Names

I decided to participate in Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life--Your Kid's Names" this Friday.

Samuel Andrew Shane

was placed in my arms on September 18th 2009 and I LOVE his name. During the years of infertility Justin and I decided that if we ever had a boy we would name him Samuel because Hannah's story and the life of Samuel (Bible) provided me with strength and hope. At first, I thought we would call him Sam but Justin refused and now we both love Samuel. Andrew is Justin's middle name. Samuel's birth mother named him Shane Michael and she asked that we would incorporate one of her names into the name we had chosen. We decided to just give him three names and again, I LOVE his name.

As for future children.....

Girl names- Adelyn, Grace, Annalee, Elizabeth, Liza, Bella........who knows?

Boy names- Ben, James, Joshua, Mitch.......

Justin loves the name Chloe for a girl. However, our little niece is Chloe so I think that one is out. Chloe Isabelle (great name) :)

Thinking about....

Mother's Day

I have been thinking about Mother's Day for several weeks now. Honestly, for several years this day has been very hard and for those of you still longing for answered prayers I hope you can find comfort in our story. Please know that God has a plan for you! This year I will celebrate with a thankful heart. I am thankful for God's master plan of redeeming love and I am thankful for Samuel's birth mother. Without her I would not be a mother today. Although I have never met her, my heart is filled with love and gratitude. I want to celebrate and honor her because she chose life for Samuel. She took great care of him for nine crucial months. She delivered him into this world and made the decision to place him in our arms. I think about the day that she chose us to become Samuel's parents. At that point, we had no idea that Samuel had been born. Every time I think about her saying, "That is the couple," I become overwhelmed with emotion. I know that God's hand was guiding her decision as well as our decision to adopt. At the end of our birth mother letter we said, "Our wish for you and your precious child is best stated in an old Irish proverb- 'May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.' On Sunday my heart will be with Samuel's birth mother.

And to our precious baby boy, Samuel Andrew Shane Johnson- We love you more than you could ever imagine!

"Legacy of an Adopted Child"

Once there were two women who never knew each other.One you do not remember, the other you call mother.Two different lives, shaped to make your one...One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.The first gave you life and the second taught you to live it.The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give ... One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name.One gave you a seed of talent, the other gave you an aim.One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.One gave you up ... that's all she could do.The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you.And now you ask me, through your fears, the age old question unanswered throughout the years...Heredity or environment, which are you the product of?Neither, my darling … neither.Just two different kinds of love.
~ Author Unknown ~

Hey :)

*Samuel now has his two bottom teeth. My mother-in-law found them Monday night at church and I was excited. (This explained why he was fussy all weekend) They are sharp! He is growing very fast and someone said to Justin at church "he is going to be a tall boy just like his Daddy" :) Love it!

* Next week is National Infertility Awareness Week. As I said previously, I will never forget the hurt, frustration and pain that infertility brings. If you or anyone you know is experiencing infertility tell them to check out this blog http://thepiferfamily.blogspot.com . She is going to talk about infertility every day next week on her blog. She also has a infertility support link where you can find other couples who are on their "infertility journey" (It helps to know that you are not alone)

* We are in revival this week with Jamie Ellington. Justin has been working late every night trying to get the roof on our new house and I have not had time to get the house we are living in now "ready." Long story short- I started having some major anxiety issues at the beginning of the week. When I walked in church last night I heard these words....

God said you're gonna make it

You're going to make through the raging storm

Don't worry over thunder

You're not going under

God said you're gonna make it

You're going to make it for the Master is on board

A choir was singing and I began to cry. Then he preached about being fearful and having anxiety. He gave us three points. We become fearful because...

#1. We forget who He is.

#2. We forget who we are.

#3. We forget what He can do.

I am so thankful that God loves me so much that He would send a message of peace and comfort to my soul. I have been feeling relief all day. He is so good and I could never thank him enough for all He has done. I am glad that I am serving a PERSONAL SAVIOR and that I am A CHILD OF THE KING!!!

Sold our house :(

Justin and I sold our house yesterday and I am very sad. We went to the lawyer's office at 11:00 after a busy weekend of moving and cleaning. Samuel cried when I dropped him off today with the babysitter for the first time, which did not help my nerves. (I now have a fifty minute drive to work) NOT FUN! I am thankful that our house sold and I am hoping I will adjust quickly. Justin is busy working on our new house and hopefully we will be able to move in sometime in June. I will probably still blog some to keep up with Samuel's milestones but I will not be able to add any pictures for the next couple of months :( We do not have the Internet now and I cannot add the pictures at school. Please keep me in your prayers. The last few weeks have been very stressful and I am feeling overwhelmed with all of the changes.

Good Recipes

I am going to do one last post tonight with pictures because we will be moving out of our house tomorrow. Check out this blog http://dinner-bells.blogspot.com I thought she had some really good and easy recipes. I am going to try the pound cake and sausage muffins soon.

Our Easter Weekend

As always, we had a wonderful, busy weekend in Lbg. Here are a few pictures to share.

Uncle John and Samuel- We had lunch at his house on Sat.

My handsome cousin Jack (This is Heather's son)

Ella and Samuel

Creighton riding Jack's lawn mower.

My baby and me :)

Happy boy!

The Grubbs "little" cousins

Finley, Samuel and Creighton

Samuel's first Easter basket (My battery died before I could get him with the basket.)

Loving his bottle Easter morning with Gam

Samuel and Justin

He does not like the sun in his eyes :)

Miss Finley Page

Enjoying the sunshine (not the pollen)!

Samuel and Papa

Papa, Samuel and Gam

Our only family Easter picture

I am on Spring Break this week and I am enjoying every second. Justin gave me a massage for Valentine's Day and I am finally getting to go today. Our babysitter is going to keep Samuel for a couple of hours so I am also going to lunch at one of my favorite places, BLT. Justin is very busy building our new house and I started packing yesterday. I have 4 boxes packed and Justin came home and said "Well, only 200 more to go" :( Hope you have a good week.

I Know...

My Redeemer Lives!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3N_UvOytw&feature=related

We hope you are having a Happy Easter!

Love- Justin, Beth and Samuel