What's In a Name?

Good morning to you. Yes, it's almost 9:00, and no, we aren't doing school yet. Yes, I have showered, and no, the breakfast dishes aren't done. Ahhh...the joys of homeschooling! You get to be in charge of your daily schedule! The kids are playing some kind of game in the basement involving a whistle and a flashlight. I don't see how they stand the cold down there. And let me just say for you in Texas: I wish I was there right now; whatever temperature it is there has got to be better than the
0 degrees it is here!

Whenever we tell people the baby's name, we always get a polite response and a comment about how pretty it is. But I can tell they're wondering where in the world we came up with it. I like names with a story, though Keely's and Rowan's and Noah's don't have one, other than we really liked those names. But, Annesley's name does have a story. (btw, it's pronounced ANN-slee.)

After Joseph was born, Kevin was feeling very tired and old (I'm not saying it, he did!). He felt that we were finished having children and was content with that. I was a little sad, but tried to focus on the five we had, and eventually, I became content with our family size. I sortof 'moved on' emotionally to the next stage of life, and I must say that the thought of not having to go through childbirth again was a happy one! So, when we found out last April that a little surprise was on the way, I was not sure how to feel about it. Well, to be honest, I was a bit upset. Here we were again, not moving out of the diapers, sippy cups, and sleepless nights stage, but diving back into those things once again. This was not in the plan! I was going to get fat again! And acquire new stretch marks!

As I was struggling with our situation, I was reading a biography about Susannah Wesley. Susannah was the father of John and Charles Wesley, the founders of the Methodist Church. She also had seventeen other children, nine of whom died. She had an incredibly difficult life in other ways, too: her family's house burned down twice, her husband was a difficult man to live with and was in and out of debtors' prison, and there were other hard things she experienced. The striking thing about her was that she never got mired down with self-pity; she seemed to accept all these things with grace and submission to to her heavenly Father. So, as I was thinking about this godly woman's example, God seemed to be saying to me, "It's not all about you, Candice!" Through tears I realized how selfish my thinking had been; I was not submitting my thoughts and emotions to God's greater plan for my life and for the life of the little one He chose to give us. It was truly one of those moments that you don't forget. I knew God was speaking to me, in a sense; chastising this selfish little child. Over the next few days, I became genuinely excited about the baby, instead of feeling sorry for myself. So, you are probably wondering what all this has to do with Annesley's name. Susannah Wesley's maiden name was Annesley. So we knew if we had a girl, that would be her name.

I also have to tell you how wonderful Kevin was during this time. When I called him, crying, and told him I was pregnant, he immediately responded with, "That's great!" He reminded me that God is sovereign; his excitement was comforting to me. And remember, Kevin was the one to initially say, "We're done"! What a great husband!

So, there's the story. Now that I have seen and held and smelled the precious little girl I was so upset about having, I am ashamed of myself. I can't imagine life without her, as it aways goes. Children truly are a heritage from the Lord.