Choosing a Name: Rosalyn Eloise

Like most girls I spent a lot of time thinking about my future children's names when I was younger.  When I was about 6 or 7, I just knew I was going to have a girl (a boy was totally out of the question), and her name would be either Nicole or Michelle.  I adored those names.  As the years changed, so did my favorite names.  In middle school after doing some genealogy research, I stumbled upon and fell in love with Phoebe.  My friends didn't like that name because "it was old", so my search for the right name continued.  In high school I was set on the name Kali, and in college, it was Araby.  I never spent a whole lot of time thinking about names for boys because I just really wanted a girl.

Throughout our relationship, Derek and I would discuss baby names periodically.  It always happened that Derek would think of boy names while I thought of ones for girls.  I don't know if that's just something that's built into our DNA--that we associate more with one gender than the other because that's what we are, or because that's what is comfortable and familiar--or just what we preferred.  Derek would throw out names like Milo and Xander (or something like that).  Ones that I just really wasn't fond of.  And I would toss in Ellen and Emma.

When we found out we were pregnant, we excitedly considered various names.  I'd mention a few I liked while watching TV, and he'd text me his thoughts throughout the day.  We began a list of names including Emmett, Lane, Milo, and Asher; Ella, Bonnie, Piper, and Rosalyn.  Eventually we settled on Asher if we had a boy and Rosalyn if we had a girl.

Almost all of the predictions were for a boy (including my students' predictions), and although I somewhat secretly wanted a girl, I had resolved to the fact that I'd have to wait until the next baby because this one was a boy.  But around Valentine's Day, along with Derek, my mom, and my mother-in-law, we found out that we were expecting a GIRL!

We continued the next several months preparing for the little Miss, and finally welcomed her into this world 6 days after her due date.  Her name: Rosalyn Eloise Nesselrodt. 

I know if I were to go back to middle school, my friends would tell me it's an old name, but I love it.  Neither Rosalyn nor Eloise are family names (that I know of), but I think they fit her perfectly.  They're not the super common Sophia or Isabella, but they're also not the strange Tinlee or Ember.  Rosalyn comes from (I believe) three of Shakespeare's works, which is perfect for an English major like me, although I didn't think about this until later, and means beautiful rose. 

Rosalyn is my beautiful rose.  From a little bud in my tummy, she has grown into the incredible bloom that I am so blessed to have in my life.   I just can't wait to watch her grow and see what all life has in store for her.

Chalkboard Signs: Ashlee & Grant's Wedding!

Three years ago my principal texted me a few weeks before school started and said a new teacher was hired for the math position in our middle school. This isn't a conversation that typically occurs after new staff are hired, but my principal wanted me to meet this new teacher because we both lived in the same town.

Although I'm originally from the town in which I teach, I moved to a neighboring town after college (where my husband is from).  I commute the roughly 35-40 minutes to work every day even though I live about 2 seconds away from the high school in this town.  My principal knew I was interested in carpooling with other 'imported' teachers, so she sent me the number of this new teacher.

I'm kind of weird when meeting new people sometimes.  I get excited, but then anxiety begins to creep in and I start to imagine all of the possibilities of who they are and how much we won't get along. (This is dumb because there are few people I don't get along with.)  I left her number there in my text messages and told myself I'd call her sometime before school.

Luckily Ashlee hunted me down on Facebook and sent me a message because most likely I would've left her number in my phone and waited until school started to meet. (I can be a bit of a terrible person.)

We met for lunch one day before school began, and I'm so glad we did because I love her! This will be my third year working with Ashlee and carpooling with her and our friend Katie who teaches in the elementary school.  I dislike the days when I drive alone because our conversations are greatly missed.  We get a chance to share recipes, vent about whatever happened during the day, talk about the funny moments we had with our kids, and talk about our personal lives.

This post wasn't meant to share my "origin story" with Ashlee, but to share a piece of her wedding.  Shortly after we began the school year that first year together, Ashlee got engaged.  Earlier this summer she finally married the love of her life in a beautiful rustic barn wedding.  Seriously, it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever attended.

Prior to the wedding, Ashlee asked if I would create some chalkboard signs for her.  I was a bit skeptical of my skills and worried that they wouldn't be at all what she wanted, but I told her I'd give it a shot.  Thanks to Pinterest, they didn't turn out so bad! :)  I don't take credit for the design of any of the signs below.  Seriously, I found the designs from ideas on Pinterest.

Derek "joked" that he wanted to skip the ceremony and go straight to the reception to eat!

Ring bearer sign: side 1

Ring bearer sign: side 2

There were a few more that I didn't have a chance to capture, but I think all of them turned out pretty good!

Isn't it beautiful?!

This table was filled with delicious goodness for the reception.

An ice cream float bar!

Such a wonderful, godly couple!

Derek has a thing about angrily eating cupcakes.

The carpooling gals! (Please excuse the fact that I look as large as a house... This is one of about 3 pictures I have at 9 months pregnant.)

I wish Ashlee and Grant nothing but the best! I know that they'll have a long, happy, and beautiful marriage! :)