Tuesday, November 1, 2011

All about the names.

So I feel the need to explain my thinking behind the names. First, I have a weird compulsion to stick with A names and J names. I have no idea why except that I started with my bio kids and felt that I had to continue the trend. My first son was named Joseph after his dad and his middle name is Edward after my father. I stuck with Joseph because, one it is a Bible name and I happen to love Bible names and, two,because it was after his dad and my dad. Name problem solved and we call him Joey. Five years later, I was remarried and we were having a girl. I was beyond excited and one day during a Bible study the Lord whispered to me that her name would be Anna Joy and she would be a Joy to all who meet her. The name Anna was special to my husband because that was his grandmothers name. That is where the A and J trend began. andA and J just had to stick. So, four years later we are expecting another baby and I was beyond excited again. I really thought I was having a boy that time and his name would be Andrew Timothy. I was shocked when we had the sono and we found out she was a girl. I had no idea what to name her and we just thought of Amanda Hope at the doctors office and knew that was her name. Just this year we had someone email us our family ancestor's traced back to 1600 from Scotland, and I saw that one of the women from 1800's was named Amanda. I thought that was kinda interesting. Four years later we are expecting again and this time we are having a boy. We chose the name JonMarc Timothy after John Mark from the Bible.  Ok, so that is why we have A names and J names.
       When it came time to choose names for our girls from China, I really struggled with what to name them. I wanted to keep their Chinese names as well as give them an American name. Mainly because Jordyn's Chinese name was You He and difficult to pronounce. Her nickname was HeHua after the lotus flower and it has a beautiful meaning that her life would blossom into beauty although she had a tough beginning. I loved that and felt it was important. I tried really hard to find an A name for her but we could not all agree on the name. At that time we were big fans of American Idol and Jordin Sparks was one of the contestants. We all liked her and liked her name. I was also reading a book about crossing the Jordan as a Christian and into the promise land that God has for us. So we prayed and felt that her name was Jordyn Faith and that we were taking a leap of faith to bring her home. This was our first adoption and there were tons of obstacles for us. God met us where we were and provided miracle after miracle to bring her home. Back to the names, we added her Chinese name as well so her full name is Jordyn Zohe Faith Hehua Kerr. There you have it. Zohe means life and I felt that it was special to add that to her name and kind of incorporate the her Chinese name into. Two years later we are adopting again, from Jordyn's same orphanage, her little friend. Jordyn is ecstatic and cannot wait for her to come home. Her Chinese name is You Yu and again we decide to continue the trend and give her an A name or J name. The J name Jailynn is chosen for her because Jordyn really liked it. We heard of her name from an adoption journey video we had from our agency and felt that it fit. We chose the middle name Charity from the Bible to continue the Bible name trend and because we had a already felt a deep love in our hearts for her. So we named her Jailynn Charity Yu. Now here we are again adopting the third little girl from their same orphanage and what do we do about the name?? I really wanted to name her with an A name this time and I had my picks: Allison, Addison, and Avery were my favorites. However, the a names were voted a no by the majority of our clan and the J name won: Jaidyn Grace Anfeng. I did not fight against the name because I absolutely love the meaning behind Jaidyn: which meant in Hebrew "Jehovah has heard". That meant so much to me and confirmed He had heard our prayers over her. Besides I won the A name battle when we adopted Noah. I changed his name to Andrew Noah. I know that it does not really go together but I was not sure if we will go down the adoption road again and I still had the name Andrew in my heart for a boy. All the names can be quite the tongue twisters and I have to confess that I usually call them all by the wrong name. Try saying Jordyn, Jailynn, Jaidyn, Anna and Amanda really fast! I usually get them mixed up and get the eyes rolled at me and the look of aggravation. I love all their names and more importantly, I love the individuals behind the names!They are all blessings and I could never imagine my life with out them! That's my story and I am sticking to it!!

3 comments:

Aus said...

Morning Melanie - we did letter naming too - don't feel too bad!! Bio kids are Ben, Brittany and Carl (all with middle names after family) - followed by Brianna, Braelyn, and Chase - all with middle names to reflect their heritage!

It works great for us too!!

hugs - aus and co.

Sheri_n_Ben said...

So excited for you all. Soooo...when are you traveling?? It's got to be getting close!

Hugs,
Sheri

Anonymous said...

Melanie im pregnant now and was just considering the names Jordynn and jaiLynn for a girl but everyone keeps telling me that those names are for boys..so u really help me make my decision so thanks.
Oh i already have a 3yr old and her name is JaNiyah so as u see we're sticking with the J names

Jailynn's 1st Thanksgiving

My GuestBook

Hi! I am glad you are visiting my blog! Please sign my guestbook or leave me a comment. It will mean so much to me, Jordyn and Jailynn!

The rest of our family

In case anyone was curious: Here are som pictures of my oldest son, Joey and his family. Joey and Kym have three children: my beloved grandbabies: Hayden 4yrs old, Noah 22 months old, and Phoenix 9 months old. We have been helping Joey and Kym get on their feet and they have been living with us since December. They are now able to get their own place and will move out in April. I will miss them and miss the babies. I will just have to babysit!

God Is Awesome!

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I am Praising God tonight because He has Heard my cries and answered my prayers. We have recieved a generation donation from a wonderful family toward our fund raising efforts. We have also recieved generous donations from wonderful people through this website and through Jailynn's Prayer. So far, the total fundraising has reached a total of $4000!!!!!!!! Thank you! Thank You! Thank you to everyone for helping us to bring Jailynn home! We are hoping to travel sometime this month and still need to raise money. I know that God is providing for our family through the unselfish and generous giving from special and wonderful people like you!

We have our LOA!!

Lilypie Waiting to adopt Ticker

Happy Holidays!

Happy Halloween (a little late)

Our Fun At the Texas State Fair

Amanda's Party!

Jordyn and Amanda's Birthday Party