Sunday, March 13, 2011
Drum Roll Please!
Kelly and I are so excited to announce that we have sold a little over 100 Show Hope shirts! We feel so much support from our families and friends, and feel extremely blessed!! Let's keep those orders coming!
We had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to speak to a women's Bible study group at our church. Their group is reading the book "When Women Say Yes to God." We were honored to share our stories with this group of women (Girlfriendz for God), and we know they'll be praying for our journey every step of the way. We are so happy that we said "Yes to God!"
Telling Brin and Savy About Their Sister
When Bo and I decided that we were really going through with the adoption, we wanted to take the kids out to dinner to tell them about our decision. I wanted everything perfect! I had borrowed the book "Choosing To See" from a friend, and had already given the book back to her. I wanted to buy the book, so that we would be able to tell the kids about the book, and also to show them photos of little girls who would look very similar to their sister, Caroline. We headed up to Lakeland, and thought for sure that Target would have the book. After searching down the book aisles for several minutes, I left feeling discouraged. I am one who looks for signs when making a decision, and this wasn't a good sign. However, when leaving Target, an asian family was walking in! I could almost hear the Lord saying "Ye of little faith...." We then went to Lakeside Village....thinking that Books-A-Million would carry the book. I looked for the book for atleast 20 minutes, and had a sales clerk looking for me as well. After looking in their computer system, she finally found the book for me. We then took the kids to Chili's for dinner to tell them all about the new Conerly adventure. They were very excited, and loved looking at photos of the adorable Chapman girls.
The next day, we went to visit my family in Avon Park. Savy wrote a sweet note to them to tell them about her new sister. The note read "My mommy is having a Chinese baby, and her name is Caroline." I laughed when I saw the note, and immediately explained what the note meant. :)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The "A" Word
Adoption is something I've thought about now for some time...."thought" being the key word here. I always thought it was wonderful for those families who were called by the Lord to adopt, but it just wasn't for us.
I have always wanted three children, so when I was pregnant with Will, I had the idea that my perfect family would be complete. I always wanted my son to be the oldest, a daughter to be my second (so that she could be the "princess" of the family), and another son to be the youngest. Will was born on September 26th, and went into the arms of Jesus on August 29th, 2008. Will's body had several needs and he endured much during his short time on this Earth, but he taught us so much during that short time. One important lesson was that we can't plan our lives. We can't plan this picture perfect family with a picture perfect ending. When everything is perfect in our lives, then where is there room for God? We learn and grow through life's ups and downs. He also taught us to smile during the hard times. Will had a feeding tube, a trache, and open heart surgery; yet through it all, he always seemed to have a smile for his family, his many visitors, doctors and nurses.
Will has been with Jesus for a little over 2 1/2 years, and the question "Are you going to have another child" has come up a lot. After testing by a genetesist, we found that Will's disorder was genetic. We've prayed about whether or not we should have another child, but have come to the realization that we're getting older, and the thought of a pregnancy, nursing, lack of sleep, etc. sounds exhausting. For quite some time now, I've heard the word "adoption" here and there, but kept pushing it aside. Well, I've learned very quickly that when the Lord is calling you to be obedient, it is very hard to ignore him. We hear the word adoption in movies, television, magazing covers and articles, radio programs, at church, etc. I had also heard of close friends adopting on facebook, and close friends here in Wauchula had also mentioned that they were praying about adoption. We even had a "Ladies Night" at our church recently, and our guest speaker, the one and only Sandi Patty, had shared her story about how they adopted their son, "Sam." The "A" word has been everywhere, and it's been very hard to ignore! I'm so happy that we listened to Him, and have stepped out in faith in the journey of Adoption!!
I have always wanted three children, so when I was pregnant with Will, I had the idea that my perfect family would be complete. I always wanted my son to be the oldest, a daughter to be my second (so that she could be the "princess" of the family), and another son to be the youngest. Will was born on September 26th, and went into the arms of Jesus on August 29th, 2008. Will's body had several needs and he endured much during his short time on this Earth, but he taught us so much during that short time. One important lesson was that we can't plan our lives. We can't plan this picture perfect family with a picture perfect ending. When everything is perfect in our lives, then where is there room for God? We learn and grow through life's ups and downs. He also taught us to smile during the hard times. Will had a feeding tube, a trache, and open heart surgery; yet through it all, he always seemed to have a smile for his family, his many visitors, doctors and nurses.
Will has been with Jesus for a little over 2 1/2 years, and the question "Are you going to have another child" has come up a lot. After testing by a genetesist, we found that Will's disorder was genetic. We've prayed about whether or not we should have another child, but have come to the realization that we're getting older, and the thought of a pregnancy, nursing, lack of sleep, etc. sounds exhausting. For quite some time now, I've heard the word "adoption" here and there, but kept pushing it aside. Well, I've learned very quickly that when the Lord is calling you to be obedient, it is very hard to ignore him. We hear the word adoption in movies, television, magazing covers and articles, radio programs, at church, etc. I had also heard of close friends adopting on facebook, and close friends here in Wauchula had also mentioned that they were praying about adoption. We even had a "Ladies Night" at our church recently, and our guest speaker, the one and only Sandi Patty, had shared her story about how they adopted their son, "Sam." The "A" word has been everywhere, and it's been very hard to ignore! I'm so happy that we listened to Him, and have stepped out in faith in the journey of Adoption!!
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