Welcome Baby Avery Blake!

 

Avery Blake joined the outside world this morning at 5:44 am. She immediately looked beautiful, and made the sweetest little new-baby cries you ever heard. My sister did just fabulously, and Bart was fantastic as well, overseeing all the new-baby procedures and giving Avery her first bath.

I just love the shot of Avery yawning against my sister's cheek--as if her little eight-pound, 21 1/2 inch body was the most tuckered out! I have been proud of my sister many times over, but today she showed such grace, patience, and determination that my pride was bursting out at the seams--and so I funneled it out by taking a rather shocking number of photos during Avery's first little hour of life (I mean really, over one hundred shots).

God is so good to our growing family!