a North Dakotan girl through and through, wife, mother and die hard Catholic.

Well my friends I’d like to introduce you to someone very extra special around here…

Our third son, George Joseph Merck. Although Fulton John + Peter Daniel’s namesakes are something oh so special to us as we purposefully + intentionally prayed for their names, our little George Joseph’s name has a little extra personal meaning to us. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Oh golly where to begin? For as long as Mason and I been together I/we have had a running list of future children names just as Fulton, Peter (and many more names) are on that list so to was George Joseph’s so let’s break it down!

George:

My late maternal Grandfather’s name was George but even though he passed away when I was young I have had a special relationship with him as he passed away on the evening of my 7th birthday and it became a day we shared just us two with no one else. My grandfather also suffered from strokes since I was born and as his health declined my parents helped my grandmother with taking him into our home some of the time to care for him which led me to having so many little vivid memories of sitting with him as a child, not necessarily talking but being in his presence. Growing up we also would visit the homestead where my mother grew up during farming season where my Grandpa George farmed (and my parents still farm to this day), riding in his old pickup truck he many loads back + forth to provide for his family. Although I never go the chance to grow up knowing my grandfather super well – I have always felt close to him + know that he has continued to look over my family.

Also after St. George – a solider and officer in the Roman army who denied all the desires of wealth of man for the sake of Christ and boldly defended the princess and villagers from a dragon (there is not a whole lot on his history but is story is truly beautiful). One of the neat connections is that Saint George is the patron saint of farmers whom both of my grandfather’s (and my own father) are and a way they provided for their families and one of the reasons my Grandfather was named George + his feast day is on April 23rd which also lands on my parents wedding anniversary.

Joseph:

My late fraternal grandfather’s name was Joseph. He had passed far before I (or any of my siblings) were born but without him I wouldn’t be here to serve my purpose for the Lord and live out my vocation of marriage + motherhood.

Joseph after Saint Joseph our Blessed Lord’s Jesus’ father. Who was a humble, faithful man who did the honest labor of a carpenter. Just think of being married to a spouse like our Blessed Mother whom carried Jesus, Our Savior! No big deal, right? I can’t help be think of the deep faith + sense of Joseph had in God but how intentionally He chose him for that role for a profound reason. When for sure settling on George’s middle name once we found out we were pregnant/before we knew we were (although we didn’t know we were expecting a son quite yet) we knew Joseph was the perfect fit for his strong name + it turned out that my original due date was March 19th which is also the feast day of Saint Joseph + only three days after my birthday, the day I got to share with my late grandfather George and only two days after my grandfather Joseph’s birthday.

I am constantly awestruck on how God’s hand works in all of this, how intentional He is and truly make no mistakes especially when it comes to our children and I am grateful He has chosen me to be Fulton, Peter + now our little George’s mother. It is such a gift to be their mother + each one of them help aides me to be who God is so desperately calling me to be – a saint.

All photographs in this blog post taken by: https://kaylaroblesphoto.com/