where do babies come from?

I'm just back from a feast.
Two of my cousins are in the snow plowing business. The big meal was to be at their parents' house, so on Wednesday when the forecast called for Thursday snow showers, my aunt moved Thanksgiving.
The older of the cousin brothers, Phillip (24 yesterday), is married with 11-month-old twins. Besides the food, those kiddos stole the day. The cameras were trained on them, tottering on unsteady knees, eyes soaking in worlds of information, little gummy smiles and wispy hair. They wore matching plaid onesies and shiny black shoes. Picking up Abigail, a little smaller than her brother Phillip Jr, and feeling her heft and motion against my chest, I started to enjoy babies. To tell you the truth, I had never been very interested in babies before these two came along. But these are hitting close to home.
It's an appropriate time. I was thinking just the other night about the miracle of life--about how people, and all the mind and personality they are, can just start to exist at a certain point in time. Something infinite springs to life out natural matter. How does that happen?
When I thought about this aloud, my cousin Adam laughed and offered to explain the process. That isn't really what I meant.
I don't think we can ever run out of miracles to wonder at.

Look at the photos!: http://community.webshots.com/user/tasmit02

moonrise and sunset

It's been more than a month. I was afraid this would happen.

The sky has been incredible these days, in the flat north country.
Today I came out of the library shortly after 5:00. The chapel bells had just started their daily chimes. (They play songs everyday from 5-5:30). Looking up I saw, as if resting on the chapel's ridgeline, the moon as full and bright as I have ever seen it--brighter, even--glowing against purplish clouds in a richly navy blue sky. The lamp posts gave their own glow, but it was still on the cusp of darkness, not late enough to see the stars. I was surprised to see the moon like this, like an unexpected visitor, and paused on the sidewalk to stare at it for a while.Someone else bustled out of the library, and not wanting to appear a fool, I let go of my stare and kept walking. But coming around the corner of the long library I had to blink once more at the western sky, still pink from a sunset. How wonderful.