the holly bears the crown

the only yard color we had at our house (outside) last winter were the two holly trees in our front planter. as much as we hate those trees (the leaves they drop HURT and therefore you have to wear gloves when working in the planter), they are by far the most beautiful things in our yard come december.

And as when all the summer trees seen So bright and green The holly leaves their fadeless hues display Less bright than they But when the bare and wintry woods see What then so cheerful as the holly tree So serious should my youth appear The thoughtless throng So would I seem amid the young and gay More grave than they That in my age as cheerful I might be As the green winter of the holly tree ROBERT SOUTHKT

holly the name, not the plant, is really why i'm blogging... i've (we've) picked our baby girl name. holly noelle. i realize those 2 names are a lot of christmas (as i tend to not like "themed" names), but in reality, not many will even KNOW her middle name (since most folks aren't called by their whole name) and hopefully in her 20s or 30s, she'll be married and loose it anyway. so, i like it, nathaniel likes it, and we will name her that. so here are some reasons that i know for SURE that holly noelle is the right name: 1. in the winter, it is the only beautiful thing outside, the only thing of color and life. nathaniel and i are such nature lovers, why not name our child, which will come in winter - when everything is dull outside, after such a lovely winter plant? 2. holly is a symbol of joy, goodwill, and christmas. 3. having an aunt named joyce and a sister with the middle name joyce, naming my child which means joy can be associated with both of them and the family. 4. holly also means the holy spirit, and noelle means born on christmas day (which is greatly a possibility for this baby). the day we celebrate for christmas represents the day that mary (mary - another family name for both of us!) bore jesus christ. jesus christ was later hung on the cross for our sins, with a crown of thorns (holly) upon his head. 5. christmas is my favorite holiday. 6. christmas is a season of love, family, charity, etc. and why not name my child after all those wonderful things? 7. i know this is a stretch, but sometimes random things make me KNOW it is the right name (and this is using my bestest-pullinger-logic ever...) like, for instance, the fact that the version we use now of the Holly and the Ivy (christmas carol) was first published by cecil sharp. cecil is similar to my grandma's name, cescile. 8. a super version of the holly and the ivy was sung by natalie cole, which her name is the feminine version of nathaniel! (that link is not her singing, though.) (is it too early to start listening to christmas music? this song definitely puts me in the christmas spirit!) 9. while researching the use of holly as a name on the internet, i came across a blog called "under the holly tree" whose author is named ROBIN!!! really. how wild is that? (robin was kendal's if-he-was-a-girl name.) 10. holly makes me think of the color green, which is one of my favorite colors. 11. kendal and my favorite doctor at the pediatrician's office is named holly! (actually, she is a nurse practitioner, not a dr - but twice as helpful and friendly as the doctors!) 12. we both really liked noelle before (with kendal), and i think this is a great way to use it without re-using it (so to speak...) so, i'm up to make a monetary wager on this declaration of "holly noelle" as our name for #2 (if it is a girl - those ultrasounds aren't 100% accurate...) if anyone would like to join in on this wager, i'll bet you $5 that i WILL keep that as her name (no changes). if i do change it, i'll pay you $5. if i don't, you pay me $5. you have to comment on this blog to participate!