Well I can't believe it myself, but Lily turned 1 month on the 9th. I know that means that she is still very tiny, but time flies way too fast for me - before I know it, she will be a year old. OK, I need to slow down before I break out with the tears!
I don't know how many of you have heard "Lily's Story" as we call it. It is the story of how we came to choose Lily's name. I have been meaning to blog about it for quite some time now. Well, after we found out that Lily was a girl (at 20 weeks) we had a different name picked out for her. I even blogged about the name and I told the entire world that we had picked a name for her. Then a week or two after we picked the name - I just could not do it. It just did not fit! I explained it to my friends by using the example of shoes. We women love shoes! And, sometimes we see a pair of shoes that we just have to have. So, we buy the shoes that we absolutely love, and take them home. But after wearing them a few times and realizing that those wonderful, cute shoes are really uncomfortable, we decide that we do not like them anymore. And no amount of breaking them in will make them more comfortable - they have lost all appeal for us - they looked good but feel horrible! Well, that is what happened with the first name that we picked out. So we went weeks and weeks without a name. In fact, we did not have a name until 2 weeks before she was born. This is what happened:
Two weeks before Lily was born, we were yet again talking about names, when Mauro suggested the name Lily. He said he really liked it because it was so sweet and cute. Well, I about blew my top! I think steam was coming out of my ears! You see, weeks before, I had suggested the name Lily and he said, basically, no way. So the night that he suggested the name Lily, he also had to apologize. He said that it made him upset that I ended up hating the previous name that he had picked out. So, for weeks, he let that brew inside of him, and any name that I suggested, he acted like he hated it. Umm hmm! OK, so, once he said that he really liked it, something clicked! I just knew that was going to be the name. Then it took me about a day to realize that Lily was going to be Lily all along. Even without a name picked out, we were putting the nursery together - setting up the crib and dresser again and putting up art on the wall, etc... you know, trying to make it look cute and unique. I had decided weeks before picking the name that I would do a cute little garden/bird theme in the baby's room. So I put together 2 framed pictures of flowers and a set of 3 painted (pink, blue and green), cut-out, wooden birds to hang on the walls. So, finally the nursery was put together and we had a name - Lily. But wait a minute... in scripture, in the book of Matthew, Jesus was talking to his disciples about not worrying about their lives, what they will eat and if they will be clothed. He says that even the Lilies in the fields were clothed more beautifully than King Solomon, in all of his splendor, and the birds/ravens have plenty of food to eat - so why won't God take even better care of us, there is nothing that we need to worry about...Lily...that's a flower...we decorated her room in flower pictures...the same scripture that speaks of the Lilies of the field also talks of the ravens...those are birds...we also used birds to decorate her room...wow! And that scripture sure does give me a lot of HOPE that the Lord will take care of all of our needs...hmmm...Hope -When I think of Lilys name, I think of that scripture about the Lilies, and that scripture gives me hope that the Lord will take care of me- LILY HOPE! Wow! Isn't it neat how God works it all out. All that time I was so worried that we would not come up with a good name. My friends and family kept telling me not to worry - that the Lord will give me a name and I will know it when I hear it. And, that is exactly what he did! Because I sure did know that Lily just had to be her name - how could I not. There were way to many signs - literally- you know, the ones hanging on her bedroom walls!
it's amazing how much she looks like the other girls. so cute!
ReplyDeleteI love your journey to finding Lily Hope's name. And what a beautiful name!
ReplyDeleteShe is such a precious little doll. She really looks alot like Kyla especially in the first photo of your newest blog. When are you going to french braid her hair? :)
ReplyDeleteYes, a beautiful story about Lily's name. But here's how it really happened people...
ReplyDeleteLily was the name I had picked out for my future girls name. Heather and I have strict rules about not stealing each others future kids' names. But, when Emery was born, I offered for Heather to take the name Lily from me because i wasn't a big fan of "Emery" and I felt i had to do something drastic to change her mind, hence I selflessly offered for her to take "Lily" from my short-list of future baby names. Heather refused and its a good thing cause now I like Emery's name. But because she didn't use it, I quickly rescinded my offer and we had a verbal handshake over the fact that Lily would remain on my list, not hers.
However, after a little research, I have now found out that verbal handshakes are not legal and binding in the state of California and there is no legal recourse in the event that the offending party decides to reverse said agreement....
In any case, Heather called one day and said "I have some bad news. Don't be mad. We're going to use 'Lily' for her name." It was at that moment that I realized that my sister, my own flesh and blood, had turned her back on the bond that we share. Wait, no, that's too far... Mostly i realized that she was desperate and needed a good name. So once again, Auntie Holly to the rescue.
One last thing... In a future telephone conversation, as we were discussing middle names, I said "what about Lily Hope?". We both obviously had this name epiphany pretty much simultaneously, which happens a lot with Heather and I, but I still like to think that I am the sole creator of Lily's full name. So let's give credit where credit is due... Anyone...Anyone....? No? Ok, we'll just stick with her story then.