Family - April Chapman

Category: Family

28
Feb
2017

Parents…Be Purposeful In Praying

I’ve recently been reminded of the importance of praying over my children. It was easy when they were little and I was the one tucking them into bed each night. Those little girls are busy teenagers now, blossoming into beautiful women. While I may not tuck them into bed at night, praying over them is more important than ever, so new habits must surface.

This year Ainsley started high school and since we go to a school outside of our area, I drive her every morning on my way to work. We have 15 minutes of uninterrupted time each morning, which gives us the time to talk about what is going on in her life and for me to pray over her before she leaves the car. I remember thinking in the beginning of the year what a drag it was going to be to have to leave early every morning to take her, and now it is time I absolutely cherish.

Jerilyn’s needs are different. She tends to get attacked by Satan at night and can be overwhelmed by fear. She lives in a wonderful group home during the week, but that means she is not home most nights. We now have nightly calls where I can pray over her. The wonderful perk of a child with autism is that habits are easy for her to develop. They make her world feel much safer. Jerilyn calls every night before bed, you could set your clock to it, and this connects us even when she isn’t with me. It also builds her faith as she sees God step in and answer our prayers.

Daisy has been the more challenging one to get into a routine, because there is not a specific time of day when it is just us two. However, I was reminded this week of the importance of being purposeful about praying over her. She has been having a rough week, and I’ve had to have some difficult conversations with her. The moods of a twelve-year-old girl are fierce! 🙂 As I became purposeful about praying over her, and doubling-down with a prayer in the morning and evening, I could see the teenage angst fading and the joy only Jesus brings, appear on her face.

Lord, help us to pray purposefully over our children. We are often the only thing that stands between them and a world eager to distract and entice them away from you. Help us to connect on a heart level with them by letting them see our love poured out in petitions for them to you, our sweet, sweet Heavenly Father.

12
Nov
2014

Still Playing Catch-Up

categories: Family, Home, Kids

Now on to some other updates…

First day of school 2014 — First Day of School 2014

Ainsley has started 7th grade ,which means I have two girls in middle school right now. So far, the world hasn’t imploded, although hormones are running high and changing by the nano-second. I am actually super proud of Ainsley. She is making straight A’s, her teachers all love her, and she is making good choices even with the peer pressure surrounding her. Ainsley is also a very talented poet and artist. Friendships are the life-blood for a 13 year old, so join me in praying for some strong Christian friends for her at school and in our youth group.

Daisy is in 5th grade now and just turned ten. This is the first brithday milestone one of my children achieved that gave me pause to consider how the time has flown and just how soon they will be grown and gone. A little hard for this momma. Daisy is such a fun young lady, who seems to draw people to herself and is often surrounded by friends. She has some strong leadership abilities and is quick to tell anyone who asks that she wants to be an “entrepeneur” when she grows up. Her latest business venture is called Family-Friendly Freezer Foods. She has done her market research and is planning on launching it to our neighbors very soon here. My prayer for Daisy is that she is a leader worth following who loves the Lord first and foremost.

We have also had a new addition to our home this year. My nephew Noah, came to live with us in March. He is nine years old and in the fourth grade. Noah is a sweet boy, quick to do his chores, homework, or anything you ask really. Such a change from my girls…LOL. He loves video games, but also enjoys playing games with the family as well. He got a pair of fish recently and takes care of them so well I am almost considering allowing yet another hamster in our home.

Daniel is still going back and forth between Jacksonville and Phoenix. He is here for about a month and gone for the next. It sucks, but we are making it work.

I’ll update you next on all the craziness going on with me as well.

01
Feb
2013

Shameless Pride

categories: April, Family, God, Holidays, Kids

Okay…this is the most belated blog ever because I’ve been meaning to post this since Christmas. My sweet 11 year old daughter, Ainsley, couldn’t go to sleep on Christmas Eve (no surprises there). The reason for my shameless pride though is because of what she chose to do with her sleepless night. The next day she told me she read the whole book of Luke and wrote the following prayer for Christmas day:

Dear Father God, creator of all and maker of Heavens we give our thanks to you. Because when we the sinner sinned your heart broke but you didn’t stop loving us so you gave the most wonderful thing one day. Your son. So your son washed our hearts in the blood of the lamb so we could live eternally forever with you. So your son deserves all the presents but he doesn’t accept something made on the outside, he wants something made on the inside so we lift our hearts up to you Lord, Amen.

That’s my Girl!!

(I had to post this so I will never forget it.)

24
Sep
2012

Girls Night Turned ER Night

categories: April, Family

Last night was supposed to be a semi-relaxing night with a couple of my girlfriends at one of their houses. I say semi only because we still had all of our little girls. Their husbands took all the boys out to a movie and we were having a girl’s night in-house.

While we were out on the back porch sipping our wine, our daughters were all in the front room dancing up a storm. Then we heard a bloodcurdling scream. Ainsley was hurt. She had fallen and hit her back on the coffee table. What made this different from a normal fall was that she was unable to feel anything from her waist down.

After trying for several minutes to test for any feeling at all and getting no response, my friend Tammy called 911. Ainsley was terrified. She began screaming that she didn’t want to be paralyzed. I was doing my best to stay calm and keep her from losing it by telling her everything would be all right. The ambulance was on its way and they could help her.

Once the ambulance arrived I backed up so EMT’s could assess her. They were running tests, looking to see if her legs responded. They poked and prodded, but got no response. They put her on a backboard and started strapping her down. I laid my hands on her head and prayed for complete healing. Then I heard them radio in that they were bringing a level one trauma into the Children’s Hospital and that was when I started to shake.

Ainsley’s anxiety was continuing to increase as they immobilized her and she began thrashing around when they tried to start an IV. This was actually the first sign of good news because we saw some movement below her waist. They loaded her into the ambulance and I had to get in the front seat so two of the EMT’s could ride back there with her.

She was screaming as they were putting in the IV, in case you can’t guess, she hates needles. She calmed down after they finished. Personally, at this point, I am still on autopilot. I have this ability, or liability, considering how you look at it, to shut down my emotions to deal with a crisis and this skill definitely kicked in. I prayed.

Once we arrived at the hospital, they wheeled her into the trauma room and start cutting off her clothes and asking her questions. She tells them she has a little feeling above her knee, but still can’t feel anything below it. I see them do the reflex test on her knees with absolutely no response. They are running sharp tools along the bottom of her feet, again, nothing. The doctor asks her to wiggle her toes. They keep asking and she responds in a panicky voice… “Are they moving? Are they moving?” They weren’t.

All of this felt surreal. As if I was watching this happen to someone else. Except I wasn’t. My daughter was the one lying there on the table surrounded by two doctors, three nurses, and few others. I felt a peace though that everything would be all right. I stood by her, watched and prayed.

One of the doctors down by her feet continued to prod and pinch her legs looking for any response. Finally, she said she felt something. He had been literally taking sections of the skin on her leg, pinching and turning it, which typically would have hurt. Once she said she felt something it was a huge relief. She described it as very light, but within a few more minutes she could move her toes again. Praise God!!!

With the main concern of paralysis gone, we were given a room while they set up a CT for her to see if there was a fracture. After about an hour the doctors came back. They had spoken with a neurologist and needed to see if she could walk, which would determine whether she needed a CT or an MRI. With their support she could stand, but was still unable to walk. Now an MRI crew would have to be called in.

At least another hour slips by as we wait for them to arrive. I start to get a little concerned when I remember that Ainsley’s father has a degenerative back condition. He has had a back surgery, as has his sister, and their father. I’m hoping Ainsley hasn’t inherited this. Transport comes in to take her for the MRI. I sat in the room with her while she does the test, which is about 30 minutes.

Thankfully, they got the results back to us fairly quickly and it is all good news. Nothing broken. They tell us she had a spinal concussion. These are rare but we could expect a full, quick recovery. A little while later she was able to walk out of the hospital, very gingerly. She had to take it easy today, ice it and rest. She should be good as new in the next day or so. Again….Praise God!

This experience has taught me once again that we are not promised tomorrow will look the same as today. The unlikely or unimaginable can actually happen with no warning. Every day is a gift.

07
Sep
2012

Summer Update (After Summer Is Already Finished)

categories: Autism, Family

Yes…that’s right. School started a month ago and I am just getting around to writing the summer blog posts I’ve had in my mind for two to three months now. What can I say? I am a VERY good procrastinator.

First, let me tell you what I thought summer was going to look like. I thought that Jerilyn would stay in Arizona for two weeks with my mom and attend a summer camp while I was driving out to Florida to spend the summer with Daniel. That was the original plan but like I always say…I literally believe God laughs when he hears plans come out of my mouth, because they very rarely become reality.

With about a day or two to go before I was set to leave Phoenix I had an appointment with one of Jerilyn’s therapists. After describing our current family life, which I have to tell you, was not a cheery description in regards to Jerilyn wanting to even BE in our family, the therapist suggested I let Jerilyn stay in Phoenix with my sister, Kim, for the summer. Many of you are aware that I adopted Jerilyn from my sister when Jerilyn was almost three.

Kim had been asking to spend more time with Jerilyn and Jerilyn had been making it very clear to me that she would rather be with her “real” mom, so the therapist suggested letting them spend some time together. Sometimes letting people experience the “greener” side they believe exists, is the best way for them to discover that it’s not as green as they imagine. That is the short version of it all, but trust me, it wasn’t an easy decision to make.

Jerilyn stayed back with Kim in Phoenix for the summer, I called it a “social experiment.” These were the things I was hoping would come from it…

Jerilyn would realize how much she does want to be a part of our family.

The experience would open up opportunities for her to attach to us.

My sister would accept that the best place for Jerilyn is with us.

My sister would go get a mental health evaluation for herself.

There would be some healing in the relationships between Kim, Jerilyn and I.

Initially, Jerilyn was super-obedient at Kim’s house, so everything went peachy keen. That lasted for three to four weeks, after which, she started giving Kim the same daily opposition she gives to me. As the list of oppositional behaviors grew, the experiment started to show some signs of cracking. In the end, all of the things listed above that I was hoping for, did actually happen. Unfortunately, it was a little more than Jerilyn could handle. She ended up spending two weeks with my parents in California and then with just a few more days to go before I was due back in Phoenix, Jerilyn ran away from Kim’s house.

I’m not sure if I’ve written this before or not, but Jerilyn is a runner. She has disappeared or given us the slip more times than I can count. It’s always scary, but she tends to stay in our neighborhood, however this time she didn’t. She decided to walk the six miles back to my parents house, in temps over 100 degrees. The police were called and eventually Jerilyn arrived at the house driven by a stranger. Praise God that when she was out walking she came across a teenage girl walking her dog whose father actually worked with autistic children. This girl took Jerilyn to her mother who then drove her to our house. I believe God does have some special guardian angels around this child…and even they are probably tired!!

Jerilyn was admitted to St. Luke’s again where she spent a week and tried to come down from her manic state. I wasn’t surprised that she wanted to go back to the hospital because, for her, it is a familiar predictable schedule and she needed the structure they offer to calm her emotions down. It would have been a highly emotional summer for anyone in her shoes, but even more so, with someone who struggles so much to try and make sense out of our very social world filled with convoluted and confusing relationships. We are still struggling to have some balance.

I’ll end this post with a request for prayer. Please pray for Jerilyn “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that she may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19) Thank you my friends!

07
Mar
2012

Auntie April

categories: April, Family, Travel

Right now I am on a plane from Billings, Montana heading back to Phoenix. Julie, my wonderful sister,

and her family came down to Phoenix last week and left their two-year old, Genevieve, with us for a few extra days and then I brought her back to them this weekend. We were also able to meet Gracie for the first time, who is now six months old. Oh…I love being an aunt! They are so adorable. I just want to hug and squeeze them constantly. I love being “Auntie April.”

Traveling with Genevieve this last week reminded me of the physical toll little ones take on you though. I had happily forgotten the trauma of lugging around all the extra stuff they need. My baby is seven and she can carry her iPod all by herself, which is all she really wants these days. 🙂

It was nice to be able to go and see where Julie actually lives and just spend time together without feeling rushed. It’s hard to believe that my little sister is such an “adult” too…raising beautiful children and keepin’ it real with her great hubby, Getty. They live in Sheridan, Wyoming, which is two hours from Billings. So, I actually got to cross two states off of my “Never Been To” list. Montana and Wyoming. It is beautiful up there.

Julie and I went out and karaokeed it up last night. (Thanks Getty!) I can karaoke because I don’t embarrass easily, even though, if I had any self-respect, I would be embarrassed! Julie, on the other hand, should be on stage somewhere. We had a great time. Wish we lived closer to each other. It’s great to have sisters who are friends, don’t ya think?

Speaking of friends, though, my other piece of exciting news is that Misty is on a plane right now as well…heading out to Phoenix for a visit. I’m going to get to meet Valor in a few hours. I can’t wait! Another baby to hug and squeeze! Misty is only bringing Valor, so her three crazy beautiful girls won’t be with her this time. I’ll miss them, but maybe that means we will be able to carve out some time to sit down and really talk. This also means that I am going to force her to go somewhere quiet and actually write a blog post. You may not remember….but there is SUPPOSED to be a combination of three writers on this blog: Misty, Julie (I’m coming after you next, Girl) and I. It’s about time we see a post from Misty.

I’m also hoping to take Misty out for a much needed break! I’ll keep you posted. (Pun intended.)