We have been looking at name books trying to come up with "american" names to go with the Ethiopian names that the boys have (not sharing what those are yet...we have to pass court before those details come out online).
There were lots of names that we liked but I am not sure if the boys "look" like those names to me. It seems kind of odd to pick a name after you see a picture. Since we didn't know if we were going for boys or girls or one or two...it was all up in the air. I wonder if anyone one else has had the same problem? When we talk about the boys, we refer to them with their given names. When we pray for them, we use those names. I have started to pray that God would really lead and guide us as we decide on names for the boys. I feel like there is a lot to a name and we want to make a good decision. Our plan is to keep their given names as their middle names.
So for now...they are still my sweet peas.
Dear Sweet Peas,
We are praying that God really guides us as we decide on American names that help you fit into our family. This week we put your picture in a frame and put it up in the house. We put the pictures up in the girls rooms too and we greet you each time we walk in the room.
Love, Mom
I was recently reading a blog post by an adoptive mother who had adopted several older-than-12 months children from Ethiopia (don't remember the blog address, or I would give it to you!). She said with their first two children (one adoption) they had give their kids American first names and kept their ET names as their middle names....and they have ended up continuing to use their Ethiopian names....so with their second adoption (also two children) they kept their ET names as first names and gave them American middle names....they call them by their ET names, and she said in the future if any of them decide to use their American names instead, that will be fine....but for now, they keep their ET names. Our little one is almost 8 months, and we chose to keep her ET name as first and give her an American middle. If she later decides she likes her middle better, she can always go by that! I really like your boys' names, and can't wait to meet them....in just a week!!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!! Hope to hear court news from you soon!
Sarah
We are also picking names and we really wanted names with meaning because we think that is important.
ReplyDeleteWe debated between changing names or not and have decided that it will probably be appropriate (keeping their given name for a middle) as we want their names to fit in here and God even changed peoples names in the Bible at different points in their lives.
Can't wait to hear the names you pick.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Amy
It DOES seem kind of flip-flopped to name our children AFTER we see them than before....praying God will lead in this name process as well.
ReplyDeleteMy sister is adopted and she told me that it feels so important to her that she is named after a family member. It made her feel that she truly belonged. So in naming our adopted daughter we gave her three names. Her first name is a family name in my husbands family, her middle name is uniquely her own and her third name is her Chinese name. We call her by all three!
ReplyDeleteWhat good comments! Now that I read Kimberly and Ammy's thoughts in particular, I think maybe as we pray for names, we should all refer to them as "new family names" rather than "American names".
ReplyDeleteI love that you have put their pictures in the girls rooms :) One of the things we did to make them feel like they were there and to have the kids get use to them soon being there.. was to blow up a picture.. maybe 8x10 and we taped it on to the chair that they would be sitting at the table. The kids liked this and we would talk about them during meals :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what names you come up with... we changed Michael's first and middle name because he was older and wanted american names. His middle name is the English version of the Russian. For several weeks we would call him Michael Zhenya... new and Russian name so he would get use to it... one day he said.. "My name is just Michael.. only" he didn't want anyone to know he was from Russia (adopted). Now he likes to tell everyone... he knows he won't be going back :)