Photos by: Jerrod Brown Photography

February 22, 2008
I can't believe it has already been 4 weeks since my little girl went home to be with Jesus. I miss her terribly. I can honestly say, I never thought that this road (after her birth) would be this hard. Sophie Ann was God's gift to our family. She has taught us so many things about life and its real meaning, but most importantly, she has brought us into a more intimate relationship with Christ. His presence throughout this journey has been very real, He has never left my side.

My hope in Christ is what allows me to go on each day. I know Sophie Ann is safe with Him and she is now perfect and no longer sick. I long for the day when I am reunited with my daughter, but I long even more for the day when I can wrap my arms around my Savior's neck and thank Him for His mercy and faithfulness!

"All heaven will praise your miracles, Lord; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness." Psalm 89:5

"Praise the Lord, for he has shown me his unfailing love. " Psalm 31:21

January 22, 2008
Our sweet little girl was born last night at 8:46pm. She was 3 lbs. 15 oz. and 18 inches long. God graciously granted her 9 minutes of life. I have never witnessed anything more beautiful and I have never in my life felt closer to Christ than during this time. As I sit in the hospital, I am having a hard time putting into words how very special my time with her was. God answered every single prayer that we prayed during the last 18 weeks. Every single one. I prayed for Sophie to make it through delivery.. I wanted her in my arms when she went home to Christ, and she was. It was the most holy experience. It was so peaceful. When she was born, she wiggled her little arm and her mouth. Dr. Daniel gave her straight to me after the birth and her daddy sang a hymn in her ear. He also recited Psalm 23. We gave her a bath and loved on her for 6 hours. Through our suffering, we have experienced a joy like no other. There was even laughter in our room. Hannah Grace and Noah came in and held her and kissed her. Noah said she was soft and squishy and kissed her all over. Hannah Grace rubbed her hair and kissed her cheeks. They were so proud of their sister. Jerrod Brown (our photographer) took some of the most incredible photos of our time with her. Dr. Daniel never left my side. He prayed over me, held my hand, and stayed with me from 6:00pm until midnight. He even helped give her a bath. We are so very thankful for such a godly doctor. His presence was very comforting. I knew I was safe under his care. Please continue to remember us in prayer. The next few days will be hard. We want to invite all of those who have been part of our journey to attend Sophie’s memorial service this Saturday. We will share a slide show and Carlton will be preaching her service. The gospel of Christ will be shared.


1-24-08
Sophie Ann went home to be with Jesus on Tuesday night. (1-22-08) I am unable at this point to put down my thoughts and feelings, but please read our family blog
http://www.weathersfamily2007.blogspot.com 
for updates and information.

I will be posting pictures and Sophie's story on the Trisomy 13 website very soon.

Thank you for your prayers and please remember our family on Saturday during her memorial service.

Carlton and Aimee Weathers
aimeeweathers1@yahoo.com
 

11-7-07
Our names are Carlton and Aimee Weathers. We are from Jacksonville, AL. We have one daughter, Hannah Grace, who is 5. We also have a son, Noah, who is 3. I am currently 22 weeks pregnant with our little girl, Sophie Ann. I am due March 10th, 2008. Sophie was diagnosed at 15 ½ weeks by amnio with Full Trisomy 13 after I went in for a routine ultrasound at my ob/gyn and was immediately sent to Birmingham for a Level II ultrasound the following week. Sophie has been diagnosed with alobar holoprosencephaly. She is growing good and all other organs look okay so far. We were never, not even once, encouraged to terminate this pregnancy. My ob doctor is a godly man who loves the Lord and he dearly loves our precious Sophie. He has been our biggest supporter answering all of our questions the best that he can. I am his only Trisomy 13 patient in all his years of practice. I see him every 2 weeks for check-ups. We plan to deliver Sophie at our local hospital and to spend all of our time loving her.

Most people would say that our life has been turned up side down. I disagree. The valuable lessons that the Lord has taught us through our daughter could never have been learned in any other way. We know that our God is sovereign over all things and this is part of His mighty plan. We are trusting Him daily to use our Sophie to display His glory and we are already seeing friends and family come to know the Lord in a precious way.

I have written many of my thoughts throughout this journey on our family blog. Our journey with Sophie’s diagnosis began around September 21st. I would love for you to go back through older blog posts and read about how the Lord is working in our lives. Our blog also journals our thoughts about our little girl, Lily, that we are adopting from China. We began the adoption process 2 months before we conceived Sophie. We have always wanted to adopt, but we felt the Lord was really pushing us toward adoption at this point in our lives. Little did we know, that more than likely, we will be welcoming a new daughter into our home around the time that our sweet Sophie will be going to her heavenly home. God is truly amazing. Through it all, I have learned to trust in His plans, and not my own.


And e-mail: Aimee Weathers aimeeweathers1@yahoo.com