What is in a name?

So my two younger boys are gone with DoDo and Choo Choo to Louisiana to spend a week together with Adam's family. They are riding the rain down from Memphis to New Orleans. Kobie has called 3 times to talk with Jacob! They are missing each other.

So I've been thinking about my kids growing up so quickly and thought about what their names meant. The name they will be called for the rest of their lives. It's a daunting task for any parent. Lots of thought and conversation are put into what the final name will be. Most mom's and dad's put a lot of thought into their children's names. They don't want kids to be teased and they might want a family traditional name, etc. My standard for naming kids was way crazy. 5 letters for the first name (they learned their names to "B-I-N-G-O" song)...and it HAD to sound good, strong, and flow effortlessly into the last name.

JACOB KYLE
Jacob was a girl after 3 ultrasounds. When he arrived a boy, the Doc said, "she's a he". I had no clue for a boy name. So I named him after my 15 year old cat "Jacob" and his middle name after the pediatrician that was on his little bassinet cart, Joan "Kyle". I was heavily medicated, stressed and that's the best I could come up with in 2 days.

Jacob - Supplanter
Kyle - Narrow (Jacob has the narrowest feet - like his Dad - it's fitting)

KOBIE JAY
Kobie was much harder. I had time to ponder names. Adam came to Christ through his Uncle Jay's mentoring, he really wanted to name a kid after him. We both love Cobi Jones, a soccer player. But I wanted the 5 letters and not colby (Jack cheese)...So we decided to flip flop Jacob's initials (jk to kj) and add an E to cobi- we made up our own spelling.

Kobie - Supplanter (Diminutive of JACOB, alternate form of COBY)
Jay- A Bird In The Crow Family (Kobie loves all animals- even birds)

DYLAN JAMES
With Dylan, we kept our minds open to any one's ideas on what to name a child. Another Boy...I couldn't flip flop initials. I had no clue. Again, Adam wanted a family name and what better name than James (his Grandpa, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle "Big" Jim). We covered three family members. Nancy came up with Dylan. It sounded good so it stuck. (Mandy had the same great idea a year later naming her son).

Dylan - Son Of The Sea (Dylan loves the water- NOT the lake)
James- Supplanter (Originally an English version of Jacob)

So yes all three of our kids names mean the same with one different meaning attached. Kinda weird. I miss my boys being little. I want them home with me. Camps and college are going to be very hard on me in years to come. I know it's good for both them and me to feel separation and for them to become more independent. I just wish it didn't happen so quickly.

***PS, IF we ever would've had a girl we set aside a name for her the first day Adam and I started discussing names- all rules aside. Her name would've been Frankie Noel Holsted. Just a family name. Adam's Grandma; Frankie Warden Holsted and his Grandpa Leon Holsted (Spelt backwards is Noel). Frankie is Free Or Truthful & Noel is Born On Christmas Day (to us a gift from God).