And her name is..............

First I have to give you some background...
(no skipping to the bottom!)

We have been going in circles trying to choose a name.  We had narrowed it down to about 3 (which kept changing) and were split even on those.  We received our Letter of Intent (aka Letter Seeking Confirmation) this week which has put me in a tizzy filling out another round of paperwork.  Several of the pieces in the pile ask for your child's English name, so we were really down to the wire.  I have SCOURED name lists over and over.  I am dizzy from the constant scrolling of the screen.  I'd like some.  Troy'd like some.  The kids would like some.  BUT they were never the same some!   The family is so tired of me saying "Hey, how about this one?" They are totally over being polled on their favorite.

I have been praying for God to make her name known to me.  None of the names on the list were bad.  I liked most of them just fine, but none jumped out at me as belonging to our Tinging.  I've been getting a sense for a certain name, but was afraid to tell Troy because I was sure he would say "No way, no how!"  So when he'd asked me, I kept saying I didn't have one that stood out, but that wasn't true.  There was one...  

So tonight, I mustered up all the courage I could find and told him the name and the meaning.  Imagine my surprise, no...utter shock, when he said yes!  I asked him over and over and over if he was sure and he still said yes.  I asked if he was ok saying this name for years.  (Yes)  I asked if he was just trying to get me to stop drilling him on names.  (He says no...LOL).

Immediately after he walked away, I noticed my inbox had a number of notices about a FB post I was tagged in.  I went over to read it and about fell over.  It was from someone who is with our daughter in China.  She said she thinks the kids think she can find them families on the computer.  This morning TingTing asked her if she had found one for her.  I can't even type that without bursting into tears.

Did you get that?  At the same time that I was telling Troy the meaning of the name He had  given me for our little girl, on the other side of the world, that little girl was asking my friend if she had found a family for her!

Baby girl, my God answers our prayers!  He has answered 3 1/2 years of prayers and tears.   He has answered the prayers of a little girl.  And what does the name that I was given mean?

"God has answered me."

Introducing:

Eliana TingTing Martin!!