New Name, New Life!

We were lovingly offered a $500 matching grant a few weeks ago and just now met it! Thank you God for blessing us with caring and generous people in our lives! I promised that once we met our match I would reveal the name we are giving "Donald". Donald is not his real name. It is a pseudonym given to him by the folks at Reece's Rainbow both to protect his identity and for identification purposes. And we cannot publicly share his birth name. But we have decided to give him a new name to go along with his new life! There is a lot to consider when deciding whether or not to keep or change your adopted child's given name. All arguments are valid and worth considering. I'm not here to argue why, just here to joyfully tell you that we have decided to give him a new name and share it with you. I like to think of it as being similar to how sometimes in the bible God gives someone a new name along with a big life change. A few examples are Saul becoming Paul, Abram became Abraham, and Sarai became Sarah. God had a new mission for their lives, a new purpose, and new direction. And it was so significant that it deserved being marked by a name change. And in those instances where a persons name was changed, the name was given by God, and we feel that God gave us our son's name as well. I will tell you a story...

When I became pregnant with our youngest daughter, it was a surprise to us. We had never been able to get pregnant without going on medication before. And we had to stay on this medication during the first trimester in order to help guard against miscarriage. So when we found out that we were expecting, we scrambled to get on the medication to protect the life of our baby. We had had two miscarriages in the past and did not want to go through that pain again. But things were not going smoothly and I was having my hcg and progesterone levels monitored to make sure everything increased as expected. But as I had feared, my progesterone level had started to drop, which should not happen, and usually means your body is getting ready to menstruate again. Not what you want to do while pregnant! So I was put on progesterone supplementation and told to come back for another blood draw in a day to see if it was working. I was a nervous wreck. After the next blood draw I was calling in for the results (because who asks an anxious pregnant woman to wait for them to call her?!) and I was on hold, so afraid that they were going to give me bad news. And while I was waiting, I had a thought pop into my head. "Levi. Find out what it means." It surprised me. Then the lady's voice came on the line and told me that my levels were increasing beautifully and that all looked good. HUGE sigh of relief! I immediately went to see what the name Levi means. The definition I saw was, "attached". In that moment I felt complete peace. My baby was attached. I no longer worried about miscarriage. I asked Josh how he would feel about naming our baby Levi if it was a boy and he replied, "well if it's God ordained, we can't really say no to that!" We pretty much assumed that the baby would be a boy after this. So we were a little confused when at our 20 week ultrasound we found out we were having a girl!

Months went by and our daughter was born and and was starting to grow and develop. And then God showed us "Donald". And we knew God was calling us to him. I remember saying to Josh, "Doesn't he look like a Levi?!" God is so good. Many months before we even knew he existed, God gave us a name for our future son. He gave us a two part message that day. Our baby would not be lost to miscarriage. And He had a beautiful little boy for us halfway across the world, whom we should name Levi. An orphan boy, lost in this world, but meant to be attached to our family with much love.

And we decided together that his middle name should be a family name. And what's better than to be named after your father? Levi doesn't know it yet, but he has a wonderful daddy who loves him very much. I cannot wait to see him blossom once he is home with his daddy, mama and siblings.

 And so our boys name will be, Levi Joshua. And the name Joshua means "the Lord saves". Can you think of a better name for an orphan turned beloved son? I can't! :)

*Our giveaway is still going until 11:59pm Monday. Less than 24 hours to go, so please donate and vote while you can! Giveaway post is here: http://insearchofpearls.blogspot.com/2013/05/operation-orphan-no-more-giveaway.html
** Giveaway is now over!

Awareness

It's October! Where on Earth did September go?! Well, out with the old and in with the new. With October comes a need for awareness. October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and also Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Whew! That's kind of a big deal! So over the course of the next month, I will be sharing information about both. I will still post family updates as well. So first off, a little information about how Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month was started. Here is a word from our former president Ronald Reagan:

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

Each year, approximately a million pregnancies in the U.S. end in miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of the newborn child. National observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month offers us the opportunity to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn and newborn babies. It also enables us to consider how, as individuals and communities, we can meet the needs of bereaved parents and family members on work to prevent causes of these problems.

Health care professionals recognize that trends of recent years, such as smaller family size and postponement of childbearing, adds another dimension of poignancy to the grief of parents who have lost infants. More than 700 local, national and international support groups are supplying programs and strategies designed to help parents cope with their loss. Parents who have suffered their own losses, health care professionals and specially trained hospital staff members are helping newly bereaved parents deal constructively with loss...

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 314, has designated the month of October, as "Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

NOW, THEREFORE, I RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of October in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirteenth.

Ronald Reagan
Former President
United States of America

(information found at http://www.pregnancylossribbons.com/informationsupport.htm)

Thank you Ronald Reagan for recognizing this need and helping to bring awareness to it. Our family has experienced the pain of miscarriage. Just before we conceived Judah we lost a baby, whom we named Emory. And again, just a couple months before conceiving Kaisa (whom I'm still pregnant with, she is due January 2nd), we had another loss. We named that baby Shiloh because it means "peace". Ironically, Shiloh's due date would have been this October 25th. So Pregnancy and Infant Awareness Month this year is timely for us. We have grieved for the loss of our children that we never got to meet, but rejoice in the comforting knowledge that they are awaiting us in Heaven, enjoying the love of our Savior, who we know cares deeply for the little children.

Matthew 19:14 (ESV)

¹⁴ but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

So the tears we have wept were not for Emory or Shiloh. They were for ourselves, for having missed out on the opportunity to know them in this life. But there will come a time for embracing them.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (ESV)

1For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

A time for peace...

And since it is also the beginning of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I leave you with this:









(image credit to Google)