We've settled on a name!

Years before I met Brock, I had decided I wanted to name my first son Levi Preston, after my Grandpa Preston Barkley and my Grandpa Robert H. Levi. While pregnant with him, I ultimately decided to reverse the order of the names and make him Preston Levi, but I was always solid with those names.

Before we discovered we were having a boy, we tossed around girls' names, but never came to an agreement on any. He liked the name Centira and I liked more traditional names.

Through our conversations with people who have adopted from China, we discovered that usually the child's Chinese name is bumped to be a middle name so they can retain their heritage, but they are given an American first name. Supposedly most Chinese kids adopted by American parents like this, as it allows them to blend in a bit more easily.

So, we considered such names as Dina Shaling, Annie Shaling, Mary Shaling, Julia Shaling, Faith Shaling, Grace Shaling, Lily Shaling, Jillian Shaling, Lillian Shaling, and Valerie Shaling.

Dina is short for Bernadine, the name of my great grandmother. Annie was a great aunt of mine with whom I was very close. Brock liked the names Faith and Grace. I liked Julia, Mary, Lily, Jillian, and Lillian. Valerie was a name researched by a student of mine as being similar in heritage to Shaling.

According to that student, Shaling supposedly means "sand chime" or "sand bell". I like that and considering she is 8-years-old (and will be 9 this October, shortly after we get her), I also tossed around the idea of keeping that as her first name and giving her an American middle name. Giving her my middle name, Marie, was an option. I also considered Brock's Grandma Reynolds' maiden name, Storm, as a middle name. I liked the middle name Rose, a name selected by Shaling's future Uncle Scott and Aunt Barbara in the case they ever had a daughter.

Ultimately, we decided to let her keep Shaling as her first name, due to her older age. She's going to have so much new stuff to learn already. If she decides she wants to use her middle name instead, she'll have that choice, but won't feel pressured to do so.

Upon adoption, our daughter will be named Shaling Annabelle Reynolds. I think it sounds beautiful. It also has some family heritage. Annabelle is a great aunt of Brock's that is a sweet lady with a strong sense of family. She is the sister of Brock's Grandma Reynolds. I never met his Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds, as they were both deceased before I met him. Annabelle is a fantastic, warm-hearted connection to that generation of the family.

We can't wait to meet Shaling Annabelle and bring her home to meet her new family.