Behr Malachi Kless

I feel like I've been writing this post in my head for months; I wrote seventy-five percent of this post before we even went to the hospital. Yet not really writing entire thoughts because nothing was final and we really didn't know what our little boy's name would be until a crazy moment while I was in labor at the hospital. (Why wouldn't I want to name my child while in transition??) And now he's here. Our son. He has a birthdate that will be imprinted on my heart for the rest of my life and he has a name. One was thought about and written down and rewritten  and guessed at and second guessed at for months. [Though truth is we didn't even start talking about names together until after we found out that he was a little boy because prior to that any conversation about names was a conflict.]

December 6, 2011 -- pc Aunt Titi/I'm Kristen Photography

Behr. I'm not a "Little Woman" girl--but that doesn't mean I'm not a Louisa May Alcott girl. I love the books "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys." And I do love the very end of "Little Women." My favorite character is Professor Bhaer. I love the character of the man Alcott created, I love his challenging Jo to not write cheap pieces but use her gifts more and trust things to work out and I love the way their romance plays out as mature friendship turned love versus the youthful excitement of Laurie's love (no offense; can't knock any character Christian Bale has ever played ;-)). For me that's where I picked our firstborn son's name; I've had it in my head for years but I think surprised everyone when it was announced in our hospital room. The spelling of Alcott's character was too "bulky" feeling for me (though I can appreciate it's "German-ness") so it looks like he was named after Behr paint but I promise it's not that. His character is summarized by Alcott (via Jo of course) below. I hope our son grows up in many ways to be like Professor Bhaer.

“. . . Jo wanted to clap her hands and thank him. She did neither; but she remembered this scene, and gave the Professor her heartiest respect, for she knew it cost him an effort to speak out then and there, because his conscience would not let him be silent. She began to see that character is a better possession than money, rank, intellect, or beauty; and to feel that if greatness is what a wise man has defined it to be, –’truth, reverence and good-will,'–then her friend Friedrich Bhaer was not only good, but great.”

Malachi. We have been waiting for this baby a long time. For many couples who wait for God to give them children the story of Samuel and 1 Samuel 1:27 are the things that captures that for them. But for me, because I'm a little odd at times, the verse that captures it is Malachi 3:10-12. A close friend shared that verse with me years ago and it has been a constant reminder and encouragement as we have waited on many things but especially (at least in my heart) a baby. For whatever reason I really feel that I knew this child was a son and from the time I knew I was pregnant wanted 'Malachi' to somehow be a part of his name as a way of reminding myself and of continually being grateful for this precious little life we've been given.

"And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts."

Kless. The last name for our son is very important to us as well. It's not necessarily something you typically see dissected when parents announce the name of their child but we wanted to mention it. We both love our families a great deal and are grateful for the little ways growing up in a part of them made each of us who we are. Dre's dad married his mom way back in 1985 and from then on was Dre's father in every way. Dre never felt unwanted or second best in his dad's life. Before we were married it was very important to Dre to change his last name to his dad's last name/family name legally so that when our family started it would be as a family of Kless. And we're thrilled to add a Kless son to the family--and couldn't love him more!

I'm so grateful that Dre liked these names and whether my reasoning was the same as his or not thought they suited our firstborn enough to agree that his name would be Behr Malachi while I was spazzing out about it in transition. Memory making as parents started an hour before we saw his sweet face.