Adoption Cookbooks!!!

Our cookbooks are finally in!!!! All 330 of them!!!! If you want one, send me an email at lukebrosius@aol.com or contact me on facebook.
Thank you to everyone who sent me recipes, gave me ideas, or kept me accountable in getting them done! We are so blessed!

Christmas Party

Every year we have a Christmas party with all of the kids that I watch. Here are some pictures from 2009.
We made snowman ornaments...

The older kids all made "cake in a cup" gifts to give to someone...

We played a "find the candycane" game, and read the meaning of the candycane...

We acted out the nativity...boy, was that fun...

Maddie, as "The Angel" and Cora as "Mary"...

And we exchanged gifts!

Search and Find

Our little Madelynn is learning how to spell....See if you can find some of the words that she is teaching herself. (*I promise she did this all on her own, these are not things that I am encouraging*)

Fall and Other Happenings

I am the world's worst mother when it comes to picture taking. However, every fall I try to get at least a few to watch how Maddie has changed over the year. Here are my 5 pictures from 2009! :)

Many people have asked what exactly the ticker at the top of our blog means. Our agency has told us that our wait for referral (match with our children) will be anywhere from 12-15 months from the time we turned in all of our paperwork. Our dossier arrived in Ethiopia on July 31, so that is when I am considering our wait as beginning. The ticker just tells us how long we have been waiting so far. From this point it could be anywhere from 9-12 months longer (or shorter, if the Lord wills! And believe me, I am asking that He will!) So, in other words from here on out - we just wait...Its kinda cool (and also scary) to know though that most likely one or both of our babies are already born. We pray for them daily, and ask that you would join with us in doing so. We are praying that the Lord would protect their little hearts as they might very soon have to endure the loss of someone that they love very much. We are praying that the Lord would prepare them for the transition of entering our family - and also that He would prepare us. We can't wait to meet them, hold them, love them!

I am finally at the end stages of compiling my cookbook for our fundraiser. Thank you to everyone who sent me recipies! The plan is to have them ready for Christmas sales. Stay tuned as I will inform you all when they are ready!

"I think He'll say yes."

Last week Cael - one of Maddies' best friends asked Jesus to come into his heart. This has sparked a lot of questions from Maddie. That day, while sitting down at dinner (Luke was not home) she began asking "when can I ask Jesus into my heart?" Obviously, I did not want it to happen while Luke was away so I began asking questions about her reasoning behind wanting to do it. I really wanted to make sure that 1. she understood what it meant 2. that she wasnt just following Cael and 3. that she wasnt just trying to please Luke or I. The conversation that followed was absolutely precious:

me: Why do you want to ask Jesus into your heart?
mad: umm...because I really want to be baptized...it looks like a lot of fun.
me: Asking Jesus into your heart is not just about being baptized. When you make that decision, I want you to do it because you love God and because you want Him to be the boss of your life.
mad:...okay then, I love him and I want him to be the boss of my life!.....And mom, I just really love God and I think He is my favorite boy in the world.

Okay, so this conversation left me a little confused. I know that she loves God...or what she knows of Him, but I still wasnt convinced that she totally understood. We ended up telling her that we would pray and talk and read about this for the next few days, and then we would sit down as a family and talk some more about the decision. Mostly because I wanted to see if her excitement fizzled, or if she was still adament about it....I prayed that the Lord would make it clear to Luke and I whether or not she was ready and whether it was the Holy Spirit prompting her. And He did just that! Maddie asked about it all week, she told everyone she knew that she was going to ask Jesus into her heart. By the time we sat down on Sunday night, and Luke read from Romans - asking questions as we went along - She knew the answers. They were real, and honest, and from her heart. We prayed together when we got done, and Maddie is now a new creation in Christ! We are so proud, and thankful for the way the Lord is already working in her life! On Sunday afternoon before our talk, I had one other sweet conversation with her that I wanted to share.:

Mad: mom, am I going to get to ask Jesus into my heart today?
me: when we get home we are going to sit down with Daddy and talk more about it.
Mad: and then I can ask Him into my heart?
me: Mommy and Daddy are going to talk to you about some things, and read some more in the Bible about what it means and then if you are ready and you still want to do it, then yes we will pray and ask Him
Mad: Okay....Mom, I think He'll say yes because He really loves me.

It's very simple. It doesnt get any sweeter than that. :)

First Day of Preschool!

Here are some pictures of Maddies first day at preschool. She had a great day, and is excited to go back tomorrow!!

5 Already??!!!!??

Our Big 5 Year Old!!!

Maddies' Princess Castle Cake

Today is my beautiful Maddie Grace's 5th birthday. 5?...5 just sounds so big! Last night, as we were lying in bed tucking her in we talked and prayed about all of the big things that year number 5 might hold for her...For one, she will be starting preschool for the first time - she is thrilled...I am slightly less than thrilled...I also convinced her in this conversation that 5 year olds no longer whine. She believed me too, and even reminded me of it today in a situation where younger 4 year old Maddie might have whined. (we'll see how long this lasts :) We then talked about how she may just become a big sister this year...the most exciting of all of these by far (yes, even more exciting than the whole no whining thing!) Maddie will be such a wonderful big sister. She is nurturing, and compassionate, and so in tune with others needs. I can not wait to watch her dive into this new role! As we prayed about all of these big milestones, I was reminded of how proud we are of the young lady she is becoming, and know she will conquer them all with grace. Happy birthday Madelynn!!! We love you!!!

Week in St. Louis

While in St. Louis this week, I got several things accomplished... First of all, I was able to see my sister and neice and nephews! We have missed them so much, and enjoyed spending a couple of days with them! The Broome kids are a ton of fun, all three of them have these infectious personalities - We wish they lived closer!!!!

This past week we also completed our dossier, so I was able to hand deliver it to our agency! This is such a load off of my mind, to know that it is completely in the Lords hands and off of my chest! As I was looking over my calendar of adoption timeframe, I saw that this process of paper work has taken us almost exactly 6 months. Apparently this is pretty average for an international adoption, but my goal was 4....oh well!

The last thing of the week was a trip to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant....Unfortunately, Luke had already traveled back home - he would have really provided the entertainment of the evening, as he is not exactly an adventurist when it comes to food! However, we still had a great time. The food was.......interesting.......different........not exactly what we are used to. They served everything to us on these big tortilla like pieces of "bread." Now, this "bread" was actually more like a yeasty, spongey, almost breathing, flat tortilla. It had a sour taste, and obviously a weird texture. We asked our waitress how they make it and it is actually fermented and steamed....Anyway, you don't use any silverware, so you break off the "bread" and grab your food with that. Like I said, this was quite an experience for all of us with Maddie and Lindseys three children! The only thing that kept them from throwing fits about the food was that we kept reminding them that Ted Drews (ice cream) was right down the street :)

Needless to say, I will not be serving authentic food from our childrens homeland - however, we will go back someday with our family to that restaurant just so they can have a little reminder of what Ethiopia tastes like.....and I will just keep reminding myself that Ted Drews is right down the street :)

While I'm Waiting

If you do not have your speakers on, crank them up! I added a play list to my blog the other day with the song "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller. I heard this song on someone elses adoption blog and cried through the whole thing. It is the perfect song for where we are at right now....waiting! :) Really though, I am writing this post as a form of accountability. The song talks about where our hearts should be while we are in various stages of waiting. While I am waiting, I desire to be serving and worshiping. I want to run this entire race in a way that will bring honor and glory to God. It is so easy to find myself complaining throughout this process. The whole experience is exhausting and emotionally draining, but instead of dwelling on these things our whole goal should be to point others to Christ. He has allowed us the privilege of adopting, He is providing the finances and resources, and He has been faithful in walking with us every step of the way. While we wait, we want to remember these things. Keep us accountable in this and help us worship and serve our faithful Father.

I miss my cousins....

Yesterday at the lunch table Maddie and the children that I watch were having a deep conversation about heaven and hell (which started when Maddie quoted a line from a movie about God damning you to hell when you die if you don't believe in the Bible....it was a kids movie, I promise!) The others starting naming off all of the pets that they want to see someday in heaven.....scooter, buddy, rover.....you get the picture. I could see Maddie over there racking her brain with someone that she was longing to see someday in heaven, and was just sure that she was going to say Molly - my parents dog who died this year. Instead, she said something much sweeter and thoughtful and I have to say I completely hear her and agree. She said very reverently, "I want to see Joshua, my cousin in heaven someday." Her friends quickly asked, "well is he dead?" And she answered sadly "no, he just lives really far away."
I have to say Lindsey and Fred, when your niece can't decifer between dead and living really far away....thats a problem :) Time to move back to the midwest :)......

Maddies first real haircut...

I've been wanting to cut Maddies hair for awhile now, and I finally took the plunge. Now that I'm finished, I'm thinking I should have taken her to a professional. Had I done that, I wouldnt be chasing her around the house with scissors in order to "fix just one more piece"....Oh well, live and learn...

As you can see, Luke has a new haircut as well. He has now lost his second bet thus, resulting in "rodent head". Why can't he just bet money like normal people?

Divine Plans

So I have been thinking a lot lately about this adoption and how the Lord has spoken so clearly to us, telling us that adoption is in fact His plan for our family. At the same time, I've had these moments of panic where I freak out and think we're crazy for wanting this. There is a sort-of security in giving birth to children who have the same genetic makeup as you. It's "comfortable" knowing that most likely that child will resemble yourself or your husband in one way or another. For example, knowing that Luke and I are pretty even tempered, laid back people I just always assumed that all of our children would have those qualities...and I liked that idea :). Whereas in an adoptive situation, you have absolutely no idea what youre getting before that child becomes yours (I do realize, that the same could be true with birth children too... but you get the point). So I have had these times of anxiety where I've thought...What if this childs' parents were horrible people...they could be mass murderers for all we know!!! However, just as quickly as these thoughts come, the Lord has reminded me of that very fact that I mentioned above : He has a specific plan for our family. He has hand-picked a child or children that belongs with us, to be a part of the Brosius family. With all of that in mind, I have realized how silly my fears are. He knows that child inside and out. He knows their genetics, and He knows ours. He has, and will continue to fully equip us to parent this child, and will show us how to raise him or her under the Lords' principles. He has promised us good things and all we have to do is be obedient.

Psalms 84:11

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.