Skip to main content

What's In a Name?

So before I go with the story of naming my baby, I have to say I am not leaving my job in Extension anytime soon! Sorry I worried some of you with the previous post. It's nice to know I am appreciated in my current job.

Earlier I blogged that my church pastor looked me square in the eye and told me that we needed to name our baby because it was important to have a name to pray for. I wanted to take time to name my last child because she is the last child I am having - or at least that's my plan - but God can make changes. With Wade I just had to concede to Tommy's insistence that his name be Thomas Wade. With Abigail, well we had a lot of discussion, but I let Wade make the final choice so that he felt included in everything. He was only 4, but he was only about naming his baby sister Abigail Elizabeth for her school name. He had actually nicknamed her Baby Poof very early in the pregnancy. So I felt like this time, the decision was all mine.

It wasn't. A name that came to my mind right after Abigail was born was Cannon Cadence. Cannon is my grandma's maiden name. Where Cadence came from I have no idea! I just know that the name spoke to me and I would have another daughter and name her that. So that was MY plan. But as we all know, God has other plans.

The next day after my visit with Pastor Joy, I was putting something in my car. I was alone with no kids around me and in my head I heard the name Cannon Grace. Grace? Really? This is not a name I have ever wished to use! As a matter of fact, it is my dearest cousin's future daughter name. And all ladies know that you never, ever cross the line and use a name that another relative or close friend has claimed for their child. So you know what I did? I texted Julie and asked if I could use Grace. She said yes because this child would be part hers anyway and she doesn't plan on having any more kids (she has 2 boys).

So I told Tommy later, I wanted to go with Cadence Grace. (Why not Cannon? Mostly because there is a little boy that we see often enough it would be confusing for some. And it just didn't seem to fit.) Tommy told me that he had the same name (Grace) pop in his head earlier that day too. THEN, and this was the final part that drove it all home for us both, we discussed that Pastor Joy had emailed both of us that day and had decided to nickname the baby until we had a name. Her name was...Angel GRACE. Oh. My. Goodness! Obviously God wanted us to use Grace as her middle name. It is important enough He told us both and our pastor. Then we tweaked the first name to Kaydence in honor of my very best friend in the whole wide world, Jeana Kay, and another dear friend to us named Kay. So there we have it, Kaydence Grace.

I love hearing Abigail say it - Kay Dance Gwace. Wade, well he still thinks her name should be Kaitlyn, but he will get over it. Every time I hear the story of the angel visiting Mary and telling her that her baby's name will be Jesus, I just think how awesome it is that God gave us the name Grace (though He didn't send an angel, but that's okay). It reaffirms how much He cares about babies still in the womb. To some they are a fetus, but to God they are souls He created and has named and has plans for. How special is that people? How blessed we are who have carried children in our bodies to have been a vessel for such a miracle! Babies do not happen by chance. Biology will tell you it is very complex for a body to become pregnant. It takes God. He is the Creator, the Potter, and who are we to question that?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

She is an official Kindergartener

So Kaydence Grace begins Kindergarten officially tomorrow. It's hard to wrap my brain around this in some ways, but then it feels like the norm because she has been at school in PPCD since a few days after she turned three. For those who are unfamiliar with this, Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services begin very early for kids like K. She actually was about a year old before we were introduced to the program. It seems like we are never helped to the help we need until it is later than it should be! ECI services include therapy of different kinds, and probably some other stuff, but we weren't able to receive anything but Occupational Therapy and that is a whole other story for later. ECI services terminate at age 3 and kids enter their local school districts for services. Kaydence has make big strides since and I am very thankful for our school district. But tomorrow she starts Kindergarten as an actual 5 year old with the other kids her age. It is truly bittersweet. I ...

My Lowest Point

Since we have found happier ground right now , I thought I'd take a moment to share with you what has been my lowest point in this journey thus far - and I hope it is the lowest point period! I know, you're probably wondering why I am regressing to this story, but there may be someone out there who has felt this way and didn't know how to make sense of it, or feels guilty for feeling that way. So the day that I got that call that my amniotic fluid had tested positive for CMV, I texted my pastor and she came right out that afternoon. Tommy, the kids, and I were outside swinging and playing in the sunshine for a little bit when she arrived. She and I went in the house for a little while to pray and counsel. Now, keep in mind, I had already did a lot of thinking before she got there. We again talked about the possibility that God might just choose to take this tiny soul to be with Him. I might not ever know her outside of the womb on earth, but I would know her in Heaven. Pa...

We are halfway done!

I cannot believe we are halfway done with this journey here in Baltimore! I do feel like we are making some gains here and I am thankful God placed Kennedy Krieger Institute in our life. First of all, I only wish we could have started this a few years ago because when I am on the CMV mommies page on Facebook, I see what other kids with her same symptoms and diagnoses can do versus what Super K has not yet accomplished. "But Wendy, you shouldn't make comparisons!" Yet all parents do. Some days I think maybe I have let her down by not being pushier about her therapy, but then again this has been uncharted territory every single minute of her life. No two CMV kids are alike in their ailments because each brain is affected differently. Once again I am so thankful we are at Our Children's House. It is a nice walk to and from therapy and the weather has been pretty amazing. When we got here it was Texas hot and then it cooled off really low, only to level off to really nic...