What's in a Name?

We are at the point in the process where we will get an update every week, so I will try to pass this along to everyone too!  Our paperwork has arrived in Addis Abba.  Hopefully it will be authenticated on their end this week!

Dane has decided he has a great name for his new brother (this week he wants a brother, last week he wanted a brother and a sister).  He would like to name his new brother Dane Michael Hendrickson.  Hmmm....So when I told him that was his unique name that only he would have, he said no, his little brother needed to be part of this family and his name would be Dane.  Well the conversation pursued, and he agreed that we would talk about it later.

Our family now

But since this seems to be a question that a lot of people ask us, I thought I would share with you a little bit about what we think about this topic.

By the time our kiddo gets home, s/he will be at least a year old, if not older.  Their name will be part of them.  So however it works out, their name will still be part of them.  Either as a middle name, their name translated into English, or something that respects who they are in Ethiopia, but embraces who they will grow to be in our home.

However, changing of names is very common among people who encounter life changing events.  In the Bible, Saul is changed to Paul when he experiences the salvation of Christ.  Simon becomes Peter, meaning rock, when Jesus made him the rock of His church, and Abram became Abraham when he was made the father of the nations.

More recently:

• Bill Clinton was William Blythe
• Gerald Ford was Leslie Lynch King Jr.
• David Bowie was David Jones
• Bob Dylan was Robert Zimmerman
• Patty Hendrickson was Patty Waite

In other words, changing your name can mean changing of opportunities, family association or another major life change.

We have decided this decision is best left to the person, as with Dane.  In case you didn't know the story of how Dane was named, here you go...

We had a list of the names we both liked and each week we could eliminate a name from the others' list. 2 Fridays before Dane was born, I was driving home from my office to our home in Portland.  Well, the gas light was on in the car, but I liked to "live on the edge" when it came to gas.  On the I-205 Bridge heading into Portland from Vancouver, I ran out of gas, at rush hour on a Friday...Kevin had to go into Vancouver from Portland (1.5 hrs), then down the bridge and fill my tank while people drove by us going 50-60 MPH about 2 feet away to rescue me...Anyhow, I owed him and he got to name our little one (weird how pregnant ladies think).  A few days before he was born, Kevin selected Dane Michael, and it's a perfect name for him.  We translate his name to mean: Gift from God.  And that describes him to a T.

Dane = Gift from God

Blessings,

The Hendricksons