How Xinhui got her name

Finding the name Audrey didn't take us too long. I think we toyed with lots of different names, but Audrey kept coming up as our favorite. We both still love names that are not super common, and a little older, but not too old :). Audrey just seemed to fit well with Clara, and so half way through the pregnancy, I think we had decided on that first name.

Just like with Xinyi, we wanted Audrey to have a Chinese middle name. We delegated the task of the middle name to my parents. Once we decided on Audrey, my parents took on the task of finding the right set of characters and meaning. We gave them letters of the alphabet that the name could start with, since we had to also take into consideration the possible outcomes of English initials. For example, we didn't want to end up with an ASB, or an APB. 

After some time, and some other options, we ended up choosing to keep the same first character. In Chinese naming tradition, it's common for sisters and brothers to share the first character. In a way, it's a symbol that indicates "we are family." Shane and I both love the character "xin" and so then it was down to finding the right match for the second character. We finally decided on the character "hui" because of its beautiful meaning when combined with "xin." 

The pronunciation of Xinhui is "Shin-Hway" and the loosely translated meaning is bringer of kindness. In Chinese, each character has its own meaning. The character for "xin" actually translates more into fragrant aroma (the same word used in the bible verse 2 Corinthians 2:15-16) and "hui" meaning favor, benefit, and conferring kindness. Just like with Xinyi (bringer of joy), we hope that Xinhui will be a person who brings a fragrant aroma of favor and kindness to all those around her. In this short week, has already been a most welcomed, calm, and kind presence in our family. 

That's why this blog is named "Adventures with Joy and Kindness" -- to remember and share with our family and friends pictures and stories of our little girls. We started out with joy, and have now added kindness to our family. My greatest and most enduring hope is that they would always know they are so very loved.