December 17th, 2009. 8:58 AM
The Lord had told me it'd be "Before 9". I had no idea what that meant, being that He said it a week-and-a-half before she was born. But I'd say you don't get much more "before 9" than that.
-My biggest baby. Weighing in at 6lbs. 15.9 ounces. 19 inches. :)
-Looking like a combination between the three oldest girls. Yet, somehow having her own look. I know, only in the World of Sibling DNA can same-but-different be truly manifest before your eyes. It's amazing to see.
I present to you my sweet baby girl... Raquel Kathleen
All bundled up, heading home to meet her sisters.THE NAME:
Thankfully, Jet and I have never had trouble agreeing on what to name our children. Either he's just exceptionally agreeable or I'm just magnanimously amazing.
Clearly, the latter is true. ;) But aside from that, I have to give credit where credit is due: God inspired each name. I just happen to be the one who finds it. :)
This time was no different.
Well before we knew that I was carrying a girl, I was laying on the bed looking through my baby name book yet again.
It's an awesome name book that Jet and I found when we were visiting his family in Pennsylvania. I don't even remember if I was pregnant when we bought it? But I loved it the minute I saw it because it was different.
It gives some information about the names not normally seen in other baby name books:
- The language/cultural origin
- Inherent meaning (the meaning listed is derived from the original language of the name).
- Spiritual Connotation (the connotative meaning, interpreted in a spiritual sense).
- Scripture (reference from the Word that is intended to shed light on the inherent and implied meanings of the name).
At the hospital in all her after-delivery-swollen-face cuteness.So there I was reading the book. Again. Only this time, for the first time, I decided to read through it backwards, figuring that they're may be names in the back that I never really considered before because by the time I got to them, I wasn't really paying attention.
Short attention span and all.
And I saw the name Raquel. It jumped out at me. Seriously. Because I've NEVER before considered it... never even gave it a second glance. It just wasn't something on my radar.
I had other names like Shiloh (which went off the list as soon as it became a Hollywood baby name). Or Liberty, calling her Libby (we have a friend in Texas who did this and I thought it was adorable. Plus, awesome meaning!)
But once I saw this: "RAQUEL, see Rachel" I was hooked.
Angels must have been shining some heavenly flashlight down on that name. Because really? "Raquel, see Rachel" ?? Doesn't have that whole grab-you-effect, does it?
But once I saw the meaning, that secured it. And from that point on, I was pretty sure we were having another girl. Why else would this name jump out at me like that?
And the fact that Jet really liked it...well, that, too, was a bonus.
because I'd hate to have to have a SmackDown over the baby's name, especially being that Jet was trained to never hit girls. Utterly inconvenient for him, since I, on the other hand, was trained to have a mean right hook. Pity. :)
- RAQUEL: Innocent Lamb
- KATHLEEN: Pure
- Put Together: Innocent purity. Spotless Lamb.
Love it. And honestly, with her sweet, laid back personality...we can already see that it just fits.
She's just as laidback and gentle as they come. Doesn't cry unless we're changing her diaper, and even then it's only when it's done with cold hands. She just spends her days laying there and watching life happen around her.
And trust me, with four older sisters constantly doting over her, there's plenty of *life* happening near her.
Our family of princesses is complete.
