Hi friends. Happy Sunday!
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week, and I’m praying this next one will be a blessing for you, too.
It’s November! How is it November already? I cannot comprehend how fast time is moving. I wholeheartedly believe the concept of time shifts and moves much more quickly after having children.
November is special to us for so many reasons. We love this time of year. Just a year ago, we were only days away from meeting our son. The Lord blessed us with Jensen on 11/08/2024, a Friday night at 10:00pm. I was born in November as well — soon to be 30 years ago, on November 20th, 1995, right before Thanksgiving. This season has always held a special place in my heart. The leaves are turning and falling, the air is crisp, Halloween is over, and it’s the season for birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I’ve always loved having a birthday right around Thanksgiving break — something about it feels so sweet.
And then God brought us our son, also a November baby. Now I get to look forward to celebrating his life every year, twelve days before mine. It’s just another beautiful reminder of the blessings God has poured into my life.
I have a feeling these next few posts will be about everything Jensen — unless God interjects and tells me otherwise. From the first sign that I was pregnant to today, six days before his first birthday — and everything in between — I want to share it all with you. Let’s go back to early 2024.
Our Florida Adventure
On February 14th, 2024, Jason and I moved out of our rental, packed up our things, put them in storage, and set out on an adventure with our two pups to explore the coast of Florida. We thought, “Why not?” We had long talked about buying investment properties there one day, and what better way to decide than to beach-hop around the state and experience it firsthand?
So that’s exactly what we did. We left on Valentine’s Day and arrived at our Airbnb around 3 a.m. West Palm Beach was our first stop of this three-month adventure.
Jensen’s Name
Today’s post is in honor of the creation and ordainment of Jensen Alexander Corley — a testament to his life, his name, and all the ways God showed up.
A little backstory: I feel like most women, at least in my generation, have at some point created a list of potential baby names and stored it in the Notes app on their iPhone. You know, the one you’ve been adding to and editing since you were, I don’t know, 15? Names you’ve picked up, heard, or seen along the way that might be cute for future babies when the time comes.
I had one of these lists, too. I had separate sections for boys and girls. One name, in particular, had been on my boys’ list since high school — around sophomore year, about age 15.
My dad had a dear friend, a good buddy he’d known for years, named Ginsin. My dad, Ginsin, and a group of friends would gather at Hunting Camp — seasoned deer hunters who would party after returning from the woods. They’d hang out, drink, and jam out to some music before crashing on air mattresses; just to wake at 5 a.m. the next morning to head back into the woods, hoping to fill the freezer.
The stories my dad told me about those nights are full of laughter, good times, and them reminiscing many memories.
Back to Ginsin — I had always loved his name. I added it to my list of potential baby names, though I wanted to use it with a J.
Meeting Jason
Fast forward to meeting my husband. As we dated and became serious, we began talking about the future: marriage, children, and all that comes with it. One day, I showed him my baby names list, and he loved the name Jensen. Thankfully! I can’t imagine if he hadn’t. LOL. That name became our mutually shared top boy name.
This was back in 2021, and it wasn’t discussed much again until early 2024.
God’s Signs: The Journey to Jensen
2/11/24 – Three days before our departure from NC to Florida with our two dogs and a couple of suitcases, my mom was out and about. She knew that Jensen was our favorite boy name we’d consider using someday. As she parked next to a Ford, she glanced over and noticed the name Jensen on a decal. Little did we know, our Jensen would be conceived just nine days later.
2/20/24 – Unknowingly the day we conceived, I opened TikTok and saw this.
2/22/24 – Jason was doing research on a property (we own a real estate company), and the owner’s name was Jensen.
2/23/24 – Jason and I were driving to the Ft. Lauderdale airport to pick up my family when we passed a business truck with the name Jensen Insulation on it. I looked at Jason from the passenger seat and said, “If we are somehow pregnant right now, I guarantee it will be a boy, and his name will be Jensen.”
2/24/24 – Jason was driving back from a local gym and passed the Jensen Insulation warehouse, where the truck we’d seen the day before belonged.
These were all the signs before we even knew I was pregnant. To be transparent, I wasn’t tracking my cycle, and we weren’t actively trying to start a family — we were simply following the Lord’s timing and guidance.
3/1/24 – Jason and I went to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant in downtown West Palm. Afterward, I asked him to stop at Target so we could grab a pregnancy test. I wasn’t even late and hadn’t noticed any symptoms, but I had several signs from God and a strong sense to take a test.
We had about an hour until Jason’s haircut, so we ran in quickly and grabbed the tests. I was so eager, I ran straight to the bathroom — I couldn’t wait until we got back to the Airbnb.
I didn’t look immediately. I ran back out to the truck, and we waited anxiously as the digital test processed. The tests say it takes about three minutes, but it felt like an eternity — the longest three minutes of our lives, LOL.
And there it read: PREGNANT.
We knew it. We basked in joy and gratitude to Jesus.
More Signs
3/1/24 – The night we found out, just hours after the positive test, Jason and I watched Sharktales. In the credits, we saw his name — the only one not spelled exactly as his name, with an “o” instead of an “e.”
3/22/24 – I opened Instagram, and this was the first post I saw.
4/18/24 – My first prenatal appointment. I was 10 weeks and had returned early from Florida for prenatal care.
During the ultrasound, the technician asked, “I notice you keep saying ‘he.’ Do you already know the gender?” I explained that we didn’t officially know yet, but we’d received many signs from the Lord indicating it would be a boy. She asked if we had picked a name. I replied: Jensen for the first name and Alexander for the middle, to honor my maiden name.
She stepped back in disbelief and said that her one-year-old nephew’s name was also Jensen Alexander. Tears immediately filled my eyes. I looked at Jason, we embraced; We were overcome with gratitude to God. The technician was equally stunned.
The months went on, and God continued to send signs periodically. We had seven more Jensen sightings between that April appointment and his arrival in November — one for each month until He brought our son earthside.
Even a year later, we are still seeing signs from the Lord:
3/29/25 – I was in our garage and looked up and saw this on the wall. It’s an old, unused speaker system that was once installed.
10/13/25 – While nursing him in his nursery chair, I looked up at his dresser where a few autumn Christian books we had just gotten him were sitting. One of the authors’ last names? Jensen.
We’ve had countless reminders that Jensen was intentionally created and sent by God. Every child is ordained, and I am so grateful the Lord guided and ultimately decided the choice of his name. Now, whenever someone compliments his name, I am quick to say it wasn’t us — it was God.
My life is incomprehensibly richer and blessed because of my son. I never could have deserved to be his mother, and I will spend the rest of my life working to earn and uphold the sanctity of this title. I’ll spend every day praising the One who made it possible — the One who sacrificed Himself so I could experience a love this pure, redeeming, and eternal: both in motherhood and in Him. My Father in Heaven sent His Son to die for me, for my son, and for you — a love greater than we could ever know. And to think, God loves us just as much as He loves Jesus.
Wow.
John 17:23
“I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Jesus Himself declared it. Absolutely astonishing.
Every time I look at Jensen, I see God’s fingerprints all over his life — in the timing, in his name, in the countless little signs along the way. He is a daily reminder of God’s goodness, His perfect plan, and His unfathomable love. I am in awe of the life He has entrusted to me, and I will never take a single moment for granted.
So here’s to celebrating God’s faithfulness, the miraculous gift of life, and the joy of being a mother. To every parent, every child, and every sign of His love — may we never overlook them. Jensen’s story is ours, but it is also a testimony so therefore, it is God’s, as well. God sees, God knows, and God orchestrates everything in His time for His glory. And for that, I am endlessly & eternally grateful.
Never knew about this story till I read about it tonight, beautiful writings ❤️💋
We love our sweet Jensen!!!