Hey Jude...

Hey family:

Jason & I want to blow the dust off this old blog and start updating at least once every 2 weeks to show you how life is going for us up here in beautiful BC and allow you to keep up with how much our little handsome man is growing everyday!! :) I'll keep this short and sweet as motherhood has my schedule pretty full but I promise to include new photos that are guaranteed to melt your heart and make you smile like a fool. ;)

Here are some highlights to what has been going on in our world lately as of August 2011:

1) Jason started back to Regent with a full load of classes including 2 part time jobs 25 hours per week at Regent acting as a TA for History of Christianity and Development Assistant for fundraising as well. Needless to say, his plate is full and he is still finding time to come home and hang out with little man.

2) I was able to step into Jason's part time position temporarily in the last 2 months of pregnancy in the development office calling donors to Regent college thanking them for their willingness to give. That was truly a great experience for me to get out of the house, nourish some new friendships with girls I hadn't had time to get to know more and also spend more time with Jason at school. Almost like we were in undergrad again...except with a baby! ;)

3) The new arrival of Jude Galiano into our lives and most importantly, our hearts. He has absolutely become our "pocket full of sunshine" http://youtu.be/x9MvUdR6j3w in these last 2 months and we are overjoyed to be chosen by God to be his parents. He's unbelievable in every way & already changing every moment, learning new skills by the minute. We could not be more in love!

4) We've had an amazing Fall & Winter season here with not nearly as much rain as last year. There's no other place on earth more beautiful than Vancouver to us. All four seasons come very distinctively and have allowed us to appreciate each one as it comes.

5) Last but certainly not least...drum roll please.......... Jason will be graduating in April with his Masters in Christian studies. You can read more about this degree here: http://www.regent-college.edu/academics/programs/?id=2

For all who have had no idea that Regent even existed (as we didn't before we moved here), it is one of the most prestigious and highly recognized theological graduate schools in the world. Individuals from every ethnic background travel from all over the world, uprooting their lives and leaving all they know as home, just to come and have the opportunity to study and be trained at Regent. All of our closest friends are literally from around the globe! One of my dearest friends who has come to help me take care of Jude on several occasions is from Finland. As we have grown up in such polar opposite environments, our common denominator is our relationship with God and our desire to pursue Him further. I can't imagine the day later this year when she is done with school and will move back to Finland in August as we have truly become so close. However, I am thankful for the time we've been here and the chance to live life with such amazing individuals! Vancouver has become an enriching and special place to us and forever will be. We absolutely love the fact that Jude was born here and will always carry the name "Galiano" that will hopefully one day lead him back here to experience Vancouver and maybe even Regent as we have been blessed to.

This season, these last almost 2 years of uprooting our lives, leaving friends and family, following a dream and God's voice, venturing out into the unknown has been trying and wonderful all in one breath! We have grown so much as individuals, as man and wife and now as a family of 3. We would not trade this experience for all the comforts in the whole world because what we have gained in being here cannot be bought. It has been handed to us, piece by piece, by our Holy Father who knew all the ways this city, this school, this community would teach us how to be better human beings. From our eating habits to how we view the environment around us- we truly are the richest people in the world by being here. With that I will leave you with some recent photos of Jude and the joy he constantly wears on his sweet smile. Adieu.