Saturday, January 29, 2011

our daughter finally has a name!


it's true! i know you thought this day would never come but ryan and i have agreed on a name for our littlest sweeney. here's how it came about...

last week as i was in tennessee spending some time with my grandfather before he passed away, i was thinking about the miracle of life. particularly, what a miracle my grandfather's life had been. he had lived with leukemia for over twenty years and had not allowed it to drag him down. he loved fully and he loved well. he was such a godly example to me and my siblings, and he set the tone for our family, one full of compassion and the urgency to live ou
r lives for Christ. even as he struggled with dementia the last couple years, he never lost his love for telling stories of old, sending us sincere hand-written notes, or giving gentle advice.

{2007 - at my graduation from UK with mamaw & papaw}

as i sat by his hospital bed, i felt the little girl in my belly kicking and again i was reminded of the miracle of life that i was carrying inside of me. it's funny, it seems like she kicked more last week while i was experiencing such a huge loss than she has so far in my pregnancy so i took note. last saturday in particular, while my papaw was living out his last few days with us on earth, i felt the desire to give our un-named little girl a name that would represent the legacy left to us by my papaw. his name was charles david...not necessarily top 100 girls' names but none-the-less, i knew we could still come up with something to honor him. that's when a name popped in my head and i quickly pulled out my handy dandy iphone to consult nameberry.com. when i did, i saw this...


CHARLOTTE

Gender: F
Origin of Charlotte: French, feminine diminutive of CHARLES
Meaning of Charlotte: "free man"

i instantly knew that should be her name! not only is it the female version of the name "charles" but it also means "free man", which was exactly what my papaw was about to be. two days later, he went to be free and home as last with his precious Savior. i kept the name to myself and consulted ryan later that night when he arrived in tennessee. he agreed instantly {which we know was the Lord's doing, ha!}

so, while we still don't have a middle name, we at least now have a first name!! whoop whoop! while it's hard to know that my papaw will never get a chance to meet little greer or little charlotte, i definitely look forward to telling them both about his character and his love one day when they're a little bigger.

7 comments:

Megan said...

I LOVE it! I always thought that if we ever had another girl that we got to name, it would be Charlotte! Excellent choice. I'm so sorry about the passing of your papaw. There is nothing more special than a grandparent and losing them is never easy. Praying for you!

Erin Owen said...

How darling!!! And what a precious legacy she will carry on being named after your Papaw. So excited for you all and cannot wait to hear more!

Unknown said...

how perfect!!!! love it :) and what a precious way to remember your papaw.

Danielle said...

Love this name! What a great story surrounding it too.

Us4 Cats said...

that makes complete sense to me- the meaning behind it and the bond within it. well done!

we too have our sons name picked out already. it really is a blessing when you just KNOW a certain name IS suppossed to be.

congrats!

*Kelly* said...

So sorry about your grandpa. He sounded like an exceptional man. Charlotte is a beautiful name. It sounds very "regal". Whenever I watch "Pride and Prejudice" i think how much I love that name.
I was bummed to have missed the Show us your life, adoption stories at kelly's as we have adopted twice.

because HE first loved us said...

I adore the name Charlotte! What a beautiful way to honor your papaw's memory. Prayers for you during this time... so much going on.

P.S. I know Jen Brisinski because we are both Young Life leaders who apparently knows you. And I noticed your graduation picture.. I also graduated from UK in '07... small world!