Saturday, May 7, 2011

What's in a Name?

Ever since I was little, I knew all about my name and my heritage--I knew what my name meant, where it came from, where I came from, why it was important, etc. These kinds of things were very important to me. By the time I learned to read and write, I could draw out my family tree past my great-great grandparents--knowing who you are and where you come from has always been extremely important in my life. On a wall in our family home hangs several name plaques, each individually designed with a family member's name and the scriptural meaning of said name--this is one of my favorite features of our home--it just really makes you feel special to look at it, makes you feel important--equally individual and unique, yet belonging to something much bigger.

So... when my little niece was born, I wanted her to have an understanding of who she is, beginning with her beautiful name: Heather. The name Heather is of Middle-English origin, coming from the evergreen flowering plant that thrives on peaty barren lands, like in Scotland. Why is this significant? Well, for many reasons:
  1. Heather is the name of my mother's first baby.
  2. Our family is Scottish (ancestry).
  3. Heather is purple (my sister's favorite color), and is a BEAUTIFUL flower.
  4. Heather thrives on barren lands--my metaphorical interpretation: Heather will be awesome no matter what the circumstances of life throw at her.
So anyway... as her blessing was drawing near and she would officially be receiving this beautiful name, I wanted to do something special for her to incorporate some of these things. I haven't painted since my surgery, so taking on such a project was a bit intimidating--and took several tries and oodles of frustration--but eventually things worked out:


13 comments:

Christine said...

That is so beautiful. On top of everything else you are a painter too? Thanks for linking up with my Show and Share party!

Brady said...

So special!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful idea! Such a special gift, for sure.

Thanks for sharing with So Sweet Sundays!

Unknown said...

This is so sweet!

Anonymous said...

Love this idea! (Love the name too!) :)

Melanie said...

Love it!!!

I would love for you to come link up your post at my "Encouragement is Contagious!" linky party! And... please link up some of your other favorites from blogs you love! Then, those bloggers will also get lots of unexpected, encouraging comments!

Blessings!
Melanie

Terri @ A Creative Princess said...

Just beautiful!!!

Carol, The Answer Is Chocolate said...

You are so multi-talented. This is beautiful!

Heather Grow said...

I love it! Heather is a really cool name. :) Heather also has the strongest bark, in fact, it thrives after a burn. It is also interesting to see all the different products made from Heather.

Rissa @ Hazel and Honeysuckle said...

Very sweet! What a lovely idea!

Thanks so much for linking this up :)

Pheather said...

Hi, I'm another person named Heather- and I really like what you did there- that is lovely! @ Heather Grow- Are there any other interesting facts about the name Heather?

Anonymous said...

That is beautiful! I have always loved reading about the meaning behind names. Thanks for linking up!

Melanie said...

This is SO beautiful and touching! I will have to remember this gift!! It's so funny because my name comes from the greek word for DARKNESS (!!!) -- so I've always tried to be sunlight! :)

Visiting from the the "Encouragement is Contagious" linky party at my blog, "Only A Breath"! I hope your week is a wonderful one!

Blessings!
Melanie