What's in a name?

So we've been having a really hard time deciding on a name for our next little princess. Since this is our third girl, we've already gone through girl names a couple times, and the list of names that Miller and I both like seems to get narrowed down pretty quickly. That coupled with the fact that this is Miller's 8th year teaching, and the last couple of years he has had two classes a day, and he absolutely refuses to name our daughter after one of his previous students. That leaves us with even fewer choices. Originally, before I even knew if we were having a boy or a girl, I had decided that if we had a girl we would name her Hannah. I remember sitting in church when Addie was only 8 weeks old, and the pastor was preaching about the story of Hannah, and I told myself that if I ever had another girl, that would be her name. Well that pretty much stuck with me for the last two years, and then we found out for sure that we were having a girl. So then I was looking at a baby names website trying to find a good middle name to go with it, and I came across Lila. I liked it so much, that we decided to change the baby's first name to Lila. We also decided to go with the middle name Noelle, which means Christmas baby. Technically, this baby won't be born on Christmas, but we are pretty certain that she was conceived on Christmas. I apologize if that's TMI, but I personally think it's pretty awesome that God decided to create a new life on the night that our Savior was born. So there we were, with Lila Noelle. I still think it sounds really pretty, but unfortunately the name Lila doesn't really have any profound significance. We've always tried to find names for our kids with strong meaning. Like Eliana means "God has answered my prayer." And Adaleigh is a combination of "beautiful addition" and "consecrated to God." Lila just means "lilac tree"- not bad, but not that great.
So a few weeks ago I was reading to Addie and Ellie at bedtime from their Bible (the Jesus Storybook Bible which is and awesome Bible for little ones that I recommend. It whispers Jesus' name in every story- New Testament and Old.) I was reading to them about the story of Noah, and how after God flooded the earth, Noah sent a dove out of the ark to see if the water had receded. The dove returned with an olive branch, (which symbolizes peace), and meant that dry land was found. Anyway, upon reading that, I immediately thought of the name Olivia. So we have now decided that the baby's name is Olivia, and I am 99% sure we are sticking with it, because the girls have already started referring to her as Olivia. I even bought letters to paint and put up in her nursery. (By the way, the nursery will be done this weekend, so I should have pics up soon!). Now we just have to decided on a name that goes well with Olivia ___ Nguyen. Oh, and for those of you who don't know, our last name is pronounced "win." So we're thinking either Olivia Noelle or Olivia Faith, but we might end up with something else.

Baby Boomers

Well, I'm coming up near the end of this pregnancy, and for the most part, it's been a really great pregnancy. Except for that overnight stay in the hospital, I've been feeling great, and so far Baby looks really healthy. I've also really enjoyed this pregnancy because I've had the pleasure of sharing the joy of carrying a baby with several of my friends. It seems that everyone's bun is done besides mine, but I just wanted to take a minute to congratulate the new arrivals...

1. Congratulations to my friend, Shannon, who gave birth to her first baby, Dawson Jay on April 11, 2009. He turns 4 months old today already! He's adorable!!

2. Congratulations to Sheila, who had her little one, Elvis Anthony on June 7th, 2009. 8 lbs. 2 oz, 21 inches. He's now 2 months old. Such a handsome little boy!

3. Next came Kim's little boy, Ty Scott on July 7th (I think). 9 lbs. 3 oz., 21 inches long. He's little brother to her 2 beautiful girls, Dalyn and Ellie. So sweet.


4. Janice had her tiny little bundle' Jacob Westin on July 9, 2009. 6 lbs. 5 oz, 19.5 inches long. His big sister, Abby looks proud. So precious!

5. Most recently,Adrea's little man, Daniel Joseph arrived July 19, 2009. 7 lbs, 7 oz, 21 and 7/8 inches long. This is their first little blessing. He's as cute as can be!

I'm so happy for all my friends and their healthy, little boys! (Notice everyone's having boys. Of course I'm thrilled to be having another girl.) Also please join me in praying for my friend, Mary, who had a miscarriage a few months ago. She is blessed with 2 beautiful kids, Chasity who's 5, and Ryan who's 18 months. Please also remember in your prayers, my friend, Jennifer, who had her 2nd miscarriage. She and her husband are still trying for their first baby.