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.

Home Study Packet Complete!!

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....