The European Union welcomed its new member yesterday. Not the EU in Brussels – the one in the UK.

Maurits and Julie (Richardson) de Jong have their own version of the European Union. After waiting nine months for negotiations to be completed successfully, they welcomed a new "member" on Saturday morning: their daughter Grace Kristel de Jong. Grace was born at 2:40 a.m. early Saturday, confirming the established pattern for European Union late night-early morning sessions! Julie’s mom was present to help with the delivery, with her dad waiting patiently for some five hours to get the news about their first grandchild. In addition to all her other family – immediate and extended – I can imagine that little Grace has an aunt over in the Netherlands who is delighted at the choice of her niece’s middle name. Congratulations to Maurits and Julie on expanding their "European Union"! It will likely be a while before there any further expansion of this particular "European Union". 🙂