It's a Boy!

As you probably already know, Justin and I found out last night that we are having a little boy! His name will be Roman Marc Oliver.

I knew in my heart that I was having a boy. In fact, I have always known I’d have a first born son. When I used to talk about having kids, I would always tell people “I just know the Lord is going to give me a son first.” Don’t ask me why I had this inclination, I just did. Maybe mother’s intuition or maybe God was preparing my heart to love and receive a little man into my life. Whatever the reason I am so truly excited to welcome this little life into the world.

And I’ve always known that he’d be named Roman. I tried to like other boy names, and some of them came pretty close, but something about the name Roman made me melt a little and I knew he’d come to be a real person some day. This is the reason why we have decided to tell everyone Roman’s name now. I feel like with pregnancy comes a lot of secrets (i.e. keeping pregnancy a secret for first trimester, keeping gender a secret, keeping the child’s name a secret), and while I totally understand why some people might want to do this (they might genuinely not know the name of their baby until he/she is born, and that’s totally cool!) for me, I’m just sick of the secrets! I try to keep my life an open book to world, so secrets don’t really fit in. Also, a name gives a person an identity and Justin and I wanted to give our baby that right away. We want people to pray for him by name, talk about him by name and know him by name – that’s just something that’s important to me. (So please, pray for my little bean by name!)

So, why the name Roman? I’ve been asked this quite a few times and it’s a good question. Roman isn’t a very popular name in North America.

I think originally I was really drawn to the manliness of the name Roman. It’s Latin in origin and means “strong and powerful” and when I hear the name Roman, that’s exactly what I think. But above all, I really love how it reflects the book of Romans, a work of the Apostle Paul rich in theological text and one of my favourite books of the Bible. The book of Romans proclaims the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ by teaching doctrine and edifying and encouraging believers. I can only hope and pray that my little Roman will do the same with his life – teach doctrine, edify and encourage fellow believes and ultimately proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ all the days of his life.

Side note: it’s so ironic that I have been studying the book of Romans over the past few months! This was NOT planned! It’s a total coincidence…funny, eh?!

Anyway, that’s the story of the name Roman.

Even as I type, I can feel him moving inside of me and I am filled with a hundred different emotions: joy, fear, excitement, love, peace, and so much more.

Please keep Justin and me in your prayers as we prepare for the birth of our son, Roman Marc Oliver. Please pray for Roman, that he is born healthy and safe, but above all, that God saves him at an early age. Pray that he becomes and man of integrity – a good husband to whatever woman God blesses him with. It’s not too early to pray for those things! Roman will only be a little boy for a few years and I want prayer to pave the way for a godly life.

Thanks, friends.

Grace and Peace,
Alannah