Ruby Roxanne Gross

Jane delivered a healthy baby girl this morning at 8:04 AM. The labor went very well. Ruby weighs in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces, 20 3/4 inches long. Jane required some medical attention immediately following the delivery but she is doing well now. Jane is glad not to be pregnant anymore. All three of us are just about due for some rest. More to come!

Riverside State Park

Here are some shots I snapped off while I was on a refreshing walk in Riverside State Park. I'd never gone exploring there before but I will definitely go back. It's scenic and only a few minutes from our house.

The Spokane river.

The woods.

A leaf.

A rock.

A piece of moss.

A footbridge.

Blue skies over downtown Spokane. It was a beautiful, springlike day.

My life has changed a lot!

Blogging is easy when I know I don't have any readers. I haven't posted in a looooong time, but there isn't anybody who really cares. And that's nice to know. I'd like, however, for this to be a place where I can post to more often since I am no longer on the facebook or the myspace. Maybe if you bug me about not being on these social networks maybe I'll direct you to this blog. So if that's why you're reading this I'll give you an update...

My life has changed a lot. Since my last post I finished school, got a part-time professional job editing and mixing audio for radio and TV commercials, got engaged, moved, got married, am expecting a child with my new wife (and all in that order). My wife is the fabulous Jane (formerly) Boothman. She is pregnant with a little girl, due to be born June 19th. Our wedding day was September 19th (you do the math). We are living in West Central Spokane in a small little apartment and very happy to be doing so. We've decided early on that debt-free is the way to be, so we had a ceremonial cutting of my credit card, are living within our means, and are paying off our student loan debts. And all this on my part-time wages! God has been a fountainhead of sufficiency for us, both financially and spiritually. We are a part of the Vintage Faith Community, a small but growing church that is part of the Acts 29 network. My job is at a small, family business called Mortimore Productions. I have been learning a lot during my time there. When I say it's a small business I mean 2.5 regular employees and a handful of freelancers when a given job requires it. I make up the ".5" of that 2.5 figure, which means I get to wear a lot of hats and learn as much as I can daily about all the non-audio aspects of the business. As a result, I have a growing fascination for the arts of filmmaking and photography. However, my favorite new art is the art of being married. We read a lot of books prior to our nuptials and found many of them unhelpful. My advice to others would be simply to take the plunge, learn what the Bible says concerning marriage, and then, as you go, seek to be taught of God what those passages actually mean.

The First Loaf

It's simple really.  After returning from Europe I've developed an appropriate dissatisfaction with the garden variety Wonder Bread that populates the shelves of the local bread aisle.  The Artisan breads from the grocery store bakery aren't bad, but what could be more fresh, cost-effective, and personally enriching than baking your own.  Here is a picture of my first loaf of bread.  It made for a good learning experience and tastes pretty good too.  It's a basic white bread with a bowl of oatmeal added to the dough.  Thanks Jane for the swell idea!  It's a hit.

Europe: Dzierzoniow

Our first task upon arriving in Europe was to aid/teach an English Camp in Dzierzoniow, Poland.  This was a difficult week for Jane and I.  There was also a tent revival going on in Bielawa (a neighboring town) during the evenings.  Our schedule afforded no time for us to recover from jet lag.  Regardless, the Lord strengthened our bodies and we were able to be effective during the camp and had a great time getting acquainted with the Polish kids.

Here is the bed I slept on.  There is a pretty busy street outside that window.  It made for an effective alarm clock.

Here are some of the leaders doing the motions to "Dip Dip."  This was one of the favorite camp songs for the kids.

Here is one of the Polish boys from my group.  His name is Maciek.  Each group had a name and my group was called "The Jumping Beans."  In Polish it's, "Joomping Beenz, tzee beast oov teamz." (Jumping Beans, the best of teams)

Another, Piotrek.

This is Ada.  She was the youngest one in my group and the only girl.  She was way smarter than the older guys and could more than hold her own.  Did I mention she's really cute? Yeah, she's fierce too.

Here are some of the kids receiving instructions for the next game at the gym.  It's hard to see but in the back there is some gymnastic equipment.  It's all metal and pretty gnarly looking and there are no pads.  It would appear that Polish kids learn the hard way.

Europe: Wrocław

I recently returned home from Europe.  I will be posting some of the photos I took so you can all know about my time over there.  Here are some photos from Poland.

This one was taken from the market square in Wrocław.  Each of these buildings is most likely older than our country.  They have all received new paint jobs and look nice and modern.  You'll notice the storefronts at the street level.  These are all little restaurants with outdoor seating.  The one with the red canopy is a Pizza Hut.

Here is a cathedral near the center of the city.  There is a spiral staircase going up the right side of the tower.  It is very steep and narrow but the view from the top is nice.

...see!

Can you see the castle in the middle (and extending to the left)?  This actually functions as the Courthouse and Prison.  "Be good or they'll throw you in the castle!"

...one last shot from the cathedral.

This is one of the cooler and more distinctive buildings in the city.