Joy and more joy!

Meet Grace Rae Rowley!  This sweet bundle of joy, daughter of Doug and Susie, was born on February 1, 2017.  Our family has been so looking forward to meeting this precious little girl.  I am honored to say that her middle name is also my middle name!  Interestingly enough, Susie's mom's middle name is also Rae!  So Susie had told me quite some time ago, that if they ever had a girl, her middle name would be Rae. I have to confess that it felt a bit like I had been holding my breath until I held her in my arms.  It is a very different thing to welcome a new baby into your family, after going through the loss of their sibling.  Each one of us marveled at how much Grace looks like Lucas.  She has a bit darker hair and her eyes may be a bit different, but there is no mistaking that she resembles her big brother in heaven.

I love this picture!  Ken's profile picture on Facebook is a very similar picture of Doug and Lucas and Ken.  Needless to say,  Lucas was very much on our minds and hearts during this very special event.  

Susie and Grace are both doing really well after the birth, and are now resting at home.  Well, resting as much as you can with a newborn!  

When it was clear that Grace would be born on February 1st, all I could think about was my sister Karen.  Grace's birthday would have been my sister Karen's 79th birthday.   I thought it was especially interesting that my brother-in-law Roy happened to post this picture of Karen holding her newborn granddaughter in honor of her birthday.  

There are always those times when you especially miss family members who are no longer alive.  And this was certainly one of those times for me.  Karen died in 2007, but I was remembering a conversation I had with her right after my first grandchild was born in 2006.  We were talking about being grandmas.  She told me, "Hold them tight and give them lots of love!  And then give them back to their parents!"  I remember we laughed about this!  It stuck with me though, since her advice to me right after Gwen was born had been something very meaningful to me as I raised my kids.  She had said "Really there is only one piece of advice that matters......don't sweat the small stuff".  I couldn't count the number of times that I would remember Karen's words to me when I was in the depths of child rearing.  And I can tell you that it was really great advice!  And her advice about grandchildren was just as good.    Karen was quite a bit older than me and we never had much time together growing up.  But I am so thankful for these very special words that she shared with me, that had a great impact on my life.  Grace shares a birthday with a really special member of our family.  And it will be my great honor and joy to tell Grace all about her great aunt Karen when she is older.  

Our family has some special shared birthdays.  Doug and Ellie (Gwen's second daughter) share a birthday.  Zeke (Gwen's son) and my mom share a birthday.  And now Grace and Karen share a birthday.  Our family is connected from one generation to the next and reminders like shared birthdays keep those connections in sight.  Blessings carried on through the ages.

That picture of Grace above, was taken as she was nestled in my arms.  I has holding on tight.  I was loving her and taking in that amazing sweet face, smelling that wonderful newborn baby smell.  And I was thanking Jesus for this addition to our family.  After a few minutes, she started to fuss a bit and just as Karen had advised me, I handed her back to her parents!  It was a wonderful feeling!

Jesus, thank you for Grace and your plans for her life.  Thank you for your plan for families that bind us to our past and future generations.  Holy Spirit, help us to see the blessings of our ancestors and to sow seeds for the future.   Thank you for joy and more joy!  Amen