Hi! I'm Aloysius Edward

Babies, babies, babies --- they seem to be arriving everywhere these days! Three friends are due soon, our niece just had a precious little girl, and the list goes on...

We recently received one of our college alumni magazines. Of course, being the snoopy person that I am, I was reading the fine print with all the information on who is who, doing what where and with whom and then drifted over to the baby announcements.

Much to my surprise, "Grace" seems to be a popular name these days. I never knew another Grace when I was growing up. My parents had a wonderful friend who shared my name, but goodness(!); she was old! I knew lots of girls named Sherry, (one was ever so modern and spelled it 'Shari'), Kathy, Cindy, Denise, Karen, Christie (lots of those), Laurie, etc. Nice, good solid names. And the boys --- well, there were Rons, Dons, Johns, and Toms. Usually they went by Ronnie, Donny, Johnny, and Tommy until they reached college.

I saw a few Johns and Roberts in the announcements listed in the magazine. They usually were followed or preceded by something like Josiah, Isaac or Atticus. Ethans and Ians are right up there, too. Celtic and Biblical names seem very popular. I'm of Celtic descent. I don't have a drop of American Indian blood in me, despite the Oklahoma roots. Apparently my grandmother never believed that from her daughter-in-law --- but we'll save that story for later.

As to the little baby princess angel names --- I found a River Marie, Kylee Hope, some Anna Maries and lots of other Ann-somethings, Mackenzie Grace, Penelope Grace, Sophia Grace, Gabrielle Grace and an Isabella Grace. If you're reading this and have a baby girl named something-Grace or Grace-something; feel free to send me a photo. I'll make a Grace Gallery!

These little ones arriving here on our planet are going to live in amazing times. We probably can't imagine the things they will see and encounter or the struggles they may face. And maybe, just maybe, God wants people to hear "Grace" more often.