The Newest Member of the Family

James and I had our first bit of bad news as a couple. Amos, our kitten, got hit by a car on Friday and passed on. :( This is James and Amos in January.
James got Amos when we had been dating almost a year- he was a rescued feral cat and the cutest little thing.

So, Amos has been our baby. Amos loved to go outside and the place where James used to live was perfect...lots of land, long driveway, woodsy property, hardly any cars ever came down his street.

Well, the house we moved to is on a much busier street, but Amos just would not stay inside. So, we let him out tentatively - he wandered and came back. But a few times, we found Amos across the street. And James knew that somehow, this would not end well.

And, well, on Friday, when I got home from work, our neighbor came right over and asked if we had a grey cat. He didn't have to say anything else. I knew.

James was working late, so after I gained my composure, I had to break the bad news - and he came home right away. I knew James would be so sad...he loved Amos so much. "Amos McGreatest" is what James called him.

He was hit by a livery driver driving a limo. The man was deaf and mute and went banging on our neighbor's door after Amos was hit. He was so upset. They quickly moved Amos to the side of the road - thankfully he wasn't squished, but he was gone already.

So, we sadly said a prayer and buried him. But it was a tough, sad night. :(

I asked James if we should get another one - he wasn't sure. We have another cat - Hannah - and while Hannah would terrorize Amos at times, they were just beginning to become friends. Hannah kept looking around for him and was mopey for a few days. We thought it would be good to get Hannah a new friend as soon as possible. This is James and Hannah.
So, on Sunday, we went to the shelter where James had gotten me a gift certificate for Christmas for a kitten a year and a half ago (Never used it...were waiting for spring for kitten season, I traveled on a few trips, then we got engaged... you know how that all goes...)

A few minutes after we walked in, a lady came in with a kitten that she had to drop off. Her daughter had taken him because someone had come to her job and was giving them away. They had the kitten for about a month, but she just couldn't afford to keep him. We told her we were looking for a kitten and she got so excited. She said she would feel so happy if she knew the kitten would have a good home. We kind of felt it was meant to be, so we said yes.

Well, meet Samson.

James picked the name because Samson in the Bible is a story of redemption. And Samson is a way that we can redeem our loss of Amos - a second chance. And I had just heard on TV the other day that the name Samson means "Sunshine." Perfect.

We picked him up today and he is great...SOOOOO playful and confident...not a scared bone in his little body. And he is already jumping around and exploring like he owns the place. I am sure we are going to love him a bunch. So, here is the newest member of our family: