Names!

Wow! (I feel like I say that a ton lately!) We first found out about the girls 5 weeks ago today and have lots to do before that travel call comes. Since our blog is public, we're going to refer to their Ethiopian names as A and B until we pass court. Sure that may seem a little generics, but they actually are their first initials! Their Ethiopian names are simple and easy to pronounce, and we'll be using them as part of their legal name. We decided to add a first name to each of their names, as well. In Ethiopia, we'll have someone explain this in their native language and call them by both names or whichever they prefer and are most comfortable, knowing this may change over time.

The name discussion is always an interesting one in the Melton house, as Jim and I don't always have the exact same (in the same solar system) opinion. And names for 2 girls?? Forget about it. Tessa, in her almost age 5 wisdom, suggested Alexa and Liana. These names just happen to be the main characters in a recent animated Barbie movie, so we chuckled a little and moved back to our discussion/civilized debate. We kept coming back to those names, and one evening, as Jim was insulating and drywalling the rest of the garage, we decided those names were perfect. Jim liked that they were Barbie names and his mom's name is Barb :) I looked up the name meanings, and Alexa means "defender"; I looked up Liana and found the meaning, "God has spoken"- yikes! Aside from the great message of Barbie and friends and those meanings (Alexa A would mean "star defender"...soccer player, if you ask me!), we had some additional connections. Jim's grandma was Lee, and his mom, sister and I (and probably one third of females worldwide) all have the middle name Ann. The name Alexa and versions of such symbolize a family, particularly a mom and a daughter, that have shown strength and perseverance through very dark times in a way that has really inspired me. I know our girls have traveled a very tough road to get to us, and we want to honor their history as well as the joy of them being part of our family; I think these names will do both quite well!

In other adoption news, we finished the photo albums to send to the girls! We're still awaiting our updated USCIS (immigration) clearance, as our home study was updated to reflect the new year. Our passports and Visa applications will get sent to the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C. this week, and the dreaded travel immunizations will get scheduled. I'm still doing a little research on those to determine which ones we'll need. While we wouldn't need many for Addis Ababa, our birth family visit will take us to a more remote, rural setting. I still feel like the time is passing quickly, and hope to see some of the families ahead of us get travel news this week; we're still anticipating summer travel.

Alexa A and Liana B, we can't wait to meet you!