Planet Bethel in an Expanding Universe

Back in May 2010, I made a sketch for Gwendolyn on a scrap of paper. The sketch featured Gwen Wren, me, Rachel, and in the background, "New Car," as Wren called and continues to call our then-newly-acquired vehicle. Here is how the original sketch looked:

One afternoon in August, long after I had forgotten the sketch, Rachel presented me with a card. It was my sketch, surrounded by a frame from a painting session with Gwendolyn:

"That's nice," I thought, "Rachel wants to preserve my fine artwork!" "Open it up," she said. I did, and the inside had no words, just what looked at first like my sketch again, but without the frame:

"Look closely. Do you see anything different?" Rachel asked. "Oh," I said. "OH!!" And that's how I learned that Rachel was pregnant again!

On Friday March 18, 2011, on the eve of the vernal equinox and the full moon at perigee, that sketch became a reality. At 10:05 PM, our son, Simon Orion Page Bethel, was born at our home in Gamboa, Panama.

We are all adjusting to this change in family dynamics. Gwen Wren is learning--for the most part, happily--to let go of her role as the sole center of the universe and to step into a larger reality with new mysteries. Reflecting this shift, we will from now on be posting at a new address online:

The Planet Bethel blog: http://planetbethel.blogspot.com/

We hope all our readers will join us there, to follow the continuing adventures of Gwendolyn Wren, and to see how the world unfolds for her Little Brother, Simon Orion. If you want to see pictures of the baby (beyond Rachel's sketch addition)...click the link!