Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we officially picked baby girl’s name! Choosing a name for her proved harder than I thought. We have had our boy’s name picked out for more than 3 years back when we thought we were adopting a baby boy.  Joe and I have each had our top two girl names picked out for awhile, so when we found out we were having a girl, we immediately went to those. At some point, Joe came up with a new favorite of his and quickly used his jedi mind powers to try to convince me THIS was the name for our baby girl. I’ll admit, he was close for awhile, but I just couldn’t commit to it. I kept coming back to the name God had put on my heart years ago. And after much discussion (and a little humbling from Joe!), we agreed on our precious girl’s name.

Baby girl will be given the name….

I am SO smitten over it! It’s amazing how much more real things have become now that I can call her by name. We no longer need to just say “baby girl” or the “baby”. She is Clover Joy Kokes.

Why Clover?

We knew that we wanted to choose a name that was unique and meaningful. Not only do I think that the name is beautiful, but I grew to love it even more when God revealed a deeper, sweeter meaning behind it. The God of the universe is both cosmic and intimate. He loves his creation as a whole, but He also loves us intimately and personally. He is a God who created the vastness of the universe, the oceans, the planets, the stars, yet He also intimately knits together every feather on a bird and every snowflake that falls from the sky. He cares about it all. He is a God who loves us so personally. He is at work in the details; from the depth of the oceans to the clovers in the fields. When I think of Clover, I think of how God took such an deep longing in my heart and out of his gracious love, created life. He showed me that He not only hears my prayers, but that He cares deeply about the desires of my heart. He knit together this sweet baby in my womb as a way to point back to how mighty yet intimate He is. As Clover grows up, I pray that she will cling to this truth; that God is at work in ALL of it. He is a God who intimately pursues hearts, awakening us to His mysterious grace and setting that grace upon us through Christ Jesus. It’s this perfect juxtapose of mightiness we can’t fathom and closeness we can’t comprehend.

Why Joy?

Clover’s life has brought such joy to our family already. She is a picture of God’s mercy, grace and restoration. But beyond that, I deeply desire her to experience joy. The joy that comes from placing her in Jesus as Lord and Savior of her life. I want to teach her that life is not about happiness, for happiness is fleeting. There will be moments of great happiness throughout her life, but also moments of great trial and hardship. The thing she can always cling to is the joy of the salvation of the Lord for that can never be taken from her!

We are so in love already and can’t wait to meet our sweet Clover Joy in the spring. 16 weeks to go!