Legacy of a name

The photographer positioned my mom really weird.  Anyway, Nancy Louise, Dorothy Mae, Kimberly Mae and Olivia Louise.

When trying to pick Olivia's middle name, I knew I wanted a family name.  First names can be what ever you love, but I think middle names should link you to the past.

I have my grandmother's middle name, Mae.  I wanted to do the same for my kids.  We decided to give Olivia my mom's middle name, Louise.  I thought it was cool that my mom got her middle name from her grandma, Annie Louise, meaning Olivia would be the third woman in the family line to have Louise as a middle name.  (My mom is Nancy Louise)

I liked the significance of the name, but it wasn't always my favorite.  On Thanksgiving after dinner my grandma told me the story of the name, and I totally fell in love with it. 

When my great-great grandma joined the LDS church, her family disowned her.  She then left Denmark and moved to the US to be with other members of the LDS church. 

She found work with an LDS family, helping to care for their children.  They weren't very nice to her, so she left them to work for a Jewish family.  They were much kinder to her.  One of the daughters even taught her how to read in English using their school books. 

Her name was Louise.