James and Suzanne Bishop: August 2008

We've named our beautiful little girl River Virginia Bishop. She was born Sunday August 3rd, 2008 at 6:28pm in Fort Collins, Colorado under the waxing crescent moon (she's a Leo, and we considered Leandra for name). She also was born on the night before the rains would come that would end our record 22 day heat wave of 90+ degree days. And she was born with a little supernatural help from a Crow Indian labor song about the trickling stream of the lull between contractions and the raging river of the contractions themselves. At the end of 36 hours of labor, we sang our way to a natural birth, absent of dangerous interventions like pitocin injection or caesarean section.

wishita dewiya dewiya dewiya, wishita dewiya dewiya hey
wishita dewiya dewiya dewiya, wishita dewiya dewiya hey
washatineya heya heya, washatineya heya hey
washatineya heya heya, washatineya heya hey

We love the name River, and the chance to honor the spirit of the song that helped deliver our baby to us. And we've always loved the Cache la Poudre here in Fort Collins, which was the site of the bike picnics of our first dates, eating avocados and tomatoes and cucumbers in the great shady riparian cottonwood banks. Our wedding ceremony was also on the Cache la Poudre, when our families watched us exchange our vows, baby River prominent in Suzanne's beautiful 6-month pregnant belly.

Virginia is Suzanne's beloved Aunt, formerly a resident of Estes Park (now of oh-so-far-away Pearland, Texas), and someone who indelibly affected Suzanne when she was younger. Virginia's way of accepting and cherishing family in spite of difficulty is something we try to live ourselves, and will try to pass on to River. Virginia also went by Gini, and is enough on in years that the sheer joy of all this may not affect her like it once would have, but we think she'll be happy. And naming is a way of remembering, of course, so hopefully soon we'll get a chance to post a story or two about her. Feel free to email us if you have one you like.

Until then, we've got some more pictures, as there seems an insatiable appetite for these kind of things, and we have to admit that River obliges our silly camera more than she must. Take care, all.