Dear[est] Carsen Boy

Dear[est] Carsen Boy,

Welcome to the world! You and I worked very hard to get you here, but I'll save that story for another letter.

You, my little love, have stolen our hearts completely. I can't express to you the deep love and affection your daddy and I have for you.

I wanted to write you this letter to explain where your name came from and the meaning behind it.

Carsen Warner Grimes

We came up with your name before we knew we were having a boy. Even though everyone told us we were going to have a girl, we could not agree on a girl's name. We figured whenever we had a son, we at least had his name.

I first wanted to name you Carsten, after my maiden name Carstensen. Your great grandfather Carstensen was the only boy out of five children, your Opa [my dad] was the only boy out of three, and I am an only child. Which meant the end to our family name.

I thought Carsten would be a great way to carry on the name.
However, daddy was not super keen on the "t".
Far enough. You were our child after all.

One evening, back in Kona, we were discussing names and daddy said, "What about Carson? We could spell it C-A-R-S-E-N." We sat there thinking, and about 30 seconds later we knew that was our name.

Done deal.
We both were super happy.
Daddy liked the name, and it was still a part of my family name.

We came up with Warner on our own. It is not a family name. Mommy and daddy wanted a middle name ending in "er", daddy wanted it to be strong and mommy wanted a good meaning behind it.

Warner means defender.
It's strong.
Ending in "er."
Boom.

Mommy loves to know the meaning behind words, especially names.
With a name, we have the power to continually Speak life or death over each other. So when I found out the meaning of Carsen was "marsh dweller" I wondered what that meant for you.

But, I began to ask the Lord what your destiny was and who you were as a person already living inside my belly.

This is the conversation and process between the Lord and I on your name:

Carsen: Marsh Dweller

Me: What does this mean Lord?

The Lord: What is a marsh?

Dictionary - An area of low-lying land that is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide and typically remains waterlogged at all times. Found at the edges of lakes and streams.

The Lord: Carsen will be a boy/man who lives in and dwells in the living water daily. He will be saturated in my Peace and presence, and will be the entry point for many others to jump into my river.

MIND BLOWN

Warner: Defender

Me: What is a defender?

Dictionary: A person who defends or protects someone or something

Me: What will Carsen Warner defend Lord?

The Lord: The same people your hearts' breaks and cries for - the overlooked, under served and forgotten people of this world.

MIND BLOWN

Lord, may Carsen Warner love you, know you, and draw others into your presence in a deeper way than his father and I ever will and may he love on, serve and righteously defend the overlooked, under served and forgotten people of this world. Amen.

Carsen you are a blessing to your daddy and I, and I know you will be a blessing to everyone that meets you. You were made for great things... But for now, just rest in and enjoy knowing you are loved well by your parents each and every second of every day.