Baby Names

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a bit crazy when it comes to baby names. I LOVE having the responsibility of naming a new child. I do an insane amount of research regarding the names and their meanings. I tend to prefer unpopular or non trendy names. And yes...I'm a sucker for Biblical names...mostly due to their rich meanings and heritage. :) I just had to share the story of how we have come to know our baby girl's name today. Yes...we went into the ultrasound without a name, and by day's end, we know her full name.

While waiting for the doctor after the ultrasound and still coming off of the shock of finding out we are having a girl, Kevin breaks the silence with, "I think we should name her Sarah." Really? Sarah? Where did THAT come from? We have a list of about ten names at home...and that one hasn't even made it onto our list yet. I mean it's a beautiful name...and I love the meaning: "princess." But compared to Isaac and Naomi, it just seems so...common. I went to school with SO many Sarah's growing up...there were a few in each class, actually. So that is my only hang-up...that it's so common.

But then talking to my sister, I realized that while it may be common among my generation, it most definitely is not all that common for babies being born today. Perhaps that's because the generation having the babies today was one that was saturated with Sarahs! Hehe. So that did make me feel a little better about the name.

And then I received an out-of-the-blue email from my stepdad...casting his vote for baby girl names. He gave a list of four names, with an emphasis on one that was "by far" his favorite: Sarah. SERIOUSLY? Did he and Kevin talk? No...they didn't. He just really liked that name for this baby girl. The coincidence was almost too much to bear.

And then something happened tonight that completely BLEW me away. I was talking to my dad on the phone, telling him about the ultrasound and everything. Naturally, he asked if we had any names picked out. I made mention of a long list of names that we're sorting through, but did not tell him any of them. But then I said, "I'm not too worried...God already knows her name. We just need to pray and ask HIM and I'm sure He'll reveal it to us!" After a brief moment of quiet, my dad said, "Sarah." To which I screamed, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!?" And he calmly said, "Sarah." I told him to SHUT UP! And was just in AWE. When I mentioned that the Lord would tell us the name, he said that the name "Sarah" was what he heard, so he shared it.

What are the freaking odds that THREE men in my family would all come up with the same name like this on the same day? And these are not heavily opinionated men on the name front. They haven't done their research and don't have lists of baby names scribbled on random journal pages since they were teenagers! I am AMAZED at how God has showed us her name today. I was fighting it for the better part of this day...trying to come up with other names that would appeal to Kevin (or myself). But after the conversation with my dad, I have decided to give up and just accept that I will not have anything to do with naming this baby girl! Well...except that I have had a middle name chosen for her for a little while now. :)

The daughter growing within my womb has a name! And I LOVE it! Her name is Sarah Elizabeth Ober. And I LOVE how God made it so perfectly clear to us today. He is SO good! :) And I can't WAIT to meet our little "princess."