How to Name a Baby

John and I used to think and talk about baby names for fun, even before starting a family was really on our minds. Naturally, we thought now that it was time to do it for real, we were very well prepared. But very quickly naming our daughter seemed like quite the challenge! Naming a person is a big deal! It's the very first of many things to come that we impart on our children, knowing it stays with them for the rest of their lives. Certainly not as important as the love we will give her or the lessons we will teach her, but still fairly permanent nonetheless!

We wanted to make sure that we really looked at all the options… so we of course scoured books and websites, so much so that we can probably recite the meaning of almost any name you mention to us :) but that may also have something to do with John's Latin, Greek, and Hebrew skills.

For us, it was very important for our daughter to have a Christian-minded name. In the bible, God on many occasions imparts a new name on a person when they have been designated for his purposes. We pray that God will continue to work in our daughter throughout her life, and already we feel humbled and blessed beyond measure that God has specifically placed her in our lives and entrusted her into our care.

We thought it only fitting that her name should reflect how we feel about her new life. We have named her Vera Jean Hile. Vera means truth, and Jean (also my middle name, and a variation of John) means God is gracious. Together, Vera Jean means "Truly God is gracious."

Getting ready for Vera's arrival has been tons of fun for us! Each day as we get closer to meeting her face to face we are more excited than ever. Lately the nursery is starting to take shape and, in a sense, so am I!