Before we had kids, I very much looked forward to naming them. I had lists and lists and lists of names that I loved and wanted to give to my future children. Some of them a little funnier than others (Kermit anyone?). The only words associated with the process of picking out names in my mind at that time were: fun and exciting.
After we found out about Michael and Liliana and agreed to adopt them, I realized that, while picking names is fun and exciting, it is also a lot of pressure. The name you choose will be their name forever on earth. It started to become more of a daunting task rather than an enjoyable one.
With Michael and Liliana Faye, we picked their names fairly quickly. We knew from the beginning of the adoption process that we wanted to give them family names. Since Michael's name was Milkias in Ethiopia, it was a natural transition to name him Michael. But, we also considered Matthew for him. In the end, after much prayer (who knew I would be praying for wisdom on how to name our kids, but it makes sense) - we knew that we knew that we knew his name should be Michael. As many of you know, he is named after Matt's Dad, Michael. I struggled with his name at first because it is such a common name. But now, I am so grateful that he is named after such a man of God. Matt's Dad is an incredibly humble, sincere man. Michael takes after him in so many ways. Both are very sensitive to the Spirit and the things of God. They both love sports and sweat while they sleep (HA!). I love the way Matt's Dad gets down on the floor and plays with his grandkids. He is never too busy for them. And much to my chagrin, he always wants to shower them with treats, goodies, and McDonalds happy meals. :) His generous spirit runs deep.
Matt and I liked the name Liliana for a long time. So, her name was a natural selection. We also knew for a long time that we wanted to name our first daughter after Matt's Grandma Hawks. Matt's Grandma is one of the most loving, compassionate, caring, delightful people I know. In marriage, some relationships with the in-laws take years to form and bond. My relationship with Matt's Grandma felt like we'd always known each other. She is so generous, full of love, and is genuinely interested in the welfare of others. This is exactly how we wanted our daughter to be. And wouldn't you know that Liliana Faye is one of the most loving, caring, compassionate, generous kids we know? She never ceases to blow Matt and I away by the genuine love and care she has for others. None of this was taught by us - she's always been that way. It's the way God wired her. It's simply incredible to see how alike Liliana and Grandma are.
But this blog post wasn't supposed to be about Michael and Liliana's names. This was supposed to be about the twins. :) A lot - and I mean A LOT - of prayer went into naming these two littles. I have never prayed and toiled so much over something that seems so trivial. But, my heart wasn't settled on the names for months, which required a lot of prayer to get to a place of peace. I know it sounds crazy. I feel crazy writing it out, but it is true. I think God wanted me to cover these names in prayer, otherwise He would have given me a peace about them much sooner.
All that to say, it took us a lot longer to settle on names for the twins. Because we are cheesy (or cute, I am not sure which) we wanted the names to be alliterations because they are twins. I actually read quite a bit about naming twins. Most websites advised NOT using alliterations when naming twins because you want them to have their own separate identity. I didn't head that advice... since they are boy/girl twins I figured that didn't really apply to our case. :) Anyway, at the end of the day (or I guess, at the end of the several months), we decided on Samuel and Sadie.
Samuel Steven Kemer is named after 3 people. What a blessed boy! Matt's Great-Grandpa was Roy Samuel. Matt's sister is Samantha, but she goes by Sam. Perfect, right? We absolutely love Sam's heart for prayer, for those who don't know Jesus, and for seeking God is all she does. Her quest for knowing Jesus more each day is inspiring. She has followed Jesus with all her heart and found her "calling" in Israel. One of my favorite things about Sam is that she is willing to do anything God calls her to do. Shortly after Matt and I got married, she went to Israel by herself without knowing where she would stay or what He has planned for her. I was amazed at how brave she was. Her love for prayer and being in God's presence is incredible. Our prayer for Samuel is that he has the same passion for prayer, the Bible, and seeking whole-heartily after Christ with the same passion as his auntie.
Sammy is also named after my Dad - Steven. My Dad has been a rock in my life ever since I can remember. He's kept me grounded at my craziest times, loved me when I felt unlovable, and encouraged me to follow whatever dreams I had for my life. His love for his grandchildren (and, of course, his children as well) runs incredibly deep. It's obvious that he treasures every moment (and every silly gift we ever give him --- they are still on his desk!) with his kids and grandkids. My Dad is one of the wittiest people I know. I like to think I have some of his great wits, but my wittiness (or what I think is being witty) doesn't even compare to his. He's great at cracking a joke at the perfect time. It's truly an honor to name our son after such an amazing man.
Finally, our sweet Sadie girl. The easy part of her name is her middle name - Rose. That is also my middle name. What I love most about giving her my middle name is that we can call her Rosey Toes - which was one of my Dad's term of endearments for me as a kid. Her first name is after my sister, Sadie. I have looked up to Sadie for as long as I can remember. She has been my hero for the longest time. Sometimes God puts people in your life that you look at and just think, "Wow." That has been my sister in my life. She is sassy, spunky, hilarious, loving, ornery (HA!), mischievous, light-hearted, and fun. She is also one of the best cooks, bakers, and house keepers I know. Scratch that - she is THE BEST cook, baker, and house-keeper I know. If my house, my cooking, and my baking are a quarter of what she does, I feel good about myself. She puts Martha Stewart to shame. I have to laugh as I think about what traits I love about my sister best.... her sense-of-humor, sassy-ness, and draw to mischief ... because these are exactly the traits we saw in 'Lil Sadie while we were in Ethiopia.
God is so good. He knew exactly the names we should pick for our children before we even knew they would be ours. I love his sense-of-humor and desire to give us the best.... even if it is simply a name for our children. We are so looking forward to watching our children grow and seeing how they become the sons and daughters of the King that He intended them to be. What an amazing gift He gives us -- to allow us to raise His children. I am Incredibly blessed to have such an honor... and to name our children after such incredible people in our lives.
After we found out about Michael and Liliana and agreed to adopt them, I realized that, while picking names is fun and exciting, it is also a lot of pressure. The name you choose will be their name forever on earth. It started to become more of a daunting task rather than an enjoyable one.
With Michael and Liliana Faye, we picked their names fairly quickly. We knew from the beginning of the adoption process that we wanted to give them family names. Since Michael's name was Milkias in Ethiopia, it was a natural transition to name him Michael. But, we also considered Matthew for him. In the end, after much prayer (who knew I would be praying for wisdom on how to name our kids, but it makes sense) - we knew that we knew that we knew his name should be Michael. As many of you know, he is named after Matt's Dad, Michael. I struggled with his name at first because it is such a common name. But now, I am so grateful that he is named after such a man of God. Matt's Dad is an incredibly humble, sincere man. Michael takes after him in so many ways. Both are very sensitive to the Spirit and the things of God. They both love sports and sweat while they sleep (HA!). I love the way Matt's Dad gets down on the floor and plays with his grandkids. He is never too busy for them. And much to my chagrin, he always wants to shower them with treats, goodies, and McDonalds happy meals. :) His generous spirit runs deep.
Matt and I liked the name Liliana for a long time. So, her name was a natural selection. We also knew for a long time that we wanted to name our first daughter after Matt's Grandma Hawks. Matt's Grandma is one of the most loving, compassionate, caring, delightful people I know. In marriage, some relationships with the in-laws take years to form and bond. My relationship with Matt's Grandma felt like we'd always known each other. She is so generous, full of love, and is genuinely interested in the welfare of others. This is exactly how we wanted our daughter to be. And wouldn't you know that Liliana Faye is one of the most loving, caring, compassionate, generous kids we know? She never ceases to blow Matt and I away by the genuine love and care she has for others. None of this was taught by us - she's always been that way. It's the way God wired her. It's simply incredible to see how alike Liliana and Grandma are.
But this blog post wasn't supposed to be about Michael and Liliana's names. This was supposed to be about the twins. :) A lot - and I mean A LOT - of prayer went into naming these two littles. I have never prayed and toiled so much over something that seems so trivial. But, my heart wasn't settled on the names for months, which required a lot of prayer to get to a place of peace. I know it sounds crazy. I feel crazy writing it out, but it is true. I think God wanted me to cover these names in prayer, otherwise He would have given me a peace about them much sooner.
All that to say, it took us a lot longer to settle on names for the twins. Because we are cheesy (or cute, I am not sure which) we wanted the names to be alliterations because they are twins. I actually read quite a bit about naming twins. Most websites advised NOT using alliterations when naming twins because you want them to have their own separate identity. I didn't head that advice... since they are boy/girl twins I figured that didn't really apply to our case. :) Anyway, at the end of the day (or I guess, at the end of the several months), we decided on Samuel and Sadie.
Samuel Steven Kemer is named after 3 people. What a blessed boy! Matt's Great-Grandpa was Roy Samuel. Matt's sister is Samantha, but she goes by Sam. Perfect, right? We absolutely love Sam's heart for prayer, for those who don't know Jesus, and for seeking God is all she does. Her quest for knowing Jesus more each day is inspiring. She has followed Jesus with all her heart and found her "calling" in Israel. One of my favorite things about Sam is that she is willing to do anything God calls her to do. Shortly after Matt and I got married, she went to Israel by herself without knowing where she would stay or what He has planned for her. I was amazed at how brave she was. Her love for prayer and being in God's presence is incredible. Our prayer for Samuel is that he has the same passion for prayer, the Bible, and seeking whole-heartily after Christ with the same passion as his auntie.
Sammy is also named after my Dad - Steven. My Dad has been a rock in my life ever since I can remember. He's kept me grounded at my craziest times, loved me when I felt unlovable, and encouraged me to follow whatever dreams I had for my life. His love for his grandchildren (and, of course, his children as well) runs incredibly deep. It's obvious that he treasures every moment (and every silly gift we ever give him --- they are still on his desk!) with his kids and grandkids. My Dad is one of the wittiest people I know. I like to think I have some of his great wits, but my wittiness (or what I think is being witty) doesn't even compare to his. He's great at cracking a joke at the perfect time. It's truly an honor to name our son after such an amazing man.
Finally, our sweet Sadie girl. The easy part of her name is her middle name - Rose. That is also my middle name. What I love most about giving her my middle name is that we can call her Rosey Toes - which was one of my Dad's term of endearments for me as a kid. Her first name is after my sister, Sadie. I have looked up to Sadie for as long as I can remember. She has been my hero for the longest time. Sometimes God puts people in your life that you look at and just think, "Wow." That has been my sister in my life. She is sassy, spunky, hilarious, loving, ornery (HA!), mischievous, light-hearted, and fun. She is also one of the best cooks, bakers, and house keepers I know. Scratch that - she is THE BEST cook, baker, and house-keeper I know. If my house, my cooking, and my baking are a quarter of what she does, I feel good about myself. She puts Martha Stewart to shame. I have to laugh as I think about what traits I love about my sister best.... her sense-of-humor, sassy-ness, and draw to mischief ... because these are exactly the traits we saw in 'Lil Sadie while we were in Ethiopia.
God is so good. He knew exactly the names we should pick for our children before we even knew they would be ours. I love his sense-of-humor and desire to give us the best.... even if it is simply a name for our children. We are so looking forward to watching our children grow and seeing how they become the sons and daughters of the King that He intended them to be. What an amazing gift He gives us -- to allow us to raise His children. I am Incredibly blessed to have such an honor... and to name our children after such incredible people in our lives.
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