A Birth Story
Ender Owen Smith was born on February 11, 2010 at 2:55pm.
Yes, we got his first name from Enders Game by Orson Scott Card. His middle name was inherited from my Papa, Charles Owen Smith.
All throughout the pregnancy, we have heard birth stories that are all kinds of terrifying. Stories of doctors rushing through births, choosing to induce the mother against her will, pushing for a c-section, and generally running the beautiful process of birth like just another task to accomplish.
Praise God we were blessed with an amazing doctor and an amazing experience.
Our doctor was trained mostly by midwives. She understood and supported our desire to go through this birth as naturally as possible, believing Sarah’s body was made to do this and that Ender wanted to be delivered. Both she and the nursing staff in the maternity ward were supportive, helpful, and a joy to be around.
Contractions started around 7:00pm on the 10th (Wednesday). We had been anticipating Ender’s arrival for about three weeks, believing that he would probably not wait until the due date. We were wrong. Read more 
Good Things
Today, I’m thinking about what is good.
It is so easy for me (at this time in my life) to become overwhelmed by stress, all the need-to-do’s, discouragement, and general crankiness. It’s so easy for me to forget about what is good.
In an effort to combat this forgetfulness, I present a (partial) list of things that are good in my life right now.
(ahem)
- My beautiful, hot, prego wife
- Our baby, and the fact that I am a father (Ender, I can’t wait to hold you!)
- Our cats
- My photography
- The fact that I am (slowly… yet quickly) building a photography and graphic business (btw, you should hire me!)
- Coffee
- Evergreen
- The amazing, AMAZING friends I have
- The crazy, cool, wonderful people I have met on-line
- I am one of the fellows at The Boars Head Tavern (I respect those guys so much, it’s an honer to be allowed to post there)
- Books
- I have a job
- Music
- I am finding my creative center again
- Lively theology pubs
- Portland
There is much that is good. So many ways God is smuggling grace into my life.
Sometimes, amid the financial hardships, the craziness of insurance, stupidity of banks, the drudgery of walking and catching the bus to get anywhere, life being such a bitch… in the middle of my absorption with things in life, it’s easy to forget that good survives, flourishes, and keeps coming from such a perfect source.
So, what’s good in your life?
My baby has a penis
It’s true. Sarah and I are the proud parents of a baby boy to be born February 11th(ish), 2009.
I’m so excited. At the beginning of the pregnancy, I had it in my head that we were going to have a girl. Not sure why, it just felt like it. I was really excited for ‘daddy daughter time’, having a little girl I could protect, cherish, and teach to spit. But, in the past few weeks, I have been just gradually coming to think of baby as a boy. And, now that it is confirmed that he has a penis, I’m so excited to be having a boy.
I grew up without really having a dad around. My grandpa was there, and he filled the father roll in my life in many ways. But, my dad floated in and out so much that I missed allot of the things dad’s pass on to their boys. The most predominate one I can think of is learning to shave. I remember trying to shave by doing what they did in the commercials and movies, not by trying to do what my dad did.
Little things like that add up in life. While I may not have memories from my child hood of learning man stuff from my dad, I get to create those memories for/with my boy.
Redemption comes in the greatest and smallest places.
Anyways, here are a few pictures from our ultrasound last week: Read more
Father, Husband, Theological Dreamer, Web Designer, Photographer, Coffee Chugger... Jesus obsessed & dreaming of a better Christianity. It's kind of like listening to a cross between guerrilla radio and a street corner prophet with a bad case of tourettes.
