Where they came from...

One of my favorite things in the world are meaningful names. Names that help you define a sense of self. A name so powerful that it encourages you to live up to it. Mind you, my kids will probably need years of therapy for the names we have inflicted upon them, but I can honestly say I LOVE MY KIDS' NAMES!!! So for those of you who don't know, here's a crash course on what they are, what they mean, and why we chose them. Most of you that will read this already know this, so just bear with me. This sounded more fun than watching another awful movie (see the previous post).

Zerin Maxwell Zerin is from The Book of Mormon in Ether 12:30. It talks about the Brother of Jared and his incredible faith that enabled him to move the Mount Zerin. Our greatest hope for Zerin is that he could have the faith to move mountains. Maxwell comes from Elder Neal A. Maxwell, an Apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Maxwell is a hero of Bryan's dad on many levels. He also suffered from leukemia, which is what my father died of, and my father drew a lot of strength from Elder Maxwell and how he dealt with sickness.

Liah Noelle Liah is from the liahona spoken of in The Book of Mormon (can you tell we like this book???). The liahona would act as a compass when those using it would follow the commandments and the Will of God. In that same way, we want Liah to always make choices that will guide her to Christ. Noelle means to rejoice in Christ. Most of you know Christmas is my absolute favorite. I start decorating the day after Halloween. I love the spirit that it brings into my home, and it just can't come early enough for me. So I wanted her to have a bit of that Christmas spirit in her name. So to us, her name means to guide to Christ, and to rejoice in Christ.

Aeden McKay We got a little creative with this one. First of all, I have loved the name Aidan since I was a kid, but Bryan wasn't as convinced. Then one day, while we were deliberating over names, he asked if I like the name Aidan spelled A-E-D-E-N. He said it came from Eden, which is the place where God dwells. So for us that is what it has come to mean. McKay came from President David O. McKay, former President and Prophet of the LDS Church. He was the prophet our parents grew up with and were endeared to. One of his more memorable quotes was "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." That motto fit in perfectly with his first name I thought. President McKay was also an educator by trade like Bryan, so that was a little icing on the cake :)

Asher Kimball Asher comes from the Bible, and means "happy. blessing." If you know anything about my life at the time I was pregnant with Asher, that might seem like a bit of a contridiction :) Yet, he truly was the greatest miracle and blessing to come out of 2007 for me. He has a gift to bring joy to others, and I pray in thanks daily that he is mine. Asher was also the tribe that the prophetess Anna came from who recognized Christ as a young baby. So...again, we got a little creative here...not only is he a joyous blessing in our lives, but we hope that by keeping the commandments, he will be able to recognize deity. Kimball comes from President Spencer W. Kimball. He was the prophet Bryan and I remember most as children. He was a kind and loving leader, who had many afflictions (sicknesses, losing loved ones, injuries, etc.). Yet through those afflictions, he was so faithful and had an amazing attitude. We hope that as Asher goes throughout his life, he will exude that same kind of endurance, faith, and trust in our Savior.