What are your thoughts about having a daughter?

It has struck me a lot lately...having a girl will be VERY different than having a boy! I wonder all the time, what will she look like? How well will be bond? Will she fit well into our family? I can't imagine what life will really be like with another girl living in our home! I can't wait to buy PINK clothes, and baby dolls!

Then I think about Jack...oh boy...how will he adjust? We will have to say goodbye to our downtown apartment...or at least to the one we currently live in. Parking in a garage is not fun with one kiddo everyday...imagine it with two! We love having extra kids, but 24/7??? It's going to be an adjustment, but a GREAT ONE!

Adoption update, it's time to start the dossier...oh boy...here we come! What are your thoughts on having a daughter?

Check out Jack's latest skills on the drums at Rhythm...

Meet Linda..the widow for our Both Hands Project

Linda is 58 years old, and enjoys life. She is very active at the John Boner Senior Center. She enjoys doing puzzles and playing bingo with other seniors at the center. She enjoys the activities, but her favorite part of attending the Senior Center is being with other people. Her and husband Richard never had any children, and all of their parents and siblings have passed away. In November of 2009, Richard passed away after having a heart attack.

Since then, Linda was forced to move out of her home until it was up to living condition again. She has since received assistance with emptying items out of her home, and she received a grant to assist her with the plumbing and electrical work. Now it's our turn to help. She needs 2 windows replaced and a new back door hung. Her home could also use a DEEP cleaning and painting all the interior rooms! It's a lot to undertake, so we made this a two-day project instead of 1. We have enjoyed getting to know Linda and feel that our friendship with her will continue well past this project!

Both Hands Fundraiser...we are officially on their website!

While on the adoption journey, it can be overwhelming! We were told the cost to adopt from Ethiopia would be between $25,000-$33,000...um I don't know about you but we don't have that kind of cash lying around.

We do however, have the love, patience, and calling to adopt. The money is merely a hurdle while on the journey. We have come across a wonderful program through Lifesong for Orphans that we will be pursing on April 29th -30th. We are SO excited that Lifesong agreed to support us on this journey.

The program, BOTH HANDS, has a duel purpose. Over the course of the project, we will help a widow do some home improvements, deep cleaning and odds and ends around her house. We have a widow we will be helping, and she is spectacular (more on her later). It helps our adoption because the team of people helping us send out sponsorship letters to raise support. Kind of like a 5k run, but we will be doing something that will change the life of a widow and help bring an orphan home by the end of the day.

How amazing is that?!?

To read more about this program, and check out a short video about it, click below:

http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bothHands.html

Until next time!

Pressing Forward

Still no new news in Ethiopia, but we are going to continue pursuing everything! We are prayerful that Ethiopia's program will continue to stay open and that the new employees will make positive changes for the way adoptions are processed!

That said, we have something brewing and we can't wait to share all the details. All I have to say is we are SO THANKFUL for everyone who has agreed to help and support us during our adoption process! Without you, this process wouldn't be possible.

Stay tuned for an amazing project where by us helping a widow, our baby will be one step closer to coming home!

Can't wait to share in the upcoming process!! Until then, a cute family pix!

My thoughts are on Ethiopia today!

A lot has happened in the past two months...and we are basically done with our homestudy! I keep pushing myself to get the paperwork done and do whatever I have to do, to bring home our Princess!

We were given some crazy news last week about Ethiopia...they are slowing their International Adoption process down by 90%! What does that mean for our family? What does that mean for our friends who are also in the process of adopting from Ethiopia?

But the most important question...what are all the orphans going to do? I don't want our daughter to live in an orphanage any longer than she has to! Will they begin turning children away? This is now haunting me and all I can do is pray about it! It is so difficult to think about those who are in the process of getting ready to travel, and then being told...it's going to be a few more months! We are waiting on a response from Bethany, our adoption agency, on what our next steps are going to be. Please pray for the decision makers in Ethiopia to allow the children an opportunity to find Forever Families SOON!

Heartbreak.....Please Lord, bring our baby home!

Know a Good Tattoo Artist in Indianapolis or surrounding area?

We met with our adoption specialist Susan yesterday...and we are excited to be "doing things" to get the adoption process rolling. Our homestudy has officially started and we are collecting our first round of paperwork to be used. We are looking forward to completing our homestudy within the next next month or so! That said, we have our first "chunk" of funds do at the completion of our homestudy!

I've got an idea...that I'm hoping will work, but haven't been able to find a tattoo artist willing to help. This is where all of you come in! I would like to find a tattoo artist who will donate a percentage of his proceeds during the month of November to our adoption fund. The catch is that we only expect his donation from people we send him! So, if you know of someone who could assist us with the tattoo's or if you are interested in getting a tattoo (what better time than now), let me know!

Did you know that NOVEMBER is National Adoption Awareness Month? What better way to spread the word:)

Feel free to re-post this and spread the word! Thanks in advance!!!!
The Brown's

Bethany Informational Meeting Tonight!

Tonight is another item we have to complete on our checklist...attending one of the monthly informational meetings at Bethany! We are looking forward to the meeting, but we are also going to meet a family who has adopted from Ethiopia prior to it. We have so many questions about the the process and their experience.

We have the initial paperwork ready to submit tonight as well.

Let the Homestudy begin!

First Payment...PAID!

So...went out for a great dinner with Jake for my birthday and we came home to some AMAZING news! Our 1st payment of $550 has already been paid for us! We don't even remember telling anyone specifically what it costs, but OMG it's done. We just received the request for the funds and paperwork this afternoon, and it's taken care of already!

Seriously, God is AMAZING!

Our little Girl will be home before we know it!

Formal Application...Accepted for the Ethiopia Program

We received an email today from Bethany Christian Services saying we have formally been approved to start the process to adopt from Ethiopia! We also received a list of 8 documents that need to be submitted so we can start our homestudy. This also means our first payment is due. Let the fundraising begin...here we go!

I'm ready to tackle all the documents...and get our little girl home!!!!

Couldn't ask for better news on my birthday!

It's been over a year since a post!!!

Well, where do I begin? In May of 2009 we were expecting to adopt a little girl. Instead, the birthmom disappeared on her due date. It was a horrible 2-weeks of my life. We couldn't locate her until then she had the baby and went home. It was sad, but in the end she had changed her mind and didn't know how to tell us.

During the Fall of 2009, we met another potential birthmom. Both times, the birthmom's just came into our life through people we knew. The second time around, we had a time to get to know the birthmom. When the baby was 4 days old, we were told the birthmom had changed her mind. It was very difficult to handle the second unsuccessful adoption. We had really expected this to turn out differently, but with domestic adoption, the mother can't legally sign away her rights until after the birth. I still keep in contact with the family, and wish they were doing better! The baby was born in January!

So, why start the blog back up again? Well, we are starting the adoption process yet again! We decided to go the International route and adopt from Ethiopia. It's going to be a long year+, but we are game for the adventure. I wish things would have been different, but let the new adventure begin. We are going to hopefully adopt a little girl who is 2 or under. We want to make sure that Jack stays the oldest child in our family. We are submitting our formal application today! It is my hope that you will take a moment and click follow this blog...to keep tabs on our family. This will be our main mode of communication about the adoption, fund raising efforts, and what's new with our family. We can't wait to share this journey with you!

Here we go....

Adoption Update

Well, the adoption didn't take place. The birthmother changed her mind about putting her baby up for adoption right at the time of her due date. She didn't tell us, our social worker or attorney about her decision. We figure she had the baby two weeks ago, but she hasn't had any communication with us. She went into the hospital as a non-public patient so we didn't know she was there apparently. We aren't sure what happened exactly, or why she won't contact us back. It is the weirdest situation to sit with someone who swears that she's given her baby up for adoption to you in 2 weeks and then she vanishes. No contact what so ever!

That said, it is what it is. We believe our family is going to grow regardless and look forward the process. It was a devastation at first, but as time passes we have decided to push forward and research our options. I'll keep ya posted, but nothing in our immediate future right now is scheduled for our family. God has a way of doing things His own way and timing...not ours:)

Life isn't always perfect...

Today was a breath of fresh air!  Jack and I took a day trip to the Children's Museum.  We haven't been in a few weeks, and we try to go often.  It is one of two places Jack asks to go to.  He Loves Chuck E Cheeses and The Children's Museum.

Some weeks balancing work, family, social and community can overwhelm me!  If I have a few busy days and Jack spends time with other people, he seems to be in a funk for awhile.  I wish he wouldn't be...but he is.  After we spent the day together, he seems to be turning his attitude around a little.  Being a mom is stressful, being a wife is stressful, being a business owner is ULTRA stressful...it will all be worth it one day...right?!?

Jack the Gangsta

Jack found his daddy's hat, and it is downhill from their!  What a goof!  He has so much personality!

Thoughts of the week!

Well, we have had an interesting week!  How do you know what God wants for your life?  How do you know what to do when faced with big decisions?

Trust that no matter what you face, God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Will it be hard...probably!  Will you question your decision...most of the time!  But will there be a reason you do what you do...ABSOLUTELY!

Being open and ready to take on new challenges may just prove to be AMAZING!  If we aren't open to new challenges...they may just pass us up!

Potty Training...WOW!

Jack is trying to be a "Big Boy," and go potty!  He looks the part, but doesn't act the part.

He asks for reading materials for the bathroom...I've never done it, Jake has never done it.  Where does he get this from?  If anyone out there does it and taught it to Jack Attack, please let me know.  It cracks me up!

The past few days have not gone so well with potty training! I hope the days ahead are better!  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Rockstar take 2...

So...Jack knows a few other songs!  Tonight I present "I love you," typically performed by Barney...the big purple dinosaur.

ENJOY!

Jack...AKA...Rockstar

Well...today Jack spent the day with Auntie Lisa, Cousins: Ali, Paige and Alec.  The cousins had school today, so Jack ran errands with Auntie Lisa, then they all went to Chuckie Cheese!  One of Jack's favorite places!

After he got home, he decided it was time to sing for us.  Cousin Ali painted his nail black like a rockstar...so we thought it was appropriate to make a music video!  Enjoy the song "Jesus Loves Me"...Jack Jack style!

hehe!

Joy

February 2009

This past month has been a journey and a roller coaster ride!  It has been amazing to watch John and Ashlee become parents.  Audrina is a princess and we are so happy to be apart of her daily life.

Who knew our household would multiply this way...this year!  Audrina is a miracle baby.  I think it runs in the family.

Through all the changes, I'm glad they have been with us.  We are glad to have this special time with them as their family is beginning.

Video of Audrina!