Why the Name- BELLA?

So many have asked questions along the way about our choice for the name, Bella.

*is that her "real" name or a name you gave her?
*how did you decide on the name Bella?
*how will she receive the idea of a "new" name with her being an older child?

So, I thought that I'd share the answers to those questions. :-)

After we dove into the paper work process of our adoption full force and we began to wait on our referral for our daughter.... we entered the phase of the adoption process to which most Adoption Agencies call being "paper pregnant". Kind of a fun analogy for us adoptive mama's. So we did what most mama's and daddy's do when you are "pregnant".....You start thinking of baby names!

Immediately, I knew that after a house full of "J" names for all the guys.....that I wanted another "B" name for us girls! With that in mind I started taking a look at our journey with the LORD so far and all that HE had done to bring us to "this" point. One of the many things that God used in speaking to our hearts about adoption was a movie called.....you got it....."BELLA" It's a beautiful film about adoption that really moved us during God's call for us to adopt.

So that was a "B" name for sure. But, because of my love for the study of the Scriptures, I'm all about the biblical meaning behind a name. (That's how I determined our boys names as well.) So I had to check this out first to make sure it was one that described our journey to adopt. Bella means "Devoted to God" in Hebrew....(and of course "beautiful" in Spanish) Yep....I'd say that meaning definitely describes this path we are on. If it weren't for GOD and our following him in devotion and faith....we would have never entered this wonderful journey to Bella to begin with. After all....this is ALL about HIM!

After getting approval from daddy and the two big brothers....we voted a "YES" for the name Bella! As I began to share the name with other family members, my sweet Aunt Robin reminded me that my precious grandmother (who I never met but adored from what I knew about her) was Winnie "Belle".....I knew that it was a done deal after making that connection. Knowing this is the "middle" name of my sweet daddy's mom.... makes it all the more SPECIAL for me. So, Bella it was. No doubts about it.

Of course all of this was decided with the idea that we were adopting an infant at that time. And as you know God changed that scenario quickly. We realize that with Bella now being an older child she may have a preference about her name and we will gladly do what makes her comfortable. However, we do plan to keep her "Indian" name (another post for another time) for sure to be her middle name. And she can have the choice to use either of her names. And until we complete the final adoption papers once she is here in the USA.... nothing is set in stone and can be changed if needed.

After their inquiry...we did tell the orphanage just last week the name we had chosen and their response was...."It's BEAUTIFUL and suits her WELL"! I couldn't agree more....but we'll see how our little Miss feels about it very soon. We realize so many things will be difficult for her and we don't want this to be one more difficult thing. BUT... One way or the other that little girl is getting a NEW last name when she gets HOME and her adoption is final! We can't wait for her to be one of "us"! Until then....more on all this name business.

With JOY!

Psalm 126:3