We have a name!!

Throughout the adoption process, Raleigh and I talked about names, but we never made any final decisions. We wanted to wait until we saw our little treasure's picture before choosing a name.

Well, we were officially matched with our son on February 18th, so it has been about 2 months...and we finally have a name.

His Korean name is Si-won, which means righteous helper. Isn't that cool? We knew from the very beginning that we wanted to keep Si-won as part of his name.

So....drumroll please........

Our son is Beau Tanner Si-won (our last name), and we will call him Beau.

Raleigh chose the name Beau and I think it is just perfect! Beau is such a southern and classic name and we think it suits our son just perfectly!!

I chose the name Tanner as part of his middle name. (Technically he will have 2 middle names, Tanner and Si-won.) For those of you who have been following our story from the beginning, you know that God used the Chapman family's story to pull our hearts towards adoption. A little background...the Chapman's oldest daughter, Emily, went on a mission trip to Haiti when she was young. After that trip, she began asking her parents to adopt. She would even leave little notes around the house telling her parents why they should adopt. Well...fast forward a bit. The Chapman family did adopt three beautiful daughters from China. Maria Sue was the Chapman's youngest daughter. She went to live with Jesus on May 21, 2o08. I still remember hearing the news of the tragic accident. I was on my way to school to teach kindergarten. I walked in to my classroom in tears and God continued a mighty work in my heart. (You see, in April of 2008 Katherine Arnold Wolf suffered a massive rupture in her brain. This event caused me and Raleigh to have conversations about what it really means to pray without ceasing. Also we were reminded to truly intercede for others in a bold way.)

So...after sweet Maria Sue went to be with Jesus we continued to learn more about prayer and going to the throne of Heaven for those who cannot go themselves. Raleigh and I wanted to boldly pray for the Chapman family. God is the only one who could grant them peace during a time of great pain. At the end of the school year in 2008, Raleigh and I had planned a quick trip to Destin to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We always make a stop at the bookstore to get some new beach reading. I bought The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans. I read the book in one day and my heart was gripped. In the 2 months leading up to the beach trip, the Lord had used Katherine and Maria Sue to teach me about praying for the needs of others in a fresh way.

When I read the book, my eyes were opened to the needs around the world. Who does Jesus send to be his hands and feet? Us!! Normal sinners. People who love the Lord are called to love people. After reading the book, I went back to the bookstore and purchased every book they had about adoption. Fast forward about a year....the Chapman's oldest daughter Emily married her best friend Tanner. They were married at the Chapman's house. The same home where Maria Sue went to be with Jesus. The Lord was giving the Chapman's a taste of His beauty for ashes. He was making all things new.

Ok, so I know this is getting long. But I wanted to honor Steven and Mary Beth Chapman because the Lord has used their family in a big way to lead us to our son. God used their story to point us toward adoption. I love the name Tanner and it seemed to be the perfect addition to our son's name. I pray the name is a small reminder to me that God makes all things new!

We are glad to have finally chosen a name that we think is perfect for our son!

Beau,

Your mom and dad are so thankful that you are in a loving foster family, but are eager to have you home. We love you so much and cannot wait to hold you for the first time. We have been working on your nursery! You are a blessing, an extravagant gift from the Lord. We are so thankful that God chose us to be your mom and dad.

Love,

Mom and Dad