So much is in a name

Right now he is one month old. His world revolves around eating, sleeping, being cuddled. Right now he doesn't understand the enormity of our love. He knows that when he needs something we are always there, but he can't grasp the depth of how he has blessed this family. There is so much that I look forward to telling him and showing him. So many, many things. Like how happy we were when we found out he was on the way. How fun it was to tell his brothers about him. How amazed we were at the generosity of friends in providing so many nice new things for him so that he didn't have to use all kinds of hand me downs. And we will tell him about his name. How mommy always goes for these kind of eccentric, imaginative names and daddy prefers classics. How we chose Biblical (all old testament too...) names for the other guys, so we felt like we should continue in that with him. We'll tell him how we both really loved Malachi, because it goes well with the other boys' names - but also fulfills mommy's love for something different. And some day, when he can understand so much more, we will tell him why we chose his middle name and how very, very close to our hearts it is. We will tell him about an incredibly special little boy who first stole our hearts 6 1/2 years ago. We will tell him how his forehead, eyes, and nose look strikingly similar to the features of this little guy. His older brother. Some one who is so closely related to him. Who's presence shaped so much of who his mommy and daddy are. And yet, some one whom he will not ever meet while he is here on this earth. We will tell him how God's blessings poured out on us the night this special little boy became ours. And we will also have to tell him how our hearts broke the day we realized that this special little boy was not ours to keep. Forever we remember him, and now have a little piece of heaven who carries his name. It makes my heart weep and rejoice all at the same time.