Adventures of the Brosius Family

Zemma's Pledge of Allegiance

2011-09-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

I just found this video of Zem... We were walking into Maddie's school one afternoon and she asked me about the flag up front. When I told her it was the American flag, she put her hand on her chest and recited the whole pledge! I had no idea she even knew it :) She learned it at Bible study. Here is the reinactment :)

Before and Afters

2011-07-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some before and afters.....Not exactly how I want them but for some reason I CANNOT figure out the art of adding pictures on here. Man, you would think with as much as I blog.... :)

house progress

2011-06-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

The new house

2011-05-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

We recently purchased a new home. No more in laws basement!!!! Yay!!!! We are obviously excited, but I am fairly sure that the two people who live above us are even more elated than we are :) As you can see, the house needs some lovin. I have big plans for it and am looking forward to closing (end of May) so that we can get started. Hopefully someday I will get around to posting the end results...:)

Living room angle 1

Living room angle 2

Kitchen

kitchen looking into dining

bath 2

basement bedroom/playroom

basement (luke's space...or so he thinks...)

basement angle 2 (yikes)

Easter

2011-05-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Just a few easter pics:

Zem's Readoption

2011-05-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

Because Zemma came home on a certain adoption Visa, we were required to readopt her upon her arrival here in the states...As always, we procrastinated,so here we are - 1 year later. Adoption final. Praise God!

Zemma's 3rd Birthday

2011-01-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

On December 29 we were able to celebrate Zemma's birthday - a first for us, even though she turned three... We are so blessed by her presence in our family. She makes us laugh often and is a constant reminder of God's faithfulness to us.

I have thought often about where we were last year - waiting, without her. I can remember the feelings of incompleteness- as if something or someone were missing - especially during the holiday season. I would wish and dream of a sibling for Maddie - someone to share in the excitement and fun with. I would long for the craziness and volume of a big family - kids yelling and even fighting! And, I would pray for that child, who I knew was somewhere out there even though it felt as if we would never meet.

Now, here we are this year and I can look back and realize how much God cares about the details of our lives! This Christmas did feel complete. Maddie and Zemma now have each other and I so enjoy watching their relationship grow. Yes, there is fighting, and yes Zemma is sometimes louder than more than a few children combined :) And best of all, we were able to hold our baby as we celebrated her birth, and the birth of our Savior.

We were abundantly blessed in 2010!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-06T12:21:00.000-08:00

Fall pics

2010-11-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Had the girls outside the other day and got just a few quick pictures.

This one below cracks me up because it pretty acurately depics at least one of their little personalities :) Can you guess whose?

Halloween pics

2010-11-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

Life In the Basement

2010-11-08T21:42:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile since I last posted (whats new, right Aaron?) so I thought I would give a brief overview of whats been going on here since moving to Topeka and in with the in laws...
*house is still for sale...we may forever have this vacation home in Bolivar Missouri. :)
*Maddie is loving school. She has made lots of new friends and apparently already has a few boys crushing on her...Seriously? Thats crazy to me...she's in kindergarten!!! Needless to say, Daddy was less than thrilled to hear that from her teacher :)
*Zemma is also doing well and hasn't even seemed to notice that she is going on her fourth home in the past 6 months. She is busy busy busy, never stops moving or talking and I seem to be the only one who can translate most of it. Her happy little resilient self flirts around from thing to thing and I just sit back (well not really sit) and am amazed at the Lords faithfulness in her and our lives. She is absorbing language and skills by the truckload each day, and hers and Maddies relationship is really starting to grow as well. I love to see them play together, learn together, and yes - I even enoy the fighting between sisters (some of the time).
*And now on to (big sigh)...Lukey...My dear sweet husband who is truly struggling in this new job of his. He is exhausted as he is pouring everything he has into a very demanding school district. And - basketball season is right around the corner... So pray for him as he adds his season into an already full day. Pray that he would be able to see God's hand - and not only to see it, but to actually feel himself being upheld by it. We know that the Lord has us in Topeka, we know that it was a part of His plan for our lives. I am praying that Luke would find joy in trusting in that plan and not focusing on the difficult circumstances that come with it. And also that God would be glorified there at Topeka West -because of a man, emptied of self and filled with Christ. We would love it if you all would join us in praying too!
* As for me...I feel like the Lord is teaching me a lot. Life in Bolivar was always so comfortable for us. We had our friends, our home, our church. Now that he has taken me out of that life, I can feel Him calling me to find new ways to serve Him - ways that might not always be so comfortable. I'm not completely sure what that means yet, but I'm excited (and scared) to find out! My prayer lately is simply that I would be intentional about everything that I do. That I would seek Christ in every situation - even if I'm just going to Target (which, by the way I am loving my new proximity to :). Anyways...we can all feel the Lord stretching us here in our new home (basement), sometimes its painful and sometimes its scary but we trust in the Lord and what he has for us here in Topeka Kansas.

First Day of Kindergarten...

2010-08-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today was Maddie's first day of kindergarten...I am holding it together amazingly well :) I have been praising God all day for His timing of bringing us Zemma. Without her I would feel as though I had nothing to do...or, even worse - I would have had to find a job....Thank you Lord for Zemma! :)

Walking in with Daddy

Waiting to go in

Mommy holding back tears...

Saying goodbye :(

With all of her cousins out front

In her class line

New Roots

2010-08-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

We are now officially Kansans...except for the fact that we still own a home in Missouri. Pray that our house sells. For now, we live in Luke's parents basement...Here are some pics of our new - temporary home.

The View from our basement windows

Our basement living area

the girls room

Our "for now" home.

Maddie's 6th Birthday

2010-08-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

Changes

2010-06-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

There is a lot going on in the Brosius family right now...new daughter, and now new job...new city....new house (or basement for now - we're living with Lukes parents for awhile...)!
We found out right before our vacation that Luke has been given the head coaching position at a 5A school in Topeka. Needless to say, he is pumped...and overwhelmed/intimidated :) So, in late July we will be packing up and heading to Kansas! We are excited to see where the Lord brings us from here on out. We are looking forward to being near to so much family. But we are also mourning this life that we love and are so comfortable with. We will miss our friends, and my sister and brother in law who live right down the street, as well as our church. But we are confident that this is where the Lord is leading and trust that He has us in His hands.

Mexico

2010-06-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Zemma, Madelynn and I had the opportunity to go to Mexico this past week with all of Lukes family (except for Luke, unfortunately). We had a great time, and are so thankful for such a great gift from Lukes parents!

Unfortunately, being a single mother on the trip didn't allow for many pictures :(

Morning Coffee Guesthouse

2010-06-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

For those of you traveling to Ethiopia in the future, and are looking for a guesthouse to stay at I strongly recommend Morning Coffee Guesthouse. It is affordable, clean, and has excellent service and food! More than that though, I would stay at this guesthouse because it supports a greater good. Birtukan is the owner of MCGH. She is an amazing woman who serves the Lord selflessly. She started Morning Coffee, not for herself but because she wanted to make a difference in the lives of ophans living in Ethiopia. Her ministry (Yezleminich...not sure how to spell that) includes caring for children who have parents but are unable to care for them due to poverty. They have an orphanage for those children, but at the same time they train the mothers to make livings for themselves (jewelry, roasting coffee beans, and selling spices) so that someday they can provide for their families. In addition to that, they have started a sponsorship program (kind of like compassion).
We absolutely enjoyed our time with Birtukan and her family. She taught us alot, and was an encouragement to us in our spiritual walk.

Last Day in Ethiopia

2010-06-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

These are the words that I wrote in my journal for today:

Today is our last day in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. It has been an amazing experience being here in Zemma's home country. The people here are wonderful, the culture is rich. I hope that we will be able to keep Zemma's heritage alive after we leave here. It is something that she should always be reminded of and carry with her. Maybe someday we will return with her, to remember, and to serve her people.

We spent today at a golf course. It was beautiful, green and had flowers all over. Here are some pictures from our last day:

Days 3, 4, and 5

2010-06-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

Day 3 (Tuesday) of our trip was our embassy interview. On the way there we stopped at a Christian bookstore to buy Bibles and CD's. I bought Zemma a childrens Bible, a side by side Amharic/NIV Bible, and a worship CD. The music is beautiful! We then went to a nice restaurant for lunch...where we mostly just chased Zemma around and around because she does not like to sit still for any amount of time (really looking forward to the plane ride at this point! :)

The embassy interview was the last stage in the adoption process for us, so it was an exciting day! They just basically asked us a few questions about Zemma's birthfamily and the way that she was relinquished. It was such a joy and relief to know that Zemma Leigh was now officially ours!

Day 4 was shopping day! Enough said. :)

After shopping though, we had to go back to the orphanage for Zemma's farewell ceremony. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to the unknown of how our little one would respond to going back to the place where she was abandoned. It was fine though. She was excited to see her nanny, but came back to mommy with open arms and a big smile on her face!

Day 5, according to my journal was a really good day with Zemma. I wrote that she seemed to be listening better, and a little more calm. We had a nice, quiet day visiting with our new friends at our guesthouse. Then we went to another farewell ceremony at a different orphanage, and to our agencys office to pick up Zemma's Visa.

(This picture is of some of the other families traveling with us, as well as our guide, Abel and our guesthouse hostess, Birtukan.)

Ethiopia: Days 2 and 3

2010-06-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

Our second day in Ethiopia was a Sunday. The woman who runs our guesthouse (an amazing woman who I will write about later) took us to church that morning with her family. What an experience! The building that holds their services was small and old, but has been added on to what looks like multiple times. Even though we could not understand a word that was spoken or sung that morning, it was obvious that the people there were truly thankful for their salvation, and their Savior. It made me think about how unthankful we are as Americans. We have everything, yet we long for more. These people have nothing - materially - but lay it all down to worship their Lord. They freely worshipped without worry of their neighbors. They danced, clapped, and sang loudly...and even let out what sounded like tribal calls - something I have never heard in my church! It was an unforgettable morning.

As we waited to leave that morning, Luke held a very sleepy Zemma. She fell asleep in his arms, and remained asleep throughout the entire service. So precious!

Our third day there was spent at our agency's office filling out Zemma's Visa paperwork, and meeting with Zemma's social worker and nurse from the orphanage. It was very obvious from meeting with these ladies how loved she was while there. They told us a little bit about her time there and answered our questions. I cried as I gave them their thank you gifts. We are so thankful for the people who cared for our daughter during the past few months!

Ethiopia

2010-06-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well I had great intentions to blog while in Ethiopia...However, dial up internet quickly changed my mind! I did journal though, so someday I will be able to tell Zemma all about it!

The experience of being in Addis Ababa was life changing. The culture is rich, the people are amazing, the land is beautiful, the poverty was eye opening, and the food.....well.....

I hope to write later about more of the experience but for now, I will start with the day we first met and brought our daughter home.

We arrived in Addis on Friday night. We were of course exhausted, but estactic to be there. Unfortunately we had to wait until the next morning to get Zemma, and it was only our pure exhaustion that allowed us to sleep.

The orphanage was only a few minutes away from our guesthouse, but seemed like forever when we left Saturday morning. As we pulled up at the orphanage gates, I remember feeling like we were walking through a dream. I had butterflies in my stomach, and felt like I was going to jump out of my skin from excitement.

As we pulled through the gates there were children all around. The driver pulled forward, and I looked out the window of the van. Outside there were three or so children running along side of us. One of the faces looking up at us was the sweet face of our Zemma. Her smile stretched from ear to ear, and as I made eye contact with my daughter for the very first time I was overcome with emotion. She was so beautiful, so full of life, so...right there!

We had to wait a few minutes before we were able to get out and actually meet her. When we did, they brought us into a little room and we waited for her nanny to bring her in to us. The moment of actually meeting her was mostly what I expected. She didn't jump into our arms or run to us yelling "Mama, Daddy". She was quiet, and made little eye contact. I cried, and was unsure how much contact was appropriate. We held her though, and whispered in her ear how much we loved her. Then they sent us off on our way with this child that barely knew who we were.

As you can see from these pictures though, it didn't take long for this smiley little girl to warm up to us. By the end of the night Zemma was all smiles, and even gave a night night kiss before bed!

More Zemma Pictures

2010-05-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

We finally got ink for our printer, so I was able to print, and then scan some more pics of Zemma. I know most of you will see her in a few weeks anyways, but posting pictures are just an excuse for me to look at them some more :)

Picking a Middle Name

2010-05-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

Luke and I have been discussing for some time now what Zemma's middle name should be. Now that we are 4 days away from travel we decided it was time to nail one down. To be quite honest, if I was a fair woman I would let Luke have complete power in the ultimate decision, because after all it was promised to him after Madelynn was born and I got to choose her name. However, I have a hard time giving the reigns over to Luke in those kind of permanent decisions...remember, he is the man who wore stonewashed 1980's tapered Tommy jeans for his entire college career (and would still be wearing them to this day...only if he were a few pounds lighter...bummer, huh?).
So, to choose the name we ended up prayerfully considering all of our options...Okay, we actually drew from a hat. Here were our choices:

1. Zemma Rose: My favorite by sound, and Rose actually means "gift from God" which I find appropriate. Luke, however did not really like this one.
2. Zemma Caroline: This one was in honor of my mom, and if you ask me will stay her "honorary middle name." My mom has been an amazing strength and support through this journey of ups and downs. She has cried with me, prayed with me, and shown me more love- during especially the hard times than I ever could have asked for. To have a mom who literally physically hurts for her hurting children is something that I can't even put into words. I am so thankful for her, and our relationship. Mom, I love you. Thank you for your love for me.
*and sorry, Mom that this isn't your new granddaughters middle name...your son-in-law didn't like the way it sounded...:) He loves you too though.
3. Zemma Noel: This was Lukes favorite by sound, and also means "gift," but wasn't my favorite.
4. Zemma Leigh: Both of our favorite by sound...However nothing really significant in the meaning.
Anyway, according to the hat Zemma's middle name shall be.....Leigh.
So, there you have it. Zemma Leigh Brosius. Pretty, huh? :)

One Week From Now...

2010-05-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe in just 7 days Luke and I will be holding our baby girl. We got the call yesterday saying that our embassy date has been scheduled for May 25, and that we need to get there on or around the 20th! Thats ONE week to prepare, pack, arrange tickets, hotels, donations, and funds! SO exciting! So....now that we have our invitation to travel, I thought I would post a few pics of our Zemma. Unfortunately, the pics that we have are not compatible with downloading them here, so I had to take a picture-of a picture. But, if you can not tell because of the blurriness - let me tell you, she is beautiful! :)

2010-05-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

Last week we received an update on Zemma, including lots and lots of pictures (which, unfortunately I can not share). Every update that they send provides lots of info, as well as pictures of her reading books, performing new skills, or interacting. Here are some things that this update included:

-Zemma's gross motor development is excellent. She can walk, run, jump up, and balance on one foot (there is an adorable pic of her doing this!).

- her fine motor development is good. She can build a tower of 4 blocks, take off shoes and socks.

-Zemma is now doing wonderful. She has started playing with the social workers (these were their words, and such a blessing to this mothers heart to hear that she is doing "wonderful"!)

- She is doing good since coming to the orphanage in her person/social /emotion skill. And is now giving hugs and kisses to her caregivers and is more playful (also their words).

-(this is my favorite of the update) Luke and I were able to send a small book containing pictures of our family for Zemma to look at while there. One of the pictures was of Zemma looking at that book and pointing to her Daddy. Seeing that was one of the first times that this whole thing has felt actually real to me. We've waited and prepared and dreamed and even seen her little face, but that picture was so special for me to see, and it made me actually feel like she is ours. God is so faithful and gracious to us. Zemma is a reminder of those characters of our Father. I pray that we always remember the ways that He has blessed this family!

Pictures of the book we sent (some of them upside down apparently...)

Becca's Beautiful Day

2010-05-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

P is for Pass!

2010-04-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord!!!! Our hearts are filled with joy today because I just got the call from our agency saying that we passed court today!!! Thank you all for your prayers!!! Unfortunately I just got word that we are unable to post pictures until after our invitation to travel :( I will post as soon as I can though...

Maddie's Preschool Program

2010-04-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Maddie's preschool program. I'm hoping to figure out how to post a video eventually (mostly so I can share Cael wiggling his pants off in one of the songs...it was HILARIOUS!)

Meg

2010-04-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well apparently pigs flew and hell has frozen over because Luke has done something for me that he swore he never would do...He got Maddie and I a puppy. Here at the Brosius house birthdays are celebrated for an entire month (okay, maybe just my birthday is), and apparently my birthday month began last Thursday. Here is my early birthday present, Meg!

Zemma's Room

2010-04-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

We have been working hard on a room for Zemma the past few weeks. We have pictures still to be hung and curtains to be made, but here is the room so far!

And here was Maddie's contribution:

Redeeming Art

2010-04-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you who saw, and were concerned with what we are teaching Maddie, after my previous post on her artwork - here is what I found on her easel yesterday:

So sweet.

I have seen the Lord work in her little heart in the past few months. Her prayer life is becoming deeper, and she is listening and questioning more things eternal. I love to listen to her converations with God! We have been talking a lot lately about the importance of sharing the gospel with those around us because she is very concerned with the idea of hell. Maddie really has a heart for people, I can't wait to see how the Lord will use her little life!

Black Cherry...

2010-04-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

AHHH...As some of you know, I made the mistake of coloring my hair this past week. 2 boxes of color later, this is what I ended up with : (*The only reason that I post these gosh awful pictures is because my older sister - who is supposed to be here to walk me through these kind of crisis lives a whole 1/2 country away...These are for you, Lindsey :)

Moral of the story: Don't dye your hair, but if you do - don't do it yourself!

2010-04-01T14:46:00.001-07:00

Yippee!! We have a court date!! I got a call from our agency today, and it is scheduled for April 27. Please pray that everything and everyone will show up for this date. This includes our paperwork, Zemma's paperwork, her birthmother, and our representative (probably more too, I just can't think of it off the top of my head).
Assuming we pass court, we will be assigned an embassy appointment which we will appear for and then be able to bring her home! Our caseworker said that her last family traveled 6-7 weeks after their court date, so we are hoping to be traveling mid June at this point. There is a good chance however, that we will not pass (around 40% of families dont...for whatever reason...), and if that is the case, they will reschedule and the waiting will continue...
Thank you for your prayers for our family and our little girl. We are so excited for you all (and us) to meet her!

Maddie Grace - toothless.

2010-03-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

First for us this week: Maddie has lost her very first tooth. Unfortunately, this first did not happen naturally...We noticed last week that there was an adult tooth popping through Maddie's gums behind her baby tooth - which was barely loose. We called the dentist immediately, and had to bring her in to get it pulled. Thankfully, daddy had that day off too cause I just don't do dentists very well! He said she was very brave though, and even says she still likes the dentist. Impressive, since at 29 years old I still have nightmares about him!

Seeing Her Face

2010-03-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

After verbally accepting this referral, they told us that we would be emailed her detailed information and some pictures. They called us that evening to tell us it had been sent. I had just jumped in the shower when Luke got that phone call. So, while washing my hair I hear Luke yelling, "They're here!!! They're here!!! Get out of the shower!!!" I jumped out immediately, (wet and soapy) threw on a towel, and huddled around the computer with Luke and Maddie.
I knew from other peoples experiences with seeing their childs picture for the first time, that it was possible we may not feel an instant bond or attachment. This wasn't our experience. We saw that face, and knew she was the daughter that God had planned for our family. She is beautiful, and most definitely "precious" as had been described by our caseworker.
Zema, we already love you, even though we know very little about you. We can't wait to meet you, to bring you home, and to have you in our lives as our daughter and Maddie's sister. And we are so ready to see that face in person, cause we have barely taken our eyes off of the two photos that we have of you!

The Call - Part 2

2010-03-11T17:06:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my prior post, this child, as far as I was concerned was already ours. Luke, on the other hand was not instantly convinced... I immediately called him after getting off the phone with our agency and breathlessly explained what I had just been told. Of course, I was expecting a similar reaction to what I was feeling. I should know my husband better than that though...His response was exactly what I should have known it would be: Logical. He kept on saying, but Laura we've been planning on siblings this whole time...that is what we wanted...we've waited this long, we should keep on waiting. We ended the conversation deciding that we would take the day to pray about it (keeping in mind that Luke was in school all day surrounded by a bunch of needy punks....amazingly he did find time to spend with the Lord). I then called my caseworker back to let her know where we were at and ended up learning some more about the situation. I found out from this conversation that the child in question was a little girl, around 2, and absolutely precious (true). She also informed me that there were 7 other adoptive families ahead of us in the process who were also wanting siblings, but that Luke and I were the couple that was chosen for this child. They had asked us first. Wow. Well, to make a long story (somewhat) short, Luke had been praying all day that the Lord would show him a sign and make this decision clear to us. This was the sign he needed. As soon as I told him what our agency had said about us being the first match to this child, he knew. She was ours.
Another lesson that the Lord has taught us through the past few years: He is in control. We might think we know what we want. We might think we know what is best for us. We thought siblings was His plan for our family. We thought that was what we wanted. But, we also would have never in a million years imagined that adoption would be such a passion in our hearts. It was not what we wanted...at all. Thank you Lord that you know what we need, you know what is best, and even though we are at times stupid and ignorant; you remain faithful to us.

The Call

2010-03-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Most of you reading this have probably already heard the story of our referral day...If you have, this entry isn't for you. It's for Zema. I want her to someday be able to read, if she ever doubts it, how much we wanted, longed for, and prayed for her. Zema, we love you so much and we will never forget the day that God brought you into our family...
First of all, as I mentioned before nowhere in our wildest dreams did we imagine getting a referral this soon. Our agency had told us that the wait time was somewhere between 12-15 months from the time all of our paperwork was turned it. As you can see from the ticker up top, we were still a good 5 months away from even the low end of that estimation. So this news came as a complete shock to us.
Thursday morning was when I received the call. I was doing laundry and didnt hear the phone ring, but did hear the answering machine beep. I went back to the bedroom, and the message said, "Laura, this is A from Bethany and I just needed you to call me when you get a chance." Now, at this point in our process there is no real reason for communication by phone with our case worker, and I knew that. So immediately my heart stopped....not only that but I was on the verge of heart attack...shaking (literally), heavy breathing, seriously I almost vomited because I was so excited. So, I kind of floated to my files to find a phone number to call her back on. Has it ever happened to you, when something unbelievable happens and you literally have to pinch yourself to make sure that you are awake? I had seen that happen to people on movies before, but never actually experienced it myself. It just seemed to surreal. I mean I had played this moment over and over again in my head, but now was it actually happening? I began to second guess the reason for the call...maybe she just had a paperwork question for me...
When A and I finally got ahold of each other, this was what was said " Hi Laura, I had a question for you," *oh shoot, she seriously just had a question for me!?* "I just was contacted by our Ethiopia coordinator and I know you and Luke and wanting siblings but apparently there are several young single children (2 and under) who are needing placements right now and we were wondering if you guys might be interested?" *um yes, I am half way to Ethiopia right now!...* But I responded, " wow, well I will have to talk to Luke tonight so we can pray about it together, but I will call you back tomorrow." However, A said "well actually is there anyway you can let us know today, because there is a specific situation that we need to know an answer to today.?"
As I am typing this, I'm realizing what a long story this is all typed out! I will finish the rest in a part 2 post....

The Big News!!!

2010-02-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

This is one post that I have been so excited to be able to write...We are overjoyed right now because the Lord has once again proven His faithfulness to us. On Thursday of last week, we received a phone call from our adoption agency saying that there was a child right now in need of placement, and would we be interested in accepting that referral? Most of you know that Luke and I were hoping for a sibling group, so this took us a little off guard. After a day of praying about this we decided that yes, once again we were wrong about what the Lord had for us. We decided to accept the referral. Want to hear about our new little one???
We are happy to announce that Zemanesh, our new daughter will be joining our family in just a few months!!! Zema (as we are calling her ) is two years old. At this time we are unable to post pictures of her, as she is not legally ours yet, but believe me when I say that she is BEAUTIFUL. She has big dark bright eyes with LONG eyelashes (just like her older sister, although the similarites probably stop there :) She is healthy, and seems to have been well taken care of. We can not wait for you all to meet her!
I will post later this week more details about what is to come, but we wanted to go ahead and share our good news for now!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful support group of friends and family! Please continue to pray for our little one, for this time of waiting until we can go to her and bring her home. It breaks my heart to know what she is probably experiencing right now. Pray that she will feel her heavenly Fathers arms around her, holding her until we can. Pray that she will feel Him wiping her every tear, and soothing her fears. We know that He is faithful, and we claim that He is the Father to the fatherless. Thank you for praying!

Adoption Cookbooks!!!

2009-12-23T19:46:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

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."

2009-09-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-17T16:26:00.001-07:00

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

5 Already??!!!!??

2009-07-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-05-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-02-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-21T17:07:00.002-08:00

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.

Home Study Packet Complete!!

2008-12-31T14:47:00.000-08:00

Time to start blogging again! We are so excited today, we finally sent our home study packet in to our agency!! This is a big step, as the packet was quite large. For those of you who are not familiar with the process, the home study packet consists of medical examinations, fingerprinting (for the FBI and Missouri), lots of signing and initialing, self studies for both Luke and I (about 12 pages of intense questions about our childhood, families, marriage, children, and views on adoption), consent to release forms, etc...As I said, it was a lot of work but so worth it as it gets us closer to bringing our little one or ones home. The next step will be to set up our home study visit/ interview. From what I understand, a social worker will come to our home and evaluate our home life, as well as talk to Luke and I together and separately. After that report is complete, we will begin to compile our dossier....more details to come....

2008-12-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

So this post may be the hardest I will ever have to write...Sadly, Luke and I lost the baby this weekend. It has been to date the longest, most difficult weekend of my life.
I have gone through a wide range of emotions over the past 4 days. I have found myself angry, confused, depressed, and hurt. I can not understand why the Lord would allow this into our lives after trying to conceive for so long. However, there are some things that He has made clear to me in the midst of my hurt. They are very simple: God is still in control, and He is still good! I may be angry and I may not understand, but He holds a purpose in all things. My sweet husband keeps on reminding me of the story of Job. Job was a righteous man, and yet the Lord allowed immense hurt into his life for ultimately one purpose...He knew that despite the circumstances of life, Job was going to praise the Lord through it all. In Job 2:9, Job says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Oh, how this applies to our family right now. The Lord has blessed us with the ability to conceive. He gave us a few short days of life within me to realize that. For whatever reason now, He has taken away, but we will still praise His name! After Jobs' wife tells him to curse God and die, Job replies in 2:10, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" Just less than one week ago, I wrote about the Lords goodness to our family because He had given to us. Now I am writing about the Lords goodness even though He has taken away. I know that we live in an imperfect world where imperfect things happen and until we are in His presence at home in Heaven, we have to expect and accept "trouble" just as we would "good".
Praise the Lord with me for He is good!

The Lord is Gracious and Full of Compassion

2008-12-03T16:59:00.000-08:00

The Lord shows us in many ways His love for us. He has shown His love for our family in a big way just recently. As I mentioned above, we have just begun the process to adopt from Ethiopia. It has been a long road to get us to this point of obedience, and has taken a lot of prayer, tears, and disappointment along the way. For two and a half years, we have been trying to have a baby and although it has been painful and hard, we discovered this week the reason for all of it. It has become quite evident to us that adoption was the Lords' specific plan for our family. He has taken us on this journey of infertility for that very reason.... perhaps He knows we are stubborn and that was the only way to get our attention! He has made it clear to us that His plans are perfect, they are always on time, and never waver in our questioning them.

So, maybe you have figured it out by now....or maybe you are wondering why I am rambling on about this...but here it is: Luke and I just found out that we are expecting baby number two, who will be coming in about nine months! Thats right, Maddie was correct....She will be having one "dark skin" brother or sister, and one "light skin" brother or sister! Praise God for His faithfulness to us!!!

2008-11-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

So, several people have asked me lately why the Brosius family does not have a blogspot.....the answer is quite simple: the Brosius family is not all that interesting.... There is definitely very little that happens in our household that others would want to sit down and read about. However, with our adoption in full swing ahead, I thought it would be fun for others to see what this journey is all about. So, it is my goal to try and keep this blog as exciting and informative as possible :)