Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Writing Motherhood: Names

July 3, 2008 by Kristin Leave a Comment

I’ve been reading a book called “Writing Motherhood.” Like any book, some parts have particularly jumped out at me, particularly the “invitations,” which are like writing prompts. Yep, I’m a nerd. Here’s something I wrote the other day in my notebook/journal about names.

I’ve had my baby girl’s name in my mind for years. And Greg even liked it too. A couple years ago, I even met a girl named Cate one Sunday at church. She’d become my friend and even quilted my Cate a blanket with their name on it. The first conversation my friend Cate and I had was about how I wanted to name my daughter — who was no more than a prayer at that time — Cate, with a C. She said I might regret it when I saw her name misspelled. Nah, K-R-I-S-T-I-N was misspelled more than its fair share, even by people who I know love me. So maybe I didn’t have as many pretty pencils with my name down the side as the Jennifers in my class did.

But Kristin Eileen was the name my parents gave me, and for no other reason than they liked it. So I liked it too. It was my name for 23 years of my life, until I got married, dropped Eileen, and added Taylor. Kristin Hill Taylor, officially. I like how it sounds.

Yes, I think of names. But, admittedly, I didn’t realize my daughter’s initials would spell C-A-T until someone, rather a couple of someones, pointed that out shortly before she was born. I didn’t care, though, I like her name, even if her initials spell an animal to which I developed an allergy shortly after leaving home for college that also happens to be the mascot of the college my husband and I root for during college basketball and football seasons.

Catherine Anna Taylor. Catherine is my mom’s middle name. Mary Catherine. She goes by Cathy. Anna is Greg’s grandma’s name. I like how the names sound together and how they’re symbolic of joining our families by starting our family. What’s ironic is I usually don’t like shortened versions of names. Well, maybe I should say, I prefer names like Matthew and Patrick to Matt and Pat. But that’s just me. I figure moms and dads give their kids names, why not use them? Who knows. Because I went and named my daughter Catherine and usually call her Cate. I can’t explain it.

I do know I love the name Isaac, which means “laughter,” but I fear Greg would call him Ike. He told me he would. Yuck. So let’s just say we’ll have to do some serious discussing before we name our next child, especially if it’s a boy.

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Filed Under: books, motherhood, writing

Comments

  1. laura says

    July 3, 2008 at 8:37 pm

    Is there anything you want to share with us, Kristin?!? lol

    I know what you mean about names. We women have funny quirks and peeves, don’t we? 🙂 I loved the name Edward (a family name) even though I dislike the nicknames to go with it. I told myself that we would be gracious in the times people took it upon themselves to call him Ed or Eddie and let him have the freedom to decide what name he’d like to go by as he gets older. But to us, he’s always Edward.

    So I normally like full names, and love our dd Genevieve’s full name as well. But for some reason, I’ve always loved the possibility of nicknaming her Veve and so one of these days, she probably will be. But for now, we’re a full name family :).

    I guess we really can’t have total control over a name no matter what. You’d think Laura was fairly un-nickname-able (aside from Laurie), but my family managed to coin the unflattering Laur and Laurster over the course of my childhood.

    When you think about it, it’s really not the NAME itself – made up of particular letters in a particular order – but the meaning, the feeling, the sentiment, the PERSON it represents to those who use it and who own it.

    I wonder what our names will be in Heaven? I have a feeling they will be more perfect and more affirming than anything we could come up with here on earth! In the meantime, I love my kids’ names. They carry some kind of magical significance and affection in my heart. But probably not as much because of the names, but because of the precious souls/bodies that wear them :).

    Reply
  2. Heather says

    July 4, 2008 at 5:01 am

    My first thought exactly. Do you have something to share???

    Reply
  3. Kristin says

    July 4, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    Nope, nothing to share! 🙂 I really didn’t realize it was going to sound like I did. Sorry for teasing you! 🙂

    I just love names. And it’s no secret I want to adopt a baby again at some point. And this time I don’t have another name stored in my mind like I did Catherine Anna.

    That’s all. 🙂

    Reply
  4. LeeAnn says

    July 8, 2008 at 5:20 am

    Maybe she will marry someone with the last name Edwards, Elliott, etc. Then her initials will spell her name— super cool!

    Reply

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About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our eighth-grade girl who never forgets, our have-no-fear fifth-grade boy, and our joy-filled preschool girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

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I’ve loved Cate’s school experience at @ncca.l I’ve loved Cate’s school experience at @ncca.lions, a small but growing classical, Christian school. I knew there were both advantages and sacrifices of keeping her in a small class for middle school and agonized over possibly moving her to a bigger school. I only considered moving her because I wasn’t sure what her classmates, some of who are freshman this year, were going to do for high school. But they stayed, and we stayed. Now she’s an eighth grader in a class of nine. 

A couple years ago, I prayed for more girls. God gave her class two. Sometimes people move on, and sometimes people move in. But this sweet class of eighth and ninth graders has been faithful — to each other, to our school, to an unknown future. They’re paving a way for the students behind them, including my other two kids. 

God has been kind to my momma heart and given me some assurances she is where she’s supposed to be. One of these provisions is a basketball team that has become competitive with the other teams we’ve gotten to play. It’s more than just some games, though. I’ve watched my 13-year-old daughter become more confident on the court and in life. I’m grateful for her friends and their shared love of this game. I’m thankful for where God has us. 

#momlife #classicaleducation #choosingJOY #livingfaithfully #girlmom #momconfessions #bettertogether #middleschool #middleschoolbasketball
At a basketball game Thursday night, Ben told me h At a basketball game Thursday night, Ben told me he had a loose tooth and was going to go to the bathroom to maybe pull it. He pulled it. That’s #14, and he’s dealt with every single one, just as his older sister did with all 20 of hers.

Meanwhile, little sister has a loose tooth that she won’t wiggle, avoids using to eat, and won’t let her siblings pull. We’ve bribed, threatened, and failed to persuade.

#momlife #boymom #thirdchild #girlmom #reallife #momconfessions
I was overdue for some TLC to my hair, so I got it I was overdue for some TLC to my hair, so I got it trimmed and colored this week. You know it’s time when the stylist takes before and after pictures. My friend @whitneyrscott at @blushsalon always does a good job. 

In addition to the much-needed TLC, I also got bangs. After a few days, I can say I love them. The resident teenager at my home doesn’t like this — and she tells me daily. I tell her I don’t care whether she likes them because I do and it’s my hair. She also didn’t like the tennis shoes I bought a few weeks ago. Again, I do, so who cares. 

Anyway, it’s Friday! So let’s do some #fridayintroductions around here. Tell me three things you’re loving these days. I’ve already mostly told you mine: 

1️⃣ My bangs. I’ve included a picture of the fun waves that Whitney gave me at the salon and the more likely normal styling — by that I mean blow drying and some minor straightening to train the bangs. 
2️⃣ New tennis shoes, which are gray & purple Brooks Launch 7, if you’re curious. My nail color accidentally matches them. 
3️⃣ The teenager in my house. I’ve been giving her grief about her dislike of my fashion choices, but I really love being around her. Honestly, she’s the easiest kid in my house right now. 

✨ Bonus current love: Who can tell me what TV character inspired my hairdo? If you know, then that’s also the TV show I recently binged and am eagerly awaiting new episodes. 

So, what are you loving — even if nobody else in your life does? #momconfessions #reallife #reallifeconfessions #momlife #choosingJOY
It’s been a night of basketball! First, my girl’s middle school game. Now, our favorite college team. Turns out they’re both navy & gold so that’s good for wardrobe choices. 💛 #girlmom #momlife #RacerNation #WeAreRacers #MurrayState
“The Chicken Sisters” by @kjda was a fun, quic “The Chicken Sisters” by @kjda was a fun, quick read this weekend. I added it to my to-read list recently and then saw it as a @bookofthemonth add-on.

I enjoyed the feuding sisters story unfolding while filming a realty show about their family’s feuding chicken restaurants in a small Kansas town. Of course, not everything is quite as it seems, so the reality show helps uncover some reality both sisters were missing.

#amreading #bookstagram #booklover #recommendedreads #thechickensisters #weekending
We needed to get out of the house today — even t We needed to get out of the house today — even though the sun barely peeked through the clouds into the cold air. #countryliving #weekending #choosingJOY #boymom #thirdchild
A week into Peggy’s recovery at our house, and t A week into Peggy’s recovery at our house, and these two have spent a lot of time together. Rachel encourages her and stays close. Peggy plays games and watches movies with Rachel.

Honestly, this #thirdchild of mine was probably my biggest concern with having Peggy recover from open heart surgery here: I didn’t want Rachel to hug too hard. I didn’t know if she’d understand that her Gran-Gran looks fine on the inside but hurts on the inside. She’s been booted from her room, but she’s been sleeping well on her mattress in the back living room. She’s actually probably not going to know what to do when Peggy moves back home.

For now, we’ll let them make memories together. That’s part of caretaking I hadn’t considered. #bettertogether #weekending #choosingJOY
I’ve been in a reading slump. I returned one lib I’ve been in a reading slump. I returned one library book I couldn’t get into and then couldn’t decide what to read next. So I went with this library book — and I’m glad I did.

“The Unhoneymooners” by @christinalauren is a funny romance novel that helped distract my mind from heavy thoughts. It also made me want to go to Maui. The dialogue is delightful, the story of quirky from the get-go, and I definitely found myself rooting for Ethan and Olive.

I also discovered by reading the acknowledgements (possibly my favorite thing about books!) that @christinalauren is the pen name for a writing duo. What fun to write novels with a friend! 

As always, I’m happy to accept your recommendations on what to read next. I may also be pondering what friend with whom to write my next book. 📚 #amreading #fiction #authorlife #bookstagram #bettertogether #romcombooks
My friend Delana called before she brought us dinn My friend Delana called before she brought us dinner yesterday and asked if we liked chocolate pie. Um, yes. Turns out both Peggy and I love chocolate pie. Delana gave us chocolate chips cookies too, you know, just in case we didn’t like pie.

My friends are loving on us so well this week with dinner & dessert, obviously. Yes, the food is good, but the way they saw a need and met it is even more gracious. (I wrote a book about gathering & nourishing your people!) Having someone provide dinner has freed up some mental space I’m able to use for taking care of Peggy and parenting my kids, some of whom have needed a little extra love and guidance this week. 

Peggy is nine days removed from open heart surgery with quadruple bypass and is doing well. She had a good check up with her primary care provider this morning. We’re thankful for our community of people who continue to pray for us, feed us, and provide help, like today’s impromptu preschool pickup when an appointment ran long. (Thanks, @katie_cunningham85 & @tstanger25!)

#bettertogether #momlife #reallife #morethangroceries #choosingJOY
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