Celebrating Lily Faith and Adalynn!!

February was a very busy, but blessed month.  Gregg had to go on a long work trip, so the children and I spent part of that time in Johns Creek with family and friends.  My mom hosted a shower for Lily Faith and we celebrated Adalynn's birthday.  We were able to visit with many friends and enjoyed our time there.

Lily Faith at 28 weeks!

Lily Faith's Shower

What a treat to have the opportunity to celebrate Lily Faith with friends and family in the Atlanta area.  It was a fun experience because Zeke and Adalynn were there.  They helped me open the gifts and certainly added excitement to the afternoon!!

With the beautiful hostess!

Brandy and Jami!

The "Beach Babes!" and Lis Clements

My sorority sisters, Jessica, Nicole, and Jennifer with childhood friend, Lindsay (far left)

Sweet dress from Ellen

Little dress from Donna Petty

Blanket from Grandma (GeeGee) ~ made by her friend

Personalized t-shirt and onesie from Jan!

Close-up!

Zeke helping me open our infant carseat from the Babes...such an amazing surprise!

Ballet outfit from Brandy!

My little helpers opening a handmade blanket from Lis Clements!

Adorable elephant towel from Valerie

Precious Lily Faith blanket from Kim McNaron

Adorable outfit from Teresa (she actually remembered to bring it at Christmastime...so thoughtful!)

Scripture print from Dena (I'll post pics once we finish decorating the kid's rooms!)

 Adventures at Wynna and Papa's

We enjoyed spending time with Wynna and Papa and were able to see some friends too!

At Perimeter Church

Beautiful day in Wynna and Papa's front yard!

Rainy day fun with Wynna

Fort building!

Ready for lunch with Wynna

Lunch and shopping with Mommy while Wynna was at Bible study

New haircut!

We were blessed with the chance to visit with my dear friend Kristen, and her husband, Morten, and daughter, Vega.  It was too short, but so much fun!

The group (a little blurry)

Kristen and me!

One of Zeke taken by Morten

Two cowboys!

Adalynn Turns 3!!!

We decided to celebrate over lunch with the family at the Atlanta Athletic Club.  As I mentioned above, Sophia was sick, so we missed her and Jami.  Adalynn had a great time at church and lunch.  Then, we were able to celebrate with Daddy when we returned home.

Kariss' decadent dessert!

A horse she had picked out at Hobby Lobby, but didn't know she was getting!

This girl loves horses and cowboys/cowgirls.  Her face says it all!

Didn't get Wynna and Jared in one, but here is some of the group!

My loves (missing Gregg)

They are almost exactly the same height!  Adorable.

Showing her hat

And finally we were reunited with DADDY!  We missed him so much!

Lunch at Little Brother's Bistro

Singing one more time!

Going to vote!

Waiting for Daddy to finish voting!

New superhero cape from Teresa!

Helping Daddy pick up over 700 pine cones (Zeke did most of the work!)

Valentine's Day

In an effort to catch up, I'll go ahead and post our Valentine's pictures as I close.  We had a party at Classical Conversations.  I forgot to get a picture of our Valentine's for Zeke's class.  I printed an acrostic that used John 3:16 and written vertically was Valentine.  We gave pencils with a world eraser...for God so loved the world!

The printout we used, but used pencils instead of the keychains!

Zeke and I did the "God's love is...." treasure hunt again this year.  It was wonderful because he is now able to read the verses in the Bible.  We learned how God's love is unconditional, unchanging, everlasting, etc.  I would hide a heart with a description and verse each morning, Zeke would find it, then we would look them up together.

This is an image from the website where I downloaded the scripture countdown!

Ready for school

They adore each other!

With Callie at the Valentine's Day party at Zeke's school

Taking a walk on a beautiful south Georgia winter day!

Headed for a hike with Daddy

Reading one of his Boxcar Mystery books.  He continues to thoroughly enjoy reading!

My Valentine!

Our little Valentine's before church!

Opening their cards from Wynna and GeeGee

Now, we should be caught up for February!  I pray you all had a blessed month full of God's love and blessings!!

Naming our baby girl...

Choosing a name

Gregg and I began praying about our 2nd daughter's name as soon as we knew she was a girl.  Well, actually, I was praying about it way before that!  Each time I'd share a name with Gregg, he would say it was a nice name or that he liked it, but never that it was the one.  He had told me multiple times that he liked the name Lillian.  Lillian was his father's mother's name.  This name was on the list as we continued to seek God about her name.

When our friend, Sheeba, was in Israel standing on a tile from Solomon's actual temple, God brought our baby to her mind.  We didn't know the gender yet, but Sheeba felt God telling her this baby would bring peace.  Solomon means peace and we'd thought of Jedediah (Solomon's birth name) for a boy name, so we felt like the name might be Jedediah if it was a boy.  

Of course, when we found out it was a girl, we knew it wasn't Jedediah, but I started looking into girl names that meant peace.  We found Shiloh, but God didn't confirm it. I thought about the peace lily flower and started looking into what God's Word had to say about lilies.  It turns out there is quite a bit!

What we would have possibly seen inside of Solomon's temple

The Biblical baby name Lily is Latin/ Old English in origin and its meaning is a flowering plant. The Hebrew word for Lily is Shoshan and the Greek word is krinon. 

Lily is pronounced lil-ee. 

Lily is a symbol of purity and resurrection. This plant grew on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret and in the valleys of Palestine. 

The columns of the temple built by Solomon were decorated by lily motifs. 

The prophet Hosea enjoins Israel to return to God, and describes Israel as flourishing like a lily when watered by the dew of God's grace. 

In his sermon on Mount Hermon, Jesus used the lily as an example of why people should trust in God. The lilies of the field do not toil or spin, yet their colorful flowers rival King Solomon's clothes. If God so cares for a mere plant, how much more does he care for His people. 

Biblical reference for baby name Lily: 1 Kings 7:19, 22, 26; 2 Chronicles 4:5; Psalms 45:1; 69:1; Song of Solomon 2:1, 2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2; 7:2; Hosea 14:5; Matthew 6:28; Luke 12:27 Strong's Bible concordance H7799 and G2918 - See more at: http://www.biblical-baby-names.com/meaning-of-lily.html#sthash.Y1IKPtAz.dpuf

Confirmation

Actual image from the modern day Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee)

I shared this information with Sheeba in an email.  She said her daughter, Nikita (17), would be so excited because she'd been studying the building of the temple. 

Yesterday, at church (1/24/16), Nikita shared with Gregg and me all that God had been showing her and her family about the name Lillian based on the email I sent her mom.  Over the previous 24 days she said He had showed her all of the following connections.  This is quoted from Nikita with permission! 

1. Mark 6:56 -  God gave me Mark 6:56 on January 13th to give to a friend. I didn't even know what the verse said! So I read: "Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well." Where did He do this? Verse 53 says, "they came to the land of Gennesaret." I made the connection later that the place where lilies grow in Israel is the Lake of Gennesaret! I was so shocked! This was the first confirmation God brought to us!
2. 1 Kings 7:10 - It says that lily motifs are carved into the temple. Since last year, God has been talking to us about building the temple and paying attention to detail. After He brought this word to our attention, I started a study for myself on Solomon's temple. When I saw that this was one of the scriptures relating to Lillian's name, I immediately knew that God was getting my attention!
3. Hosea 14:5 - This verse is a very significant verse for our family. I won't get into detail, but the phrase "...watered by the dew of God's grace..." led us back to Solomon's temple building. I came across 1 Kings 6:37. "In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv." Ziv is a month on the Hebrew calendar that falls on our calendar in April/May! When I found out that you were due in April/May, I was so thrilled!
4. Matthew 6 - One of the scriptures from your email [the notes about Lily above] about the name was the reference to lilies in Matthew 6. As I saw God unfolding every verse and every meaning for us, I was expectantly waiting for Him to reveal Matthew 6 to us. On Saturday night our family listened to a sermon and the pastor spoke on Matthew 6! My jaw was on the floor!!! I'm in awe of God!
5. Esther - This is my favorite confirmation. Shoshan is a name of a place in Esther, a book of the Bible we've been studying for the past week. Shoshan is the Hebrew word for lily. Further research on that word revealed that the lily has a trumpet shape and means rejoicing! Also, through Esther, we found Job 40, Psalms 45 and 69. These scriptures are promises given by God, for us to hold onto! I found a prophecy that was given to me years ago, that said that I would be like a lotus. I did some research about that a few days ago and I found that lotus is mentioned in only one place in the Bible - Job 40. This chapter has been very important for us in this season in our life. The lotus also goes by another name: the water lily!!

"God has been so good! I am thankful that as He was giving you and Mr. Gregg a name for the baby, that He paralleled the same name for our family! I can't wait to meet Lillian Faith!! Her name alone has brought abundant blessing and I feel like this is just a reflection of what her life will be like on a daily basis!! I'm so excited for you guys!! Thank you for listening to God's voice!"

Lily Faith's sweet face!

Friday of this weekend, I asked Gregg if he was ready to announce the name Lillian Faith.  He said let's pray about it this weekend and ask God for confirmation.  On Sunday at church when Nikita shared all of the above with us, Gregg said, "Well, there's our confirmation!"  We are so thankful for the Cherian family and their passion for God!  Specifically, we thank Him for Nikita and her desire to study His Word with excitement and expectation.  She has blessed us in this and through her love for Zeke and Adalynn.

Lastly, God had placed the middle name, "Faith," on my heart a couple of months ago.  Our daughter choosing to place her faith in Jesus as her Lord and Savior is all that truly matters.  I felt God leading us to make that a key part of her name.  I have desired to use a double name, and "Lily Faith" sounded so lovely to me!

So, here it is...

Lillian Faith Hall

We pray you are as blessed by the process in which God revealed her name as we were.  Lily Faith has already taught us so much, and we look forward to all that God has for her life!!

Lily Faith at 24 weeks! (size of a cantaloupe!)