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Quelle Surprise!

Aileen gave herself the best birthday present ever. On her thirtieth birthday she gave birth to our daughter, Michaela Joy. It was a great day, even if we didn’t get around to having Aileen’s birthday dinner that day. Now that it is my thirtieth birthday I have proven unable to deliver such a great gift for myself. Thankfully, I’ve got family on my side.

This morning at around 10 AM my biggest little sister (Maryanne, for those of you who are trying to piece together a family tree) gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Emma Claire Helms makes for a pretty good birthday gift. From the hospital I received the following text message (presumably via my brother-in-law’s Blackberry: “Dear brother, Happy 3oth birthday!!! We bought you a niece for the big day, but we are keeping her until she becomes bad! I love you, old and wise one. Love, Maryanne.” So there we have it. Aileen shares her thirtieth with our daughter and I share my thirtieth with our niece.

Emma weighs in a 7 pounds 5 ounces and is a little sister to Anna and Josh. I now have two nieces and two nephews. This Challies clan continues to grow! And happy birthday to Emma. December 2 has proven a good day to me and I’m sure it will suit you fine too!


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