Behind the Name

We have named our son Langdon James Dyksterhouse in an effort once again to honor our two families and the legacy that they have passed down to us as parents. Langdon comes from Kathryn’s grandfather on her mother’s side, whose name was William Arden Langdon. As you might imagine there is not a huge precedence for using the name Langdon as a first name, but much to Kathryn’s sister’s and cousins’ chagrin, we have chosen Langdon as the name of our first born son. Granddaddy (as Kathryn always called him) was a man that was respected by many. Kathryn always knew him to be quiet and patient, tender and kind. He was dedicated and passionate. We pray that Langdon will inherit some of these qualities of his namesake. Gary's father is a man created in much the same mold as Kathryn's Grandaddy, and we are so happy that Grammy Dyksterhouse (Gary's mom) pointed out that we included 'Don' in the naming of our child. While we do not support the pronouncing of our boy's name as langDON, we are so happy that our boy incorporates the names of two of the kindest, most dedicated men that we have ever known.

We gave our son the middle name of James out of respect for the Dyksterhouse family, although James is also a prevalent name on the Sturdivant side (James Walker – Kathryn’s paternal great-grandfather, James Walker Sturdivant & James Walker Sturdivant Jr.). Gary’s middle name is James, and all the males in Gary’s immediate family have a middle name that begins with the letter J (Donald Jay, Andrew John, Gary James, and James Jay). One of the most famous James in Biblical history was James, son of Zebedee. He and his brother John formed the sons of thunder and were the first two disciples to answer Jesus’ call to ministry. We hope that our son is open to Jesus’ call whenever and whatever that call might be, and that he would always be known as someone who is willing to stand up for his beliefs.

We also want to use this forum to send out a special thanks to everyone that was so instrumental in little Langdon James Dyksterhouse being born into this world. Having a child in the Dyksterhouse family is truly a community effort, and we could not have done it without all of your support. It is a common expression that it takes a village to raise a child, but in our case it takes a village just to have one, and we are so grateful for the village in which God has placed our family.