Jala Xaviera Neal
Mom, Me and Jala
Aunt Eva and Jala
Scierra and Jala
Jala with Mom
Jala with Dad
Last night at 10:55 pm I received a text from my cousin Jade that she and her husband, Jeff, had welcomed into the world my new 2nd cousin Jala (Jay-lah). She let us know that Jala made her entrance at 9:32 pm on July 23 weighing in at 7lbs and measuring 21 inches long. We were too excited to get to meet her. Mom and I hopped in the car right after church to get to Greensboro to see our new member of the family. When we got to the room it was just Jala and her mom there so we got to spend a few minutes alone with them and hold Jala and admire her. She is beautiful! She looks just like Jade and she has my Uncle Jeffery's lion mane of hair. It was so exciting to see her because this is the second great-grandchild for our family but the first that we have actually been able to be a part of the birth for. And Jala is the newest baby that I have ever held in my life. I haven't ever held a baby that was less than 24 hours old. But I got to meet Jala before she reached that milestone. My cousin looked great and despite a long labor she was in really high spirits and seemed to be feeling a little bit more normal after the harrowing events of the last two days. It was just so exciting. I can remember when all of my younger cousins were born but I was still young myself so I couldn't sense the impact of their arrivals but with Jala I almost feel like I'm her aunt because Jade and I were that close when I was growing up. It's actually being able to see and hold the next generation. I can't wait to see who she becomes. I'm excited to see what she looks like as she grows up and what her voice sounds like when she can speak. I'm excited to see what interests her and where God leads her. I am just so excited about her life. My mom was so excited that she was ignoring the GPS on our way home and drove us in a circle for a half an hour because she kept taking wrong turns. But it was such an exciting moment to actually see Jala on the outside after seeing her on the inside over the past couple of months. I am just so thrilled for my cousin and my mom and dad who will be godparents to Jala and thrilled to see Jala meet the rest of the family. Earlier today after we arrived and spent maybe about 20-30 minutes with Jade and Jala my Aunt Eva and Cousin Scierra came in. It was just so great to be with my mom and my aunt and then my two oldest girl cousins and then our new cousin. All of these women have had such an impact on my life and I can't imagine my life without them. We all have shared so many memories together and now Jala is a part of our group too. I just can't believe it. I am so excited about getting to see and hold her again and so glad that she is finally here!
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