what's the story behind the name?

In case you were wondering, this blog will be invaded by all things Blythe for a little while.  I will return to my regularly scheduled programming at some point. :-) 

Thanks to Brent's updates in the hospital, I know you were informed of my sweet daughter's name: Blythe Kathleen. And if you know me, you know one of my favorite things to learn is "the story." What is the story behind…fill in the blank. What's the story behind this recipe? What's the story behind that outfit? What's the story behind this tradition? So if you're anything like me, you want to know the story behind the name. And here is is: The story behind "Blythe Kathleen".

I've always been "one of those girls" that liked to dream of baby names. Even before Brent was in the picture, I mulled around on baby names. I tried different combinations to see how they would roll off the tongue. I practiced writing some down to see if I liked the way they looked on the page. 

 And then along came Brent. This wonderful man. I decided he was more than I deserved and wanted to trade in my name for his. With this name change a new opinion entered the picture. Not only did I have to like a name, but Brent had to as well. And out went several I had scribbled and saved on a piece of orange paper. 

And then we got pregnant, and the real conversations began. It was different when we weren't just dreaming about about a child we didn't know far off in the future somewhere. There was a true son or daughter growing inside of me. God had given us a someone to name. 

And the funny thing? Once we were talking about our son or daughter, that was now growing flesh and blood inside of me, we decided very quickly. Once we said it, we knew that was her name, even though we had yet to meet her. We had our sonogram at twenty weeks, and when we got our first picture of her Brent looked at it and said, "It's Blythe," with tears in his eyes. 

And so it was, all along. Blythe Kathleen. We had selected traits we wanted to pray for her, and one of them was "joyfulness." Blithe means joy. We prayed, and continue to pray, that she would not only be filled with joy, but that she would bring others joy with her presence; that she will know that ultimate joy  flows from Christ, and be a source of that joy to others. 

"Blythe" also holds special meaning to us, as it is the last name of some very special people in our lives. This family has provided us support, love, and encouragement to me since I can remember. They have let Brent and I spend way too much time with their beautiful daughters, and we view them now as our own siblings. We are proud that our daughter now shares their name. 

And then there is "Kathleen." I've always liked my mom's middle name. I think it sounds pretty. And then I looked up the meaning and it means "pure." We pray our daughter is able to be pure in so many meanings of the word in a world where there is so much corruption. And my mom is an excellent example of such purity for our little girl, so it only made sense that we would want them to share middle names. 

And there is the story of Blythe Kathleen. 

May she be always joyful and pure, and a reflection of the wonderful people in her life. 

We love you so much, Blythe Kathleen, and we can't wait to see what the story behind your little life will be. 

THank you, Beth, for these beautiful pictures of our sweet daughter.