What's in a name?

Not only do I think that a name should sound good but I'm really into what names mean.  There was a reason we choose Gabriella Grace, Braly Andrew, & Morgan Annette for our children's names. We actually had them pretty much picked out before we even had children but they fit them perfectly.

A good friend of mine, Katie Reid, introduced me to The Name Book by Doroty Astoria many years ago and I loved how it was put together.  What's in a name?  Well in this book it first lists the name & possible spellings of the name.  Then it tells the Language/Cultural Origin.  Next is Inherent Meaning (which is the literal meaning of the name). Then the Spiritual Connotation or the implied meaning of the name.  And lastly, a scripture is included to shed light upon the inherent and implied meanings of the name.

When I was a little girl, my Gram & Gramps gave each of us grandchildren a plaque with our name on it, the meaning, as well as a scripture. I still have mine & I believe so do my 3 sisters.  I'd even say that many of my cousins probably still have theirs as well but I don't know for sure. Though mine was not spelled the way I spell my name, I didn't mind because my name still meant the same....God is Gracious or God's Gracious Gift.  From the Christmas or birthday that I received that plaque, I always knew that the meaning of a name was special & could very well be a blessing or encouragement to a person.  Naturally when coming up with names for our children, the meaning has always played a BIG role and this time has not been different.

We thought we were done having children. Though I thought I always wanted 4 children, I had finally come to the place in my life where I was content to have 3 children & love on other people's babies whenever possible. I had given all baby stuff away & saved only one tote full of baby toys for when we would have nieces or nephews or other babies visit us.  I was content with the car we owned & how all 3 car seats fit snug in the backseat. Sure, having more room in a van would be nice but it just wasn't necessary.  And then we were surprised by God with a precious gift.  We waited to tell anyone, even our children for some time.  And before sharing the news with our children, I firmly believe that God had been working on them long before they knew the news.  They made comments that it would be nice to have a real baby in our house to love on & how they wished they had a baby brother to even things out.  Braly would especially pray that we be given a baby brother so he could share his room with someone & play boy stuff with him eventually.

The news was exciting for the kids, especially as they anticipated whether it was a baby brother or sister.  And actually they all prayed it would be a boy and like I shared before, they were upset when we found out it was a girl...though thankfully that only lasted for a night.  As I started looking for a name I was overwhelmed with names. We had a boy name that we had not used but when we found it was a girl, I had to start compiling a list.  Remember how much I love lists.  Though I had what seemed like a hundred names on the list, none of them seemed quite right.  I looked at the credits on tv shows & movies for a name that would just pop & fit...still nothing.   I prayed for God to show us a name that really stuck out & had a wonderful meaning & just like everything else that has had to do with this baby, he answered my prayer.  I was sitting at a stoplight waiting to turn left when a HUGE oversized semi & trailer were approaching  to our right.  I told Morgan to look out her window at the big boat that was going to pass us & that's when I saw the name of the boat. As soon as we got home I grabbed the name book to find out the meaning of the name I had seen because it HIT me & I thought it might be perfect.  When I looked it up I found that it is an English name, meaning Princess and Beautiful. The scripture to go with it is Psalm 45:13 All glorious is the princess within her chamber, her gown is interwoven with gold.  What a lovely name. I mentioned it to Adam & the kids & shared the meaning & they all loved it.


And thus....our baby girl will have the name Sadie.  We have not settled on her middle name yet but it may have the meaning of blessed or blessing, or gift or something of that nature because I feel as though God has been blessing us so much since we found out we'll be welcoming her into our lives & he's been providing the things we need just like his word says. We may decide on her middle name before she is born or we may wait until after she is born to choose her middle name from the list we have going.  Either way, I have no doubt that she will have a button nose just like our other 3 beautiful children & she will be a delight in our lives.  Now we will have Gabby, Braly, Morgie, & Sadie.  Sounds perfect doesn't it?!!! We think so!

December 1st, 2011....A joyous and not so joyous day.

Yesterday was so busy, so wonderful, and then not so much.  It was over run with many appointments, vaccination shots for Morgan & mom as well as many emotions. Emotions filled with joy & then ones with anger & sadness. I didn't realize one day could hold so much in it.

As I pulled the curtains in my room back to look outside at what kind of day we'd have for travelling to Iron Mountain, I saw the beautiful, glistening, sparkling white snow that had fallen on our world. It was pretty but also meant that we'd have to leave a little earlier to leave enough time for anything we might run into.  I showered & woke the kids to get them ready. They were excited about the snow & about finding out if they were having a baby brother or sister.

Fast forward to the kids were on the bus, Morgan & I were ready to go. The power went out for some strange reason & we left for Iron Mountain.  We arrived a bit early for our appointment but the nurse took us right in to get our height & weight. I was having an appointment for the baby as I was 21 weeks 3 days. Morgan was having her 5 year check up since she will be 5 on Saturday. I know, where does the time go?  I can't believe it was 5 years ago already that we set off on a different kind of adventure of ups & downs after Morgan was born.  Morgan & I sat patiently in the room waiting for the doctor to come in. We read books, filled out the paper or "homework" as Morgan called it to assess whether she was at the level she needed to be for a 5 year old. The paper is for 4-6 year olds and she completed everything on it at her 4 yr appt so it was kind of just 'fun' to fill it out this time.  Then I looked at my watch & realized that we were running late. My ultrasound (u/s) appointment was for 11:30 on the 1st floor of the building we were in & it was almost 11:00.  Our doctor came in soon after & got us finished & sent us on our way & even had the receptionist call down to say we were on our way.  My sister Natalie met us in the waiting room soon after we walked in & I filled out a few papers. I invited her to watch the u/s & help take care of Morgan since Adam is so stinkin busy with work this time of year.  He felt terrible that he was missing the u/s but there wasn't much he could do. I felt bad for him too.

The technician went through & took 95 pictures of our little one.  They asked me a million and 1 questions to get all the information they needed & we were able to watch the u/s pictures on a HUGE screen tv. It was much better than craning my neck to try to see the small screen.  The doctor came in & asked a few more questions & looked at all the pictures.  She said that everything looked great.  Looks like we have a healthy little girl & pretty much sent us on our way.  We exchanged vehicles with my dad again & headed back up to the 3rd floor to get our vaccinations.  By the time we were finished it was 2pm our time & we were starving. Morgan & I headed to Subway to get some lunch & made some phone calls along the way to inform people & text people the news. Of course Adam was the first one to get a call.  I had promised to let Morgan look at the toys at Shopko but we were running out of time & I had told the kids that I would purchase an outfit for them to open to know whether it was a brother or sister so we hurried as fast as we could to get that done.  By the time we left Iron Mountain, it was questionable whether we'd make it home in time to get Gabby & Braly off the bus.  So I drove faster than normal but hit a bunch of slow traffic once I got near the casino & called a friend to wait for the kids to get off the bus & take them to her house for about 5 minutes.  They weren't there long & when then came running down the alley, they were so excited to find out what the baby was until......they opened the present & found it was girl stuff. Braly was completely hurt & Gabby was sad. It was kinda what I expected. Braly started crying but then wouldn't even come by me & pretty much told me it was my fault & he without saying he hated me...well he implied it.  It was horrible & made me feel really bad.  I thought after I spent some time with him that he'd be ok and he was for a little while but he wasn't done.  And then when Adam came home, well, it started all over again. The stuff they were saying hurt me & though they didn't really know it, I went to the basement to do laundry & cry.  I knew in my heart that they would come around but it hurt to see all these emotions flying around & here I am carrying this sweet little precious girl & felt like I was the only one who cared about her.  I finally got the kids to bed & went to bed myself. I had ENOUGH of the emotions, shots, travelling, rushing, etc that I cried out to God for strength & fell asleep. I didn't even wake up for my usual early morning bathroom break. I felt  much better this morning & asked the kids how they felt.  Braly already warmed up to having another sister & being the only boy.  I offered that he be the 1st sibling to hold her & he agreed. Gabby said she'd hold the baby last since Morgan has never gotten to hold a baby first & that made my heart feel blessed.  She's always so thoughtful, I almost cried right there.  Thank you God for giving me my children back. I know there will be times that Braly just needs a break from girls. I get that & will be more than happy to make sure he has some time away from the 3 of them.  He can hang out with Dad or Papa or his buddies.  But I don't know if he actually realizes how special he is to be the only boy. Obviously God thinks he can handle 3 sisters so here we go on a new adventure.  I am blessed & full of joy but also have a gazillion things to get done before Morgan's 5th birthday party tomorrow so I must finally run & while I'm getting things on my list done I'll be trying to come up with some names to talk about over the weekend. :)