What's in a name?

It's been almost a full month (well, as it tends to be, it's taken just about a week to actually get this post up...) since we've been able to call our little girl by name and I have enjoyed feeling her sweet movements and talking to her. More big belly shots to come soon!

A lot has happened in December- one more semester is down (whew!) with two more recitals out of the way and the final paper finally approved and submitted. We've also enjoyed lots of fun times with friends this joyous season and are very close to being done with our new home! The baby room will be the next project, but we at least have some ideas, so hopefully it won't be too overwhelming... :)

I'm off of school until the end of January but I already see it being filled with the last requirement of this degree- the final recital and the "oral dissertation" and paper that goes along with it. Ugh. Not looking forward to this. The recital I'm excited about, and am hoping to present both at Stony Brook and in the city. But the other stuff totally freaks me out - I basically have to know anything and everything about the pieces and composers, including lots of analytical and historical stuff. I'm not a fan of research or analysis so I'm definitely anxious to be done with this last portion!!!

So with the update out of the way, on to the fun stuff- where our little girl's name comes from.

Maelee Marguerite

takes its root from many special women in our families (when pronounced, the emphasis is on "Mae," like "daily").

Mae is my mother's middle name (and if you know me at all, you know just how important my mother is to me), and this was taken from her mother's sister's name - our "Aunt Mae" (Aunt pronounced in the southern way, like "awnt," not "aaant"). My grandmother, my "Nanabug," was an amazing woman and she had two precious sisters; I even had the pleasure to see my sweet "Aunt Mae" just yesterday!

My "Too-Daddy" (grandpa on mom's side), my "Aunt Mae",

me (at ~ 23 weeks), and my mommy

Mae is also the middle name of another incredible woman, my grandmother on my dad's side - "Elsie Mae." We think it's pretty cool that Maelee will just happen to be born 100 years after MomMom who was born in August of 1910.

My Sweet "MomMom" at 23

I adored both of my grandmothers (and my mother more than words can say!) and I miss my Nana and MomMom dearly, so the name Mae means an awful lot to me.

Lee comes from two special women on Steve's side, taken from the name "Atheleen." Steve's mother's middle name is Atheleen, in honor of her mother's first name (which was taken from her mother's middle name!). While I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to ever meet Steve's grandmother, I know she was quite a woman and our little girl would be proud to be named after her.

Steve's "Grandma Jones," Atheleen Alva, at 22 yrs old

Finally, my precious Nanabug was named "Terethia Marguerite," thus our little girl's middle name- Marguerite. I could go on and on about how I felt, and still do feel, about my Nanabug and can't believe next May will mark 15 years since we lost her to the awful sickness, Creutzfeldt-Jakobs disease. Her smile and southern belle charm could melt anyone's heart and we still affectionately recall her "nana-isms" and the endearing way she would call her loved ones " dahlin' " (ie: darling). She had the biggest, sweetest heart and will always be a very important part of me.

My Beautiful "Nanabug" at 17

I feel so blessed to be as close with her husband, my Too-Daddy, as I am. Since my dad's father passed away before I was born, he's been the only grandpa I've known, and I also happen to be his only granddaughter. We share a very special bond between us, to say the least - in my eyes, this man can do no wrong. I'm also fortunate that after the passing of my sweet Nanabug, my Too-Dad found another very special lady, Mary Catherine, and I'm excited for my little girl to have "great grandma" moments with her.

My sweet Mary Catherine and Too-Daddy, me and my man,

and my awesome parents at Christmas Eve

Anyhow, I truly could keep going with stories and superlatives to describe each one of these fantastic ladies, but you get the idea. Each of them had/have a deep, personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and they are all uniquely admired in their own ways. I'm absolutely thrilled for my little girl to come from such incredible women and am so excited to be able to honor them in this way. I can't wait to someday tell her all about each of them, and to soon see her with her own grandmothers.