Sam's Story {his name}

After we got the call and Wes got home, we began talking about what we were going to name this little baby boy.

We've had a name picked out for a long time.
Even though we loved the name, something always felt a little off to me.

Then, I thought of the name Samuel...and this is why...

I've always struggled with praying.
I hate saying that, but it's true.
I have no problem talking to God throughout the day, asking Him for wisdom or thanking Him for something he's blessed me with.
It's the day after day, faithful praying for specific people and situations that I struggle with.
I get so overwhelmed thinking about all of the needs {including mine} that sometimes I just don't pray at all...

While we were in the midst of our last adoption match falling through, God repeatedly was speaking truth to me about prayer through sermons I was listening to, my scripture calendar by my kitchen sink, books and people.

John 14:14 kept coming into my mind...

"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

So, I did.  

I asked Him that we would get a baby before October.

I asked Him everyday.

But something was so different about this prayer.  

I wasn't asking out of fear of an unknown future. 

I wasn't asking out of what I wanted. {Even though I really, really wanted a baby soon.}

I was asking Him out of trust.

Trusting Him that His will was best.

Only a few people knew about my prayer and I remember telling them that I had complete peace about the outcome whether my prayer was answered or not.

Here's where I get to give God all of the glory.

He answered my prayer.  

He may have given us our sweet, precious Sam without my prayers, but it made it that much sweeter...

I was able to share this story with Sam's birth mom and I can't wait to share it with Sam someday.

"She named him Samuel, saying, 

"Because I asked the Lord for Him. "

1 Samuel 1:20b

Stay tuned for part 3...meeting Sam's birth mom.

Sam's story {the call}

Hi, friends!  I hope me saying that I can't wait to share with you Sam's story didn't make you think that I was going to get you the story in a timely manner...

Life has been a little crazy this last week.
Blogging has been pushed to the bottom of my to-do list.

So, here is part 1 of an undetermined number of parts.

Saturday morning, September 15, I was all set to can some tomatoes when the phone rang.

I answered and it was one of the adoption coordinators from our agency.
She didn't waste anytime.
She asked how I was and then she said, "I was wondering if you wanted a baby today?"
I, of course, said yes and she began telling me the little information she knew about the birth mom and the baby.

It's a boy.
He's african-american.
He was born at 4:55 that morning.
He was born in the same city as Max...which I absolutely love.
He weighs 6 lbs. 12oz.
The birth mom wanted to meet us a 4:00 that evening before she signed the papers at 5:00.  {That's not nerve-wracking at all...}
She didn't name the baby.

You would think the next step would be for me to yell to Wes and tell him the good news.
However, Wes was on a bike ride...a three hour bike ride.
He still had over an hour before he was supposed to be done.
I called him hoping he would somehow answer.
I might have called more than a couple of times...

I seriously just wandered around the house.
I was in shock and I was shaking.
Poor Max had no clue what was going on.

I hated to tell anyone else before Wes found out, but I needed to tell my mom because we had 3 wedding cakes to deliver that afternoon and I obviously was not going to be able to help.

Wes called at 10:40 thinking that something was wrong.
I might have overdone the phone calls and texts...
I had plans to wait until he got home and get his reaction on camera, but I couldn't wait one minute longer.
I just blurted out, "We have a baby!" and he said, "Are you serious?"
After some rambling between the two of us I said, "Do you even care what it is?"
He said, "No, but what is it?"
It was so fun to tell him that he was going to have another son!

Wes finally got home, we hugged and cried and Max ran around the house in circles, once again, not knowing what in the world was going on...

God had answered my prayer...my very specific prayer...and I'll tell you all about it in part 2 of Sam's story.

Introducing...

Samuel Rodney.

He's our son and we are so thankful.

We got a call this morning that changed our lives forever.

I can't wait to share with you all Sam's story...

Left to Right...Top to Bottom

Holding on for dear life.

Tea time.

Max got to choose what facial expression we made.

Trips to Target are never a bad idea.
Our ongoing Skip-Bo tournament.  I'm winning.
My favorite 2 year olds.  What a pair...

Waiting for Papa.

I should be a professional bubble blower.

An emergency conversation...I'm glad I can be there for my friends when they need me most.

I got to stay in bed and read.  Heaven.

Max's favorite part of grocery shopping.

Breakfast bowls...mine, Max's and Bobby the Bear's.

Have a lovely weekend!

Thankful {BSF}

When we got home from Bible Study Fellowship yesterday, I asked Max what he learned.

He held out his hands like a book and said this...

Max reading the creation story.

I almost cried.
It's such a blessing to hear truth about God and His Word come out of my 2 year old's mouth.

Today, when I asked him what he learned at BSF he said, "The Word of God is God!"  Still true, but I think he's getting a little confused...

I'm so thankful for BSF and all of the servant work that goes into making it an effective and meaningful bible study.
I'm thankful that Wes is able to go to the men's class, so that our family can study Genesis together.
And I'm thankful for grace and patience from God when I choose other things {mainly sleep} instead of getting into His Word.

I'm excited to see how God continues to transform our hearts this year!

Linking up with my friend, Carina.

Oh!!! One more thing!
 I am so thankful for all of you lovely people who have encouraged us with encouraging words and truth about who God is as we continue on our adoption journey.
Your words have been such a blessing to me.

Gladness in my Sadness

I've left all you lovely people out of the adoption loop for the past month.
Partly because some of the information that allows the story to make sense isn't my story to tell.
But also because the reality of our adoption journey thus far is sometimes a little difficult to put into words.

I first told you about K, the birth mom we had been matched with, back in June.
Then, the birth father came into the picture.
Then, K began to say things to us that made us think she was probably going to keep her baby.
We found out that this was her final decision 3 weeks ago.

K and I have built a friendship over the past couple of months and I told her to keep me posted with any baby news.

I got a text Tuesday morning that she was in labor and that night she had her baby...not our baby.

Tuesday was a hard day for me.

But God took care of me as he always does.
He brought this verse to my mind.

This is the day the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Every time sadness, worry or fear crept in to my mind, Max and I would sing this song.  

We sang it a lot on Tuesday.

I kept thinking...

If we were at the hospital meeting our new son that day, I would be rejoicing.  

I would be glad.

That's easy.

God reminded me that even in my sadness, I can be glad.
I can be glad because of all of the blessings He has given me.  I have an amazing husband, a precious boy, great family and friends, a house, clothes, freedom and on and on and on.

But more than anything else, I can be glad because I have a relationship with Jesus.
I get to have a relationship with Jesus.
I felt His presence all day and Him saying to me, "I know this is hard, Abby, but this is so, so good for you.  Trust me."

So, in the midst of my sadness, I'm choosing gladness.

May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.

Psalm 70:4

But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

let them ever sing for joy.

Psalm 5:11

Surely this is our God;

we trusted in him, and he saved us.

This is the Lord, we trusted in him;

let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.

Isaiah 25:9

May you be glad in whatever circumstance God has you in today.

10-4 Good Buddy {September Answers}

Alright, lovely ladies...can't wait to read your answers!  If you want to join the party, click here for the details. 1. Do you listen to Pandora?  What is your go-to Pandora station? We always listen to Pandora at the cake shop.   Right now, my go-to station is Elevation worship, but I also love the Jack Johnson, Tenth Avenue North and JJ Heller stations.

2. What is your favorite post from August?

Just Like Daddy -it is such a fun memory for me.

3. What non-cartoon TV show reminds you of your childhood?

Full House - My sister and I used to get so mad at my brother because he would always try to predict when the music at the end of each episode would start. {You know...during the very important learning lesson for D.J, Steph or Michelle}

4. What bad habit do you have that even annoys you?

I have a really bad habit of not shutting cabinet doors in the kitchen.

5. What 5 things would you take with you if your house was on fire?  People don't count...hopefully, that's a given.
my bible from high school, my journal, our stand up mirror {It makes you look smaller than you are}, my necklace that Wes had made using my grandma's diamond from her wedding ring, and our wedding album

6. Do you have a cleaning schedule that you use to keep up with your housework?

I use a schedule created by Motivated Moms. 
I like it because instead of cleaning one entire room from top to bottom, you do random things through out the house.  
It's really good for my cleaning ADD.  
Today I clean out my purse, pay the bills, clean the bathroom mirrors,clean my hairbrushes and dust Max's room and the guest rooms.  
This is in addition to other chores like laundry, dishes and picking up around the house.  
There are days when I don't do anything on the list, but it's great for when I feel overwhelmed and need a place to start.

7. What was your high school mascot?  Please tell me you have the ability to scan a high school picture to post too...

I grew up in a town called Reading and we were the Rangers.

Oh, did I have fun looking through some old pictures.
There were some pictures that I am dying to show you, but I will spare my high school friends the embarrassment.
It's one thing for me to throw myself under the bus...

So, here I am with my sister.
I was a freshman and she was a senior.
There are really no words...except for maybe eyebrows.

Here I am with my parents and my friend and her parents.
It was parent's night.
Both of our parents thought it was during halftime of our game.
It was between games.
Our coach walked us out.
No big deal.

Obviously, being tan in high school was not a priority...
I don't think that's a first place trophy by the looks on some of the girls faces either...

I used to run.

Sometimes I think about doing it again...

I wore my Puma's at every meet of my high school career.

They really smelled.  

I had to keep them in a zipped up bag.

 This was the sign my mom made for Senior Night.
She pretty much rocked it.

Sorry to bore you with my trip down memory lane...

8. What is your favorite picture from August?

 Max wanted to go out in the rain, but had to get his goggles first.  

Man, I love this kid.

9. What do you love most about fall?

boots, fires, new shows on TV...mainly Parenthood and drinks like this one.

10. Tell me your dream cupcake.
We haven't attempted a salted caramel buttercream at our shop.  
I think that would be delicious on a chocolate cupcake.  
Anything that is sweet and salty has my vote.  
Mainly, I asked this question to get some ideas from all of you.

You have until the 11th to get your questions answered!
The link is right below my signature.

Happy Labor Day

I hope your labor day weekend has been less laborious than a photo shoot with my boy...

Have a happy day.

Tomorrow's the day for all of your 10-4 Good Buddy answers!  Can't wait!

10-4 Good Buddy. {September Questions}

In honor of meeting new people and building relationships, each month I host a party called 10-4 Good Buddy.

Here's the scoop.

1. On the 1st of every month, I post 10 questions for you to answer.  

2. On the 4th of that month {or later - you have until the 11th}, you will post your ten answers on your blog with a link back to mine. 

<center> <a href="http://akersoflove.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h416/alakers/10-4blogbutton.jpg"/></a></center>

3. Link up your post at the bottom of my 10-4 post.

4. Take a peek at the other bloggers' posts.

Easy right?  I think it will be fun!  You never know...you may meet someone new!

1. Do you listen to Pandora?  What is your go-to Pandora station?

2. What is your favorite post from August?

3. What non-cartoon TV show reminds you of your childhood?

4. What bad habit do you have that even annoys you?

5. What 5 things would you take with you if your house was on fire?  People don't count...hopefully, that's a given.

6. Do you have a cleaning schedule that you use to keep up with your housework?

7. What was your high school mascot?  Please tell me you have the ability to scan a high school picture to post too...

8. What is your favorite picture from August?

9. What do you love most about fall?

10. Tell me your dream cupcake.

Have fun and get to answerin'!