Names

Well, I decided to put the suspense to an end. Kristina got the closest with her guess of Isaac, although the pregnancy part is thankfully wrong (that sounds strange, esp. since we are eagerly anticipating having one more in our family, but we are definitely doing adoption by choice and a pregnancy would throw a wrench in those plans).

Kevin and I have been those people who decide on a name pretty early on, and then torture everyone by not telling them. It isn't deliberate, we just like the flexibility to change our minds, if we so desire to. However, after two kids, we didn't budge an inch on their names (from start to finish) with the small exception of Abby's middle name (we decided one month prior to birth to change it from the more general Grace to the family Fern). We were debating going the same route this time (despite having had the boy name picked out for 6+ years and the girl name for 3+ years), but decided to change things up.

Our decision is mostly as a way to help emotionally protect ourselves (and the girls) in the unlikely event that a match falls through. I guess I just think it is better to have the names picked and out there instead of doing it when matched because I wouldn't want to feel like our baby (and naming a child really seems to me to be a sign of parental ownership) didn't work out. Instead, there would be a sense that this one child just wasn't meant to be ours, but our baby, with the name we picked out with so much care and thoughtfulness, was still out there, waiting to be brought home. This whole logic strand makes me think I've put WAY too much thought into it, which I agree with (and Kevin whole heartedly agrees with), but when has reasoning kept me from over thinking anything?

The long and the short of it is that we decided that we would tell people what we are naming the baby, whenever he or she arrives.

Which leads me back to the previous post's title. Will it be....


Laughter from God....

Or a promise from God?

Two things quick on this last name. First, we will be spelling it slightly different, Elisabeth and calling her Ellie (it seems like the my arguments to get Kevin to agree to the different spelling could be a whole post, but let's just say that even he knows z isn't in the Hebrew alphabet). Two, Elizabeth also comes up with meaning God is my vow or God is my promise. So, I did take a bit of a liberty with the title.

If you are unfamiliar with the names' origins, I would encourage you to look them up in the Bible. Isaac, the long awaited promised son of Abraham, and Elizabeth, who is the wife of Zechariah and blessed in her old age by becoming the mother of John the Baptist, seem appropriate names for a baby we have been waiting and praying for.

Plus, what can I say, we like Biblical names.

*****

(I took the pictures while visiting the Children's Museum in Portland in July with the express intent of later posting them on the blog. That's why the license plates say Oregon, not Washington.)