Dhara Avonlea is her name.  (Pronounced “dar-uh avon-lee.”)  And she is just the sweetest little baby girl.  Dhara was due on Christmas Eve, but decided to make her appearance early on Christmas morning at 4:13 AM — probably the best Christmas present we’ll ever get in our lifetime!  Weighing in at 9.1 pounds and 21.75 inches long, our little cupcake took a while to come due to her cupcakiness!

Many people have asked, “What does Dhara Avonlea mean?”  Dhara is a name with more than one origin and many special meanings:

• Dara is found in the Old Testament Book of Chronicles.  Dara was a biblical descendant of Judah known for his wisdom.  As a Hebrew name it means “pearl of wisdom” or “wisdom and compassion”, although in modern Hebrew dara is part of the verb “to live”, and in Aramaic it means “pearl.”

• In India, the Hindi word dhara means “constant flow.” In Turkish and in Punjabi, dara means “leader.”

• The Swahili version of Dara means “the beautiful one.”

• In Indonesian, Dara means “girl”, “young woman”, or “virgin.”

• Dara is the Irish word for “oak tree.”

• Dara is also a short form of Oluwadarasimi or Oluwadara, which in Nigeria means “God is good to me.”

Avonlea is old English for “meadow near the river.”

Due to a high level of jaundice, we have been in the hospital with Dhara since her birth day last Thursday, Christmas Day.  She is constantly under light therapy, therefore making it impossible to hold her very much.  By God’s supernatural grace and healing power, please pray that these levels would come down so that we can take her home.  She’s super cuddly, and we want her to be home — safe, sound and warm in daddy and mommy’s arms.