Naming a child is a huge responsibility. I've personally always had names in the back of my mind but unfortunately, those names became trendy. I started to hear them more and more and then I no longer liked them. Stephen had a few names picked out but they were all boys names. When we were dating, we decided we should just start from scratch. We discussed names and agreed on two unisex names that we could use when we were ready to have babies. We wanted them to be unique but also have meaning behind them.
At the time, Stephen was managing a store for a wood flooring company. For sixty to eighty hours a week, his life revolved around wood. Because of wood, we were relocated to Palm Desert. I really enjoyed our time out there because we were far enough away to have our own space but close enough so that family could come visit often. Because of wood, Stephen was able to purchase my engagement ring and he ended up proposing in our Palm Desert apartment. Because of wood, we were able to move back to Temecula, where I'm from, and purchase our first home together. Because of wood, we were also able to pay for part of our wedding {the other part was paid for by my parents, who we will always be grateful to} and honeymoon. We felt like we owed a lot to wood.
Stephen's favorite species of wood is Acacia. I'll be honest, I went back and forth with him on this one. I was not extremely fond of the name Acacia. But I still chose a middle name - Rhae. I chose Rhae because to me - it sounds Southern and I love all things Southern. {Side note - I'm really bummed that the name Rae has become rather trendy all of a sudden but oh well. It's her middle name so I'll deal with it.} I added the h to the spelling for two reasons. First, I love h's. Second, my mom spelled my middle name, Nichole, with an h and I've always loved that. And Stephen has an h in his middle name, Phillip, so I thought that could be something we all share. You know, besides the last name and all the others things we'll share in our lifetimes. As I said before, I tried fighting with Stephen on the name. I came up with other options and he'd veto every single one. Then there was one evening when we were shopping in Toys "R" Us. This was right after we found out she would be a girl. Stephen picked up a Chewbacca doll and he said, "I'm going to get this for Acacia" and I just loved hearing him say that. Hearing her name coming out of his mouth and knowing he was referring to our daughter, it just felt right. And I told myself in that moment, "That's her name." And then when I did my half marathon in January in Carlsbad, as I was struggling to finish, I looked up and saw the street sign {below}. I was reminded yet again, that Stephen had chosen the perfect name for our little girl. I did take a photo that day but it wasn't as good as the photo below. My parents actually went to Carlsbad for my dad's birthday, on the the 29th, and sent me this photo.I looked up the meaning of Acacia recently and found that "the acacia is a shrub of the mimosa family, with clusters of showy white or yellow blossoms, which symbolizes resurrection and immortality - making the name especially appropriate for an Easter - season baby...it also has biblical ties, since the Ark of the Covenant was made out of Acacia wood." And I fell in love with the name all over again.
