Baby Santschi's Name

POST AUTHOR: GRACE

Naming a child - so many choices, so many opinions, so many names attached to people in our lives (past and present, good and bad), a name that fits a teeny tiny baby but also an adult. Isn't it funny how we don't think too much about names, their meanings, or how they were chosen until the day arrives to choose one that's going to be attached to another human being their ENTIRE life!

Will they love it as much as we do, will they wear it proudly, and on and on and on it goes.

When we found out we were having a boy, naturally names started popping in my head all hours of the day and night. I started testing every name I heard. Mostly, did I like the way it rolled off my tongue, how did it sound with the middle name we had chosen years ago (more on that in a bit) and did I like the way it went with our last name?

Santschi is already a bit of a tongue twister that requires spelling every single time we tell someone our name. The least we can do is give our kids first names that people can spell without much trouble, right?

We spent hours praying, pondering, and mulling over a bazillion options to choose just the right name for our baby boy. Blake and I finally narrowed it down to a few names we liked a LOT and then we sort of taste tested them. Trying them out in our heads, saying them out loud a bit, writing them, and, of course, getting opinions from friends and family.

It was tougher than I expected for us to settle on something together! We are both fairly opinionated and so it felt like a miracle when we both agreed!

So without further adieu, we have chosen to name our baby boy...Asher Bradley Santschi.

I'm excited to tell you why we chose Asher Bradley, what the significance means to us, and all of our hopes for this sweet baby boy.

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Asher

Blake was really drawn to this name. I had heard it before and while I liked it, I wasn't sold on it at first. We had a couple of top contenders and it felt like one day we'd love a name and the next day not so much. Back and forth we went.

Blake begged me to give Asher a shot. He felt so strongly that this was the name and he loved the significance behind it. I sat on it for a couple of days and it honestly just started to grow on me. Now don't get me wrong, I thought the name was beautiful, I just wasn't sure that it was the name for OUR baby. But, soon the Lord changed me heart and I found myself becoming really excited about naming our baby Asher!

Asher is one of the 12 tribes of Israel and the name means "happy" or "blessed". I love the meaning of it because we honestly feel so happy and blessed to be experiencing the miracle of life. Children are a gift from the Lord and his name is so representative of how we feel about this new season of life.

We both love the blessing that was given to the Tribe of Asher in Deuteronomy 33:24-25. It's beautiful and it feels strong and full of favor.

And of Asher he said,
“Most blessed of sons be Asher;
    let him be the favorite of his brothers,
    and let him dip his foot in oil.
Your bars shall be iron and bronze,
    and as your days, so shall your strength be.

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Bradley

We've always known if God blessed us with a son, we would name him after Blake's childhood friend, Bradley.

Blake and Bradley were best friends in elementary school. Tragically, Bradley passed away at the age of 10 after a yearlong battle with cancer. Five years later, when Blake and I met, he shared story after story with me about Bradley and their friendship. It was obvious how much his friend meant to him and we just always knew we would honor his memory by naming our first born son after him.

I've hoped and prayed for a chance to meet Bradley's mother and to share with her that her son is still in our hearts and we want his legacy to live on. It hasn't happened yet, but we are hoping for that special time with her during our next visit back home.

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And there you have it! Asher Bradley Santschi.

We can't wait to welcome this baby boy in January. We hope and pray that he loves the Lord, is happy all the days of his life, and lives a life of strength and honor. At the end of the day, we want him to know how much the Father loves him and that he is a child of God. We pray he walks in that identity every single day. 

Thank you for following along! I hope it's been encouraging and has given you an inside look to the heart we have for our baby Asher! 

XOXO

​Grace