What's in a Name?

Each of our children have special names that were meant just for them. Naming my babies has always been a very spiritual experience and we spent a lot of time deciding each one and waiting for a confirmation that it was just right. We wanted each of our children to have someone they could look up to and admire and we chose special names to lead them in that direction.

Our Mason Hunter.... He's our firstborn. The leader. The faithful and stalwart and strong-willed one. He was named after my husband's favorite mission companion, who, to this day, probably still doesn't know how much he influenced my husband for good. Naming him after that special man was a no brainer and his name fits him perfectly. 

Marcus Kalel... Our boy without guile who is strong in the face of opposition. Who can put a smile on your face just by being near him.  Oh, how we wrestled with his name.! Nothing sounded right. We liked the name Marcus but had set such a high standard naming Mason after someone, we didn't want to fail with this one. When my husband proposed the idea of his favorite childhood and adulthood superhero, I balked at the idea. But then it grew on me and I "gave in." Now we see just how perfect it is for our little super man. He's been through so much physically and has remained so strong. He is our true Kal-el with or without a cape.

Makenna Julianne.... We spent an entire pregnancy trying to decide what we would name our first baby girl. We sure went the rounds with this one. Two days before she was born, on the way to register at the hospital, we brought up the naming process once again. I still remember where we were when I said her name. We were going through all the names we could think of. We knew we wanted Makenna, but couldn't agree on who we should draw her middle name from. Alfer mentioned my sisters and I remember thinking, "Oh yeah, that will go over well. I have about a million of them." To be funny I blurted out the first name that came to me, "What, like Makenna Julianne?" and that was it. Chills went thru my body and Alfer and I looked at each other and we just knew that was to be her name. We never debated or wavered from it again. She's named after a gentle giant yet strong and feisty protective sister, and that fits her almost too perfectly.

And last but not least we come to our sweet Maegan Diana. Just writing her name makes me cry because of what it represents. Or rather, who.

(Baby pictures to be taken soon!)

There are few people in this world that I admire and cherish as I do the woman we named her after. I have been blessed to have amazing and strong and nurturing women in my life. For both Alfer and I, however, there is one woman that we share an equal level of admiration and appreciation for because she was our mother when we were away from our own. 

Our sweet baby girl is named after a true elect lady, mother, friend, mentor, and disciple of Christ, Diana Mae Wade. If you  know her, then you know what it means to just be in her presence. She exudes love and charity and kindness and goodness and reverence and.... She reminds me of what our Heavenly Mother must be like.

When Alfer and I were missionaries in Washington DC her husband, Alton Wade, was our mission president. I have spoken about him on my blog before. Again, I can't even think about him without crying. He is a gift in my life and proof that my Father in Heaven loves and cherishes me as a daughter. Had we been blessed with a boy, his name would have been Maximus Wade. When we found out we were having a girl, we were obviously ecstatic but immediately wondered what we could name her.  Like Makenna, we wrestled with just the right name, and one day on the way to an appointment, it came to me. I knew this was supposed to be her name. I received such a beautiful witness by the Holy Ghost when I first said her name (and spelling of it) out loud. We couldn't give our daughter a more perfect example of an elect lady and one we want her to admire and aspire to be like. 

When Maegan was blessed a few weeks ago at church, and I heard her name for the first time in such an official setting, again I knew that my girl had been given the right name. I am so honored to have her as my daughter, as I am with all my children. For as difficult as it can be, it is truly my life's greatest joy. Being called their mother... there is no greater name I would rather be called.