End of 2012

We are so grateful to God for getting us through another year. Apart from Him, nothing we have accomplished could have been done! We are also grateful for the prayers, encouragement and support from so many of our friends and family. As we come to the end of this year, we just want to re-cap on what's gone on in our lives. Here goes nothing:

• Daniel is now in his 2^nd year of medical school, on track to graduating in 2015. He is doing well and spends a lot of time studying while prioritizing and balancing family life. 
•  We are expecting our 2^nd child, firstborn son Judah ______ Ybarra (Daniel gets to choose the middle name).  His due date is February 19, 2013!  He moves a whole lot more than Ava did in the womb; I have a feeling we are going to have our hands full! Please be praying for his birth, labor and delivery :) 
• Ava is now 21 months old and growing beautifully. We love her more and more every day .
• We are still living in West L.A. at the university’s family housing. There is a lot of community here and neighbors are always willing to help.  
  
• We celebrated our 5^th wedding anniversary in November. We still are still madly in love with one another and it only grows deeper as the years pass.
• After searching for almost a year we have found a new home church,Grace Community Church. We also attend Bible study there; men’s group in the evening and women’s group in the morning. It’s a blessing to learn and grow in God’s Word together. Ava loves her new baby church. She lists all the things she gets to do as we drive there, “church, toys, babies, cookies, Jesus.” The nursery teachers love her and say she is quite chatty. Often times when we get home she starts singing new songs with hand motions that we sometimes can’t make out; either way she’s cute doing them.
• I still get to manage our home and raise our sweet daughter according to God's Word. Everyday is a blessing with her. Though we have our struggles as parents we are fully confident that God has "given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him."  So some days are trial and error and we get to learn so much about ourselves and of God as we parent our child. 
• Daniel has his last final this Thursday! And then he has a break for 2 1/2 weeks! Halleluiah! We are always spoiled when we get to have him home for an extended amount of time. 

We have much to be thankful for and praise God for all He is doing not just in our lives but in the lives of so many others; including you! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Love,
Daniel, Martha, Ava & Judah