That nephew, the one I mentioned yesterday on Twitter, was born early this morning.

In case you were wondering, his name is Bram Scott. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and he was 19 glorious inches long.

I’ll be able to give you a firsthand account of just how beautiful he is — and just how beautiful my sister-in-law and brother-in-law are as parents — later today, because we are so very blessed to live close enough and have the flexibility today to trek on up to the hospital. (Babby’s first reaction, on hearing that her new cousin was born, was “No FAIR! I wanted to be at the hospital!“) Given my 4-year-old’s talent at nicknaming, he’ll likely be blog-named before the day is over. 🙂

And why, you ask, am I crying?

That’s certainly not the reaction I expected to have.

But, come to think of it, why would my reaction to being an aunt again* be any different than my reaction to the birth of my own babies?

So, y’all, a very happy feast of Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament to you! I think I might start a novena of thanksgiving today, for a healthy baby and for the beauty of new life. Will you join me?

*This my first time being an aunt upon birth; I married into the title with all the others, which makes them no less important, but does make this one stand out in a special way.