Caleb Turner

This is my first time to have a 3rd child, so I don't really know if this is normal or not. 

I'm hoping it's normal.

Then again, what about me has been normal lately? I'm a white chick living in China giving birth in Thailand. Me = abnormal.

But having a 3rd child. This is new territory for me. For the first time in our marriage, Brandon and I will be outnumbered. We won't have enough bodies between the two of us to cut up chicken strips, strap on bibs, separate children during fights, read books to three separate people, or even give them baths. As is so often said...we're going from man-to-man defense to zone defense. 

Pondering over these things, and a few others that are more important than strapping on bibs, has lead to lots of reflection in my mind lately. Rainy days and the thought of days ahead of being outnumbered has caused my mind to dwell upon this third kiddo, to pray blessings over him, and to ask our dear Lord that he PLEASE be an easy baby!

It dawned on me during all this reflection time that we haven't been real public (read: blog-public) with why we chose Caleb's name.

Allow me to introduce you to a dashing young man...

My Granddad. Cecil Edwin Turner. He was a handsome fella, wasn't he? Sure, his hair has a definite 1940's thing going on, but something about that flawless skin and soldier uniform is very debonair. 

Lest you believe we're naming our son after my Granddad because of his good looks, let me continue...

I didn't really know my Granddad. Not in the "know him, know him" type of way. I was three when he died. But I still feel like I know him well. He was one of those people that left such an impact on those around him, that those extended people couldn't help but share about what an amazing man he was. To know my Granddad through my mom and my dad, aunts and uncles, brother and cousins is a gift. Because though I can't recall stories that I personally remember about him, to see the love that others have for him when retelling stories, is an amazing thing. To know that they were so impacted by him that they desire to make sure his posterity knows and understands the type of man he was, says a lot about, well, the type of man he was.

And they don't talk about him just because he was good lookin', good at farming, a patient husband, a brave soldier, a gentle granddad, an obedient son, a deacon, or a leader. They talk about him because of his passion and love for his Lord, his faith, his obedience to Christ. They talk about him because when he was dying of prostate cancer, his passion was to make sure those around him could know and come to love his Lord in the same way he had. And because of his passion on those last few months, 13 more of his friends came to know and trust Christ. He's talked about because he was a man that lived a life that proclaimed the love of Christ.

And that's the reason why we're going with Turner for Caleb's middle name. Because we want to make sure our heritage can remember, know, and love the type of man my Granddad was too. The fact that Caleb's namesake is quite debonair is just an added bonus. 

My granddad is holding me in this picture below...I suppose because I was his favorite grandchild. :) Or maybe it's just because I was the smallest one there at the time.

Believe it or not, I (yes, Brandon did NOT :) consider Cecil for Caleb's middle name for about 36 seconds. Though it still could be cool. We remembered that I'm not birthing a 62 year old man, that he'll be made fun of all throughout middle and high school, and that his initials would then be Triple C.

Plus, tossing the T for Turner in there makes him still have some of the same initials as Granddad.

We knew from the moment we found out he was a boy that Caleb would be his first name. Salem was almost a Caleb, but then for some reason ended up a Salem. Was that a confusing enough sentence?

In the Old Testament, Caleb is referred to twice (maybe 3 times...I'm not sure now?) as "following the Lord whole-heartedly." I've always loved the name Caleb, but when I read over that, and thought about the implications of what that meant, I knew that Caleb from the OT was namesake-worthy as well. What a perfect prayer to pray over our son.
Plus, it helps us keep our Hebrew theme we've got going on with our kid's names!

So Caleb he is. Caleb Turner Chancler.

He's our number 3. The one who makes us outnumbered...who will make it harder for us to fit in taxis...who is causing his siblings to share a room for awhile...who inevitably gets mostly hand-me-downs.

And who we're already so in love with and dying to meet. We can't wait to welcome Caleb into our family!