Oh, little Liza, Little Liza Joy.....

Tim and I have decided to name our sweet baby girl Eliza Joy Hixson. In my family, parents keep their baby's name a secret until they are born, but I am not capable of such shenanigans.

When we got pregnant, we'd decided what we'd name a little boy- family names for both first and middle- but weren't sure what we'd name a girl. Eliza is not entirely a family name- there's no one in either of our family trees with that name- but it is to me. My mom's mom, who I never got to know because she passed away in the early 1970's, name was Myrtel Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a lovely name, but we liked Eliza better.

Anyone who knows me well knows about my obsession with "Joy." I surround myself with reminders of it because I'm worried, more than anything, that I'll forget to live it it. The week before we found out we were pregnant, after some fertility procedures and more than a year and a half of disappointment, I was crying to my mom (at Subway, of all places,) saying I just wasn't sure it was in my cards to be a mom. I wasn't sure what this meant for me as a person and as a wife. My mom told me it would be a terrible shame for me to give up, because I had too much joy to share.

And so, even though the baby's name isn't going to be "Jill Junior Hixson" like my mom suggested, I'd like to think it kind of is. To me, both of her names come from her- not directly named for her, but more named for her heart, where I know she carries her own mom, Myrtel Elizabeth, and the more joy than anyone I know. Eliza Joy's for you, Mom. I love you.