Welcome, Zélie Marie!

On June 10th, at 10:54 PM, we welcomed the most precious little baby girl into the world. Zélie Marie weighed in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. She was 18.5 inches long.

And she immediately captured our hearts.

Zélie (pronounced Zelly… like Kelly, or Belly, or Jelly) is named in honor of St. Therese’s mother, Zélie Martin. Actually, it’s Blessed Zélie Martin. But, on October 18, in Rome, Zélie along with her husband Louis will be canonized by Pope Francis. They will be declared saints! In fact, Louis and Zélie Martin will be first married couple in history to be canonized together.

If you want to learn more about the sanctity of Blessed Louis & Zélie Martin – and the sanctity of ordinary married life – you can read a collection of their letters: A Call to a Deeper Love. It’s an insightful look at the holiness of ordinary family life. I highly recommend it!

In the meantime, allow me to share some photos of Zélie Marie:

Special thanks to Annie Whitaker Photography for the last three final images. Annie does an amazing job at photographing newborns. Her work is absolutely breathtaking!