¡Cristo ha nacido! ¡Glorifícale!

A flurry of journeys hither and yon finally came to an end tonight when we came in from Oklahoma with about an hour to spare before Holy Supper (a slavic tradition that's very "Passover Seder-ish in the sense that all the lenten foods that are served carry with them a signifigance regarding the Christian life and the Nativity). This was our first one, as well as our first Nativity attendance at home--a sad thing, since we've communed at St. Barbara's for four and a half years now--and it was very intimate, a subdued contrast to the Christmas songs on the radio, the billboards advertizing sales, the houses using enough electricity to power half a city block in order to run their lights display...we all met, quietly, to eat and fellowship, and after to affirm that, indeed, God is with us.

One verse in that hymn that stuck out to me tonight in particular was, "I will set my hope on Him, and through Him I shall be saved -lo, I and the children whom God has given me."

That use of the plural, by the way--children, I mean--is not something I had to overlook, either.

I'd like to introduce y'all to our second child--head on the left, flipper-arm in the middle, two legs sticking up on the right--who is due to arrive on July 5th. If the child is a(nother) girl, she will be called Katherine Ruth (Ruth being my late grandmother's middle name), and if the child is a boy, he will be called Gregory Davis (Davis being my mother-in-law's maiden name). We are thrilled to be able to share this joy with y'all (finally!) and even more thrilled to finally be able to say with all those brethren on the New Calendar: Christ is born! Glorify Him!

All of the brethren still laboring in the fast, pray for us, and may God grant y'all a fruitful rest of the fast leading up to the joy of the Feast.