We Named Her

The social workers have been really positive about us being able to keep her. The clock has run out for the great aunt. We signed the adoption information sharing release forms and parental rights are set to be terminated December 21st. Things are on track and going well. Thanks so much to all of you who have been thinking of us and praying for good things to happen. They are happening and it's wonderful. Thanks so much.

So we felt safe about claiming her as one of us and giving her a name. It it likely to be official late Spring/early Summer. It's a big deal to name your child. You have to both agree on it. You have to like it and think it suits the baby. And it's what parents get to do. They name their children. It feels really good to feel good about naming her. It's like reality has synced with my heart.

I'm a little sentimetal or cerimonial or something. I couldn't just start telling people her name. It was just too anticlamatic. To me it was a big deal, so it needed something. So we had a special naming ceremony. We had a delicious drizzled chocolate bundt cake. It's a ring symbolizing the forever nature of our family. Then each family member chose a candle to represent them out of the recycled birthday candle baggie. (yes, they have all been licked by different people multiple times and all put back into the same bag) Next each member of the family put their candle in the cake one at a time. As they put their candle in the cake we talked about when they were named, what their names are, what they mean, where their name came from, all their nicknames and former birth names, etc. After we did this for all of us, we added one cute little pink candle to the cake for our newest member and talked about her new name, where it came from and why we chose it.

It was a special night. I'm hoping that the fire and sugar help the boys remember it. Owen was a little sad, he said he still wanted to call her Sissy. We told him he could, it was really cute. Many of the nicknames we used started with S (Sissy, Sweetie, even Snickerdoodle, etc.) and the name her birth mother gave her also started with S, so it feels good that the name we gave her also starts with S.

That said, we named her Scarlett Jane.

This is my 400th post! Can you believe that?! And what a great thing to be posting. I think I need a give-a-way or something. I'll have to think on that today and see what I can come up with.