A Craig family are grateful to have marked what appears to be the first birth of the new year.

Jennifer and Lowell Martin welcomed Desiree Hope Martin Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 3:18 a.m.

The baby was delivered at home by midwife Astrid Grove, RM CPM, of Birthroot midwifery.

Desiree, a health 8-pound, 13-ouncer, is child number four for the Martin family, which now includes two girls and two boys.

“They’re very tickled to have a little sister,” Jennifer Martin said of her other three children. “They were really wanting a sister, and here they got one. They wanted another girl, and it’s so neat. Two boys, two girls. They’re all excited. They love to hold her, and any chance they get — she’s being held most of the time.”

The other Martin children are ages six, four and two.

“They’re all special, regardless of what time of year they come,” Lowell Martin said. “But this is kind of special.”

Jennifer said she though they might have a New Year’s Day baby — Desiree was due Jan. 9 — but that wasn’t how it turned out.

“We thought we must live in a small town if January 4 is the first, you know,” she said. “But we thought it would’ve been fun to have a New Year’s baby, but God didn’t see fit to have her come that day.”

Lowell Martin is a teacher at the Craig Mennonite School. Jennifer is a full-time stay-at-home mother.

“We think children are a heritage of the Lord,” Lowell said. “They’re not a nuisance or a bother at all. I know that tends to be the general opinion that children get in the way. But we don’t feel that way.”

Jennifer reported that all are healthy and well, though Desiree was the largest of their four children at birth.

“We’re very blessed with good health,” she said.