What’s In A Name? And, Happy Mother’s Day 2017

What’s in a name?  What a HUGE question that really is….!  Your name is the first thing people want to know about you, and a question Will and I have been asked a million and two times since finding out that our sweet baby is a girl.  We have known the answer to that question for a little while, but have decided to keep it to ourselves until today- Mother’s Day.  (Sorry to my Mom- I know it has been driving you crazy that I wouldn’t give out any clues or say I knew the name!!!!)

We both come from families that have strong women in them, and that is such an amazing thing.  Most importantly we both have strong mothers.  Mothers that we both look up to for many different reasons.

To my Mom- you have always been an example of independence, strong will, determination, and complete fearlessness in what to me seemed like such scary moments.  You stayed home for several years with me and Kristin, and honestly- those are some of my favorite memories with you.  You even made lunch time fun, when you would pretend our kitchen table was a restaurant and write down our orders for lunch!  You always told the best “ghost stories” at sleepovers with my friends, so good that Lenise can even remember them.  I felt like the coolest kid ever having the Mom who was the PTA president and always at school for programs and events.  I know a lot of kids would probably be embarrassed for their Mom to be around so much, but I truly LOVED it.  As we got older, you showed determination in going back to college and returning to work.  There’s no way I couldn’t look up to you for that, and no way that I too, shouldn’t go to college and make something of myself if you could do it after having two kids.  Your fearlessness has shined through when you faced different types of cancer, from skin, to breast, and even a blood clot.  I remember you talking to us on your bed when breast cancer first became an issue.  I was so incredibly scared, but you just remained calm while I CRIED.  Now, as an adult, I have been able to (unfortunately) relate to you in regards to going through miscarriage.  I HATE that both of us have had to experience such loss- but I am so thankful that when it happened to me, you were able to understand exactly what I was going through and talk to me about it.  As I prepare to become a mother to this sweet baby inside me- I hope I too, instill those qualities in her, for they are the back bone of a strong woman.  I love you Mom, Happy Mother’s Day!

Ann-  I’m pretty sure I hit the jack pot when it comes to the mother-in-law department.  You also are an incredibly independent, smart, and determined person!  You have let absolutely nothing stand in your way of doing the job you want and love- and I admire that.  I know from listening to Will how much he thinks of you as a mother- from packing him ONE Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup for lunch every day, to sewing his Halloween costumes every year when he was little.  You always are ready and willing to help with anything you can, and always have such a positive attitude about things.  I hate that we too, also share the unfortunate experience of miscarriage, but like I said to my mother- it makes a world of difference for Will and I to have parents who have been through such a hard, similar event.  I also hope our daughter inherits so many of these qualities from you, as you too, are a strong woman.  Happy Mother’s Day to you!

So, with that being said- let’s talk about our soon-to-be baby girl’s name!  Click on the video below for our name reveal!

There’s her name!  Is that song we paired with the video not just perfect?  Really every word of the song is perfect, but my favorite line is:

“You were made to shine under southern stars, in my arms tonight.  I can feel the beating of your heart; I’m gonna make you mine.”  -Make You Mine, High Valley

Will and I went back and forth with several different names and options.  With our very first pregnancy we had two perfect names picked out.  Our girl name included part of my mother’s name, and we loved it.  We got pregnant a second time, and debated keeping the same names.  We lost that baby too.  With this third chance we knew for sure that we didn’t want to use our original names.  Sooooo, we had some work cut out for us!  Will loves family names.  I like family names with their own personality.  Or completely unrelated names, so long as the name has a special meaning.  We both loved the idea of a “double name,” like my mom’s name, being Sue Ellen.  We both feel like it has the perfect southern charm to it.  We looked at initials in our families.  We looked at double names, but making it the first and middle name… There is just SO much to consider!

We finally settled on using a blend of both of our mom’s names because of the impact they have had on us.  We wanted the name to sound like a double name, but where we could also still give our sweet girl her own special name as a middle name.  Will’s mother’s name is “Ann.”  My mother’s name is “Sue Ellen.”  We decided to add an “a” to “Ann,” making “Anna.”  From my mom’s name, we of course wanted to keep the double name idea, and we used “Ellen” to do that.  We took the “n” off of the end, and added a “B” in front, making “Belle.”  Together the names make “Annabelle.”  Our daughter now shares the same first and last initial as me, but has a first name inspired by both of our moms, her grandmoms.  Both of our STRONG moms.

Her middle name is a word that I love, and I actually made mention of it in my former post. (You would have to be pretty sly to realize I did it, but in my last post I used this verse, and underlined GRACE.

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My GRACE is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

The definition of grace:

GRACE: The exercise of love, kindness, compassion, mercy, favor, disposition to benefit another.

Grace is such a perfect word to describe our experience trying to get this sweet baby; such a perfect middle name for this girl.  I have found a quote that I absolutely love and want to have it created in some way for her nursery:

“I will hold myself to a standard of GRACE, not perfection.”  –author unknown

We look forward to officially meeting Annabelle Grace Cashion in August!

We hope you enjoyed this announcement post; and again, Happy Mother’s Day to our mothers, we love you dearly- and there aren’t enough ways to ever say that.