Kathryn Malia Crane

Today we gave our baby girl her name. Her name is a special name to me and I thought that I should take the time to write down the story for her.
When I was a little girl, maybe in my early teens, I came to realize that my mom's mom gave birth to her in her 30th year (1949) and my mom gave birth to me in her 30th year (1979). There was something about this finding that made me feel very special. I thought at this time, "How cool would that be for me to have a baby girl in my 30th year?" As time went on I had some experiences that made me believe that I might not be able to give birth to my own children. This didn't take away from my dream of having a baby girl in my 30th year- I would just adopt. Every chance I was given to "make a wish" I would always wish for one thing, and that was always that I might have the opportunity of giving birth to even just one child, and if it could be a girl in my 30th year, that would be perfect.
Even more years passed and I started to get closer to the realization that I might not even have the opportunity of being married by the time I turned 30, and the closer I got to that age, the more tweaked my wish became- but it still held the basic request that I be able to give birth to one child.
In 2005 I met Jared and in 7 short weeks knew that he was the one with whom I was to share eternity. We were married in the spring of 2006 and had the sweetest miracle of being pregnant in the spring of 2007. The thought crossed heavily on my mind that this just might mean that I wouldn't get to have a baby in my 30th year because that would make them really close. It was still the sweetest miracle I could have received because my wish was granted that I was able to give birth to my own child- and what a perfect child he has been.
To my great surprise in December of 2008 we discovered we were naturally pregnant once again (as opposed to using fertility drugs). This was another miracle that I definitely didn't feel we deserved, but I thought I just as well continue my wish for it to be a baby girl. I held off telling my family as long as I could with the desire to inform them of our pregnancy once we knew the sex of the baby- of course hoping that my news to them would be that it is a baby girl (the first biological girl on the Larsen side). Jared couldn't hold out with his family, so there was no secret for them.
On March 20th Jared, Corban and I went to the ultrasound- a 4D ultrasound to make things even more interesting. When the ultrasound tech disclosed the sex of the baby I was overcome with joy. The rest of that day I felt so blessed and excited for the future of our little family. That night Jared and I had the opportunity of going to the temple. It was in the beginning of the temple session that the name Malia came to my mind. I thought about this name throughout the session and then once I was in the celestial room with Jared, I mentioned the name to him. He liked it but would have to think about it. The name stuck with me, even after going through all the girl names I had come up with in the past. The only problem was I couldn't think of another name to go with it and I am set on giving my children middle names, in addition to the fact that I liked using family names or at least having the name have great significance.
In May we took a trip to Greece to visit my mom and dad. It was a fabulous vacation! While we were there Jared asked me about "Kathryn Malia". Apparently he and my mom had discussed this and they thought the names went really well together. I really liked the idea of using my mother's name, especially because of the "baby girl in my 30th year" whole idea.
As some parents probably have experienced, I mulled over this name for the rest of the pregnancy. When people would ask the name, I would tell them, "We are probably naming her..." I just couldn't get myself to be set on it, while at the same time I couldn't let it go. Jared probably even thought I was more set on this name than I actually was because we talked as if it was pretty much a done deal. I had reservations over the name Malia because of some prominent people at this time, and I felt bad using another name from my side of the family (Corban's middle name, Axel, came from my dad's middle name). Additionally, I wanted to call her Malia, not Kathryn, but I liked the flow of Kathryn Malia.
Needless to say at this point in the story, once our baby girl arrived, the name was given on the birth certificate as Kathryn Malia Crane. I couldn't find my reservations to be good enough excuses to not name her the name I had grown to love over the past 5 months, which also gained a lot of significance over that period of time. She is my little miracle and my wish come true. Now I have to be the mother she and her big brother deserve!
I am so grateful for the family that was in attendance of her blessing. I know it is such a short period of time in which the blessing it actually administered, but it really does mean so much to me to have those priesthood holders in the circle and the rest there as a support. My parents, Jared's parents, the Clawson's, my Doula and her family, Tom and Tang (great friends of ours that we have come to know through work), and of course our wonderful ward family, were all their with us today. We even went out and got a nice suit for Jared specifically for the occasion (I wasn't as pushy as I should have been for Corban's blessing). Jared gave her a beautiful blessing, which made me as the wife and mother so proud of my little family.
A huge "Thank You" to my mother for making a blessing dress by my request. It was more than perfect and received a lot of compliments throughout the rest of our meetings.
On top of this very special occasion, I gave a lesson on Adoption in Relief Society. This lesson wouldn't have been so perfect if it wasn't for my sweet nephew, Chase Clawson, who shared with the sisters his birth and adoption story. It was the perfect touch to an already moving subject!