I Think She Has a Name!!!

Well, months ago I thought I had named our Chinese daughter only to find that my dear husband loathed the name that I had come up with. Figuring that I couldn't with this child claim rights to name her by reason of being the one pregnant and giving birth, I resigned to the fact that I would have to come up with something else. If Taylor had been a girl, his name would have been Sarah Breanne. Audrey was almost Reagan or Madison...(I was going to have a Presidential theme...) If Noah was a girl his name would have been(I can't remember) and Xander would have been Emma (Then when I'm about to give birth Rachel on 'Friends' names her baby that so I know that everyone else in the world will soon follow suit!) None of those names work for us anymore. The problem is...there is nothing else. We have had contenders that only last for a day or two then we are back to square one.

The other night Matt went to visit a family from church and revealed to them our adoption plans. He for some reason spilled the name that I had come up with and they thought that it was perfect! This somehow had an effect on him and he realized too that there just isn't another name for her. So...wife's opinion was thrown out the window. Church family's opinion hits him like angels singing the Halleluia Chorus! Go figure! Anyway, in a round-about way, I get my way so I should be happy.

The name (drum roll please!) is Meili Grace (Chinese Name) Bouton. I like Meili because it sounds American enough when you say it but it does in fact have a Chinese meaning. "Mei" means 'beautiful' and we can call her "Mei-Mei" for a nick-name which means 'little sister.' The kids have been calling her this (and "China Girl" and "Xiao Fu"-the little girl's name in the 'Big Bird in China video) for over a year now so we are sure that it will stick. "Li" means strength which we are sure she will have after surviving abandonment and her first months in a third-world orphanage. I have always liked the name "Grace" but had a hard time with it as a first name since all of my children have 2-syllable first names and it just wouldn't go. It is one of those "old-lady" names that I love like Audrey and I actually have a great-grandmother named Grace on my Dad's side so we squeak a family connection in there as well.

Whenever I have dreamed about our Chinese daughter, her name has always been "Lily." Whether this is some message from above or not, I don't know. But I do know that I am not particularly fond of that name (Matt , in high-school tied for valedictorian with a "Lily" and she weaseled him out of it...long story-apparently we are still scarred by the experience.) I did learn, however, that in China when a girl's name has 'li' somewhere in it, that child is often referred to as "Li-li." So, problem solved. I think her name will cover it all.

If you are a family member and don't like this name-remember what Thumper says in Bambi...Besides if you got used to "Xander" this should be a piece of cake.