She's Here

Good news: My sister got to eat dinner last night.

Even better news: My very first niece is here.

Woo-hoo!

Meet Eliana Elisabeth. (My sister's name is Emily Elisabeth, and yes, she was partially named after the girl in the "Clifford" books. Legend has it that my parents had decided on Emily as a name for their third baby, but they couldn't agree on a middle name -- until my brother, a Clifford aficionado, suggested Emily Elisabeth. It stuck.)

(That's my Mom holding the baby, by the way.)

Eliana weighed all of 6 pounds, 2.3 ounces at birth, so the doctors were right about her tiny stature. But in every other respect, she's completely healthy.

Emily did have a chance to get an epidural before the pain got intense, which was her fervant prayer. And in the end (no pun intended), she only had to push 5 minutes before the baby arrived.

I call that a win-win.

Oh. And can I share this picture with you?

That's two-year-old Silas, Emily's firstborn, bringing her a flower he found in the hospital parking lot. Silas has been spending a lot of time with my parents (Grammie and Papa) the last few days, as you might imagine. Emily remarked that she'd never been separated from him for this length of time before.

I, too, remember the sweetness of introducing my firstborn to her new sibling. All of a sudden, you aren't just two parents with a child anymore. You're a full-fledged FAMILY. It was almost too much.

God, continue to bless this growing family in every imaginable way. And may tiny Eliana grow up to have huge faith in the One who made her.