His Name

I am typically the person who has to have my baby's name picked out way before he/she is born. With the first few babies, we didn't have a problem with that.  With the last two...it's been a different story. I am not exactly sure why, but it's just been more difficult to decide.  The night before this little one was born, we were basically down to two names.  With both, the middle name was Joseph.  He's a saint I have always greatly admired for his selflessness and humility.  So, I knew I would like that as a middle name.  The first name was the hard part.  This baby had been Henry Joseph in my mind for so long, since that was the name for Genevieve if she had been a boy.  So, when we found out this little guy was a boy, it just seemed that this name would be his.

Then, the name discussion was opened back up, and we re-thought names we had loved in the past. We looked over the list of family names we had compiled.  We tried to find saints who we might have overlooked.  There wasn't anything we were just set on.

And, poor Jeremy could not really talk to me about it, because it stressed me out.  For some reason, I just thought I would really "mess up" and miss a great name.  Sometimes my pregnant mind is one of great worry and anxiety as well.  The night before his birth, Jeremy made a comment about a name he liked (one that maybe we had kind of agreed on) and said, "I can get behind that name."  He did not say, "This is it!" or "I've just loved this name for a long time."  Instead, "I can get behind it."  In my crazy state, I started crying and saying I couldn't name our child something he wasn't in love with...something he had to just get used to.

See why it's hard to live with me sometimes?

So, that conversation quickly ended.  And, it wasn't brought up again, until Jeremy walked into the delivery room to find the baby had already been born.  He took one look at him and said, "He looks like Henry Joseph to me."

And, that was that.

Henry was the name of my great-grandfather - one I never knew but whom my daddy loved dearly. Henry is also the name of a saint or two whose stories we love.  Joseph, of course, was Jesus' earthly father.  I love the strength of the name.  I love the timelessness of it.  I love the examples he has to look to as he grows into a man.

May these saints who have gone before us always guide you, little one!

Her Name: Genevieve Mary Rose

I was going to wait to write this post until I had more of her newborn photos edited, but that hasn't been happening lately, so here goes.

As with Sophie, picking Genevieve's name was really hard for us.  It seems like we had a boy name that we knew from the start, but we wrestled with the girl name until we headed to the hospital the morning of the 19th.  In fact, we sat on the middle name for a day before we made it official.  That might have been one of the most difficult parts for me in not knowing the gender...not fully committing to a name beforehand.  I'm a bit of a planner - plus, I feel like I have to sit with a name for awhile before I completely love it.  None of that happened this time around.

Up until the very final day, the contenders were Gemma, Emilia, Lucy, and Genevieve.  We threw others around here and there, but these are the ones that made it through to the end.  At one point she was Gemma, and I really thought she would be Gemma in the end.  I had just grown used to it in my mind.  Plus I had grown to love the saint and the way she dealt with suffering in her life.  I just felt connected to her.  Emilia was a name we didn't think of with Sophie - it was new on the list.  And, the saint's story is beautiful...a mom of many (two of which became saints!).  Lucy has always been a favorite.  And, Genevieve...a beautiful name and a saint, too (and, the name of a wonderful cousin of ours)!

Mary had always been the middle name for this little one.  I have loved it forever, and while Jeremy loved it, too, he didn't feel it was right for the first name.

As her birth approached, Jeremy grew more in love with Genevieve.  I loved it, too, but it just seemed like such a big name for a tiny baby.  Then, I read her story...a simple life, yet one full of prayer and love.

Then the curve ball came, and we found out she was coming a week earlier than expected.  Naturally, I was both excited and a little scared.  As any mom would be, I was just worried that she might not be okay.  Then my cousin sent me a text message and said what a wonderful day it would be for her to come into the world...on the birthday of my great aunt who was taken from this world right before my sister was born...my great aunt Rozann, my sister's namesake.  She was adored by all who knew her, as is my sister.  I was put more at ease, and it was then that I thought of the name Rose.

RosaLee is my grandmother's name.  Rozann is my sister's name and my great aunt's who this little one would share a birthday with.   So, to incorporate all of these amazing women...I thought we just might have to add Rose.  However, I didn't want to take Mary out, because of the honor for Our Mother and my other grandmother.  Quickly, I looked up the story of Saint Rose of Lima.   I was sold.

Mary Rose.  I only struggled with adding two names to an already long name.  But the more I thought of it, the more I didn't want it any other way.  And, Jeremy loved it!  So, that's what she would be...if she was a "she" in fact.

Genevieve Mary Rose...our sweet little angel.  She has such a big name, and even bigger models whose names they were.  Yet, that's what we've always wanted...to give our children names that will provide an example of heroic faith, love and character.   Each of them carry names of amazing saints and/or family members.  When they are faced with challenges this life is sure to bring, I hope in those moments they see who has gone before them and realize the strength to be just as much of a hero is in them, too!

It is a big name...but I pray she might just be that big herself!

Lottie Dottie

Lottie Dottie is what the boys' have called her since they knew it was a girl.  And, they have stuck with it! From the moment we found out we were pregnant with Peter and then John Paul, it was Lucy.  A middle name we weren't positive on, but Lucy was our little girl.

Well, fast forward to when we actually found out that this little one was a girl.  We decided to weigh all of our options again, and man has it been hard to decide!  The only thing we were almost 90% certain about was her middle name.  We wanted to use Therese.  Saint Therese was instrumental in our prayers for this baby girl, and I wanted to honor her.

Beyond that, we new we wanted a saint name or a family name (that's been our mantra for all of our children's names).  We want to give them a name that is strong - that comes from an example of courage and faith; we also want to give them a connection to a saint - one in which they can aspire to faithfully.  Does it mean they will be saints?  We can always hope.  But, right now, it is just how we have chosen to name our children.

So, Lucy became Mary.  I adore that name, and growing up, it was always going to be my first girl's name.  I also love Our Mother dearly and even thought it was weird to name a girl after a saint if it wasn't going to be the greatest saint (I definitely think too much).  Then it was Anna - more specifically Anna Clare (double name).  Then, Madeleine was thrown in.  We thought of Jane, Clare, Joan and a few others.  Mary became Mary Clare, and then back to Mary.  Lucy was thought of some days and not others.  We even changed up the middle name.  Every day/week a different name or combination was at the forefront.

Some day, God-willing, we'll have a Mary Clare.  Maybe even a Lucy or an Anna.  But, this time, we have...

Sophie Therese Fisk

We will call her Sophie.  It comes from Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, the founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Her patron saint will be Saint Therese of Lisieux.  Big shoes, I know, but incredible examples above all.

“Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be.” 

-St. Therese