I pulled up pictures of Cayman Islands on my computer last week and showed them to my little darling Cayman.
I told her all about what a beach is like. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore. The warm air that gently blows over your skin cooling it off under the blazing sun. The feel of the gritty sand between your toes. The most amazing blue sky and water your eyes have ever seen. Children running and laughing as the high tides chase them back to the beach's edge.
Then I told her about how Mommy and Daddy have dreampt of taking her to Cayman Islands for a long time!
Several years ago, as Mike and I carried on through many longing months of waiting and hoping to have a baby, we did the typical name picking task. All around the house we wrote down names in various places...the grocery list, the mail pile, a notepad, magazine...whatever was close by when a name came to mind that sparked our liking.
Then when we were finally expecting, we took our gathered list of names and narrowed it down. We had one name picked out for a boy and one chosen if it was a girl.
At the 20 week ultrasound we learned, it's a girl!!
Cayman, that would be her name, just as we had planned!
When we chose that name, we had thought it would be a dreamy and fun excuse to vacation at Cayman Islands someday. We'd take our daughter to that beautiful, tropic place and let her go crazy picking out souvenirs with her unique name on it.
Then we learned that our baby girl might not live. Those were some sad days full of lots of different conversations as we processed and tried to prepare ourselves for the unknown. One of our discussions was pondering our chosen name for our little girl. We discussed picking a different name in hopes to still preserve our dream vacation idea with our next daughter that we might have.
That conversation between Mike and I did not take off too far before it sounded completely ridiculous. Our baby was already Cayman to us. No other daughter of ours could ever be called that. So when she was born, upon signing her birth certificate, it became official:
Cayman Cindy Stamm
How beautiful life has been to us thanks to God's amazing miracles! Imagine my excitement as I told Cayman all about the planning and work Mommy and Daddy are doing to make this dream vacation come true for us since God allowed us to keep her on this side of Heaven.
We feel giddy with delight picturing Cayman experiencing a beautiful sandy beach, palm trees, the ocean. All those gorgeous things on the very island that bears her beautiful name.
If she thinks I take a lot of pictures of her now, wait until we get there!
**The Goal: Dream to come true hopefully next Winter.
15 Showin' Comment Love:
YAY! FIRST! FITTING TOO, SINCE CAYMAN IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE PLACE TO VISIT! CAN'T WAIT TILL YOU GUYS GO, YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY FALL IN LOVE!!
Again, I'm in awe. I have never told anyone this but I thought about saving the name "Olivia Jane" too...but I'm so glad I didn't. You're so right...as soon as I found out we were having a girl...she was my Livy Jane.
And, I know you'll make your dream come true!!
Can't wait to see those pictures!!!
I know what you mean. For a second or two I thought about holding onto the name Elisabeth Elva...for another dughter. I didn't want to 'waste' a name. And then I realized how terrible that was of me! This baby was my daughter...forever and ever...she was my Elisabeth Elva.
So glad that you will be able to make your dream come true.
Before I got to the end and saw that you already had plans in the works I was going to open up that option to 'The View'...if you know what I mean. But now I see that there is no need for that :) Cayman is going to love it there, and I can't wait to see all those photos! I am betting there will be thousands!
Just in case Mommy and Daddy would want to go out and enjoy some nightlife when you visit Cayman Islands, if you take me along I would be available to babysit.
I can just imagine how cute Cayman would look on the beach in a bikini!
I'll be there Feb. 27th-March
7th! It's beautiful down there!
What a lovely post Kristin! I've wondered if that was the reason for Cayman's name before.
I completely understand that first moment of not knowing what to do with the "chosen" name. Some times those darn old feelings of logic take over when they have no business being there at all. When it comes to our children and something as wonderful and intimate as choosing their name, the only part of our minds we should be using are the parts powered by love and faith.
You continue to impress me with how well you instinctively just know these things.
It's such a happy thought to think of little Cayman romping around on the beautiful beaches of her very "own" island.
Beautiful post :)
I love her name and I love the way you write, it draws me in every time. Thank you for sharing it with me.
can't wait to see her there...it is beautiful! we honeymooned there and I have always wanted to go back since the day we left. You have to take her to the butterfly farm....it was beautiful (if it is still here 6 years later! ;) )
Your passion is so strong I believe your dream will become a reality real soon! xo
can we make this a family trip?? like instead of going to the lake...we go to the Cayman Islands! sounds like a good idea to me! haha. :)
Beautiful!
The Cayman Islands are beautiful!
We went there on our cruise on our honeymoon.
She will love it. You will too.
We didn't know what we were having with Lilah. We only knew that if she was a girl her middle name would be HOPE. Alex's is Grace and Sammie's is Faith.
We held her in our arms and looked at her and kept loking at our two girl names, then we learned of her disability, then we decided it was perfect.....
Delilah Hope and we would call her Lilah.
Beautiful!! I will be anxiously awaiting the photos.
Post a Comment