We’re having a baby!

Our lovely niece Avia and her dashing husband Alan are about to be blessed with their first child. Annie Faith Thompson is about to meet all those people who rejoiced at the announcement of her mom’s pregnancy, were awestruck at the miracle of the child growing in the womb, and whose hands have gently and patiently lay atop her mommy’s swollen belly in order to feel the bumps and glides as she gyrated away her hours in vitro. There isn’t a whole lot else to do during months five through birth other than suck a thumb and swim around, and little Annie Faith has made the most of it.

Annie Faith is due on Dec. 5. It’s been a long wait for we who already love her, and now that she’s viable we won’t be sad for a second if she’s a bit early.

By the time you read this, she may already be a new addition to the Ritzville population.

Avia and Alan waited 15 years for this little angel. She is a baby we’ve prayed for, longed for and dreamed about. We’ve imagined her tiny little face, plump perfection, flawlessly formed little hands and feet, squeals and bawls that are music to our ears. I cannot say this for my dear husband, Great Uncle Mark, but I can in full confidence state that I won’t even mind changing a messy diaper when it belongs to the long awaited Annie Faith. Based upon our experiences when our granddaughter Kylee was an infant, Great Uncle Mark would not handle well the diaper changing experience; we simply don’t broach the subject.

Finding the appropriate name for her was an experience that involved much of the family and many friends. There were rules: the name had to begin with A and could not be anything that had been a mispronunciation of Avia’s name in years past, and there were many of those. The middle name would be Faith, a family name, so everything had to flow off the tongue when the three names were spoken together. First names were suggested and summarily rejected such as Mark’s favorite, Amberly. Finally, Avia and Alan settled on Annie Faith, and we nodded our collective approval, although consensus wasn’t sought. It’s nice to think, though, that our opinions mattered, and in this case that it did take a village.

My friends and I have endlessly discussed the miracle of this baby and the pregnancy, and they have been most tolerant of my excitement over the months. In fact, some of them share in it. Annie Faith is the initial subject of most family phone calls, and the last words spoken before the hang up are usually something like “call me with any news…”

Texting has been used to keep a list of friends and family updated on every doctor visit and with each progression in the pregnancy process. We have seen ultrasounds, which are so clear that features are recognizable.

Photos are plastered on Facebook and travel through cyberspace to emails far and near. The technology applied to this pregnancy, whether diagnostic or communication, is myriad.

Many wonderful gifts have been bestowed on Annie before she’s been seen in the light of day, and her nursery is a work of art. Some of us have warmed up rockers that were heretofore stored or unused for years, in anticipation of holding that precious bundle in our arms as we once again rocked away. We’ve sorted through favorite baby items that we’ve not been able to part with and have been rewarded with a memory or two of the wonder of having a baby in the house.

This is magical, and will be for many of us the highlight of Christmas 2012. No other gift will be so appreciated.

How lovely that Annie Faith’s birth will occur shortly before the annual celebration of the most important birth of all: the gift from God on that miraculous night over 2,000 years ago when our savior Jesus Christ was born. May this baby serve that babe in the manger throughout her life.

To our adored niece, our prayers surround you daily and our hearts overflow with love for your long awaited baby which you’ve thoughtfully nurtured through these past nine months, sacrificed for, dreamed about and ached to hold. For our beloved Alan, we couldn’t imagine a finer daddy for her, and we are thrilled that soon you will gently encase in your strong and capable arms a precious bundle that will bless your lives immensely. She will bless ours, too, just as you both have.

Welcome Annie Faith Thompson!