baby naming criteria

We’re in the baby-naming stage.

I enjoy the task.  However, I must admit that girl names are much harder for me than boy names.  We had a medium-sized list of boy names, all of which, I really liked.

We have a very short list of girl names, which I also like, but it just feels a little harder and more constrained.

Anyway, it’s interesting to discover how different people go about picking names for their children.  If you’re interested, here are some of our criteria:

1) The name must be gender specific.

If the child ends up going by a gender neutral nickname, no problem, but their actual name must be specific to their gender.  No Riley’s or Taylor’s or Alex’s (all of which seem like boy’s names to me.. but what do I know?) And it’s especially critical not to give a boy a girlie-sounding name.

2) The name must be real.

No made-up names.  There must be some history involved with the name.  We can’t be the first people using it.  No combining two real names in ways it’s never been done before to make a made-up name.  No Sarandrea’s or Emilella’s (yeah, I made those up).

3) It must be a name of some distinction.

While having a made-up name is a big no-no, we also don’t want a name from the top ten list of most popular baby names for 2009.  Although, I would lean toward tradition over originality, we want a name that affirms the child’s individuality.

4) The name must have meaning.

Whether the name has a definition that is meaningful or defines itself by virtue of the word (i.e. Hope), there must be meaning or story attached.  Story includes being named after a reputable family member or being named after a reputable person of the Bible or in history.  Individuality has it’s place (see above), but connection to something bigger than you is important.  Back-story to a name is good.

5) Family names and Bible names get bonus points for us.

6) The entire name, (first, middle, last) when said together, must have appropriate flow.

For instance, Ann Rae Dodds is very bad on the flow scale.  With a one-syllable last name at least one of the other names must be multi-syllable.  Preferably the first name would have two or more syllables, but we broke this rule with Seth and I think his name couldn’t be more perfect for him. :)

That’s all I’ve got right now.

What are your naming criteria?  Anything here you disagree with?  Anymore rules need to be added?

soaring into year six!

Our Eliza Grace turns 6 today.

Six years ago today on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr Day, we welcomed a 6 lb. 5 oz. little girl into our lives.

I am so very grateful.

Here are the top ten things of the past 5-year-old year, according to mom:

1) You started kindergarten at home.  You do very well.  You enjoy the science and reading portions the most.  I love watching you learn.

2) This summer you ditched your water wings and can swim half the width of the pool with your face in the water.  You’re a very cautious kiddo, but when you decide your ready for the next step in something, you go for it.

3) You really like to sing and you’re in choir this year.  So far, you’ve had two “performances” at church that were well-represented with an Eliza-viewing contingent.  You have also, on occasion, written your own worship songs (transcribed by mom).

4) You love teachers.  Sunday School teachers, Wed. night teachers and homeschool co-op teachers have your utmost respect and awe.  (I don’t count as one, by the way.)

5) Creativity is still a defining characteristic for you.  You love projects and making things, whether it be making food, weaving pot-holders, creating cards or artwork for others.  You are a self-proclaimed artist.  (And I second that.)

6) You love being outdoors in God’s creation.  You love to camp.  Our small group camping trip and North Shore vacation were highlights for you.  You love being out in the snow and playing on the ice.  You love bike rides.  There’s not much that can compete with being outside for you.

7) Your reading skills have grown greatly.  You like to read and I love to hear you read!  Sometimes you read short stories to Seth and Elianna.  This is pure joy for me.

8) Your closest friends are your cousins.  You tend to be a leader among them.  I’m praying that your leadership would be kind-hearted and tender, putting others’ interests above your own.  This is hard at 5 years old, 6 years old and 26 years old.

9) You have been a comfort to me this past year, Eliza.  Thank you.  Still waters run deep.  You were sad when we said goodbye to our little one in August, so was I.  Your cards and hugs meant a lot to me.

10) Your understanding of the Gospel has expanded greatly this past year.  You have expressed your trust in Jesus many times.  I’m thankful for it.  I pray roots of the Gospel will continue to go deep in your heart as you grow.  I pray that you will be consecrated to Him in ways that cannot be undone for all eternity.

Eliza, you are a silly, serious, intense, joyful, creative, wonderful young girl.  You are blessed with many gifts and much responsibility.  I pray you will embrace your place in life and do all things to the glory of God, with reliance on Him.

Mostly I pray that you will be able to see your own sin in light of Christ’s Perfection and His Perfect Sacrifice for sinners on the cross.  I pray that humility will mark you as you stand in awe of a the perfectly Humble One.

fearlessly forging into the fours..

Our Seth-man turns 4 today.

4 years ago today, on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr Day, a 6 lb. 4 oz. baby boy was born into our family.

I am so very grateful.

Here are the top ten things of the past three-year-old year, according to mom:

1) You got a bike this past spring.  You love it and are fast and somewhat reckless.  I’m amazed you haven’t crashed more.

2) Swimming is great fun for you.  You’re fearless off the diving board and down the slide.  You like to go under and swim with your face down in the water.  You still use water wings, but started to take them off occasionally toward the end of the summer.

3) Your favorite songs this year have been, Nothing But the Blood of Jesus, Amazing Grace, The B-I-B-L-E, the Cars theme song, and Newsboys’ That’s The Way We Roll.  You also enjoy any fighter verse songs that your dad is on vocals.

4) Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles have been a major theme.  You’re quite good at them.  Sometimes you put them together upside down with no pictures showing, which impresses me.  You can tackle 50+ piece puzzles without much difficulty.

5) You have become a serial member of the “clean-plate club.”  This is progress as there was a time when I feared cheese and milk would be the sum total of your diet.

6) You love to read stories.  You memorize very easily.  The Advent Book was a big favorite for you this Christmas.  You have a preschool book that you work on while Eliza does her homeschool, although you informed me a few days ago that, “Boys don’t do homeschool, only girls.”

We’ll see about that.

7) You’ve gone from loving to pray, to avoiding it, now to always reminding everyone to pray, but not wanting to be the one doing it.  I’m glad you’re picking up on the importance of it and hope you will develop a rich private prayer life as you grow.

8) You still really really like to ride in your daddy’s car.  And to go very fast.

9) Techie skills come naturally to you.  You like watching Andy play the Wii and you’re very adept with the iPhone.

10) You’re surrounded by girls a lot and that will be the case for a long long time.  (Maybe forever, depending on God’s plan. Thankfully you and Eliza are good friends and get along most of the time).  When you get around a group of boys you unaccountably start punching the air, grunting and jumping around.  I’m thankful for your daddy, uncles, boy cousins and friends.  Phew.

Seth, you are a delightful, goofy, hilarious, bright, fun-loving kiddo.  I’m thankful for the personality that God has blessed you with.  I pray that the God-given gifts and abilities that you have will be used to further the Kingdom of God.  I pray that you will be appointed to do many good works that God has prepared in advance for you to do.

Mostly I pray that the eyes of your heart will be opened to see Jesus as the crucified, risen Savior who is the Righteousness of God for those of us in Him.  Love Him, Seth, and He will be your Great Reward.

lessons I learned on vacation

Vacation is as good a time as any to learn some life lessons.

Here are some of the lessons I learned.  Some practical, some deep, some silly.

1) Unmet expectations are like poison.  They can ruin everything thing you do.

2) It can and does rain in the Caribbean, even when people have paid money to go on a sunny vacation.

3) People who set themselves up to enjoy everything do enjoy everything.  People who have a list of expectations are always disappointed.  I’m regrettably often in the latter group.

4) You can let go of expectations and choose to enjoy yourself.

5) I’m not yet able to put an adequate lesson description to the experience of reading “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered,” from Romans 8, while experiencing incredible luxury and lack of want on a cruise ship.  (I think the lesson should probably be that the dichotomy exists everyday, but I fail to feel it as I should).

6) I learned that I live in a bubble.  A family with 5 kids seems average size to me.  When strangers discovered I was expecting my 4th child, they seemed to think that was anything but average.

7) Sweet fellowship with the family of God (via total strangers) exists on a cruise ship.

8) If your refrigerator has a recall on it, get it taken care of before leaving for vacation, or you may come home to a warm fridge/freezer.

9) Having your fridge/freezer break in the cold Minnesota winter is much better than having it break in the summer.

10) Swimming in the ocean during a downpour and stormy sea is very exciting, until you get knocked over by a wave and sprain your hand.  Then it doesn’t seem worth it.  (Sorry Tom).

11) Our kids are a blast to have around.  I laugh a lot because of them.  When we’re gone from them, I miss that.

12) They don’t miss me as much as I miss them.  This will probably be true for the rest of my life.

13) There is no one I’d rather go on a cruise with than Mr. Tommy D.  He was the sunshine of our trip.  I love him a million times more now than I did 90+ months ago when we got married.  Spending 10 hours at the airport with him was pure fun.

What have you learned on vacation?