What's in a Name?

Annie. Christy. Porter.

I love Annie's name.

Scott and I love playing the "Name Game." We've been playing it for years, way before babies were realistically part of the plan. We'd try on new names for size, just for funsies, and had a pretty good list going by the time baby came to be. ("Peter" was cut pretty quickly... Peter Porter...yeah I know)

And then we got pregnant and threw out our lists.

There's something about actually naming someone for the rest of their lives that screams: "PRESSURE!" I mean, you don't want your kid to be stuck with a weird, boring, too-common, too-strange, dated, ugly name. I didn't realize how much pressure I'd feel about that. So, for month's we whittled down our list to a few names that seemed ok. Strong yet feminine, uncommon but not weird, and easily SPELLED thank you very much!

Annie had been on the list for a long time. Anne is a family name on both sides of the family and we have a dear friend that we LOVE named Annie. Ok and I really REALLY love Anne of Green Gables, but that wasn't a determining factor. Anne/Annie means "Prayer" and "Grace of God" depending on where you look. Considering how much we prayed to get our little girl here, and this wonderful manifestation of God's grace, we thought "Annie" fit the bill completely.

Christy was the one name that we'd had picked out from the beginning. Christy is the name of Scott's angel sister who died as an infant. She has always been a sweet reminder of eternity for the Porter family, and I have no doubt that she is their most attentive guardian angel. Those we love are never lost, and never far from us. We hope our little girl will always remember that she has angels watching over her and that our goal as a family is that there are "No Empty Chairs" when we sit down together in heaven. Plus, our greatest wish and desire for her is that she lives what her name means: be a "Follower of Christ."

All in all her name--Annie Christy Porter-- means:

Prayer/Grace of God - Follower of Christ - Servant

Though it took us a day of her life to finally decide (the PRESSURE!) we absolutely LOVE her name. With her sweetness and goodness it seems only fitting that this amazing answer to our prayers should be a follower and servant of Christ. We love our little Annie girl!

Matthew 23:43-45

...Whosoever will be greatamong you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

#Baby #babyname #Annie