Memory Jogger Monday - November 23

Matthew and Emma - Payson Utah Temple - April 2015

How many children do you have? List their names and share a few memories about each one.

We have two children; Emma Patience and Matthew Thayne. I wrote a post in February 2015 about the meaning behind their names. You can read that post here: What's In A Name?

Since my children are very young we are still making memories every day.

Emma has a great memory! She is almost 8 and can remember things she did at a daycare when she was 2! And we don't have any photos about the things she tells us about. Also, every time we pass the Hill Air Force Base Museum she will mention something about how we should all remember the time that they went there with only Dad because Mom went shopping for Aunt Sarah's wedding dress. Sarah got married more than 3 years ago. Emma was 4 when she went there "without Mom."

When Emma was born she was tiny baby -  4 lb 14 oz. The nurses would come into my room and she would hold up her own head and watch them as they moved about the room. It really freaked out the nurses. They kept telling me that babies can't hold up their own heads like she was doing. She was so attentive; just like she is now.

This is one of my favorite memories so far about Emma. When she was 3 1/2 years old we were getting ready to go to the church for a ward party. When I told her we were going to the church for dinner, she cried and said she didn't want to go because "I don't want to eat just bread and water."

Matthew has an amazing vocabulary! He just turned 5 and uses huge words and long sentences and can talk constantly about anything he is excited about. Right now it is transformers ... I stand corrected by him ... "rescue bots". When he was first starting to talk (at about 1 1/2 years old), Emma would call him "MattQ" and he would correct her and say that his name was "Matt2". And he would talk in 3rd person a lot. Probably because Emma would always say what Matthew would want and he would confirm that she was right, that Matthew did want whatever she said. Also at this age he would give everyone high fives and "muckles" (instead of knuckles).

One night at dinner, when he was 2 years old, he said, "this is goodlicious"! And my most favorite vocabulary memory is a few months after he turned 3 years old. We were visiting with some family friends (distant cousins too) and we were having cake and ice cream for a birthday. He asked for the trapezoid piece of cake! Sure enough we all looked at the cake and there was one shaped like a trapezoid.

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal

Memory Jogger Monday - September 21

What were some of the challenges you have had to deal with in your life?

I have been very blessed in my life. At times when I think I have problems or troubles, I try to serve others. In the process, I realize that I have so many blessings.

I know I've had many challenges; mostly small ones. When I think about this question I am trying to determine if I had any huge challenges.

I guess one of my biggest challenges was about 20 years ago when I had just graduated from college and I was trying to decide where to live and what to do for work. My biggest dream/goal in my life was to be a wife and mother. At the end of high school and throughout college as my friends would get married and start their families that is what I wanted to do too. Big roadblock in that plan was that I wasn't dating anyone ... as in no one.

When college ended I was worried that my options for getting married would be diminished. At least that is what everyone around me said to me. Their words were discouraging to me.

Anyway, I moved across the state and took a job working at the University of Utah. After two years I moved to Logan to work at Utah State University. It was there in 2000 that I met my husband, Scott, ONLINE. He lived in Bountiful and worked in Salt Lake City; though he was from Cache Valley where I was living. We got married in November 2000 and I moved to Bountiful.

Due to infertility, it took 7 more years to have Emma and another 3 years after that to have Matthew. My biggest challenges are my greatest blessings!

And yet, perhaps my largest challenge is learning patience!

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal

What's In A Name?

I have always been intrigued by people's names; most particularly the meaning behind the name. Was the person named for someone or some place? Does their name reflect memories, family stories, or feelings? Many of our ancestors had surnames that reflected their occupation, a place, or a person.

When we were a newly married couple, we frequently discussed what we would name our children. 

• We wanted our children to have names that had meaning to us. 
• We wanted the etymology (original literal meaning) of their names to be powerful. 
• We wanted family names that represented strong individuals with a teachable heritage.

Let me introduce you to my children.

Emma Patience

Emma = Complete or Whole

Patience = Calm Endurance

It took seven years of infertility struggles to finally get our little Emma. They were years of trying to learn how to have patience during long suffering. And still today as we are raising children trying to remember to have patience in the process.

Emma Margaretha Friederike Boldt Ohms is my great-grandmother. She died 15 years before I was born. I do not have any stories about her. What I know about her I have learned from newspapers, Census, and other records. She immigrated from Germany when she was two years old with her parents and grandparents. As an adult, she was the family care giver. As a young mother, with four of her own children, she also cared for her youngest sibling (a half sister). Later in life she cared for a widowed sister and she continually cared for an unmarried son until her death. She is an example of compassion and love.

Patience Sibyl Groves Davies Harris is my 3rd great-grandmother. She inspires me to have patience. Her first husband died four years into their marriage; leaving her with two children aged three and under and pregnant with their third. For three years she raised these children alone. She married my 3rd great-grandfather, Llewellyn, in 1865 and they had six children. Llewellyn was a pathfinder missionary for the LDS Church for over 30 years. He traveled throughout the American South West and Mexico blazing new roads and teaching and healing others.  Patience took care of the homestead and raised the children. She is a great example of a strong individual with a teachable heritage.

Matthew Thayne

Matthew = Gift of God

Thayne = Follower

After struggling with infertility for years before the birth of our first child, we just resigned ourselves to another struggle.  We were amazed to have Matthew less than three years later.  He truly was our "Gift from God".

Thayne Leavitt Archibald is my husband's father; Matthew's grandfather. Thayne died nearly four years before we were married; and as such, I never knew him. He was a hard working man. He could fix anything and if he didn't have the tools, he would create them. He was a loving, sacrificing, frugal, inventive, patient, and quiet man. I hope my son will follow in his grandfather's footsteps. Oh, and they both have red hair!

Our children's "family" names help them to know their identity and heritage. We can share with them stories and photos about their namesakes. 

Here are some helpful websites to help you in identifying the meaning of names:

http://www.behindthename.com/info/names

http://www.meaning-of-names.com/search/

http://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/search/

This site is a great source for learning how to pronounce names:

https://www.howtopronounce.com/

This is a great site to learn the frequency of names:

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager

The following are screen shots from Baby Name Voyager showing the frequency of my children's names.

I learned about this site last year from a news story that said that children named "Emma" today were named after their mother's great-grandmother. Wow! How did they know my story?  And then I saw this graphic. You should check out the frequency of your name.

Are you named after someone? Were you named after any family members (first or middle name)? How did that make you feel as a child? And now as an adult? What special meanings do these names have for you? What about your children? Did you name them after someone? Please share your family name stories and experiences in the comments.