What's in a name?

Some of the most wonderful memories I have of my childhood are of summer weeks spent with my grandparents.  I was more blessed than I realized to grow up with both sets nearby, and to have close relationships with them throughout my childhood.  When I was a little girl, in the summers especially, a bunch of my cousins and I would spend a few nights with our Meme & Dede on their expansive farm out in the country.  We'd swim in the pool, fish in the lake, and pan for gold in the river.  We'd pack 4 kids and a grandparent onto a 4-wheeler to go feed the horses, while their golden retrievers sprinted beside us the whole way.  We would sit by the pool and gorge ourselves on cherry tomatoes and watermelon. We'd pee behind the pool house.  Yep!  Because there was no P in Meme & Dede's OOL, and they wanted to keep it that way.  We would jump on the bed upstairs until Meme yelled that she knew we were jumping on the bed because the kitchen lights were going out!  I still don't know to this day if those lights really were flickering...  We would play dress-up, dress the boys in tutus, and put on shows for Meme and Dede.  We'd do daring things like slide down the stairs on pillowcases.  And repeat, repeat until we were all exhausted, and then Meme would say our prayers with us and tuck us into bed.  

And every morning, when we awoke, Meme would gather us all up, still in our pajamas.  And she would take us all outside to "see what God made".  We would stroll around the garden, each of us pointing out beautiful things we saw--the flowers, the blue sky, the ladybugs.  Every morning she would make sure that we started our day freshly reminded of what an incredible Maker we have.  I often thought about our morning walks to see what God made as I carried Molly.  What more amazing could He have made than this precious new life?  And how beautiful He was making her, weaving her together according to His perfect design. 

When she was a month old, Molly Alice's first snow fell outside her NICU window.  I took her out of her crib and held her at the window so that she could see what God made.  We watched the snow fall, and I told her about her great grandmother, her namesake, and how she'd taught me to see what God made. 

Meme (her given name is Alice) taught me that true beauty comes from the inside, as "Pretty is is pretty does".  She modeled faith to me, and has been a consistent example of what a woman of God is.  I admire so much about her--the way she loves by selflessly putting everyone else's needs above her own.  The way she places her hope in the Lord in all things, facing every challenge (and there have been many) with faith and courage.  

Meeting her Meme for the first time

And she has always believed in me, and told me so, encouraging me to be strong and courageous, especially during the toughest days of my pregnancy and motherhood, when few people have known what to say.

4 generations

snuggled in between Meme and Dede

She is the strongest woman I've ever known.  She is full of grace; beautiful, outside and in.  And my hope is that our precious daughter will reflect her namesake in every way.

We love you beyond words, Meme!