Your Name - Aspen

Our first addition to Team Blansett will be Aspen Laurelai, due to join us in this life on June 22, 2020. Hopefully, her generation will not be called the "Coronials"!

I would like to say that it was very difficult picking out a name for our first daughter, that we spent hours mulling over ideas, searching for a title to encapsulate all that she will be - but your name came naturally and first and foremost because of its beauty.

Ralf Nosic and his wife Beth, who we originally met at Crossfit Como took us on a trip to Colorado. Meghan and I were in awe of the beauty of the Aspen trees we saw as we hiked, we felt their smooth white stands of bark, and leaned our weight against their strength. I believe it was at that moment Meghan asked, "what do you think of Aspen as a name?"

ASPEN

One aspen tree is actually only a small part of a much larger organism, for it is sustained by its extensive underground root system, connecting all individual trees into a single structure.

 Meghan and I both come from broken families, our root systems have been immensely damaged if you will. But Aspen you have the opportunity to carry on a new Legacy in the Blansett family, one not plagued by brokenness, but one sustained by an extensive root system (a connected family) planted firmly in the teaching of our Lord and Savior.

Colossians 2:7 

"Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful."

 Even if the trees of a stand of Aspens are decimated, it is very difficult to permanently extinguish an Aspen's root system due to the rapid rate in which it reproduces. 

Psalm 127:3-5 

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Of the many variables for a healthy cluster of Aspen trees, the one that cannot waver is the need for abundant sunshine. 

Aspen may you always seek wisdom from the words of God and know that true life begins in Him.

Matthew 4:4

But He answered and said, 'It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."'

LAURELAI

Your middle name, to be quite frank, does not "mean" anything at all. Not at least in the sense that it derives from another word, or directly represents one. We chose the name Laurelai because that name has become synonymous with characteristics embodied by Laurelai Rush Van Voorst, the daughter of Todd and Paige, one of nine members of Team VanVoorst - Whom you will meet one day. Laurelai Rush will be six years older than you but she will be delighted to tell you about how she prayed every night for you, and how her faith was unwavering that you would join Team Blansett. In this sense, Laurelai as a middle name means, "like Laurelai", who at an incredibly young age is already a beautiful young lady, servant-minded and Christ-loving. 

Aspen Laurelai Blansett - Thank you. You will always be a treasure to me, for you have given me the gift and the opportunity to be a Father, and I will always be grateful to you for that. It has been one of my deepest desires. 

-Your Mother and I discovering your name-