December 2012 photos

Merry Christmas 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

What a blessed year our little family has had! We are grateful for your place in our lives and hope that this season finds you thankful for the blessings in your life as well. Highlights this year include celebrating our third wedding anniversary, finding a great church home and welcoming our first son – Timothy Ian Ma – into the family. What a full year it’s been! We are thankful for the gospel-centered preaching, teaching and community found in our church home of Mars Hill Bellevue. We are incredibly blessed to serve and contribute to the work God is doing at Mars Hill. Our hearts are challenged and we are growing in our walks with Jesus. In parenthood, we have enjoyed learning the ropes and loving on our little boy so far! 🙂 We are excited and so humbled to have the new responsibility of raising and teaching Timothy in the years to come about God’s goodness and his incredible grace for us. This year, we’ve posted more regularly on our family blog at www.ajmas.com. Please feel free to subscribe for more regular updates.

The first half of the year brought some work trips for both of us. One of Jenny’s trips was out to Baltimore so we took the time to revisit one of the spots we went to on our honeymoon. In the spring, Andrew also visited Israel on a recruiting trip. Though unexpected, it was an neat opportunity for him to visit some biblically significant landmarks. Andrew continues to enjoy his work at Amazon.com on the Instant Video team and is doing well there. This year, he has also taken on a fun project of doing part-time mobile phone app development for a small company in Seattle. It’s been fulfilling for him to learn some different technology and use his gifting to work on an church app platform used by hundreds of churches. Jenny left her role in Sales Operations at Apex Learning in February to manage our kitchen remodel project and further prepare our home for the big change in our family. She is enjoying this new season of working at home in raising Timothy and growing as a wife and homemaker.

This summer, we sadly said goodbye to sweet Sammy rabbit. After battling with several eye infections, she couldn’t fully recover so we, along with her buddy Stewie, had to bid her farewell in late August. Stewie appears to be getting along okay, but seems quite lonely at times. He is over 8 years old and still makes us laugh with his funny bunny quirks.

Our family continues to be very grateful for God’s overly abundant provision for us in this season. We are glad to be celebrating our fourth Christmas together as husband and wife, and are hopeful as reflect this Advent season on what Christ’s coming means for our lives and purpose. Our family hopes you are able to reflect on and enjoy the season with family and dear friends, and look forward to what 2013 may hold. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!

With love,
The Mas – Andrew, Jenny & Timothy (6 months)

November 2012 photos and update

It’s been getting more fun and noisy for us around here as Timothy is “talking” much more and developing greater control over his cute little limbs. The days are passing quickly recently, and we are enjoying the Christmas season that’s upon us. Have a wonderful December, dear friends and family!

Thoughts from this new mama

The past 5 months with Timothy haven’t exactly flown by, but it’s been full of learning and so much fun at times. They say you can never be fully ready for motherhood (or marriage!) and I’m definitely feeling that truth. Nothing – not even the poor sleep towards the end of the pregnancy – could have prepared me for the tiredness I feel on some days. On the other hand, no amount of time spent with other children I absolutely adore could compare to the amazing thrill of watching our son grow and enjoy life!

The call of motherhood has been challenging for me, and this is only the beginning! Not being able to freely do things I used to take for granted (like long showers) has made me face my prideful and selfish desires for productivity and comfort, and caused me to repent more and run to the cross of Christ. Scripture, biblical books on parenting, and articles like this one are especially nourishing for my wayward soul in this new season.

Friends have asked me if being a mama is what I’d hoped/imagined. I’ve had to respond with the fact that it’s been far more sanctifying than I’d expected! Like marriage, I realize it’s so worthwhile it because it helps me understand God’s grace better. I’m so grateful for an incredibly patient and gracious husband I have in Andrew. I appreciate being able to be at home to raise Timothy, even though some days feel difficult.

Enough of my rambling – here are some pictures from my phone, taken this last month. We hope you are well and able to stay and warm this season, especially our family and friends out east where superstorm Sandy hit this week. Thank you for viewing our family blog!