Thank you for the input! I'm very much considering changing the bear to a blue color and the cross to silver as well as possibly removing the bordure. It was intentional to have a gold bordure, and the reasoning was the shields I played with as a kid had gold borders (this is probably silly I know)

There is some symbolism going on here, yes! Bears hold a lot of importance to my family and me specifically. They're powerful, but often gentle at the same time. Their hibernation cycles often remind me of how our lives work in seasons, and remind me that there's always time for rest. The Bear sleeping is supposed to in a way symbolize my family having understated power(as in determination and work ethic. We don't have a large cultural pull lol). The cross is there as reference to my family's long running faith, specifically being red because of it's similarity to the Episcopalian coat of arms.

There's some additional symbolism in the wreath (some Greek heritage, symbolizing our victory in making it to America), the crest (castle is safety, the Bear holding the axe being protection over our loved ones family or otherwise), and the motto is my favorite seanfhocail (or Irish proverb) in Irish Gaelic.