Chris Tomlin's Christmas baby is here!
The popular Christian singer-songwriter, 48, and wife Lauren welcomed their third daughter, Elle Grace Tomlin, on Monday, Dec. 14, in Nashville, they reveal exclusively to PEOPLE. Tomlin — who is also father to Ashlyn, 9, and Madison, 6 — previously opened up to PEOPLE about the unexpected pregnancy, calling the new addition the "surprise of all surprises."
"Isn't she lovely … Isn't she wonderful … Elle Grace Tomlin has arrived to our world and we couldn't be more grateful," Tomlin tells PEOPLE. "She is precious and beautiful. Babies are miracles. Lauren and I are counting our blessings and soaking up our little 'miracle of love.' Time seems to stand still at the moment."
Tomlin was even inspired by the pregnancy news to make a new Christmas song, telling PEOPLE about "Miracle of Love" back in October.
"I started thinking about how I could write a lyric that talks about my baby being born at Christmas and then talks about 'the baby,' Jesus, being born at Christmas, and that each line would match and would have a double meaning," he explained at the time.
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For listeners who know Tomlin's inspiration, the lyrics of "Miracle Of Love" are as clever as they are joyful. As Tomlin sings in the first verse: "I got the news today / I heard that you were coming / It took my breath away / and the tears filled up my eyes / Surely you'd change some things / the way that I was living / I hit my knees to pray / so grateful for new life."
The words, Tomlin said, are a spot-on portrayal of his reaction to his wife's pregnancy. As he tells the story: One morning last spring, Lauren took a home pregnancy test after experiencing some familiar symptoms, but still she thought "there's no way," Tomlin said. "When she got the test result, she said she just started laughing. She's like, 'Oh my gosh, are you kidding me?' "
https://www.youtube.com/embed/EvZOQ5eZCQQ
Chris Tomlin's Wife's Unexpected Pregnancy Inspires Christmas Song: 'Surprise of All Surprises!'
Breaking the news to her husband obviously called for a suitable amount of fanfare: She gift-wrapped the positive test and gave it to him that evening. "I opened the present, and I was like, 'What is this?' " Tomlin recalled. "I couldn't compute it. It wasn't going through my head. And then I almost passed out."
Tomlin said he immediately seized on how much a baby now would rock their world — taking on the responsibility of another child, returning to the diapers and strollers that had gone away years ago, doing the math on how old he would be when this little one finishes college.
But then, just as his song's lyrics suggest, he said, "you come around to the realization of what an incredible thing, what a precious thing, what a gift from God this is."
"It's an incredible privilege to be a dad with these girls, and especially girls," he added. "I feel like there's a special thing that a dad has with girls, and so I'm really grateful."
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