She has a Name!!!!

I am so excited to write this post. It has been a long time coming. Much thought has gone into choosing a name for our sweet little girl. Now, it is decided and I get to share it.

I am really big on the meaning of names. Both of our other children have a biblical name and a family name. So, I really wanted to do the same with this baby. So, here is the name we have chosen for our sweet baby girl. Explanation will follow.

Hadlee Ruth

I got up this morning and just prayed in frustration that God would give us the perfect name for our little girl. We'd chosen this name, but I was wavering. I liked what some other names meant as well. So, our BIG God, in His own loving way, cared about the relatively small detail in this world and in really short order (only one day) gave us the perfect name for the baby with great confirmation.

Hadlee came to me from 2 names. In the Bible, Esther's Hebrew name is Hadassah. Lee is J's mom and sister's middle name. He knew he wanted to name her after his mother and sister. Lee is also my mother's middle name, so it kinda works in a number of ways. Hadassah Lee was thrown around knowing that we would call her Hadlee anyway. Until the day I mentioned to J that her name would have a curse word in it. Maybe that is so silly to others, but either way, we decided against it, not to mention that teachers would always call her Hadassah before Hadlee, and what 13 year old girl really needs any more trouble with teasing?

So, Hadlee comes from Hadassah (Queen Esther) and Lee. J does not count this as naming her after his mom and sister since it is combined in another name, but I do. What clinched the deal for us tonight (confirmation from God) is that we looked over the meaning of the name one more time. I didn't catch it the first 100 times I looked at it, but J caught it immediately tonight and with a huge smile on his face, he proclaimed, "This is it, this is her name!" The inherent meaning of Hadlee is "From the Field of Heather." Heather is J's sister's name. So, Hadlee is named in more than one way, after her Aunt Heather, and also after her Grandmother, and her Nana.

Ruth is my grandmother's name. My Nanny has been the only really involved grandparent I've ever had until I married J and now have his wonderful grandparents as well. I've always wanted to name my first little girl after her, and J has honored me with this request.

So, Miss Hadlee Ruth, you have some BIG shoes to fill sweet girl. May you trust in God, our Father, the way Hadassah (Queen Esther)did. May you pray for your family the way Nanny did, may you love fiercly the way your Grandmother and Nana do, and may you be a strong, beautiful woman like your Aunt Heather. No matter what, I pray that you would be the most beautiful YOU and follow in Holy Father's footsteps NO MATTER WHAT all the days of your life. I already love you so, sweet girl. I can't wait to meet you.
Love,
YOUR MOMMA