What's in a name?

You all know now that we named our little girl Alexandra Marie. I thought I would tell the story of her name and nickname. Alexandra Marie was my Mom's name (for the record, Marie is also my mother-in-law's middle name, so she gets some credit too!). Of the 26 grandchildren on my side of the family, none carry any form of Mom's name. I always wanted an Alexandra, but Andy always wanted it for a middle name. I used to tease him that Mom was pulling strings up in Heaven, not giving us a daughter until he agreed on the name.

When I got pregnant this time, I pretty much had decided that the middle name would be Alexandra. About 4 months ago, Andy told me he wanted to name our daughter after Mom. The contingency was that we call her Alex for short. Seriously, I had to take a moment and tell him I need to pray about it because Alex was not my choice of a nickname. I did pray, and asked God to give me a sign.

Two days later, I went to get a haircut. The girl's name was "Misty", but knowing that stylists often use pseudonyms, I asked if it was her real name. Her response, "No, it's Alexandra, but my family calls me Alex." For some, this would have been enough. I still wasn't sure.

A few days later, I sat down to watch "Chopped" on Food Network. Again, I decided to put it to the test. If Alex Guarnischelli is one of the judges (she is one of my favorite chefs on the network), then I know it is meant to be. Of course, she was on. So silly, but I was pretty sure this was what we were meant to do.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I continued to see examples of women who went by Alex. See, this is what I like about my relationaship with God. I ask for a sign, and even after I am well convinced it is what I am supposed to do, He continues to drive the point home. God is so good!