First time official auntie here! My brother and sister-in-law welcomed their little boy into the world yesterday afternoon and the family couldn’t be happier.

It’s funny because while we aren’t superstitious people, we had so many fun coincidences to add to the birth story!

First of all, the great majority of people close to us felt the baby was a boy even though the Mom and Dad wanted a surprise and never found out. People just had their heart set on it. I think I secretly wished more for a niece only because I think older sisters are awesome *ahem I know from experience* ;). My dad said the most heart-pulling thing to me and I was more open to a boy after that. He never got to meet his grandfathers, and my brother and I never got to meet ours, so my dad is the first in a few generations to experience grandchildren in their lifetime. If that didn’t make your heart melt, he also said he wished to see a boy carry on the family name before the Lord takes him home one day. When he puts it that way, how can you not melt? My SIL’s mom also said a couple weeks ago she had a dream where she had a grandson with her and was introducing him to her friends.

Second of all, I had this weird feeling my SIL would go into labor either Saturday or Wednesday. I was telling everyone this random fact, and I felt this restlessness all Saturday hoping for N to call. For lunch on Saturday, my mom went to a Chinese restaurant and her fortune said, “Someone will call with good news for you today.” Late that evening, my brother called and told my mom that his wife was indeed in labor.

R had a very long labor but delivered naturally in a birthing tub in the comfort of their home. What a trooper! And my brother, who is still dealing with brain injury from the car accident pulled through to be at her side. He said Saturday night was extremely difficult — he was tired and suffering horrible migraines from straining himself but he powered through.

And to testify to God’s goodness, the baby weighed a little over 7 pounds, which is the maximum threshold of my brother’s allowance to lifting and carrying right now as he recovers, so God planned out this detail so he could hold his boy. N says that walking while carrying him requires a lot of concentration and is very difficult, but regardless, he was thankful for this blessing.

Life is good. ❤