15 September 2009

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!

14 comments:

Jamie Jo said...

Oh, my gosh, she is just adorable!!! Love all the pink, don't you? Wasn't it fun taking all the tags off now?

I love to watch the food network too!!

I love the name story, I have name stories, but it would give away their real names....so another time, another place!

She was meant to be Alex for sure!

Allison said...

Aw how precious is she?!
Love the story of her name. I always love meaningful names.

Sarah - Kala said...

This is a great baby name story! And, yes, God is good!!

Christine said...

very very sweet family! She has to be in pink everyday!

Gramma 2 Many said...

I always wanted a Sarah Anastasia. No luck, glad you got your Alexandra Marie. God is Good!!

Amy said...

Alex and her name are beautiful!

Enjoy her :D

Therese said...

I truly believe God chooses all our children's names. This kind of story just confirms it.

Anonymous said...

That pic is just ADORABLE :)

Nancy said...

Please kiss that angel for me!!

Allison said...

LUV family names.

Wow, Therese, she is REALLY stunning!

Congrats to your beautiful, blessed family. :)

Kim H. said...

Okay, that is a great reason for a name! And I love the nickname "Alex!" -- I clicked on her picture to enlarge it and I can't stand it! She's so stinkin' cute and perfect!!!

Herd Momma said...

I love the Alex name too. And what a wonderful way to honor Mom.
Audrey's middle name Rose is my mother's name, my mother-in-law was Rosella and my dad's mother and Tom's great grandmother were Rosa. I totally love keeping family names.
And yep Kim this little one is just way stinkin' cute. I'll race you to see which bloggy aunty gets to pinch cheeks first!

Holli said...

What a beautiful story...I loved it. I'm glad that you are doing well and everyone is healthy and happy!

Cindy said...

Such a sweet baby! Love the name...it fits her.
Know what you mean about baby names! With our oldest, we had picked out Casey for a girl and nothing for a boy. I was like 8 1/2 mths! Anyway, watched a movie with a hunky guy whose name was Casey! I took that as my sign....Yes God is good!