Her Name

We've known our baby girl's name for quite a while.  We've been telling people for quite a while.  But we've not yet shared it online.  So in the interest of making it offically official (and so I can stop calling her Baby Girl in all my FB posts), here it is:

Paisley Jane Diller

It's unique but not crazy.  And it has meaning.  That's why we like it.   :)

I've known for a long time that if we ever had a daughter I would want her middle name to be Jane.  My great-grandmother (Paisley's great-great grandmother) is Jane.  She's turning 101 later this month, but she acts more like she's 80 (sometimes she acts like she's 18).  She's a pretty awesome lady, and I'm excited that our little girl will get to share part of her name.  Here's a picture of us when Jack was just three weeks old.

Plus Jane means "God is gracious."  Oh yes He is.

Paisley was a little more difficult.  A friend suggested that name when I was pregnant with Jack, and the more we thought about it, the more we liked it.  And it goes well with Jane.  My only problem was that it didn't have a good meaning.  Everywhere I looked it up the meaning said, "N/A" (isn't that lovely) or "a fabric pattern."  Then we found out we were having a boy, so it didn't matter anymore.

This time we still liked the name.  And once we found out we were having a girl, I decided to dig a little deeper.  I figured there had to be a meaning, or at least a cool person in history with the name Paisley.

And I found a whole bunch of stuff.

First of all, the pattern we all know as paisley originated in Persia and India.  Of course, India has been very dear to our hearts over the past couple years. Dustin traveled to the Home of Love in Chennai, India last summer, and I can't wait until I get to go.  Plus we sponsor a girl there, and I'm looking forward to meeting her someday!

Also (even cooler!), the origin of the name is from the town Paisley, Scotland.  This town was known for two things.  One: weaving and trading the printed fabric.  And two: churches.  The town is full of churches.

So the name Paisley means.....church.

I don't think I need to go into detail about how much the church and community means to us. And our desire is that it will also be a big part of our kids' lives.

So now we are doubly excited to name our daughter Paisley Jane.  We like the name, and now we like a meaning.  A lot.

With a name like "Church, God is gracious" how could we not?

Just a Snare

My friend Kyle just started a drum company.  He recently built us a snare drum to use at Pathway.  It's pretty stinkin' amazing.  (If you're interested, check out LevyDrumCo.)  The plan is for him to eventually build us a whole kit.  I. Can't. Wait.

This weekend, Kyle played with us on the team.  Which is always a treat.  Mostly because of his hair.  :)  And he plays the snot outta the drums.

As I watched him playing that snare that he built with his own hands, I couldn't help but think how cool that must be.  To create something from nothing.  And then to play it...to use it for its intended purpose.  So I asked him about it.  Asked him how it felt to play that drum.  Here are some of his quotes from our conversation:  

"Yeah it's pretty sweet."  

"I know everything that's wrong with it."  

"I built it with a purpose in mind.  A specific sound I wanted to get out of it."  

"Everything on it is there for a reason."  

So....just to recap:

He thinks it's pretty sweet that he gets to play his creation.  

He knows everything that's wrong with it, but still makes awesome-ness come out of it.

He created it for a specific purpose.  To be used in a certain way.  He knew in advance what he wanted it to do and he made it to do just that.

Every detail that's included in that drum is there for a reason.  It contributes to how the drum sounds, and how it contributes to the whole band.  To the whole worship music experience for all of us.

Sound familiar?  

We are just a snare.  

We have things wrong with us.  And our Creator knows it.  Better than anyone else.  But He still wants to use us for awesome-ness.

We were created with a specific purpose in mind.  

Everything about us is there for a reason.  Every personality trait.  Every past experience, whether good or bad.  Every detail of our lives builds who we are and how our story sounds.  And how it contributes to The Bigger Story.  

And our Creator thinks it's pretty sweet to make music with us.

Wait, I think that's worth saying again.

Our Creator thinks it's pretty sweet to make music with us!!!

So thanks, Kyle.  Yes, for building us a super awesome snare.  But also for reminding me that I am just a snare.  And the most beautiful thing I can do is to let my Creator do what He wants with me.  

Baby Dreams #3 and #4

I've had a couple more baby dreams lately.  

Baby Dream #3 was a couple weeks ago.  It was fairly uneventful, except for the fact that I could see through my belly into my uterus.  The baby was looking up at me with her head tilted sideways.  Her eyes wide open, like a little alien.  She was NOT cute.  It was actually pretty creepy.

Baby Dream #4 was last night.  I can't remember if I dreamed this during my 3 hours of sleeping on Jack's bedroom floor (using a teddy bear as a pillow) or during the one hour I actually spent in my own bed.  Either way, it was a weird one.  I had the baby.  Today, on April 1st.  I remember thinking, "Oh crap, she's way early.  I need to call Gordon and tell him I won't be at work this week!"  And again, just like Baby Dream Numero Uno, Dustin was not there.  He walked in a couple minutes later and I said, "Hey, I just pushed her out!  In one push!"  And again, she was NOT cute!  She had really weird hair.  And she weighed 5 pounds, 27 ounces.  (Um....math?)  

I then remembered that we didn't have our infant carseat, because my brother and sis-in-law were borrowing it (which is true in real life).  And then I remembered that my friends Eric and Amanda had to buy a new carseat for their little girl a couple years ago (which is true in real life), and I thought, "I should call Amanda and see if I can borrow Ellie's old carseat!"  And then I realized Amanda was sitting right next to me, on a couch.  How convenient.  (Wait a second....why was I sitting on a couch moments after giving birth?)

That's it.  I can only hope that our little girl comes out cuter than in my dreams.