Six years ago today I gave birth to my first child and little girl, Madeleine Fontaine Rose Sorrell. What a day it was! Madeleine’s name comes from several sources. I have always loved the author Madeleine L’Engle (She wrote A Wrinkle in Time), so Madeleine, of course, was a favorite name of mine. Also, there was a French martyr named Madeleine Fontaine who ran a home for girls and was killed in the late 1700s by the guillotine. Steven and I loved the beauty of the name “Madeleine Fontaine.” When I was about five months pregnant, Steven’s grandmother, Rosella Mildred Sorrell, passed away, and we decided to tag on Rose at the end of Madeleine’s name in his grandmother’s memory. Thus, Madeleine Fontaine Rose it was!

Since the martyr Madeleine Fontaine was Catholic rather than Orthodox, we chose Mary Magdalene as Madeleine’s patron saint and baptismal name. Mary Magdalene was a friend and follower of Christ, a Holy Myrhh-Bearer, and the first person to whom Christ appeared after His resurrection. (Orthodox Christians do not believe that she was a prostitute.) What a lovely woman to be named after!

Madeleine has been a source of joy for me and for everyone who knows her from the moment she was born. She has an outgoing, exuberant personality. She makes a friend everywhere she goes, blessing others with kindness and a fun-loving spirit. She loves to create, sing, dance, read, write, and play outside. She takes in the world with both wonder and intelligence. So many times she has helped and blessed me just by a simple, “I love you,” or a hug. I am so proud of my little red-head! I can’t believe she’s six!

Happy birthday, Madeleine!