Christopher Golden Reed

When we started thinking about kids a few years ago I would always ask Thomas what he'd want to name our kids. He always came up with some sort of play on words or a pun or something like Bookcase. We ended up with quite a hilarious list of things we will NEVER name our kids. When we found out we were expecting we had only a few names on our list of things we WOULD name our kids and of those there was only one boy name.

In general I have a few requirements for things we name our kids. I want their names to be traditionally spelled and pronounced, they can't be something made up, there will be no unnecessary Xs, Ys or Zs. I might be picky but I don't want my kids to have to constantly correct the pronunciation or spelling of their name. I also want their middle names to come from family, something that connects them to the legacy left by an ancestor.

In the end we landed on the name Christopher Golden Reed for our little Blob. He's named after three pretty incredible people.

Christopher

His first name comes from a man I knew while serving my mission in England. We met Christopher Gunn on a drizzly day in Troquay. From the moment we stepped foot into his humble flat we knew he was special. His time on this earth was limited and both he and Heavenly Father knew that. Chris lapped up the Gospel so quickly it was astounding. In many ways he'd been living it for most of his life. Chris embodied humility in every way. We looked forward to our lessons with him because we knew in the end we would walk out much more uplifted by him than he ever was by us. Just a few days before his scheduled baptism he found out that his cancer was back in full force. All he could say was how grateful he was that the method of chemo they were administering him would still allow him to be baptized on time. I've never seen anyone more peaceful and confident as he was the day he became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Chris Gunn died about 6 months after I came home from my mission. He had never married and had no children. He was buried in a natural cemetery, on a hill overlooking the beautiful seaside town of Torquay. When we visited that area of my mission in the spring of 2014 we stopped to find his grave site and honor him. I was surprised at how emotional I was when we finally found his simple headstone in that meadow. I was overcome with gratitude for the chance to have known Chris and to have taught him the Gospel. I knew then that Christoper was a name I would put right at the top of favorite names for future children. It ended up being the only boy name on that list so when we found out Blob was a boy it was an easy choice. I think we'll always use his full name, like Thomas-never Tom- does, or shorten it to Topher.

Golden

The middle name for our son comes from another person I have great reverence and honor for. My grandpa, Keith Golden Anderson. He had and interesting life even before he was born. His mother met with a man named J. Golden Kimball to discuss the difficult circumstances in which she found herself expecting a child. J. Golden was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy in the LDS church at the time. He counseled my great grandma Goldie to keep her child even though it wouldn't be the easiest path. She did as he directed and my grandpa Keith Golden was born in August of 1929. He was raised by his grandparents and eventually adopted by them as well. He never really knew who his father was. I think it was these circumstances that made my grandpa so deeply value family connections in his later years.

J. Golden Kimball
Source

J. Golden Kimball was known for his sermons sprinkled with hells  and damns and if you knew my grandpa he was no different. They both had deep and abiding testimonies of the Gospel but they we country men. Gramps, as we called him, loved Diet Pepsi, horses and his grand kids. He taught us all how to ride a horse, weed a garden, decorate for Christmas and love the country. He had a short Swedish temper and could often be heard to bark, "Be still, dammit!" to which we just giggled and continued on with whatever mischief we were up to. He had the most legendary stories about being a real cowboy and in my eyes he was a true hero. Some of my most treasured memories are sitting on the front porch with him at night watching the stars and counting planes. We'd sip Diet Pepsi and sway in the porch swing. It was magic to me.

Gramps died just over 10 years ago and we all miss him dearly. At Thanksgiving the fall before he passed away he sat us all down and gave us some wise counsel. He wanted us to always make him proud, to always honor the Anderson name and make good choices with our lives. I don't think that is something I will ever forget and I hope to teach my son to honor the name he's given and make his ancestors proud.

Reed

The last name given to our son is Reed. This last name hasn't been in existence for very long- only a couple generations- since the  Hopi tribe members don't traditionally have last names. I am so excited that all of our kids will all have this name from their dad. I can't think of anyone who I love more in the whole world. Thomas is intelligent, he's witty and engaging to be around. He makes friends everywhere we go, he's courageous and hard working. He thinks of other people and will go out of his way to help someone or make them feel special. He's incredibly driven without ego and he is good to his very core.

I hope that our little boy grows up honoring the names we chose to give him. I hope he knows that he is one in a long line of strong, courageous and humble men.