There are plenty of things I've done in my life that I wish I hadn't, so occasionally it is nice to find something I've done that I'm really glad I did.

One such thing is the name we gave Adam when he was born.

When I was pregnant with Adam and we found out he was going to be a boy, I talked about naming him Luke, a name I've always liked.  But, I found that every time I thought about this little guy who was coming, I wanted to call him Adam.  I told this to Brad one night in bed, and he jumped all over it, saying we could name him Adam James after his Grandpa Herndon (his first name was James).  As soon as he said it, we both knew it was the right name for our boy.

About a week before Adam was born, we were visiting Grandpa Herndon on a Sunday night, which we did almost every week.  We were sitting in his little living room when I asked Grandpa if it would be okay with him for us to give our baby his name.  He choked up a little, smiled his shy Grandpa Herndon smile, and said something along the lines of "that's the most okay thing I've ever heard" in his quiet, raspy voice.

A couple of months later, when we blessed Adam, Grandpa Herndon was there, and he stood to bear his testimony in our sacrament meeting.  He introduced himself to our ward as the James that Adam James had been named for, and then bore his testimony, which he read from notes he had prepared before.  Later, I asked him if I could have a copy of his testimony to give to Adam some day.

Grandpa Herndon with Adam James on his blessing day.

Today, I was thinking back on that, and I remembered that I still have that copy of Grandpa's testimony.  I haven't looked at it since he gave it to me almost twelve years ago, so I dug it out just for fun.

I had remembered that it was written in Grandpa's handwriting, but you can see that he actually typed it up.  Although, it is probably accurate to say that typewriting WAS Grandpa Herndon's handwriting.  You can see that he also typed the note to me on the pink post-it.

Grandpa Herndon died in his sleep about a year after he gave me this testimony.  But, I think of him every time I hear or write Adam's full name.  I am so glad my son bears his name.

We miss and love you, GP H.