I had forgotten all about telling you how we chose Griffin’s name. It seems like I do that a lot lately…the forgetting part. I think I have already told you, but choosing our boys names has been really hard. We have a huge list of girls names that we like, but our list of boys names has always been pretty short. But the Lord keeps blessing us with little boys, so little boy names are what we must choose! Maybe someday we will get to choose from the girls list again. 🙂
The meaning of the name we choose for our kids is really important to us. You can read about Levi’s name here. I don’t think I have ever written about how we chose Cora’s name…maybe someday. With Griffin’s name we really struggled with the whole meaning of the name thing. Every name that we liked, (which wasn’t very many names to begin with) we didn’t so much like the meaning of the name. And Griffin’s name was the worst when it came to meaning!
Do you want to hear some of the meanings of the name Griffin?
*hooked nose
*fierce creature with the foreparts of an eagle and the hindquarters of a lion
*reddish
*mythological beast
*strong lord
Nice, right!? Such deep, significant meanings.
We kept coming back to Griffin as our favorite boy name, but I just couldn’t commit 100% because of the meaning. Joel assured me that no one but us would know all off those meanings when they heard the name Griffin. I tried to trust him. Guess what? As soon as my brother came to the hospital to meet Griffin he asked if I knew that Griffin was a half eagle, half lion. Thanks for boosting my confidence in the name I just chose for my son!
Anyway, we obviously chose the name Griffin (creepy crazy meanings and all), but decided to go off of the “strong” lord meaning. We would create our own meaning for Griffin and ignore all the other ones. We chose this verse from Jeremiah for Griffin:
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about his: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
It is our prayer that Griffin would grow up to be a man of strength because he understands and knows our Heavenly Father. We naturally want our boys to be strong and smart, but we are praying that Griffin would have the kind of strength that only comes from Him…the kind of strength that points others to Him.
Griffin’s middle name is James. We chose this name after Joel’s brother, James. James is the best brother and brother-in-law. We have seen him finish high school, go off to college, grow into a godly young man and be willing to do the uncomfortable and move to China to follow Jesus. James has a passion for people and for others to know Jesus. As we pray for Griffin to understand and know God, we pray that his life will also overflow with a passion for the things that concern our Heavenly Father…just like his Uncle James.
One more thing…
A month or so before Griffin was born we had our name list narrowed down to two or three names. We would tell them to Levi and say, “Should we name your brother ____?” No matter what name we said he would always say “noooooo” and laugh. He was just starting to talk and so we asked him what we should name his baby brother. All of the sudden he started saying Griffin…and he said it in such a cute way–“gif-in”. He just might have helped us decide on baby brothers name too! 🙂
I made sure to take these three month pictures before Christmas but never got them posted. I decided I’d better get them up this week because I’m pretty sure that I will blink my eyes and Griffin will be four months already. He is seeming so big all of a sudden. Here are a few of my favorites from the three month photo session. I love some of those faces!
Griffin I 3 months
3 months I I’m not sure how much you weigh these days…but I know you are one heavy little boy. I get a major work out just lugging your car seat around. Somedays I wonder how much longer I am going to be able to carry that thing! You wear size 3 diapers and 3-6 month clothes. You have only been wearing 3-6 month clothes for a few weeks but I think you are about to outgrow them already!
3 months I You have found your hands and you are constantly sucking on those little fingers of yours. If you can get your sleeve or blanket in your mouth you are sucking on those too. You are starting to like toys and bat at the rattles and toys we put in front of you.
3 months I You definitely don’t get as many baths as your brother and sister did as babies. It is getting harder to find time to squeeze in a bath during the day…I can hardly find time to take a shower myself! 🙂 But you love your baths. You never cry and are instantly relaxed when you hit the water. Your little toes are even starting to splash in the water.
3 months I You have such a sweetness about you. You smile at us all the time, but it is not a silly smile…just pure sweetness. I think we might be getting a little glimpse into your growing personality.
3 months I You are not sleeping through the night yet. I keep thinking that one of these nights you will surprise me, but not yet! You are usually waking up once between 3 and 5 in the morning…and then again around 7. Good thing you give me those sweet smiles in the early morning hours too because your mama is pretty weary somedays!!
3 months I Your brother doesn’t interact with you much yet, but he sure likes to talk about you. He always wants to know where you are and if you are going with us when we leave the house. When you cry he tells me “Griffin fussy” or “Griffin so hungry”. He seems to already know just what you need!
We love you sweet boy!
I debated and debated about a theme for Levi’s second birthday. I knew that I would probably be throwing many, many tractor or farm theme birthday parties in the years to come so I thought I would avoid a tractor theme for now…not that there is anything wrong with tractors, it just might get old! 🙂 Levi has been really into playing ball lately so I thought a ball party sounded fun. I searched “ball party” on pinterest and came across this adorable classic red ball party that Jessica threw for her two year old daughter. Red + balls…perfect. I got tons of ideas from Jessica (great name, right?). She is definitely the creative genius behind this theme. Her party was beautiful so if you need any more inspiration make sure and check out her red classic ball party here. Jessica also happens to be the talented designer of Pen N’ Paperflowers. I emailed back and forth a little with her and she hooked me up with these adorable print-at-home party invitations. She also designed little tags to go on the party favors. Thanks so much Jessica! For the dessert table, I made cupcakes in red polka dot cupcake liners and put a red gum”ball” on top.
My friend Julie made the awesome red ball cake. She has been making/decorating cakes to help raise money towards their adoption from China. She does an amazing job and the best part was that I didn’t have to worry about making a cake! I love planning a party and evening making cupcakes, but cake decorating…not so much. If you are local and need a cake, make sure to check with Julie! The dessert table had lots of red candy too. Licorice, lollipops, swedish fish, and red m&m’s…m&ms are Levi’s favorite.
We had red balloons…and of course red and white striped paper straws (I can hardly throw a party without these cute straws!).
I picked up these red frames for Griffin’s room when I was at IKEA. They were perfect for the party. The table was covered in a white tablecloth, red polka dot fabric (from Griffin’s quilt), and a piece of red polka dot wrapping paper (from Christmas). I love red, so it wasn’t hard to come up with things I already had to use on the table.
I made three garlands for the dessert table. On the chalkboard is a garland made out of red punched paper circles + thread. I sewed them together on my sewing machine. The other garland is red felt circles + red bakers twine. I sewed the felt circles onto the twine with my sewing machine too.
The garland on the table is red styrofoam balls + jewelry wire. I (actually, Joel did it for me) spray painted the styrofoam balls with floral spray paint and I used a long crochet needle to string them on the wire. You can’t use regular spray paint because it will melt the styrofoam. I found this idea on pinterest too! For party favors, we sent the kiddos home with a giant red lollipop and a ball of homemade red play dough. I put the play dough in clear cellophane bags and tied them with bakers twine and the circle tags from Pen N’ Paperflowers. We set up a kids table in the kitchen for Levi and all his cousins…he has a lot! We added some red circle punch “ball” confetti to the table after I took this picture too.
Each place had the party favor and two red crayons to draw on the table (which was covered in paper).
And here are a few pictures from the actual party…
It was crazy and loud and Levi loved every second of it. It was so fun to see him so excited about his birthday! He had been singing happy birthday to himself all week. 🙂
I still can’t believe Levi is two. Happy birthday sweet boy!
Sources (for those who are wondering):
Invitations & favor tags : Pen N’ Paperflowers
Polka dot cupcake liners : Sweet Kaity
Paper straws : Garnish
Red frames : IKEA
Styrofoam balls & red floral paint : Michaels
Polka dot napkins and 2 candle : Target
Cake : Julie Johnson
I wanted to take some pictures of Levi on his actual birthday. I thought maybe I would try to take a few outside, but it was pretty cold. Levi had been with his dad that morning hauling manure out of the cattle pens into the fields. Sounds gross, I know…but apparently it makes for the best birthday ever when you are a two year old boy. 🙂 He came home from the farm and was walking around the house with his monkey hat still on. I had wanted to take some pictures with the red balloons from his party, but they were all deflated the next morning. Bummer. So, I plopped him up on the table around the sad balloons and it actually looked pretty cute. These pictures were a happy accident…empty dessert table, deflated balloons, and cute monkey hat. And Levi was making the best faces. I love them.
Dear Levi,
Two months after you were born, your big sissy would have been turning two. I remember wondering what it would be like to be the mama of a two year old. And now YOU are two. You have shown me what an awesome privilege it is to be the mama of a two year old. Two year old boys are the best and your dad and I think you are pretty awesome.
You talk and sing ALL THE TIME. I have a constant companion to talk to and I love it. You say so many words and even talk in complete sentences sometimes. These are a few of my favorite things that you say…”Mommy hold you” – when you want me to hold you, “There we go” – when you finish something, fix something or obey, “Oh my, Levi”, “ba-nan-nan-a” – banana, “oh-sailor” – four wheeler “BIG” – you say it with much enthusiasm. You can count to ten and sing your ABC’s. I have no idea who taught you to do that. You sing all day long and you always want to be sung to before you go to sleep. Your favorite song is Holy, Holy. You learned it at BSF and it is so sweet to hear you sing those words. You also like Jesus Loves Me, The B-I-B-L-E, and we started singing Away In the Manger a lot over Christmas. You especially love when Papa will play the piano and sing with you too.
You love to eat cheese sticks (or any kind of cheese, really), goldfish, oranges, macaroni and cheese, tacos, M&Ms, and you love to drink milk. You do not love ice cream or anything too cold in your mouth. And you won’t drink juice or pop…milk and water only!
You love to play with tractors and cows, build towers with blocks and knock them over, ride your tricycle around the house, play playdoh, throw balls, drag chairs around the house, “help” mama cook, color, and wrestle with anyone who will let you jump on them…but that is just when we are inside. You would live outside if you could. You love to explore, ride your four wheeler around the yard, collect rocks, go on walks, build sandcastles in the sandbox, and swing. And if you could go to the farm everyday with daddy you would love it. Riding in tractors, trucks, and getting rides on the real four wheeler is the best. You love to talk to your daddy about what is going on at the farm and you go along with him at any chance you get. You probably know more about the farm than I do! I love the special bond you are building with your daddy.
And even though you are already such a farm boy, you love to read too…that makes your mama so happy. You would read books all day if someone would sit and read to you. Your favorites right now are the Knuffle Bunny books and the Otis books. Your daddy and I have read them so many times that we have them memorized. Good thing your favorite books change every once in awhile.
You have a blanket (“ba-ba”) and an alligator named Ally that you sleep with. You got Ally when you gave up your pacis and he hasn’t left your side since. And I can’t forget your imaginary friends. You have two…Ishama and Bobby. When we ask you where they are at you always say Walmart or Bammy’s house. Silly boy.
This year you became a big brother. It was a hard transition at first, but most days you love your baby brother, Griffin. You always want to know where he is right when you wake up. You are dying to wrestle with him, but we always tell you he is too little. And you just started saying “lub (love) you Mama, Griffin” when you head up the stairs to bed. So sweet.
You have such a fun loving personality, silly laugh and those big brown eyes of yours know how to melt your mama’s heart. Some days you wear me out, but I am so thankful that I get to be your mama and spend my days with you. I can’t wait to keep watching you grow…just don’t grow too fast.
I love you so very much.
Mama
A new year…2012. My mind is racing with resolutions, goals, and hopes for a new year. I love the idea of a fresh start, but being the perfectionist that I am, I am kicking myself for not having a list of goals all written out and ready to start on January 1st. And now it is January 2nd and I feel like I am behind already!
Last night was a little wake up call for me as we started the new year. A reminder of what is important. A reminder of the Rock in whom I need to be constantly grounding my life in. A few moments of perspective.
We spent the evening celebrating Levi’s birthday surrounded by family. My baby boy is TWO today! I love birthdays. We never got to celebrate a birthday with our sweet girl, so the two years we have been able to celebrate of Levi’s life have been such a gift…and I like to make a big deal of it! Levi was so excited for his birthday which made it even more fun to plan a special party just for him. Our house was filled with party decorations, noise, laughter, and lots of cousins eating way too much sugar. I went to bed completely exhausted but with a heart full of joy as I thanked God for my sweet two year old boy.
At 2:30 in the morning Joel and I awoke to Griffin choking in his bassinet. We both jumped out of bed and I picked him up. It seemed like he was having a really hard time breathing. My kids have had respiratory infections before but this seemed so different. We have a breathing machine so we gave him a treatment and it seemed to help a little. He still sounded pretty bad so we called the ER and talked to the pediatrician on call. I prayed that the Lord would make it very clear to us whether we should go ahead and take Griffin to the ER or see a big improvement in his breathing and stay home. One of those moments when you need wisdom…and you need wisdom fast. Thankfully, after the pediatrician’s guidance, his breathing slowed down, he relaxed, and went to sleep. He is doing so much better today. Thank you, Jesus. Talk about scary. It is during those panicky moments when my mind flashes through moments of being in the hospital with Cora. If I’m not careful I think of the worst. If I’m not careful I fail to trust God. As I struggled to calm down and go back to sleep, I had to remind myself to keep my mind fixed on Him.
 
So…in just a few hours we went from such joy and celebration to fear and wondering if we would be spending the rest of the night in the ER. Our circumstances can change so fast, even in the comfort of our own home. This morning I was paging through a journal I have kept this past year. I wanted to remind myself of the things the Lord had taught me in 2011. I came across these words I had written down from Psalm 62:
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken…
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation…
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge…
One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.
I needed to hear those words this morning. And I need to write those words on my heart as I look forward to all that God has in store for me and my family this coming year. Whatever this year holds I can be sure of this:
God is…
my salvation
my rock
my fortress
my hope
trustworthy
my refuge
strong
loving
In Him alone we can find…
rest
salvation
security
stability
hope
refuge
strength
love
God is the Rock that I want to stand on as we plunge into 2012. I had big plans for today. A house to clean, Christmas decorations to put away, blog posts to write, goals to begin, and a birthday to celebrate. But instead we ate lots of leftover cupcakes to celebrate Levi’s birthday and I held Griffin as much as I could. I was just so grateful for my boys…nothing else on my to-do list seemed to be as important as spending time with them.
I think I am ready for 2012…and I guess if I’m not I’d better get ready because we are two days into it already! I want to choose to find security and stability in my Rock. I want to rest in the One who loves me and in whom my hope is found. I want to find strength for each day of 2012 in Him alone…no matter what the day holds.
And just in case you are wondering…
There is lots to catch you up on here at The Macs. You can look forward to these upcoming posts: Griffin at 3 months, Christmas, Levi turns two, Levi’s second birthday, a little progress on Griffin’s room, journaling for my boys, and maybe a few thoughts on some goals I have for the year. And if there is something you are wanting to know…leave a comment and maybe I’ll answer your question in an upcoming post too.
Happy New Year!
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The Farmers - We too struggled with the crazy meaning of our sons name and had to focus on the positive meanings. I love the birth announcement.
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Toni :O) - Love that story-such a nice strong name! Love how Levi says it too, adorable! Would love go hear how you chose Cora’s sweet name, I always thought it was a family name.
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Janine - Griffin is a great name. I love that Griffin can have such a strong religious meaning. But don’t get so down on the mythological creature of half eagle/half lion. I have always thought that the Griffin was majestic and powerful. A symbol of strength, intelligence and courage. I have also heard it described as a guardian. All of those are good qualities.
That birth announcement picture is simply precious.
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Anonymous - Please tell us about how you named Cora.
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Diana - I like the lion/ eagle definition, it makes me think of the book of Revelation and the creatures surrounding the throne of God…. near to God, worshipping Him, saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” That sounds like a pretty great aspiration for your son, near to the Father, worshiping Him. 🙂
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Nirupama - beautiful name and naming story. We sought out deep meanings for our children’s names as well and picked Avinash for a similar reason. It means indestructible (as in, indestructible as Shiva), and we loved that it was about strength in God. It has served him well so far 🙂 Blessings for little Griffin too.
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Lindsey - We have a 15 month old Levi and are having another boy. We are the same as you guys with the list of girls names- we have so many! But when it comes to boys names, we are pretty lost. 🙂 We considered naming our son Oliver until we discovered it means, “elf army.” Ha! I am so blessed by your blog!
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Annie - What a beautiful birth announcement! I love it! When you are ready, I too would love to hear how you decided on sweet Cora’s name.
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Laura Ann - Been following forever, rarely comment but love your blog. You have the cutest kids ever, seriously! I love Griffin’s name and entertained it before my son, Gavin was born. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
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Beth in CO - Love your name story. I too have a Griffin, though we were not into the meaning of the name as much with him – he is #4, so it was interesting to hear all the different meanings. 🙂 Love your blog! You make me think about things that I do not think I normally would. Bless you and your wonderful family!
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Susan - Your boys are so sweet Jess! We were talking about the meaning of a name in church one Sunday around Christmas. The name Mary means “rebellious”, and look how the Lord used her! I think it’s wonderful that you picked a verse for each of your boys, and made your own meaning for his name.
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merlin - 1/2 lion, 1/2 eagle….how much more symolic of God does one need for meaning? Griffin is the best of God’s creation, kings of earth and sky, protector and defender, fused into one manly, godly name. I’m glad you love it. And the Levi endorsement is the best.
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Maria - I love this…how stinkin cute is Levi…GRI-FIn! Your kids are so adorable…and great choice on the name!
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Allen and Debby Graber - I was going to comment just what Diana said. Love that! I was looking at James’ blog today. Those rice paddies and that dog look just like Japan!! Made me so homesick! I LOVE his photos. Wish there was a place for us to comment on his blog. Thanks for subbing last week, by the way!!
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Deborah - I had a girl’s name picked out forever: Mallory Mae. Just loved it! Finally got pregnant with a girl and looked up the meaning of the name: “bitter unlucky.” Uh oh. We ended up naming our little girl Cora Mae, but we call her Corrie. (We were inspired by Corrie ten Boom). It would be nice to hear how you chose your Cora’s name.
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Tonya - We, too, had a hard time choosing our boy name and the girl name was a cinch to pick!
I love the meaning and verse you’ve chosen for Griffin! Our son’s middle name is Aaron after Moses’ brother who, along w/Hur, held up Moses’ arms during the battle between the Isrealites and Amalakites. We wanted our son to also have a legacy of lifting others up when they can’t continue on to carry out the plans the Lord has laid out. So, his name is Eli Aaron…and he’s proving to live up to his name so far as a darling almost 8 year old!
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Anonymous - You are so blessed with your wonderful children. I love reading your blog!
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Jo - We’ve always been interested in the meaning of our kids’ names, too.
After losing our oldest daughter, Joy, to stillbirth, we named her younger sister Jerusha Hope.
Jerusha can mean possession or inheritance (which EVERYONE seemed to know). We chose to go with “inheritance” of “hope.”
We also have an Isaac (laughter) and a Nathaniel (gift of God).
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goaliegrl202 - love griffin’s name as a whole especially with levi and cora!
do you mind saying what the other name choices were?
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Happiness Is... - I love that Levi had a part in his name! It is hard to find a name that you like, sounds good with your last name AND has rich meaning. But I agree that a name’s meaning is also partially what you make it. He’s precious!
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Tricia - I have always thought the naming process would be the hardest. You nailed it perfectly, with all your children!
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Jacke - This comment has been removed by the author.
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Jacke - Cora is a beautiful name. Along with you I wait the day I get to have a little girl. I was blessed with 3 boys, the last 2 I swore they were girls and they were to be named Cora Jo. Instead I got John, Isaac, and Josiah. But I love how Levi says his brother’s name, so cute! There is nothing like brotherly love.
God Bless You!
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the breedens - I know what you mean about the older sibling influencing the name. We just loved how it sounded when Nyla would say “Hazel”. I just wanted to hear that sweetness again and again!
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Ruth - I live in Williamsburg, Virginia and the College of William and Mary has a mascot by the name of …Meet the Griffin.
William & Mary’s Griffin is a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. The coat of arms of King William and Queen Mary was adorned with lions, and the lion’s body of our mascot evokes our historic royal founding and early history. The eagle’s head of the Griffin suggests the national symbol of the United States and represents the presidents, leaders, and productive citizens whom William & Mary has trained for centuries
The above is copied from their website. Of course, I am not computer savy enough to know how to send you a picture of Griffin but if you google William and Mary mascot, you will see it. I thought you might be interested in the information after reading your blog about the meaning of the name and your brother’s comments. Ruth
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Jody - Just tell him he’s named after Archie Griffin. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be named after the only two-time Heisman winner?? That’s who we named our black lab, Archie, after.
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pharmacy - levy and griffin looks so cute! thanks for the photos sweety!
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A - We are expecting our first child soon, a boy. We have gone back and forth on the name Griffin. My grandpa’s name was James and has been the front runner for middle names. I ran across this blog after googling the name Griffin. I think it may be a sign…our last name is McClanahan 🙂 Hope all is well!
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Jess Reply:
December 9th, 2015 at 11:48 pm
That is so crazy! I figured I would never come across another Griffin McClenahan…but that is pretty close. Congrats! Being a mom is the best!!
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Jess - That is so crazy! I figured I would never come across another Griffin McClenahan…but that is pretty close. Congrats! Being a mom is the best!!
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