Hi, my name is...

Deciding whether to say yes when Eli proposed wasn't really even a question. In fact, I think I said "Of course I will marry you!" instead of just "yes." That was the easy decision, the no brainer.
But there was a bigger decision that I had to make- whether to change my last name and take Eli's. I never in a million years thought I would ever change my name. As a writer, my byline is so important to my career. I also have always thought it odd that a woman always had to take her future husband's last name. It seemed like giving up her identity and taking on her new and only identity, being a wife.
And I never was going to give up my identity for a man!
But... love makes you do crazy things right?
So deciding to take Eli's name, to become Mrs. Kari Stenman (Mrs.? What?) was really huge for me. But I made the decision on my own for my own reasons, not because that's just what a woman does.
For those of you who don't know, Eli has a different last name from his parents. His parents divorced when he was very young and both changed their last names in the years that followed. Long stories for both so I won't go into it here.
Anyway, Eli and his brother kept the last name Stenman, but grew up in a family who all had his stepdad's last name. For Eli, it is important that he raises his kids in a family where everyone has the same last name, where everyone is in one family unit.
The more I thought about it, the more I agreed. Granted nowadays plenty of kids have different last names from at least one parent. But I wanted something better than that.
See Eli and I aren't just getting married, we're taking the first step to being a family. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. And part of me felt like I was holding back on something by keeping my last name. Like I wasn't fully committing or something.
So I decided to make the change. To tell Eli, I ordered note cards that said "Elijah & Kari Stenman" on them. I was really nervous, it was like proposing back to him!
Being so great, Eli realized how big of a decision it was for me and was excited that I decided to take his last name!
Now I just have to practice my new signature!