After his first bath

Once again, Rhainnon defies all logic by having her third baby without pain meds, (Twice while being induced). She never cried, yelled, or complained. Asked for ice chips a couple of times and casually mentioned that she wanted to push. Our 'Nearly Ten Pounder' made a gentle arrival, and squalled in a very healthy and almost musical way. After about five and a half hours of labor, his head is round and he really is a cutie. He was born to the song 'In The Deep' by Bird York ("Crash" Soundtrack) - a beautiful song to be sure.

Raven and the Power Outage

We came home from the hospital the day after he was born. We had been home for a couple hours and then the winds picked up. I knew the power would go when I saw our gazebo (Fabric and metal) go sailing across the back patio. Sure enough, we were in the dark. I had already purchased a big box of duraflame logs and we have both a gas powered stove and hot water heater, so we could cook and wash. But, our fireplace was having trouble fighting the 30 and 40 degree temps, so I hauled out our caribou hide, the elk hides, and sleeping bags. It struck me as a little odd that Rhiannon had named the baby after a Native American figure, and next thing you know, we are living close to nature. We were rapidly running out of wood day two. An elderly neighbor of ours has acerage across the street and sells wood year round, so I gave Randy some money and sent him to buy a couple of pieces. Of course when he heard we had a newborn and that Randy is Army, he refused the money and told him to take what he wanted. The second night, we were down in the low 30's or upper 20's. I hung a sheet in the entrance to the hall to help try and keep the heat from the fireplace in the livingroom. We read 'Fellowship of the Ring' aloud, and played cards. We had some fabulous meals (Randy is a cook in the Army, so he and I Iron Chefed the food we had). All the traffic lights were out, so when I tried to go to the store, I had to turn around and go to a different, smaller one due to the endless line of stop and go traffic. When I got to the store, they could not sell milk, meat, or any other perishable food. I bought eggs, bread, margerine, cheese, rice, potatoes, and pre-cooked bacon. I also got soy milk (ick), powdered milk, and lots of snacks. We already had a supply of canned fruits, tuna, and that sort of stuff. We piled on the wood, and day three found us huddled together, chanting, "Is the power back?!" We kept turning on the bathroom light, knowing nothing would happen. 72 hours after the we lost power, we were all starting to sleep constantly. No energy for anything. Finally, I said to Rhiannon. "In mythology, Raven brought light to the people, right? Maybe we should ask HIM!?" So we did. A few minutes later, the power came back. I must have stood flipping the bathroom light switch a hundred times.