baby girl's got sweet moves

here i am at 21 weeks.  just over half-way there!  

and look what's inside!  here's our little baby GIRL, healthy & active...

(it's a video, so push PLAY to view her sweet moves)

she appears to have a finnish nose, a long neck like her mama, & little ramsdale lips.  but goodness, most of these 4d images (below) are a little freakish, & we do hope we're having a little human & not an alien (meaning they're probably not an accurate means for sizing up the little one's features, but it's fun to imagine).  we think she looks pretty cute in this one, though...

everything appears to be going swell for her in there.  she ended the ultrasound session with a thumbs up!

life on the farm

this weekend my friend lauren came over, her pet gecko, mr. eko, in tow.

lauren & i share a love for reptiles, amphibians, tree climbing, the great blue heron, & machetes, and attribute our present good health to being dirty, curious tomboys as children (hyper-immunity!).  my dad affirmed this today--that i've always been an unlikely combination of tomboy & lady, picking up toads one minute, eating dainty breakfasts of tea with scones the next...

: this is toaders, who lives in our barn :

: this is lauren :

and while i'm introducing you to animal life around here, here's catters, who has brought much joy into our lives.  josh & i aren't really pet people, particularly cats & dogs, though i'd love to raise a goat, iguana, or alpaca!  but catters, a fiercely independent + fiercely loyal barncat, is a real special wonder.  she is sweet and nurturing one minute, & biting heads off of mice the next. i'm in love with her dual nature (part tomboy, part lady, like me & lauren).  maybe she's even made a cat lover out of me. 

to cali & back

the week in review:

on thursday alice, a dear friend from college, flew out from boston to spend the weekend with us, recording an album in our home.  chris braman drove down to do sound for her, & he transformed our living room into an authentic-looking studio.  we loved having alice with us!  alice has been a faithful friend to me since we met on the first day of college 13 years ago!  she flew down to visit me in peru three times during my term--once for my surgery, once for a 6-month volunteering stint with FH as a newly decorated master (mistress?) in public health, & once to help me pack up & leave.  & her 4'10" stature made her the perfect flower girl for our wedding! :)

on friday josh played a sold-out show (320 people) in lafayette, IN, at a warm little cafe.  college friends of mine, kate & sid, came to the show!

early sunday morning we left for california, a quick trip to play two coffeehouse shows at calvary chapel bible college (youth workers' conference) at murrieta hot springs.  just two full days in california, with a 12-hour travel day on each end.  but we managed to cram many fun & memorable times into those two days!  

we arrived on sunday afternoon, before the room at the retreat center was ready for us, so we headed down to encinitas/san diego to spend time with our friends russell & brianna!  God has been so good to give us so many beautiful long-distance friends!  we spent the evening with them, met up with cindy (also from our east coast walking on water tour) at church, & even ran into our friend tim crozier on the streets of encinitas.  tim "happened" to be running a coffeehouse, so he grabbed josh for an impromptu concert.  we spent the night with russell & brianna, in their lovely apartment right on the pacific.

: pale midwesterners in the california sun :

(i didn't get a good russell-brianna photo, so i stole one of whitney's from our east coast walking on water tour!)

we still had some time to kill before we needed to be at the conference on monday, so we headed to jedidiah*, josh's sponsors, to say 'hello' to our friends there.  we haven't exactly figured out what "sponsorship" means, but so far it seems to include:  all the jedidiah clothes we could ever want, possible covered travel expenses to various overseas relief/development locations, free promotion/marketing for josh through their site/events, & meeting lots of great people. they've taken good care of us!  & we're so thankful for their increasing  friendship & support. 

(*brand that sponsors josh--a really great company that supports artists, activists, musicians, & surfers, & donates a portion of their profits to organizations like world vision & international justice mission) 

i'm just barely learning to surf, but here's my favorite surfboard ever.  can you see why?

we enjoyed a shopping spree at the warehouse!  they don't have much in the way of maternity clothes :), but i did find a couple of good zip-up hoodies!  it's truly a blessing to receive free clothes during a season when our income is so limited & unpredictable.  the Lord has taken care of us in myriad & creative ways during this time!  

on our way back to murrieta we happened upon the old town of temecula, an old west 1890s town with quaint little shops & restaurants.  

finally back in murrieta, we enjoyed a real retreat at the campus in between josh's two shows.  the campus is beautiful, & boasts some pretty idyllic hot springs.  more walking on water friends, mike doyle & matt beacham, showed up at josh's first concert.  

bird lovers that we are, we spent half an hour singing to this black swan.  i think she liked us.  josh & i have had amazing success in singing to animals, birds & deer in particular--it draws them near, & builds trust & friendship.  they'll move closer, then stand in peaceful reverence for the duration of our song.  you should try it sometime!  we have not tried this with unfriendly types like coyotes, though.

: she had the most beautiful feathers :

we arrived back home late wednesday night, & are trying to figure out which time zone we live in.  josh is playing (ahem, working!) on his new imac, & i am trying to teach myself to play the concertina (it will either be soothing or torturous to practice music that close to the baby).  

& that's the news from the garrels household...

he's a wordsmith & a skater

we just returned from a quick trip to california, & also had a visit from alice this weekend.  i'll do an alice/california post tomorrow

so today as i painfully stood up from my chair after lunch & hobbled over to the sink, josh commented on my funny way of walking these pregnant days.  "well it makes sense, honey," he said.  "the entire fulcrum of your bipedalism is shifting right now!"  yes, that josh.  he's good with words, & has somehow retained entire high school health books full of medical vocabulary & facts.  (i was the spelling bee queen, but he's really the king of vocabulary.  now if we could just combine our powers...)  

so as a tribute to josh, who lightens up my days, here's a little something that he's enjoying today.  i watch this & say, "ouch!  is he okay?"  josh watches it and says, "awesome!"  i'm sure at least some of you will like it...

                           : intro to lakai's fully flared :

i'm SO hard rock!

to any indianapolis readers:

tomorrow night in downtown indy there will be a silent art auction to benefit global angels, an organization that partners with & financially supports various established, long-term sustainable development organizations/projects worldwide. i will have three new pieces in the show. the event is one night only, at the hard rock cafe in downtown indy. auction starts at 8:30, & there will be live music, as well (which i'm sure will make for a rather loud silent auction, eh?). it should be fun! & it's for two good causes: local art + social action. 100% of proceeds go to global angels.

: puerto de pucallpa :

: photo transfer, watercolor, gouache, pencil, thread :

mitchy at 17 weeks

i promise i won't make this blog all about pregnancy. but i'm at 18 weeks now (almost half-way there!), & people have been asking for pictures of the belly! josh took this one last week...

(note the hip maternity jeans that mom & dad garrels gave me for christmas!)

guest book + travel log

i've noticed that our blog is part guest book, part travel log. so going along with the guest theme, here are the recent guest book entries... (many faraway friends were in town for the holidays)

friday: jason & kari from arizona, kristie & campbell from ireland, for afternoon tea

saturday: jay & jess kirkpatrick with baby kian, from indy (but we rarely see them anymore!) josh & jay recorded music while jess & i talked maternity & babies

monday: jason & kari spent new year's eve with us

tuesday: zack, gala, & solomon, from seattle, joined us for brunch & the afternoon

wednesday: my friend lauren (from nearby) joined us for dinner & stayed the night at what's fast becoming the garrels bed & breakfast

our social life seems to alternate between hyperspeed and screeching halt. living out in the country & doing solitary creative work, sometimes we don't see anyone but each other, & maybe the billett construction guys, for almost a week, even though we really DO love people! this week we had so much fun with friends, & hosting them, that we started dreaming about operating some sort of b & b, or guest house, at some point in our lives (although it's probably more fun if we don't make a business out of it, & we really just host our friends! yes!). i've already taken the dream seriously, & am experimenting daily with new meal options. this morning's experiment involved merging a stuffed french toast recipe with a bananas foster recipe. the result? delicious! wanna join us for brunch? (i think the baby likes my new love of food/cooking...)

: new year's eve with jason & kari :

(looks like josh has a halo over his head)

: zack & gala :

: our darling nephew solomon :

bird-headed children

i told gala about this, & then realized a few other seattle folks who read this might be interested...

a favorite seattle artist, a.j. power, will be displaying his work for the month of january at cafe flora in madison park. there's an opening reception on january 7 from 6-8.

i first discovered his work while it was on display at victrola coffee on capitol hill. a.j. power is an ornithologist who worked in the gambia as a peace corps volunteer. thus, often he paints anthropomorphic birds in africa, & the result is magical. he'll be showing all new work, ongoing paintings of the gambia & birds. (on a related sidenote, at the raptor center in north carolina i was reminded of all of the humans-with-bird-heads in ancient egyptian mythology/art. interesting...)