Claire. . .Clear and Bright

What a special day! We blessed Claire on Sunday, October 12th at Grandma & Grandpa C's house.

We were so blessed to have so much of our family there. So many aunts, uncles, cousins, and all of Claire's grandparents were there. Even two sets of her great grandparents were able to share the day with us.

When we all gathered into the family room for the blessing, there was such a sweet feeling in the room. Uncle Nate gave an opening prayer, followed by everyone singing "I Am A Child of God". Courtney gave her a beautiful blessing. Afterward Uncle Ronnie offered the closing prayer.

Our bishop, Bishop Fukui commented afterward about the strong spirit that was present, and the love that was in the room. I think everyone could feel that. It was so wonderful to have so many of the people whom we love and who love our little family together in one place.

Since Claire's birth, we have felt so humbled and blessed. We have been overwhelmed at the love and prayers given in behalf of Claire and our family. I think her blessing day was the culminating event of the past few months of love that has been given and expressed to us. For Courtney and I, it was an incredible day of celebration and gratitude for the blessing of not only Claire, but all the blessings we have been given and have become more deeply aware of the past few months.

Claire was given the name Claire Kelly. Courtney heard the name Claire shortly after Emmy was born and just loved it. (When we went on trek as a Ma and Pa, we even named our family's "baby" Clara. ) We kind of knew if we had another girl, she would be a Claire.

I really wanted to use the name Sally somehow, after my Grandma Sally. We thought about naming her Sally Claire, and even tossed around a few other names, but Courtney just kept calling her Claire.

One day we were sitting in Sacrament and he just looked at me and said, "She's going to be a Claire. That name just keeps coming up."

Then one day a month or so before Claire was born, Courtney came home from work really excited. He said he knew what we should name her- Claire Kelly. I totally shot it down. For one thing, I really did want to use the name Sally. And another thing, I told him I felt like we should name the girls after someone really amazing, which I am not. I closed the door on that idea and didn't really even consider it. Every time we would talk about names, he would bring it up, and I would shoot him down. After Claire was born, I was still leaning toward using Sally, but Courtney finally just said, "I know what I want. I think she should be Claire Kelly."

In the end, he obviously won. He's not the type to be very opinionated unless it really matters to him, and so I felt that if he felt that strong about it, I should let him choose.

In the end, I guess it's the right name for Claire. My friend Darcie recently sent me the meanings of our girls' names. The meaning for Claire is "clear and bright". I love that.

And Kelly? It means "brave warrior". I don't know if I'm all that brave, but so far, it seems like it fits Claire. She radiates such a calm, steady spirit. I know it sounds crazy to say this about a baby, but it just fits her. She's a brave little fighter. She's already changed how I think about life. I guess you could say my perspective is a little bit more clear. . .a little brighter.

I'm so thankful for all our our girls and for what they add to our family. They are each teaching me so much about life.

Ryenne Ashleigh. . .little ruler.

Kate Jeannett. . .purity.

Emmy Summer. . .industrious.

Claire. . .our brave little warrior, clear and bright.

Little Claire, we are so happy you're with us.