Kaitlyn Jolene

Eric and Maran with Nathan and Annika

The day after my lovely friend Maran gave birth to her third treasure from heaven, I received this very touching, unforgettable e-mail:

Wanted to let you know that we were blessed to have our second daughter come into this world. She is a beautiful girl with a perfectly round head covered in black hair and the longest fingers--perhaps she will be a pianist or an artist one day. :) She is a sweet little one that thrills our souls and such a wonderful miracle. We have named her Kaitlyn Jolene. Kaitlyn means "pure" and we pray she will live a pure life for the Lord. Her middle name, Jolene, was chosen because we not only admire you and your missionary efforts, but we desire our daughters to live lives that mirror a Proverbs 31 woman and you are a great example of what that looks like in the world today. Thank you for your testimony and example; for being a Godly woman that we can point our daughters to for a real life example of what living for God looks like. We love you and your family and pray for you all often.

Kaitlyn Jolene - 7 days old

I am sincerely, humbly honored. I told my hubby, "This honor is very different from a trophy, certificate, or award because the splendor of those pass away over time. But to have a namesake is an honor that I will carry with me the rest of my life."

I am also greatly humbled. I certainly do not deserve this beautiful privilege. I pray that, for little Kaitlyn's sake, I will uphold the name of Christ to my dying day. Thank you, Eric and Maran, for inspiring me with yet another reason to please Christ with my life.

And, to see who my first, pretty little namesake is (whom I still have not met in person yet!), click here...