It's been awhile since I mused about things we want Amelia, and all our children, to learn. When we were naming her we really wanted her name to mean something to us and to her. We chose Amelia after my sweet grandmother who passed away when I was young, and we chose Grace after my other grandmother, and after one of Chris' ancestors who was an incredible pioneer woman. We also chose the name Grace based on the lyrics to the U2 song "Grace."
Here are a few of the lyrics:
Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name
Grace, it's a name for a girl
It's also a thought that changed the world
Grace finds goodness in everything
Grace finds beauty in everything
What once was hurt, what once was friction
What left a mark no longer stains
Because Grace makes beauty out of ugly things
Grace finds beauty in everything
Grace finds goodness in everything
We really wanted Amelia to not only carry the name Grace, but to be full of Grace. When I think about how to teach Amelia about grace - Grace she receives from God, and the Grace she can give to others, I think about the importance of teaching her the value of each human being.
I just finished reading this superb book, Gilead, by Marilynn Robinson. 78-year0ld Reverend Ames is writing a series of letters in a journal to his young 10-year-old son, because he knows he is going to die soon. Throughout the book, the Reverend discusses his thoughts on life, but mostly about grace and forgiveness. This one passage stuck out to me:
"I fell to thinking about the passage in the Institutes where it says the image of the Lord in anyone is much more than reason enough to love him, and that the Lord stands waiting to take our enemies sins up on Himself. So it is a rejection of the reality of grace to hold our enemy at fault. Those things can only be true. It seems to me people tend to forget that we are to love our enemies, not to satisfy some standard of righteousnesses, but because God their Father loves them."
I really hope I can teach Amelia the importance of her name, the importance of each human life, and the importance of extending Grace to all she meets.
Amelia's Grandma Andersen, and her Aunt Lauren, Aunt Kari, Aunt Tori and Uncle Evan were the first to see and adore those pigtails. They came down for a fun day at the beach. It was overcast and kind of cold(I know that 72 isn't that cold, but for us San Diegans, it's almost jacket weather). We had fun nonetheless. And when the day was done, Amelia gave hugs and kisses to everyone, and then she jumped out of my arms into her Aunt Tori's and said, "GO!" She did not want to stay with mom and dad, but wanted to get in Grandma's car and go home with her aunts and uncle. 
It's so sad...she's already figured out that mom and dad aren't the two coolest people around.
