Claire at 2 Weeks

Last weekend, Meme and Grampie Powell (Jeremy's parents) came to visit Claire. She is their 9th grandbaby. 

In addition to cooking up a storm in the kitchen, Meme gave Claire a warm bath... 

Claire very much enjoyed the extra cuddling and snuggles.  

Claire also made her 3rd voyage outside... we decided to watch the Patriots game in Bob and Lola's hotel suite and Claire witnessed the Pats AFC Championship victory!

Our Baby Girl

Little did I know when I wrote my last post that, five days later, our little baby would be here!

On Saturday, January 7 at 10:05 am, Jeremy and I welcomed Claire Joy Powell into our family.

I'm sure blogging will slow waaayyy down in the next month as we learn Claire's needs and care for her, but for the moment, here are a few of Claire's highlights:

• Claire was born at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Bryn Mawr, PA
• I labored with her for 10 hours and unwittingly arrived at the hospital 10 cm dilated and ready to push. She arrived 1 hour later.
• Claire was (is) wonderfully healthy. At birth, the nurses gave her 10 for 10 on her APGAR.

Two days after leaving the hospital, Claire visited her pediatrician. When the nurse put her on the scale, she said... wow! Claire's weight gain was 4oz... "incredibly good," she said. 

Claire is a great eater and a pretty good sleeper. We are learning how to time her diaper changes and feedings to help her sleep even better. 

She cries, of course, but overall she seems to have a very pleasant personality like her daddy!

Claire is surrounded by a lot of LOVE.

The PhillyPowells are truly blessed!

Wharton Esherick

Less than 10 minutes from our condo complex, just on the other side of Valley Forge, we found this gem: Wharton Esherick's studio and home.

The weather has been so warm and comfortable, Jeremy wanted to plan a small outing to enjoy on New Year's Eve Day (December 31). I appreciate my husband's creativity and wide-ranging interests. He always gets us up, moving, learning and exploring.

Wharton Esherick has been called "the dean of American craftsmanship." With an ingenious sense of innovation and simplicity, Esherick was a wood sculptor. These pictures show his studio and home, perched high on a hill overlooking the Valley Forge valley.

Photography was not allowed inside, so here are some photos from the Wharton Esherick Museum website:

Famous spiral staircase with each step extending from a swirling center pole. Banisters made from twisted branches.

Curved bookshelves in Esherick's bedroom. (Yes, I want!)

Esherick's desk with angled drawers. 

When Jeremy and I first arrived at Esherick's studio, we didn't think anyone else would be there. The studio is small and somewhat obscure... plus, a fairly normal neighborhood has grown up around it. Who else would go there on New Years Eve Day?

Apparently, lots of people!

We took the last tour of the day with 13 other people... and after the tour, we could easily see what excited and enticed people to come.

Esherick was uninhibited. Where other people saw straight lines, he saw organic sweeping curves. He celebrated the natural bends and "imperfections" of wood as perfections. 

He blended an distinct Arts n' Crafts style together with unexpected innovations, like small lights that automatically turned on and off when drawers and cabinets were opened (mimicking the convenience of his refrigerator, he said).

Esherick was not a Christian in anyway, but I can still see God's handiwork in him. It's amazing how God gifts people to see the world differently and to create.

Thank you, Jeremy, for taking us here!

PS: Here's a virtual tour of Esherick's studio that I found online, for anyone who is interested: