Our Baby Names! Where they come from and why we love them!

We've had our names picked out way before we even though about actually trying to get pregnant. They've gone through a few changes, middle names, new variations, etc but for the most part we've had the same names for quite some time. I always knew I wanted to use a family name, at least one, if possible. I love the tradition of honoring your family and it's a very Southern thing to do, so of course I'm all about it. We had tons of options for family names that we liked and were interested in.....on my side we had Sims which is my grandfather, uncle and cousin's middle name (there's is Simeon) and I like that for a boy or girl. Chad's family normally does the bit where the first son has the dad's name as his middle name, and I love the name Chadwick. His grandmother's maiden name was Cooper, which I like, too. Both Chad and I always liked the name Grace for a girl, because it was sweet and simple and southern, but our newest neice is now Cameron Grace and we didn't want to have a repeat within the same generation of family. Chad liked original and different names for boy babies and traditional names for girls, he really liked Emily, we thought about that for a while. I like old names. If I were the only one choosing our kids would be named like the Golden girls, I love the names Blanche and Miriam. I can't help it. Chad hates them. Regardless of all of that, we did and have decided on two names, one boy and one girl that we will name our baby depending on what it is.

The boy: Huckleberry Cooper Stalvey

We would call him "Huck". This was Chad's pick, I didn't love it at first, but it grew on me very quickly. It's very boyish and playful and reminds me of a little boy covered in dirt with ripped jeans on. Huckleberry came to us from one of my faovrite movies, Tombstone. I am a huge Western fan. Doc Holliday played by Val Kilmer, says to Wyatt Earp played by Kurt Russell "I'm your Huckleberry" in an awsome scene that plays out a little like this: Wyatt has left Doc sick in the hospital, thinks Doc is about to die and goes off to fight on his own, but right on time Doc shows up ready to back Wyatt and delivers that epic line before he eventually dies. The line in the movie basically means, I'm your guy. I'm here to help. My family has looked into that line quite a bit and we found some information on its origin that we like a lot. Obviously, Cooper is the family name from Chad's side, in honor of his beloved paternal grandmother Inez Cooper Stalvey.

Origin of Huckleberry

The girl: Noah Layne Stalvey

Noah is a biblical name, which I am a big fan of. Our faith is a big part of our lives, and for both of us has been stronger since we have been together as a couple. Noah as a female name comes from the Old Testament in Joshua. When the decendants of the tribes of Israel were finally inheriting the promised land the decendants of Joseph, the tribe of Manasseh (Joseph's first son) were five sisters, one named Noah. They appealed to God to give them the land he promised their families and he granted their request. I love these verses, it shows God's respect and love toward women and it's a pretty significant event for God to give a woman an inheritance that a man would have normally claimed. Here are the scriptures for you to read:

Joshua 17: 2-6

 2There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.

 3¶But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

 4And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.

 5And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;

 6Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

We will find out sometime in the next 2-4 weeks what the sex of the baby is, and we can't wait! We dont have a preference either way, although we both have inclinations to what we think it is! I think blue, he thinks pink! The most important thing to us is to have a healthy baby, but once we find out it will be so fun to make plans and get prepared!