I've never heard that name before....Neither had we!

We always knew when we had a son, his name would be Bruce. When we went to the hospital to have Aleah, we walked in with two names on a list, knowing Marie would be the middle name, and walked out with a completely different name than any we had ever considered. It just so happened that our second child was a boy. So we had A & B (Aleah & Bruce). We always joked about using a 'c' name if we decided to have a third child. In the 3.5 years before getting pregnant a third time, we had decided on a 'c' name for a boy. Once we found out we were having a girl, we were back to square one. We couldn't agree for anything. Not to mention, since we didn't use any names on our list for Aleah, Scott was hesitant to even talk about names if I was going to continue to look for more names and change my mind time and again... :)

In November, we had friends who had a baby girl and named her Shiloh. I loved it, and started thinking about a Biblical place that we could use that started with a 'c'. The first one that came to mind was Canaan. I loved it. It was the promised land that God promised to the Israelites and He also brought the Israelites out of captivity into the promised land. I just loved that my child's name would have such a great story and history. Alas.....it just sounded too masculine. No matter how I spelled it, I couldn't get past the masculine sound.

My friend, Karla, is the one who suggested Cana, the place where Jesus performed his first miracle. The day she suggested it, we were trying to find it in the Bible. I'm the one who said that I knew it was in the first three Gospels. It couldn't be in the book of John. Ha ha ha.....a couple of great Bible scholars we are. John is the only book that records the story of turning the water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. That was where the idea was born. We added the 'y' (Cayna) because I wanted to make sure it was pronounce 'right'. The 'h' was added because Aleah ends in 'ah' and I wanted a child named with a 6-letter name like mine, since the other two have 5-letter names like Scott's. I know, a wonderful way to find a spelling. :)

At separate times, both Karla and Scott suggested Grace as the middle name. I never saw myself as having a daughter with the name Grace in her name. So I never committed to it. I finally thought that I should see if there is a meaning for her name. I actually found the name in my baby name book. 'Kana' is a masculine, Japanese name that means 'powerful'. Knowing that, I thought again about using Grace as the middle name, and I loved it. I know Who has a Powerful Grace and I wanted my daughter to be 'labeled' with our Lord.

Caynah Grace = a Powerful Grace

Our children...A, B, & C! :)

Caynah Grace

Caynah Grace arrived today at 2:11pm.  She was 7lbs. 7ozs. and 18.5 in. long.  She is doing great!

Aleah loved holding her new baby sister.  She is in awe of how little and soft. :)

Newest family picture!!

They were so intrigued.  Bruce didn't want to hold her, but you can tell he sure loves her!

After her nap that was after all the hard work of being born, she was wide awake!!!

A proud daddy!!

Some pics

The kiddos loved to pass the time in the doc's office. Always enough toys to keep them busy.

Bruce sure is his father's son. I was making us lunch and heard some noise behind me. Well, I had never gotten the breakfast dishes cleared and he was clearing the table. He would go to the sink, brush off the crumbs, then go to the dishwasher and put in the dishes. I'm glad I found my camera quickly, because he was on the last plate by the time I realized what he was doing.
First play time at the park for the season. March 16.
Playing store in Aleah's room.

Here is my loving son. Every time he leaves me or greets me, he always remembers to give the baby a hug and kiss as well.



I post my pics on my facebook page. Find me there and become my friend to see more. I will be posting new baby pics on both. New baby arrival date is April 10.

A Message from my Aunt

Aunt Lois left this message on her caring bridge site and I wanted to pass it along...

Thank you for your outpouring of love and prayers for our family the last few weeks. The journey has been long and hard (beginning 5 years ago) and God has been faithful through many trials. My special verses have remained the same during this time and will continue to be a source of strength for the days ahead; I Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Rollin greatly desired to "persevere to the end" and God has granted his desire and fulfilled his promise - "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God". Your words of concern and encouragement have been a blessing. Thank you for sharing this time with our family. - Lois Jump