A little video

Hey baby

Gavin Paul Ashworth was born on December 18, 2009. He weighed in at 7 pounds even and measured 19" long. We'll not give you the play-by-play of the labor and delivery, but we will say that the action began on Wednesday night and ended on Friday morning. We are exhausted and euphoric, everyone is healthy, and I personally am amazed at my wife's fortutude. We just got home a few hours ago.

To friends and family near and far: We are so sorry that we're just not able to respond to the many calls, texts, emails, and other communications you've sent. Give us a moment to get back on our feet and we'll try to get back in touch. For now, this blog is probably the best source of info.

To folks nearby who have offered to help: Same as above. We will probably need your help at some point soon, but let us get our act together a little bit. We had hoped to be able to accept visitors soon, but for now its simply not possible. When we get recovered a bit we'll ask for your help and will be happy to welcome you.

Gavin is achingly beautiful, we are completely in love with him, and thankful to God beyond all telling. He and mommy are sleeping (crashed) as I type. Here he is on day one and day two:











We'll update as much as we can. We love you all.

What do do while waiting

So last week Mary had to do some stuff in Seattle for school.

It was nice enough to stop by Golden Gardens, a lot of fun.

Sometimes I'm surprised by how much my face looks like my late grandpa, Paul Ashworth, in some photos.


Ate dinner here. I didn't really find it bizarre, just fun and unpretentious. Not sure what that says about me. I had delicious pulled elk with (housemade) noodles, Mary had a truly great (housemade) pasta with noodles.

http://bizzarroitaliancafe.com/index.html

Baby due last Wed, so we're happy to take it a day at a time. The nursery looks cooler in person.

Secondhand table (church), secondhand corner shelf (basement), book boxes are old homemade tool boxes, secondhand dark wood chair (church attic), ikea hanging lanterns and crib, Best Chair rocker. The pig (its white and hard to see) on the very top of the shelf was rescued from my in-law's garage. The white walls below could use some art, but we have to get it framed first.

Any day now...

The space I'm in

Been driving Mary to school. The primal, protective daddy in me hates to see my very pregnant wife commute 2 hours a day when she goes into Seattle. Church peeps have been awesome about giving me wide berth (pun intended) schedule-wise to be preggy chauffer.

Since Mary is studying to be a counselor, her program requires that she be in therapy. She sees the counseling center here:
http://www.saintmarks.org/

This church also happens to be one of my favorite places in Seattle. Having been to a few famous cathedrals in Europe, I can say that I don't always find them spiritually uplifting. But St Mark's is one of my all-time favorite worship spaces for lots of reasons; its perpetually unfinished state is a sermon in stone. It's also a cathedral in the literal sense, as cathedral means "bishop's seat."

So I drop Mary off at the counseling center, and wander into the sanctuary. The building was very much unlocked. I'm not necessarily a fan of organ music, but they have a massive, powerful, impressive organ. Someone was practicing. Sunlight, a rare commodity out here, was streaming in the windows.



I wandered further, over to a large, comfy-looking rocking chair. I noticed it was located right beside a large red carpet, above which was a sign denoting this area as a "play area" provided for kids during liturgies. The sun was beaming right there.



I landed on the rocking chair (certified comfy), opened my laptop, felt the sinlight, listened to the music, looked at the space I was in. Here I sat: in sanctuary, in light, in the parent's section. Alone, surrounded, positioned.

One of the many profound moments of this blessed time.

Thanks be to God.

(I won't lie, I was also very pleased with myself)



Here's a video...

Thanks!

Made 3 squash soup = butternut + buttercup + delacata. Also pie: spiced apple with cornmeal crust and pecan topping. It weighed a ton.


Went to Seattle to dine w/ friends. The belly was a hit.


Strategically positioned.


Notice the sweatshirt?


In the apartment, an abundant table.


Smiles.


Trying to figure out how he's positioned in there (he's dropped).


What do grad students do after eating turkey in the evening? Seriously.

Fastest Christmas tree ever

Been down on the suburbs lately. But, when we realized how close we were to the Christmas tree sellers who were setting up shop in the nearby strip mall parking lots, we thought "Hmmm."

Mary pointing out our church...


Jeremy, standing the same location, pointing out how close the tree people are. Can't pass by the opportunity to buy a tree and carry it home.


The gentle giant lumberjack assisted us...


...even more than expected. Dad, I really did plan to carry the thing home myself, honest.


Bam! Tree. Just add water.


Enough time to make caramels (happening right now)

Three heartbeats