What's in a name?

"Baby Brother" has a name! Although we were trying to surprise everyone at his arrival, the secret slipped a few weeks ago while the grandparents were in town. And to be honest, I'm kind of glad it did. I was able to see my mom's reaction to the name first-hand, which was priceless! It brought tears to her eyes, and it's because the name has meaning...both to her and to me and now to my little family of soon-to-be four!

And his name will be.......

Noah Talmadge Dettling

My mom cried because it made her remember my father. She has collected Noah's Arks for years saying Noah always reminded her of my daddy (who was a veterinarian,) and I guess it never left me. I've loved the name Noah since I was in high school and always hoped to have a little boy with that name. He also was the primary reason my name is what it is today. My full name and where Tally comes from is Sara Talmadge Reynolds Dettling. My dad named me Talmadge after my aunt and her mother (my great grandmother.) Sara was his mother's (my grandmother's) name. It wasn't until yesterday that I learned the full story of how my name (and now Noah's) came to be. The following is part of an email I received from my namesake, my aunt Tally:

To answer the first of your questions, you were named after me and your grandmother Sara Hudson Reynolds. Here's how it happened from my perspective:

One day back in the '70s your parents paid me a visit when they found that they were expecting, and they asked if they might name their first child after me.

Needless to say, I was in tears as I told them that I couldn't possibly be more honored. They were going to name you Susan Talmadge but decided later to name you after both me and my Aunt Sara, your grandmother, who was an absolutely

lovely lady whom I admired so much. She would have been so pleased; she had always wanted a little girl after all those boys - not that she didn't love them all to pieces!

(NOTE: My grandmother Sara passed away just 6 months
before I was born, so she knew my mom was pregnant. According to my
dad, her last wish for my parents was that I be named after
her.)

The name Talmadge has an interesting and unusual history in our family. We are not related to the Georgia Talmadges. As a matter of fact, when we moved to Georgia in 1981, so many people asked me: "Are you related to Yew-gene?" Nope. Here's the real scoop: my Grandma Reynolds (Susie Talmadge Hughes Reynolds), who is your Reynolds great-grandmother, told me one day that she was named Talmadge for the following reason: Her mother (your great-great grandmother, Susan Sauls Hughes) very much admired a certain circuit rider (travelling evangelist of some sort) whose name was DeWitt Talmadge. As it happens, he must have been somewhat of a celebrity in those days (mid-1800s, give or take a year or so).

As for the meaning of both names, they are as follows and how appropriate for this soon-to-be Advent baby!

Noah means "rest, peace."

Talmadge means "ringing of the bells."

May we all enjoy rest and peace in your coming, and may the bells ring as we announce your arrival in just a few short days or weeks! What a blessing you are to your father and me, our sweet baby boy!