I have started a new hobby, a passion actually and look forward to the possibility of starting my own company in 2007. I have picked up the art of handmade greeting cards! It's almost an obsession, but I have not let it take over my life, yet! Right now it consists of occasion cards that I'm sending to friends and family. I've recently purchased a Cricut (www.cricut.com), actually last night and have already had a blast figuring out everything it can do and dreaming of the ways it could boost my cardmaking skills!!

Aaron recently bought the xBox 360 and is fully enjoying it! He's already beaten the first game he purchased! He continues to enjoy the computer stuff but has not really done much with his business lately, although 2007 might be a good year to pick that back up as well!

We pray that your 2006 has been a true blessing filled with the joy of the Lord, and pray the same and much more for 2007!! I'll add pictures after Christmas! Good Bless You, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Love Aaron and Jill

No Excuses!!

Hello all! Well, we've finally settled in to our new apartment and absolutely love it! It's a small one-bedroom, but has vaulted ceilings throughout and that definitely adds the feeling of more space. Apartment Life has ended and although it was hard to leave our old place, I can't say that it hasn't been wonderful to have free time again. Although the past month has not been the easiest road to be on, we continue to preservers and trust that the Lord has a purpose. Not even a week after we moved in I began to have sharp chest pains that I had previously had for the past few years. Normally I would take an over the counter medication and they would go away after a couple days, but this time was different. After going through an entire box of medicine and the pains only getting worse, I decided to see a doctor (You'd think it would not have taken me so long, but I can be pretty stubborn when it comes to doctors!). He almost immediately blamed it on my gallbladder. I went in to see him on a Monday morning and by that afternoon, I had already had bloodwork and an ultrasound. After seeing that it was not gallstones, I went back to a different hospital the next morning and had a Nuclear Medicine test done that proved the lining of my gallbladder had been infected and it was causing my gallbladder to fail. Now, until I went to see my Dr., I had no clue what the gallbladder was and so I was very curious as to how serious this was going to be. I learned, through my mom and Aaron that the gallbladder produces bile which in turn helps your body to breakdown unnecessary consumed fat. So, to make too long of a story shorter, that Friday of the same week of my tests, I had my gallbladder removed. It's now done as a laproscopic procedure so I was in and out of the surgery center within 5 hours, but I've still had to train myself to watch what I eat. I was on a clear liquids diet for two weeks and then an extremely low-fat diet for another two weeks. I'm almost at a point where I can eat like a normal person again, but I find myself not really desiring the same foods as before, which I have to say is definitely a good thing! Anyway, that's my excuse for not updating sooner!!

Other than that, Aaron and I have enjoyed our nights where we can come home and do nothing if we want to because our calendars are blank!! We have gotten really involved in our community group (kind of like a small group for married couples) and have thoroughly enjoyed walking through life with people who genuinely love us and care about our relationships with Christ and especially our marriage. We are so blessed to have folks that are willing to have difficult conversations if needed and to encourage us through hard times.

On another note, and I can't remember if I have already mentioned this or not, but over Memorial Day Weekend, Aaron and I were fortunate enough to take our first vacation, just the two of us, since our honeymoon! We rented a car and drove to Vail, Colorado!! We spent our first two nights in Denver and the last four nights in Vail and it was amazing! The scenery there is spectacular! It was such a good time for us to just spend with each other. We went horseback riding and Aaron got to play a round of Golf and I got to hang out by the Vail River and journal, something I had not done in months. It was such needed time after our year as a Cares Team. We've decided that we're going to try and make it more of a priority to take trips together, as our budget allows. There's so many places we want to see!

Well, I guess I'll stop for now. I feel like I've probably worn your eyes out, but I pray, we pray that y'all are doing wonderful and look forward to the next time!!

And as it ends, it also begins...

I'm not sure the title of this blog really makes any sense, but I thought I'd give it a try! It's the beginning of June and I cannot believe that almost a year has gone by since we started Apartment Life. What an amazing and challenging journey it has been! Over the past few months, we have battled with the decision of re-uping with Apartment Life for another year. We have had so many awesome moments with residents and have grown so much spiritually and relationally that it's almost hard to think about not doing it anymore, but with much prayer and communication with our community group, we have decided not to re-up for another year. We are excited about where the Lord will take us next. We will be moving at the end of June into a more affordable apartment and have prayerfully decided to re-enter in to Student Ministries, specifically Senior High, at Watermark. We both feel like that is where the Lord is leading us next and truly have a desire to be there. We are also excited to have free time again with each other and friends. In fact, we just got back last week from a vacation! We drove the very long drive to Colorado and spent a week in the Rocky Mountains, Vail to be exact. It was amazing and wonderful!! We went horseback riding and Aaron made his way to the Golf Course. We spent time together just hanging out and spent time shopping as well (my most favorite part!). The weather was great and the scenery was absolutely amazing! It was hard to come home, expecially knowing we were coming back to almost 100 degree weather. I'll be sure to post a few pictures from the vacation.
On another note, work is going well for me and Aaron both. I continue to learn new and challenging things everyday at work and really enjoy my job. I can't believe it, but it's already been a year that I've been here at Phytel. Aaron's job is going ok, they have added more work which is good and bad since it's admin work, and he hates admin work, but at least it's keeping him busy. We have progressed with his computer company and are now waiting for the website to get finished. The logo came out absolutely perfect (Thanks to Jon Flaming, www.jonflaming.com, a close friend of ours)! Well, I guess that's it for now! We love hearing from y'all so be sure to post comments if you get a chance! God Bless!

Aaron and Jill Garcia 

Long Time Coming...

Well, as you can see a few months have passed since I last "blogged" and so I thought it was time to send out another hello! Since the beginning of January, Aaron and I have been busy, as usual. Apartment Life is going great! We are beginning to see the fruits of our labor and I have to say, it is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced! I can't remember if I wrote about this before but back in October/November, we met a couple, Lance and Ophelia, who came to our community as victims of Katrina. Aaron and Lance immediately hit it off and after a great conversation, Aaron and I invited Lance and Ophelia to Watermark. They came with us a few weeks before Christmas and since Aaron and I were in Houston a few weekends after that we were unable to follow up with them to see what they thought of it. When we did get a chance to follow up in February, we found out that they had been going ever since!! What a blessing!! We have continued to build that relationship and are so excited to see what the Lord will continue to do with thier hearts! We have also brought one of the managers of the community and a few other residents as well who have enjoyed it and are already inviting others! I have also started building a great friendship with a single gal who lives in the community and have been able to share my story of grace with her and have found that even though traumatic things happened in each of our lives, the Lord can use them for his glory. Please pray for my sweet friend and her heart as she battles through the healing process. Pray that she would truly break down her walls and allow the Lord to just take her in his arms and love her like she has never been loved before.

On another note, I want to say thank you to all of you who have been praying for my family over the past few months. The healing process can be long and painful, but I know the Lord has had His hand in the middle of this the entire time and that nothing but good will continue to come from everything that has happened! Please pray for Aaron and I as we pray through re-signing for another year with Apartment Life. We realize what an incredible ministry it is, but also realize that the time committment might be a little more than we can handle and we would love to get involved in so many other ministries at Watermark. Please pray for the Lord's will to be done and that we would truly seek Him in this process. Thanks for visiting our site and we love you all!!! God bless!!