grateful for community

It's been a big couple of weeks. Two weekends ago we had three baby showers, and then the next day I went into labor, and our son Espen Paul was born on February 1! It was 5:11am, and he was 7 lbs 12 oz, 20 inches. He's amazingly cute. And fun, although mostly just eats, sleeps and poops right now, and makes funny little squeaking noises, and sounds like a goat when he cries really hard.


But the reason for the title of this blog is that I am sincerely and utterly grateful for the community we're a part of! We have felt incredibly blessed in the last couple of weeks, from the generosity of our friends and relatives to help us get all the baby supplies we need at showers, to the visitors in the hospital and at home, to the people who have been bringing us meals, to those who call or email with encouraging words. It's so great to be part of this family, both literal and spiritual, to know that people care about us and are praying for us when we're going through new and sometimes difficult experiences. I can't express in words the gratefulness that I feel to all these people, and for the fact that I've been raised in a community that expresses love and care so palpably. I'm excited to raise Espen in this community, too.