What's in a name?

We get asked a lot about Ephram's name, so I thought I would tell where I first heard it and why we chose to name him what we did.

His full name is Ephram Theodore.

I first heard the name Ephram back in graduate school on a show called Everwood. Ephram was the name of one of the main characters. I loved the name because it was unusual, but not too weird. Fast forward a decade and we are expecting our second son. Like with Wills, we chose not to discuss naming the baby until we knew the sex. As you all know, the same day we found out we were having a boy was also the day we found out about the cleft lip/palate. Ephram had always been a name I was interested in, so I decided to look up the meaning. Ephram is the second son of Joseph and he is first mentioned in the old testament, the book of Genesis 41:52. Joseph chose the name Ephram "for God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune".  This seemed apt, because while we were scared about what could be wrong with our baby, we were also very aware of the blessing this baby was.

Theodore was my maternal grandfather's name. My Grandpa McKown was one of the most important men in my life. He had a strong faith and a strong work ethic. When I finished graduate school and moved back to Arkansas to work, I couldn't start right away due to some licensure issues. This turned out to be a huge blessing, because those weeks spent waiting to start work were also spent driving my Grandpa to the senior center or to buy groceries or just hanging out watching Wheel of Fortune and baseball games. My Grandpa passed away at the age of 95, just one week before I started my first job.

This picture from Ephram's newborn sessions is extra special. He is laying on my Grandpa's bible and it is open to Genesis 41:52.