Our First Adoption Shower!

The Mullet Festival was fantastic! It was like a county fair, so I felt like we fit right in. I ended up being the only one from my family to go, so I didn't have to spend very much money. If David had gone, I'd be broke from the carnival rides and games! By the way, Alligator-on-a-stick -- tastes like chicken! :) Evidently this is kind of a big deal. Kenny Rogers was the headliner for Sunday night!

We got our passports back from the visa place, so now there's a visa granting us multiple entry into India for the next 6 months glued onto one page of our passports. Hopefully that will be long enough. I'm just glad to have my passport back in my own hands. Still no word on our background check.

The following is an email that I sent a friend I haven't communicated with in a while. Some of the info I've already posted, but most of it is new. I just thought I'd save some time typing all of it again.

"Our lives are so FULL right now! I'm still working at the mental hospital as a teacher's aide, running a computer lab. They wanted me to start teaching Microsoft Office stuff, so I called Lynn and got her recommendations for a textbook. (We have none.) I like the girls, but there is no Spanish involved, and the pay isn't great. So, God's been busy making up the difference in one way or another. For example, Byron got rear-ended while in a drive through, and the insurance company settled with us for $500! For a SCRATCH! How often does that happen? We knew it had to be God! And I've been able to teach a Spanish class at night that will pay me over $700 in November. Stuff like that has been happening so that we haven't gone further into debt. Back to my job... it's kind of funny because I don't think the director is used to having qualified people working for him. He'll tell me something to do, and then act surprised when I've done it the way he wanted it done. He told me he needed a letter justifying our request for software for the computers. His instructions to me were to make it very hard to say no to us, and when I had written it, he'd tweak it and send it on to the guy who is approving the request. When he said that, my pride was pricked because I thought, "Buddy! If you ask ME to write something, you WON'T have to tweak it!" i wrote this one page justification just full of buzzwords and flowers and it was beautiful, if I do say so myself. I printed it out for him and stood there while he read it, and his reaction was "Outstanding!" In my head, I said "Told you!" but "Thank you" came out my mouth!:) I can't really witness to the patients, but I can bring a positive Spirit to the place, if you know what I mean. And the staff, too. There's a woman (Susan) whose daughters are having to testify soon against their father for sexual abuse. Keep them in your pryares, if you would. Susan is a preacher's daughter, but this has turned her against God, sort of. Like "How could He let this happen to my little girls?" kind of a thing. I can't blame her, but I don't know how to best minister to her. David is doing really well! He's just David, no matter where he is! He LOVES his school and is handling the change, taking it all in stride. They dismissed him from speech therapy, so that's cool. He has 20 in his class here, but only had 8 in his class in Savoy, so the change is pretty drastic. His teacher is working on her national certification this year, so she's doing some pretty cool things with the kids. Our next door neighbor is a 3rd grade teacher there (and a strong Christian) and she has nothing but good things to say about David's teacher. He is also getting involved in AWANA at our church. This is the first time I've actually participated in it, and I love it! He's learning so much scripture! He does that on Sunday nights, has RAs on Wednesday nights, TeamKid and Sunday School on Sunday mornings, and children's choir on Sunday afternoon! This church is great to be a kid in! The choir teacher even gave him a solo in their upcoming production because it's about the shepherd David and she thought he might want to sing his name! William is in his element. He said the other day that it feels like he's been here forever! He loves the middle school, as much as any 8th grader can love school. Once we got down here and toured the school and found all of his classes, he realized that it wasn't as intimidating as he thought it would be. He has gotten involved with the FCA on campus and is the teacher's aide for the sponsor of it! He's also taking Spanish and making an A! Honestly, though, he's doing that all by himself because he brings home NO homework. There is a push here for little to no homework. They are of the opinion that it's all busy work anyway, so why bother? Hmmm. I don't know about that.... Anyway, William has really connected with the youth minister, Tom. He's been here 10 years and really knows what he is doing. He doesn't go for fluff -- he wants to grow these kids deep, if you know what I mean. They have a group of middle schoolers that get together once a week after school and read stuff like the Chronicles of Narnia and discuss it. Isn't that awesome? William has also plugged in with the media ministry helping to run the projector and video camera during the services. I think they were surprised at first that a kid wanted to help, but he's proving himself capable. He's the one we worried about and prayed about the most, and he's the one handling everything the best! (Is there a sermon in there somewhere?) That's my boy! Byron is flourishing. He's blooming like I've never seen him do before! The people here really seem to love him and his preaching. I know this church has its flaws like every other church, but compared to what we were living with, they seem so miniscule that they are inconsequential. They are SO supportive, and it's just really nice to hear a majority of the people say nice things to Byron about how they appreciated his sermons, you know? The senior pastor announced his retirement, effective February, and now some people are looking to Byron to fill that position. They are going to have a pastor search committee, and they will consider Byron's resume. He's told them that he knows God brought him here and that he will be happy to step up if that's what God wants, and he will be equally happy doing what he's doing and help transition in the new guy if that's what God wants. There is one neat thing that this church does that I've not seen before. Every service, sometimes even during the song service, people come up to the altar to pray. That in itself is neat, but then other people come up to pray with them or pray over them. It's beautiful to see and I get emotional every time it happens, which means I cry a lot! :) One guy today was sprawled out on the ground face down before his God and wasn't even concerned about what people might think about it. I love that! I love that people can be free to worship how they feel like they need to worship and the church will support them! The music ministry is FANTASTIC! There is a live band/orchestra, praise teams that rotate Sundays, and a more traditional choir. Right now I'm a member of the choir, but I've also signed up to do one of the praise teams. I just haven't been assigned to one yet. Being a part of a dynamic music ministry is something that I've been starved for since college and now we've found it! I am absolutely loving it! OK -- Elizabeth. We are going to get her soon! Right now the orphanage staff have applied for her passport so that she can travel with us. When they have the passport in their hands, we'll be free to make travel arrangements, assuming our paperwork is in order as well. We had to have our homestudy redone because of our move, and we're still waiting on our Florida background check to clear so our social worker can complete the new homestudy. We actually have to have that in our hands when we are in India. One of my biggest fears is that she'll be ready and we won't be, but I have to believe that God is behind the timeline of our going to get her, just like He's been behind the whole timeline of the 2 year journey so far. Byron even told the church tonight (while pictures of Elizabeth were on the big screens and people oooohed and aaaawed) that we firmly believe that God brought us to this church for this part of the journey, and the congregation agreed with him! They are a very vocal group! :) One lady even said later that this church will do very will with a multi-ethnic family situation, and Byron's response was "Oh! I forgot! This WILL be a multi-ethnic family!!" David made the cutest comment at the shower today about that. The baby figurine they had on top of the cake was a little fair skinned blonde baby girl. He said they couldn't find a brown skinned one, so we just have to use our imaginations! :) We had our first shower today after the morning services. As soon as I get pictures, I'll post them. We had asked for it to be a donation shower for the orphanage, and most people did that, but a whole bunch of people gave Elizabeth something, too! It was a pot luck lunch, family adoption shower, so the place was packed! There were 2 whole tables full of gifts, and 4 tables and a counter full of food, and so many people that some had to eat outside! The whole family got to help open the presents (and William even modeled one outfit that has a hat -- hopefully I'll get that picture on the blog!) so that was neat. We got SO MUCH cool stuff for her and for the orphanage. The lady in charge of the shower also had put these nice cards on the tables for people to write encouraging notes to our family or to her for me to put in her baby book. I haven't brought myself to read those yet. I've cried enough for one day! Oh! And get this! After we had this wonderful shower, got probably $1,000 or more in gift cards, cash, and checks (some for us to buy things for the orphanage and some just for us to use), came home, and crammed it all onto the dining room table, Byron went to the Missions Committee meeting this afternoon. They decided that this is a mission opportunity and a relationship with the orphanage that they'd like to continue over the years, so they approved up to $1,000 for us to get there and to get all of this stuff over there because it's not all going to fit in 2 suitcases! Only God.... That money can be used to buy our plane tickets -- Oh yeah! Our plane tickets! I forgot to tell you this part! The financial secretary at the church has a friend that is going to give us Buddy Passes for our two tickets! That means that instead of paying $5,000 we'll only pay about $500! We'll still have to pay for the tickets from New Delhi to Kolkata and back, and her one-way ticket home from Kolkata through New Delhi, but still, that's a huge savings! We'll be at the mercy of the airline as far as our flight choices, but that's OK with me! That just means we have more of an adventure story to tell when this is all over!"

I've taken all of the stuff from the shower out of the gift bags and placed it on our couch. It's covered! The right side is stuff for Elizabeth, and the left side is for the orphanage. (I'll get a pic soon.) It looks like the Baby's Department exploded on our couch! It's so cool that the church gave that much to the orphanage!! We won't be able to fit all of it into our suitcases, so we may need to talk aout mailing a package or two. We got some beautiful things for Elizabeth. One of the dresses I want to be her "coming home" outfit that people here see her in for the first time. And there's a gorgeous white satin dress that we can use for her dedication. And blankets, homemade and storebought, toys, a tote bag that I can put pictures into the outer shell, a bouncy seat, books, diapers, wipes, more clothes, more toys, a grocery cart "playmat", and a thing where you put the baby's handprints in the clay and bake it! And a guy at church is giving us their high chair, car seat, and stroller! They only have one daughter, so it shouldn't be in that bad of shape1 :) You know I said that Jehovah Jireh was the name of God that I was claiming right now? Well, He has proven Himself faithful.... again!

One week closer to getting Elizabeth

This has been an amazing week!

Sunday was fantastic, having my grandparents and my mom with us in the service. Then the fellowship afterwards was neat, too. Oma and Opa fit right in! After lunch, we took William and one of his friends and David back to the condo's pool for an afternoon swim. (The red tide was still happening on the beach, so they couldn't swim there.) Then I took them back to church and spent the evening with my family. It was really nice. They left Monday morning and made it home by Tuesday night. I am so grateful to my mom for bringing them down here and grateful to them for making the trip!

Monday morning started a whirlwind of a week for me. I worked 12 hours on Monday between the school and Spanish class, 8 hours on Tuesday and a Tastefully Simple party that night, 8 hours on Wednesday and church/choir practice that night, 12 hours on Thursday with school and Spanish class, and 8 hours on Friday before our homestudy visit that night! I'm SO glad that week is over! Byron and the boys (mainly Byron) really stepped up and got the house ready for the visit. He's amazing!

The homestudy visit went well, as far as we can tell. We are still waiting on one of the background checks to come in before she can complete the homestudy, and Dillon is waiting on the homestudy to complete the ICPC to clear us to travel. I'm trying not to be pessimistic about things, but it sounds to me like we'll be delayed. I know He's still in control and can move mountains, but He may choose not to, you know? I'm OK either way, because we need more time to raise the money for the trip, but like I said before, I'm curious as to how He will work it all out. Jehovah Jireh!

Today is going to be a fun one! William is at a middle schoolers retreat, so he's having a ball, I know. His best friend went, too, so they are probably living it up right now! Byron went to a meeting this morning, but the AWANA Racer Grand Prix is this afternoon! David's car looks like, well, David's car. I can see his touch with the design, the paint choices, number placement, and everything! Byron is entering one of William's old cars. We'll see how that goes! After the races, David and I are going to the Mullet Festival. Evidently we have to be "initiated" into this annual ritual. :) I'm looking forward to it! They have Alligator-Tail-on-a-stick! How can you beat that?

An email, a visit, and an incredible game

Today has been just fantastic! First, we got the email yesterday that Tanuja's guardianship papers were signed! That means that the orphanage staff will be processing the request for her passport and we can go get her as soon as they have the passport in hand and we have all of our stuff updated. This is so surreal. I know I keep saying that, but it's true! My biggest fear is that I will do something wrong in all of the paperwork that will cause us delays or problems. I've already messed up once that I know of, but I don't think it's a major one. Today I told Byron that in the car (with David between us) and David said that was his biggest fear, too. "Really?" "Yeah. What if I put the diaper on, THEN the powder, THEN the wipe, and THEN I have to put ANOTHER diaper on?" That kid worries too much! :)

Right now my grandparents from Oklahoma are visiting. They are in their 80s, so my mom drove them down here. I am so grateful for the chance to spend some time with them! I know that they will probably not be able to come down again, and I don't know how many opportunities I will have to go back there. This morning, we all walked down to the beach for just a few minutes. The water was incredible! There was a nice breeze and a little bench to sit on at the end of the walkway. We just sat there and enjoyed the whole scene. Then we crossed the bridge into Destin so they could see the water on that side. My grandmother liked it, but was a little concerned that I "watch the road a little more, please"! I couldn't help looking at the water -- it's so incredibly beautiful! Then we ate together at Sonny's BBQ (FANTASTIC) and headed back to our house for the afternoon. At the restaurant, William sat on the side with Opa and me, so when he wanted out, he slid under the table to get out on the other side where Mom, David, and Byron were sitting (so Opa wouldn't have to get up). It was so funny to see this 13 year old disappear under the table like that! I can't believe how much he's growing up. The changes are happening so fast I can't keep the pace. I'm not ready for my baby to be a young man. Anyway, Oma and Opa are going to church with us tomorrow and it will be the first time they have heard Byron preach. That's so cool! She has always said that she prays for Byron on Sunday morning, and there have been times when the answers to those prayers have been the only things that got him through. Now it will be nice to have her there in person. After church just happens to be the Senior Adult monthly fellowship. How cool is that! I made coleslaw after Oma's recipe to take to the fellowship in her honor!

Then we went back to the condo and watched the OU game. WOW! What a game! I'm just so glad that we came up on the winning side of it! As the day progressed we kept hearing of Top 25 teams that were getting beat by non-ranked teams, and that was just icing on the cake!

Now it's time to turn in and get ready for tomorrow. I can't wait to go to church and worship the God who has been SO good to me! I really had a wonderful sense of the love that He has for me this week. I was driving down the road crying so hard I probably should have pulled over, but... I just couldn't get over the fact that He has chosen a little baby on the other side of the world to expand my family, took the time to get all of the details in place so that we could meet her, even if it is only through pictures and videos for right now, and has us in a place that will love and support us as a family. I was overwhelmed. Still am, truth be told.

G'night!

A baby shower is coming up!

The secretary at the church wanted to know when we wanted to have our baby shower! I love that! (Mainly because it means that the time is getting closer.) The shower will be more like a fellowship on the 28th, right after church. We are asking the church family as a whole to provide donations for the orphanage. I'm hoping we get tons of stuff and have to pay for an extra suitcase or something!

I knocked out several things we need for our homestudy update on Monday. The records check was a "while I wait" thing instead of having to wait for the mail. Great! I think we are completely ready to go except for the things that we have already sent off and are waiting on. We're praying that we get all of our paperwork in order quickly so we can travel at the first opportunity.

Something else that's cool: last Wednesday they prayed for our case to be approved. Thursday morning I got the email that it had been! How's that for timing?!? Now they are praying for the guardianship papers -- hopefully the prayers will be answered just as quickly! Also, a man told Byron after church that he wants the church to help with the cost of the trip. Man! Could it get any better? Since I am working at a job earning 1/2 what we need me to make to survive, that's especially good news. One of God's names is Jehovah Jireh -- God provides, and that's the one I'm claiming right now. Of course, He only provided after He knew that Abraham's faith was stronger than even his love for his only son. Is there a message in that for us? Is this a test of some kind? I have always believed that He is behind the adoption, the timing, the finances, etc. but I am curious as to HOW He will provide!

We also got emails from 2 other families that are in the same step in the process that we are in and could possible travel the same time we will. Their kids' names are Anya Rashi and Max. I really do hope we get to travel with at least one family. Two families went together recently and it was really cool being able to read about their experiences.

On a non-adoption note, (I don't have too many of those lately!) I am joining a praise team at church. It feels good to be part of such a dynamic worship team -- my only problem will be singing when I am moved to tears so often during the service!

David has discovered "doing extra chores for 50 cents"! I love it! He feels so big and that's one more that I don't have to do! Today the firefighters were at his school. As we walked up to the building, the fire trucks were parked outside. He really enjoyed their presentation! Then he went to RAs, which he always enjoys. He's had a great day and is now curled up in the recliner behind me while I type. He fell asleep waiting on me to finish with my computer stuff and go upstairs with him, so I guess I'd better carry him up now.....

What a great weekend!

Saturday was absolutely perfect! First, Byron and William went with our friends Ginny and Courtney on a not-very-deep sea fishing trip in the Gulf with a guy from our church. They loved it! Everyone came home tired, but the younger folks headed back out to the beach as soon as they got home. David had a birthday party to go to, so I dropped him off a tad early so Byron and I could go to a local restaurant to see the OU/Texas game. When I got home from dropping David off, Byron was so exhausted he didn't feel like going. So, I went by myself. Actually I think it's a good thing, because I don't think we could have sat together anyway. The place was packed! There were about 30 tvs all around the room, and they had my game on 2 big screens on one wall. The two screens were right next to each other. I don't understand that part, but whatever. They had about 6 other games playing at the same time, so it was a college football fan's dream come true! Needless to say, I was pleased with the outcome of the game! Then I came home and watched the USC game with Byron. Could that have been any more exciting??? The only thing that would have made the day even more perfect would have been an LSU defeat, but maybe next time. Sunday was our annual Homecoming service at church. It's a 2 1/2 hour service full of songs, sign art, reports of the last year, testimonies, etc. It was long, but SO wonderful! I can barely get through the song service without being moved to tears on a normal Sunday. Today I didn't even make it through choir practice before the service! At the end of the service, our pastor announced that he will be retiring, effective the last Sunday in February. That will be his 25th anniversary with the church, so he wants to "hang on" until then. It was very emotional for everyone. After the announcement, we had "dinner on the grounds" which just meant a HUGE pot luck meal. Then this evening, we had the singles group over to the house to just hang out and get to know each other. We ate a lot, laughed even more, and had a wonderful time. I really like these people! :) Now I'm off to bed so that I can get up early and get some last minute things done for our homestudy update. Evidently our criminal history, medical history, and personal character have all changed since we moved! Those are the things we have to have redone. Anyway, I just want it all to go smoothly so that we get it completed before travel clearance is ready to be issued.

G'night!

My first post!

Well, I kept telling people that we would start a blog when it got closer to time to go and get Elizabeth, so now's the time!

We are the Brown family: Byron, Kim, William (13), and David (7). For about 2 years now, we've been searching for our next child, Elizabeth Christine Brown. We found her through a FANTASTIC adoption agency, Dillon International, and now we know that her full name is Elizabeth Christine Tanuja Brown! She was born in Kolkata, India, on the 10th of November, 2006, so she's almost a year old. We were told this past week that her case was heard and approved in the Indian court, so we are moving on to the guardianship part of it, then just a few more hoops and then we get to go to Kolkata and get our daughter!

The pictures of Elizabeth were taken in August, and the picture of our family is the one we submitted with our adoption application in November 2005. I don't think we've all sat still long enough since then to have another picture taken!

I know that I have so enjoyed getting to follow the blogs of other couples adopting children and wanted to be able to return the favor. Hopefully this blog will also help us keep in touch with people in Texas since we recently moved to Florida. So, thanks to all of you for inspiring me to join the blogger nation!