How we got her name

Rebekah is 1 month old today! The past month has been a blur and I can't believe it's already been a month. We are still in a babymoon. With that said, I think the story of how our daughter got her name is a really neat story, and one I'd like to share. 

We'd been trying to get pregnant since last April (2012), when we got pregnant, then had a m/c in June. We'd continued to try since then. I know, not a long time, but it felt like a while. 

In Feb. 2013, we went to Prague and prayed before the Infant of Prague. It is said that many people who pray there end up conceiving. A few weeks later, we found out we were pregnant. So I've felt this child was a gift from God since the beginning.

Soon after we got pregnant, we started discussing names. Jon was set on a boy's name, but a girl's name just kept going through my head. I had no feelings about a boy vs girl, but felt strongly about the name Rebekah/Rebecca. I told him that and we decided to give up the name discussion til we knew. After we found out it was a girl, I told him again. He wasn't fond of it, but started thinking about it, and agreed the name sounded good and felt right. 

But he had 2 requests, could we not spell it Rebecca, and could her middle name be Agnes. I cringed. I did not like Agnes at all. But he was agreeing to the first name, and I could at least consider Agnes. And truthfully, I didn't care how we spelled it, and I liked the Biblical Rebekah form, so that was fine. I began to pray about Agnes. We googled "St. Rebecca" to see if there was one. The only one we found discussed was a St. Rebecca (Rafka) who, when she joined the convent, took the name Anissa (Agnes). So that felt like something from God, but I was still skeptical.

Then I remembered, at the beginning of the year, a lot of my Catholic friends locally went to "Saint of the Year" and I had too. I had a few friends who had done it for many years, and swore by it. So, when I got my saint, who was the patron saint of young girls, chastity and rape victims, I was completely freaking out and worried. Would rape affect our family somehow? I finally just ignored it, decided it was a silly site, and never really prayed to the Saint. Until I began praying about the name Agnes, and remembered that "my" Saint had been Saint Agnes of Rome. When I remembered, I knew this was God telling me that yes, her middle name is suppose to be Agnes. 

So, I feel really giddy and excited about her name. I love saying it, as I feel it's so beautiful now. I just feel like this is what God wants as her name, and that He really has a lot in store for her. I'm also enjoying praying to St. Agnes for her. And the fact that she's the Patron Saint of Chastity helps a momma too ;-) So, she is Rebekah Agnes. :) 

In addition to all this, Abby is Abigayle Claire. Jon was looking up Agnes and discovered St. Claire of Assisi is the older sister of St. Agnes of Assisi! And St Agnes of Assisi's feast day is Nov 16, which was my due date. and finally, St Agnes of Bohemia is known as Agnes of Prague (relates to the Infant of Prague) and in the Order of St. Claire!