Baby Boy has a name!

We've finally decided on a name for baby boy Nickell! Here's how it came about: we had previously decided that we wanted a junior, but couldn't agree on the name we would call him (Cole and I both have very strong opinions!) Then when we found out about his heart problems, we decided that we wanted to give him a name that really meant something. We know that we could be blessed with this child for years to come or we could only have him for a few months, but either way we want his name to always be a comfort to us, something that will point us back to the goodness of God. So Cole thought it would be great to find a name that literally means "God is good". However, in all of my name searches it appears that there aren't any names that actually mean "God is good" and any of the ones that come close are funky-straight-out-of-the-Old-Testament ones. But I did find that Cole's middle name, Matthew, means "Gift of God", so I've been jokingly referring to him as Matthew for a week or so, waiting for Cole to give it the thumbs up or down. A few days ago Cole had his arm over my stomach and the baby kicked suddenly and Cole said, "Hey, Matthew kicked me!" I looked at him and said, "Wait, what?! Seriously?" And he said, "Yep, Matthew it is!"

So, it turns out we will have a junior! Cole Matthew Nickell, Jr, and his name will always remind us that he is a gift in our lives, no matter what happens. I've found endless comfort in knowing that God has purposefully given us this little boy who's going to have all these problems and have to struggle to live, yes, but who's also going to show us how to love in a new way and trust in God in a new way.