Her name will be. . .

James and I have finally decided on a name for our daughter.

Samantha Eva

Samantha means "listener of God," and it is our prayer that she will listen for God's voice throughout her life and grow to be a devout follower of Christ.  Eva means "life."

She will named after people who were and are dear to us.  James' grandfather is known as "Sam" to his friends.  His given name is Carl.  So where did the name Sam come from?  Well, here's the story as I know it.  He was born the youngest of five children, and there was quite an age gap between him and his next sibling.  After naming the older four children, his mother was just out of names.  But one thing she knew for sure.  She did not like the name Sam at all.  A few days passed after his birth, and she still had not decided upon a name.  The older children began to bother her about what the baby's name would be.  She replied that she still didn't know, but just didn't want to name him Sam.  So siblings being siblings, they began to call him Sam, and it stuck.  He is dear to both us, and we have both learned valuable lessons from him.  One of the best holiday memories I have with James' family is gathering together at his grandparent's house at Christmas and reading the Nativity story from Luke together.

Eva was my grandmother's first name.  She passed away when I was 12 years old, but I remember her as being a kind, patient, hardworking woman.  I spent a lot if time at her house as a child, and she was the person who introduced me to coffee.  Whenever we'd go over to her house for dinner, we'd always have coffee with dessert.  I remember as a small child, probably about 5 years old, getting my own special cup of coffee from her.  She'd put extra creamer or milk in it along with some sugar.  Not the best thing for a 5 year old, but I always enjoyed getting my coffee from Grandma.  Isn't part of the fun of going to grandma's house getting special treats that you don't get at home?