In our family everyone has a song.  Nicky and I wrote your song before you were born as we drove around town on our adventures (Mommy actually wrote it as Nicky sang lalalalalayayayayalalalalayayaya and probably added in TanTan every so often which was his word for Santa who came up continually in conversations during that time period).  You’ve heard your song since before you were born and we still love to sing it to you at nightnight time.

Little girl, Our lovely lady.  Daddy’s princess, Mama’s joy.  A radiant crown in God’s hands.  Beautiful we cherish you.  Elizabeth, consecrated one.  Belongs to God and lives for Him.  Elizabeth God delights in you.  Daddy’s princess, Mama’s joy.

When we found out we were having a baby girl, I thought of Isaiah 62:3, “You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”  We knew you were our little beautiful crown in our family and God’s crown of incredible worth to Him.  He delights in you and calls you His great treasure just as a king would value his crown that is such a part of him and a reflection of his glory.

Daddy chose your name (we had a list of possibilities on the refrigerator and just couldn’t decide.  One day Daddy came home from work and stated, “You know.  I’ve been thinking about the list.  I like Elizabeth because I think it would look classy engraved on Crane’s stationary.”  And so that’s how you became Elizabeth!  Incase you were curious about your other name options, they were Natalia, Christiana, Claire, and Tatiana).

I love Elizabeth because it means “consecrated to God.”  We have entrusted you to God and know that He has consecrated you, as His covenant child, for His great purposes, glory, and joy.  And that makes us excited about the great work the Lord will do in your life as you grow to know Him and love Him.  Already at breakfast when Nicky and I work through the children’s Westminster Catechism each morning you like to answer the first question (Who made you?)  You yell out “God!” with such glee.  I look forward to when you begin to understand the depth of the truths of the catechism.

Your middle name is my name (again Daddy picked that out).  It means pure one.  We pray you will pursue a life of purity – a devotion to Christ and His ways as you meditate on that which is good and lovely.  We pray you will be a woman of noble and pure heart and that would make you a strong and refreshing light of grace to others around you.

Actually you have two middle names.  The last is Carol.  We wavered back and forth about adding that in.  Daddy was afraid your name might be too long.  But we liked that by adding Carol we would be carrying that name into the fourth generation.  Carol means “Song of Joy” and we love to hear you singing these days.  Already we see a joyful little heart welling up in you and we trust that the Lord will build within you a life that is a song of joy reflecting gratefulness in God’s greatness toward you.

And the Bea part?  Well that’s all Nicky.  He started calling you Bea when you were born.  And you have been our Bea, our little BeautyBea, ever since.