The Brown Bunch

Chera and Kenenisa are home!

2011-08-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

After over two years of waiting, Chera and Kenenisa are finally home! They got in late last night at 9:15. Chera running to hug me when he walked through the gates was the greatest feeling ever. Both boys were very excited to meet their new brother and immediately gave him kisses and tried to hold him. They still constantly give him kisses. It's a good thing he is a pretty laid back baby!

There were a few other kids at the airport. The boys and the other kids very naturally began playing together. It was pretty sweet. I'll post some pictures of the airport later.

Overall the boys slept well. I guessed that their sleep schedule would be off since Ethiopia is 4 hours ahead and they took a four hour nap at the airport in Washington. They went to sleep at 11:30 and woke up at 7:30. It was much more sleep than I expected they would get. We have had a great day so far. The boys have been busy with soccer, puzzles, coloring, and swinging. They are the sweetest boys. Here are some pics of yesterday and today.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Another Change.

2011-08-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

It's changed again! They are estimated to arrive at 9. There is a small possibility that they could leave earlier. I will send out a message if they do. I understand that it is late for people to come to the airport, especially with kids. So please don't feel bad if you planned to come and can't now. :)

Changes

2011-08-20T10:33:00.001-07:00

Justin's itinerary has changed. He will now be arriving from Washington at 6:30. Flight number UA6029.

The boys got some sleep on the plane, but were pretty restless for the rest of the flight. I think they are having fun checking out all their new surrounding. Justin said that they had their first water fountain experience and Kenenisa thinks of it as more recreational as opposed to drinking.

Thanks so much for the prayers!

Update

2011-08-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Talked to the boys today. Everyone was doing good. They actually all got sick from the food they ate on Wednesday night, but seemed to be better by Thursday evening. Everyone is ready to come home and I am ready to have them home. I know Brittney and her kids are ready to have James home as well.

Tomorrow night they will start their journey home. Here are some specific prayer requests that we have:

-That everyone stomach fully recovers.

-That they are able to make it to all of their flights in time.

-We are expecting the trip home to be exciting but scary for Chera and Kenenisa. Prayers that they are able to sleep and stay calm.

- That Justin and James get some rest on the way home.

Thank you so much for the encouragement, prayers, help, and food. We appreciate it all!

Airport Arrival

2011-08-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, adoption airport celebrations are pretty fun. A few people have asked when Justin will be back with the boys. He will be arriving on Saturday at 4:00. They have very little time to get to their plane in Chicago. Lots of prayers that their plane from Washington is on time. Check the blog on Saturday and I will post if I know he is running late.

Since I haven't seen the boys in a while, I would ask that instead of meeting at security, it would be great if everyone could meet downstairs at the bottom of the escalators. I could get a gate pass, but taking a double stroller and two kids through security is difficult. Thank you to everyone for understanding!

Also, for the first few days we will be "cocooning" with our new family. Coming home is going to be an exciting, overwhelming and new experience for the boys. This will give them a little time to adjust and help us to provide a stable and consistent environment. We ask that everyone saves their visits until we have had a little family time. This doesn't apply to people bringing meals! We really need you to come! :)

Here are some great pics from Zoey's airport arrival.

Embassy Appointment!

2011-08-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

Just talked to Justin and the boys passed their embassy appointment! This was a huge relief since it is really the last hurdle before bringing your kids home. It's rare that families have any problems at this stage, but glad it's great to have it over with.

I think the all the boys are finally a little rested up. They seemed a lot more calm this morning. Both boys are ready to come home. They are talking about America and getting on a plane. After being in an orphanage for almost 3 years, I can understand why. They were also the only older kids in the transition house. I could imagine they were pretty bored.

The boys are really into everything. They want to tear through every single thing Justin brought for them. Justin is trying to gradually get out things so they stay entertained. It sound like they are really into arts/crafts, puzzles, and of course soccer. They love their backpacks and want to put all their belongings in them.

This was pretty sweet. I have menioned that Zoey is having a hard time when Asher cries. While I was talking to Justin, Zoey started crying because she heard Asher over the monitor. Chera immediately ran over to the webcam and started trying to comfort her. Hoping he is successful at this once he gets here. I could use the help!

Thanks so much for all the prayers! I will post more updates as I get them.

Happy Gotcha Day Zoey Hiwot!

2011-08-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

One year ago today Justin and I brought home our beautiful Zoey Hiwot. This past Tuesday was the anniversary of her "Gotcha Day", the day we first came together as a family. We celebrated by putting Zoey in one of her Ethiopian dresses and going to the Queen of Sheba, our local Ethiopian restaurant.

It's hard to imagine she has been with us for a year now. It feels like we were just walking into the orphanage picking up our chunky baby. I am so thankful that God put her into our lives. Deciding to adopt her was a scary decision. She had so many unknowns and we were also in the process to adopt Chera and Kenenisa. We are so grateful that God made it very clear the path we needed to take.

She has come so far this past year. Our little girl who could barely hold her head up has improved by leaps and bounds. Zoey is the happiest little girl that brightens my mood if I am feeling down or tired. She is such a little social butterfly and makes friends wherever she goes

Although it's been hard waiting for Chera and Kenenisa, our year with Zoey has been precious and we will always treasure it. Happy Gotcha Day Zoey Hiwot!

Our first meeting with our beautiful girl!

Arriving at the Airport

Our Gotcha Day Dinner

They made it!

2011-08-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

Justin and James made it to Ethiopia! i was able to skype with Justin and the boys this morning. The plan was for the boys to stay the first night at the orphanage. We both thought it would be an easier transition for them. Both boys didn't want him to leave them, so he went ahead and took them back to the hotel. After all this waiting, it sounds like they are ready to come home!

The boys were super energetic and hyped up about everything. It sounds like they were really excited about their pajamas. I doubt they have ever had any before. It's crazy to think that pajamas could be so special. There are so many things that we are just used to having in the US. I can't imagine what they are going to think about their own room, a closet full of clothes, bikes, etc.

I will hopefully get to skype with them again this afternoon. Praying that they all get some sleep. Justin seemed pretty tired.

1 Down, 2 to Go!

2011-07-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

One of our beautiful boys is officially here! Asher Josiah Brown made is debut Sunday afternoon at 1:08pm. He weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and is 20 inches. Both of us are doing great. Although he was a week earlier than we expected, the birth went great. Thankfully everything went according to our birthplan with no medical intervention. I couldn't have done it without Justin. He was so strong and encouraging throughout the entire labor. We are very thankful to the wonderful staff at Clark Memorial and our fabulous Doula Jackie.

A few people have asked about bringing meals. Our friend Emily from our church has organized a meal calendar. You can sign up using the calendar by going to www.takethemameal.com and use our name: brown and password: 111

Enjoy some pics of our first few days with our new little guy!

Some Kangaroo Care with Dad.

Zoey's first time meeting her baby brother.

Meeting Nana

Intense conversation between Pop and Zoey.

Asher rocking his Dad's favorite hat from Ethiopia

Hanging out with Mimi and Papaw during his first day home.

Zoey and Buddy welcoming their brother home.

Official Date!

2011-07-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

We have officially been assigned an embassy date! Justin will be traveling to Ethiopia on August 14th with an Embassy appointment on August 17th. It is so wonderful to finally have this. Being in such limbo has been hard. Hopefully Baby Brown, who is due August 1st, will come on time so Justin can have a couple weeks with him (and me) before he goes.

Great News!

2011-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Check out those handsome guys! Yesterday we received the letter we have been waiting for. USCIS(immigration) has approved us to bring the boys home! God is good. It was definitely news that we needed to hear. Next, our file is forwarded on to the Visa processing center and then to the US embassy in Ethiopia. We are not completely sure how long it's going to take, but we don't expect it to be too long.
I spoke to someone in Ethiopia yesterday and he told me that the boys are doing well. We can't wait to get them home. Life is about to get extra crazy, but wonderful at the same time! Thanks for the prayers. I will update when we know more.

Not a Fan

2011-05-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Justin and I attend Southeast Christian Church here in Louisville. We are very blessed with two wonderful pastors who challenge us each week. One of our pastors, Kyle Idleman is releasing a book based on a previous sermon series, "Not Fan, Completely. Committed. Follower." The concept challenges Christians to not just be an enthusiastic admirer of Christ, but to live as he lived and love as he loved. We found out last week that Kyle would like to donate a portion of book sales at the book signing to our adoption. This was very unexpected. A few days before we were stressing a little about the continued cost (mostly travel related). Why should we be surprised that God was going to provide?

More than the funding though, we are so happy that adoption will be highlighted. The article in the Outlook did a fabulous job telling our story. I love that the article expressed how we thought and think of Zoey Hiwot, Chera, and Kenenisa as our children even before they became legally ours or lived under our roof. Making the decision to start the adoption process can be very overwhelming. There are so many possible fears; What will our family say?, Can we afford this?, What if the child we adopt has mental or physical health problems?. Can I love a child that is not biologically related to me? We hope that the message of the book will inspire others to step out in faith and let God lead them to something that will likely be difficult, but may bring more joy to their lives than they could ever imagine.

Having our story expressed in an article was and is something that is uncomfortable. We in no way want it to look like we are anything special at all. Thankfully, the article wonderfully focused on God's plan. Our entire journey as parents was led and constructed by God. I know that we are not completely committed followers in every aspect of our lives. There are so many areas of our lives that we could better honor God. Thankfully, he does not expect us to be perfect. If we were, there would be no need for him.

Please join us tomorrow, May 22, 7:30, during a live web cast/book signing that will be held at Southeast. There will be great speaking from Kyle and Lee Strobe as well as fabulous music with Mark Hall from Casting Crowns. For more info about Not a Fan, check out: http://www.notafan.com/

Happy Birthday Zoey Hiwot!

2011-05-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated the second birthday of our sweet Zoey Hiwot. Since Zoey came so close to not even having a first birthday, today was very significant to us. It's very hard to process what a hard start to life she had. We are so blessed that God saved her life and placed her into ours.

Zoey had a great time. She had pizza and cake, two of her favorite things. Thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated with us. Big thanks go to Amy and her fabulous cake making skills!

Click on the picture to see a few pictures of her day:

Surprise!

2011-04-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have been on here. Sorry! We have been pretty busy. We have an exusce though. We are expecting another addition to our growing family. This time, we are going the traditional route. We found out late last fall that we are expecting. It was a complete surprise. We hadn't planned on getting pregnant until after the boys were home and settled. As we have been made very aware over the past couple of years, God has his own plans in mind. Although it is a little much right now, I know we will look back years from now and see just how perfect his plan was.

I know many of you are saying; Yes, this is not news, its been obvious for a while that you were pregnant!" Thank you for humoring us! For quite a few reasons, we chose not to share our news. At this point, it is pretty much impossible to keep it a secret!

Everything has went well. I have been blessed to have a pretty easy pregnancy. Zoey will still be the princess of the family, we found out that it's a boy.

No news on Chera and Kenenisa. I spoke to our immigration official who told us he/she had not started working on our case yet. They also let me know that the average turnaround time is now 75 days. He/She received our case on March 16. Good news, I spoke to the social worker at our orphanage. He said that Chera and Kenenisa are doing great. He also explained to them about our delay and that we loved them and missed them. As hard as it is to have to wait for them, I am so thankful that they are happy and healthy. Although an orphanage in Ethiopia is not the optimal place for any child, I do believe that all the staff love the kids and take care of them the best they can.

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement! We are so thankful for how much support we have received from everyone!

Apologies and Thank You!

2011-02-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

First of all, so sorry to everyone if I have forgotten an event, not returned a call, not returned an email, or forgotten some other thing. My mind has been all over the place lately and I have been even more scatterbrained than normal. Thanks for your patience!

Also, in my last email, I forgot to thank a few people who helped us get our homestudy done in record time. Thanks to Katherine, Trina, Bill, Alice, Cindy, and Dustin. Also, thanks to Susan for pushing those who needed a little encouragement to speed everything up.

Enjoy a picture of Zoey when Brittney and James visited her a little over a year ago.

Brown Family Update

2011-01-25T11:12:00.000-08:00

Check out these handsome boys! A friend was just in Ethiopia picking up his beautiful little girl and snapped this pic for us. He was able to tell the boys we loved them and would come get them as soon as we could. He said they were doing great.

We have had a little bit of a set back in our process. We found out a couple weeks ago that our home study(a document that summarizes our lives and approves us to adopt in the US) had ran out. I got confused, thinking it ran out in 24 months(which was the old standard), but it was actually 18 months. Our home study agency did not catch this either. Along with our home study running out, we also had to update since Zoey is home. All of this means that our home study had to basically be done completely over again. Thankfully, we have finished that part. Next, we have to be approved again by USCIS(United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). I spoke to someone yesterday who explained that we had to start over with this process as well. There is no real way to expidite the process, but she asked that I send the application to her attention. She said she would fit it in her current cases and try to get it done as fast as possible. In a normal circumstance, our application would sit on a shelf and wait for an officer to have an opening. I am very grateful for her willingness to help. I was very worried since friends have not had the best experience when asking USCIS for a speedy process. I sent everything yesterday and it should get there by Monday morning. I don't know why, but you send everything to Texas and it then has to be sent to another location. I have no idea how long it will take to get to the officer I spoke to. We are hoping for March, although we have no real idea how long it will actually take.
Its been such a long process to bring the boys home. Every step of the way has been full of unexpected bumps. Adoption requires so much faith and trust in God. Everytime we get discouraged, we try to remind ourselves that there is a reason for everything. It is of course still hard, but the fact that God is in control gives us hope.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a long one! I am still processing yesterday, so I may ramble or be overly detailed.

Zoey started the New Year off with a bang! She started the New Year's Eve off with her first sleep over with my mom. She did great. She slept and ate good and had tons of fun playing. I was worried because she doesn't always sleep well in new places, but everything went really well. We were proud of her for being such a big girl.

We picked her up late morning and mom was a little worried that she seemed to have a little chest congestion. When we got home, I took her temperature and it was a little high. I took it again to make sure it was right and it had actually increase by a degree in that short amount of time. I didn't think much of it and gave her some tylenol. Since it was her nap time anyway, we left her in her crib. I heard a really loud and strange sound come from her. I didn't go in immediately, but something told me I needed to check on her. When I did, I saw that she was awake. I picked her up and at first thought she was just really sleepy. Her eyes were open, but she was unresponsive and totally limp. Her eyes were slowly shifting front to back. I immediately felt that something wasn't right. Justin came in and took her as we decided to take her to the emergency room. As he was taking her out to the car, he ran back in because he realized she wasn't breathing. Her lips were no longer pink and were now dark and dull. At this point, it was obvious that she had a seizure. Our neighbor Amy is a nurse and Justin ran to get her. I gave Zoey two rescue breaths and decided I would go to our other neighbor's who is a fireman. While I was running I had another neighbor call EMS. As I was running to get Scott, I felt her muscles strengthen back up and I hear her make a sound. It was the most wonderful sound ever! Scott was not home, so we went back to our house where Justin was frantically looking for us with Amy. Amy thought she was having a febrile seizure since she also had a fever. Since she was responsive now, we decided to just take her downtown ourselves. In the card ride, she was groggy, but more herself again.
Thankfully, Kosair was not crowded and they saw us immediately. They all agreed that it was a febrile seizure and was not a big deal at all. It was not long, probably two minutes at the most and she came out of it really fast. Since they said it was okay, we let Zoey take a nap, which she desperately wanted to do. When she woke up, she was her happy squealing self. The nurse told us "If she is this happy when she is sick, I can't imagine what she is like when she's well!"

We had to have a few tests run to see what what was causing the fever, but she tested negative for everything. Their conclusion is that she has a very minor viral illness. She seemed like she was fighting something all week, I guess it finally hit her. It was nice to know that we didn't have to worry about some horrible, highly contagious illness. I hadn't planned on giving the flu shot to her, but it looks like we are getting it now!

When children have febrile seizures, they are likely to get another one. Good times. Even though we now know that they are not a big deal at all, I can't imagine seeing that again. Many of the adults and kids I work with have seizure disorders, so I am pretty used to seeing them. I have had a few clients that have died after having a seizure, so when I realized she was having one, I was pretty scared. Turns out, febrile seizures are not anywhere near as bad as the seizure most of my clients have. They do not last long, and the babies recover from them really fast. It is very rare that a child would have any brain damage from a febrile seizure. We have some medicine to give her in the rare case a seizure lasts 10 minutes. Now, all we can do is try to be aware of her temperature. But, since it is usually a reaction to a sudden fever, they are very hard to prevent.

It was a rough night worrying about every little sound she makes and constantly checking her temperature, but we made it. She is doing great today. She has a slight fever, but it is controlled since we are giving her medicine to keep it down. She is having a fabulous day eating her favorite foods and doing her favorite things. You really wouldn't know she was sick at all. We are very thankful that this scary event is really not a big deal if it happens again. We are of course praying that it never happens again!

Thank you to our neighbors Amy J, Amy H, Gary and Lisa for your calm presence as we were flipping out!

Pictures from Ethiopia

2010-12-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our trip. Since we are at the transition house, we are able to take pictures of the kids. All of them have been adopted. They are in very random orders, sorry.

Christmas Card

2010-12-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas Card is complete! Check out our first complete family photo. I will post more pics from our trip soon.

Pop Art Ornaments Christmas

Personalize your Christmas photo cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Last Update

2010-12-09T09:11:00.001-08:00

Today was a great day. We picked the boys up this morning and took them to the Zoo and out to lunch. It was nice to get them away. Although we love being around all the kids, many of the younger ones are very needy and want all pf our attention while we are trying to get to know the boys.

The main attraction at the Zoo was the lions. They had multiple cages with lots of lion pairs. You can get lot closer to them here than you can get in the US. It was neat, but said becuase all the animals were in pretty small cages. There were also a few monkeys, birds, a gessel, and a little deer tied to a string.

There was a little amusment park and playground at the Zoo as well. This was Chera and Kenenisa's favorite thing to do. They road a few rides and played on a playground. I can't wait until we take them to an amusment park or the fair. Pretty interesting, a maintinance man was welding metal, right in the middle of the walking path. Justin wanted to take Zoey's stroller off road to go around it and our driver could not figure out why. She told us "No big deal, can't hurt you!" Hopefully he wasn't welding a part for one of the rides the boys were on!

Good bye to the boys was hard, but we know we will see them soon. Hopefully, we will receive an embassy date late January or early February.

We have to go now, off to the airport. Thanks for all the prayers!

Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
(502)376-9064
DonnaMT@insightbb.com
www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com

Update

2010-12-08T11:30:00.001-08:00

We had another wonderful day today. I brought coloring books, notepads, and crayons to the orphanage. This was a big hit for all the kids. They all enjoyed coloring and drawing. The coloring books were Mickey Mouse and almost all the kids new exactly who he was!

The boys are getting more and more comfortable with us. Both times we went today there were waiting for us at the courtyard gate with big smiles. Both boys initiated interaction with Hiwot more today. Kenenisa wanted to feed her and Chera wanted to sit with her while he was coloring. Most of you have seen the ergo carrier that I carry Zoey in. Everytime I put it on, Chera wants to help me. Today while he was helping, a toddler(who is kind of a wild kid) ran up and started touching Zoey. Chera protectively put himself between the toddler and Zoey. I know the little boy meant no harm to Zoey at all, but it was sweet to see how protective Chera was of his sister.

It seems that the orphanage has done their best to explain what will be happening. While they were drawing, Chera drew a plane. Justin asked if he wanted to go on a plane to come home with us in a few months and he said yes. Later, he drew a plane and wrote

MDCKH(Mommy, Daddy, Chera, Kenenisa, Hiwot) inside of it. Very sweet. I am very happy that they have tried to explain things. I know it will still be scary, but at least they will have some idea of what is going to happen.
Zoey is doing very well. I am proud of how she is handling such a hectic schedule. I am so happy that we brought her. It has made the nannies so happy to see that she is doing good. The first question I get is: Have you taken her to the doctor? They are always very excited when I tell them that she has multiple doctors.

This trip we have both been very aware of the mental health issues and disabilities of people on the streets. We have seen many people with obvious mental impairment and horrible physical disabilities. We have been told that there is very little help for people in this situation. Its impossible to imagine what it would be like to live here with any special need or what it's like to have a child with special needs. I saw a girl who did not have use of her legs pulling herself with her arms down the street. I couldn't help but think that this could have been Zoey's life if she wasn't given the chance to live in a place with good medical care. I am very grateful that God has brought her into our lives.

Tomorrow is out last day. We will leave late tomorrow night. Tomorrow morning we are going to be able to take Chera and Kenenisa to the Zoo. Afterwards we are going to go to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. We are pretty excited. It's going to be a lot of fun. Now, off to sleep!

Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
(502)376-9064
DonnaMT@insightbb.com
www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com

We passed!

2010-12-07T09:19:00.001-08:00

We passed court this morning! We went to the courthouse this morning and waited in a large room with all the other couples. There were quite a few families from our orphanage there. We have gotten to know all of them through hanging out at the transisition house with our kids. They called us back one by one to the hearing room to aswer a few questions. It really only took 5 minutes. It was basically for them to establish that you knew that these would be your children and you were responsible for them. They asked a few questions about Zoey and that was it. At the end she said: "They are yours." After all we have been through waiting and fearing that we would not even be able to adopt them, hearing that was the most wonderful thing we had ever heard. It would have been nice if they boys had been there with us, but I doubt they would have understood any of it and we may have scared them with our crying.

After court we went shopping. This was a fabulous shopping trip. Our driver Ayni took us. It was great to have her their to transate and let us know where was the best place to buy things. We got some really cute traditional outfits for the boys, some decor for home, gifts, and a necklace for Zoey when she gets older. In Ethiopia, the Orthadox Christians and many Protestant Christans wear wooden Coptic crosses. Chera had mentioned he liked crosses so we bought a few for all the older kids in the transition house(only about 11). It was amazing to see how excited all these kids got for these tiny little inexpensive neclaces. Everytime we have brought anything for them; bubbles, stickers, suckers, it's like they hit the lottery. As I have mentioned before, all the kids want to make sure that everyone got one. It is sweet to see how they look out for one another.

We had a good day with the boys. We played some soccer, passed the ball and spinned the boys around. Our close friend Haley made the boys a book with pictures of her and her brother, our house, church, us, Zoey and soccer. I thought they would like it, but I had no idea how much they would like it! All the kids gathered around and watched as Justin read it to them and Anyi translated. We read it a few more times and Chera has it memorized now! Haley-thank you so much for making the book for the boys. I took pictures and I have a video of them saying thank you to you and Nathan!

After hanging out at the orphanage we came back to the hotel for some dinner. Justin went ahead to get us a table at the restaurant and Zoey and I were going to meet him there after we changed his diaper. We were comming down the elevator to the restaurant when it jarred and went completely dark. I knew this was just a power outage becuase it happens all the time. Thankfully our hotel has a generator so it does not last long. Zoey started screaming and I couldnt see which button to press to call for help. I just hit every button that was on the wall. I started banging on the door and yelling for help. I heard someone bang back at me and casually say in an Ethiopian accent: Don't sweat, its alright" For those of you who have been to Ethiopia, you know that nothing to big of a deal big deal. It only lasted for a few minutes, but its hard not to sweat when you are in a pitch black elevator with a screaming baby! At least it is an interesting story for us to tell.

Better go now, we all need to get some rest. Thank you so much for all the prayers regarding our courtdate. God has definitely worked throughout this process.
----- Original Message -----
From: Donna B Brown <donnamt@insightbb.com>
Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010 10:36
Subject: Update!
To: donaldparker@vzw.blackberry.net,lesleys@ariseforchildren.com>, susank.ariseforchildren@gmail.com,susancallander@gmail.com>, ronda.cosby@jefferson.kyschools.us,lupitacross@hotmail.com, rebecca.edney@yahoo.com,jessicanaber@yahoo.com, brittneyj.armstrong@gmail.com,<kdozier@sobmlegal.com>
Cc: drae48@insightbb.com>,donnamt.ethiopia@blogger.com,coram deo abf <coramdeoabf@yahoogroups.com

> Two seperate updates. I tried to send the first one this
> morning but the internet wasn't working.
>
> Update 1
> We made it to our hotel last night at around 3:30 am. This was
> about 6 hours later than we expected. All of the flights except
> our flight from Louisville to Detroit had delays. One for snow,
> one for mechanical reasons, and one becuase of another
> passengers medical needs. The snow was so bad in Amsterdam that
> the airport was shut down. Once it opened back up there was only
> one runway. We sat in the plane for around 3 hours waiting. The
> KLM staff were wonderful though. There was plenty to eat, drink,
> and lots of movies to watch. Zoey was great. she didn't sleep
> much, but was pretty happy most of the way. The only time she
> got cranky was after our stop in Sudan. It was only an hour trip
> from Sudan to Ethiopia, so it wasn't too bad.
>
> We only got around 5 hours of sleep so I am sure we will sleep
> good tonight. In a half hour we are going to go visit the boys!
> I am very nervous and excited. I just wonder how much they
> understand and what they will be thinking when they see us.
> Justin is ready to play some soccer with them. We even brought a
> ball with us.
>
> Please keep us in your prayers. I really want us all to stay
> healthy. Also, our court date is tomorrow afternoon. Which will
> be early in the morning your time.
>
> Brittney-Justin gave Jared your gifts. He liked them very much.
> We also gave him some paper and a pen so he can write a letter
> to you. We will take a little video of him as well.
>
> Haley-I will probably give the boys your book on Tuesday after
> we know how the court date went! I know they are going to love
> it!
>
> Update 2
> We spent a lot of time with the boys today! They have already
> been moved to the transition house. This is where all the kids
> that are close to coming home go. When we got there, they were
> both napping. It took them a little while to warm up to us since
> they had just woke up from a nap, but that changed quickly. We
> were having fun and were covered in stickers in no time!
> Both said they remembered us from our previous trip
> Words can't describe how beautiful these boys are! Its just so
> amazing to actually get to know them after only looking at
> pictures for so long. Justin took his football(soccer for you
> Americans!) and played with all the kids. Suprisingly they also
> like basketball. Not sure if they have played with an actual
> basket, but they like to dribble and pass. Justin had such a
> great time coaching them, it was fun to watch. I video taped
> them with our flip and both boys cracked up watching themselves.
> I have a feeling we will be doing that a lot!
> We brought dum-dums for all the kids. Big Hit! I learned today
> that it makes the caretakers happy to get the candy as well.
> They were very appreciative to get some candy. Chera wanted to
> make sure everyone got a sucker. He asked for extras and took
> them to staff who hadn't gotten any yet. I was very proud of
> him. There are many negative behaviors that come from living in
> the orphanage, but I think there are just as many if not more
> positive behaviors. All the kids are looking out for each other
> and love to share with others.
> Zoey did great. The response when the nannies saw her was worth
> any trouble that it took to get her here. They were so happy to
> see her doing well. When we walked in the gates we heard many
> high pitched exclamations that "Hiwot is here"!
>
> Going to eat dinner now. Ready for some Ethiopian food! Then, a
> lot of sleep!
>
>
>
>
>
> Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
> Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
> (502)376-9064
> DonnaMT@insightbb.com
> www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
> www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com
>

Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
(502)376-9064
DonnaMT@insightbb.com
www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com

Re: Update

2010-12-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

We were reminded this morning that with Ethiopia, nothing is definite and the details are not so important. Apparently, the orphanage in Ethiopia told our agency the wrong day! Not to big of a deal though, it's tomorrow.

As I have mentioned to most of you, I was worried about the birth-parent court date.Their family lives about 9 hours away, so I was worried that it would be hard for them to come to Addis. . I thought this was supposed to happen on the same day as our court date. Apparently that rule has not been enacted yet and it took place a month ago and everything went great! Tomorrow's court date is just a formality.

We also found out a lot more about Chera and Kenenisa's story and about the area they are from. Most of their story is quite different than we thought. We will share more details once we learn a little more ourselves.

We had a great day hanging out at the transition house. I brought bubbles and all the kids had a great time. A lot of the kids thought they would make their bubbles last longer by adding some water. This led to no more bubbles.

All the kids at the transition house are so wonderful. We are particularly impressed by the older girls. They have such a maturity and sweet spirit. I could talk to them all day. Since they are at the transition house, this means they will all go home soon. Everytime I get to know another one of the kids I just think about how blessed their new families are going to be.

Today we tried to include Zoey in our interactions with Chera and Kenenisa. When we walked through the gates today Chera ran up to us and patted Zoey on the head and said "sister." Later Justin tried to teach Chera how to say Zoey. He would point at her and say "Zoey." Chera looked at him like he was crazy and said "thats Hiwot"!

We had fun playing soccer, passing and dribbling. The sun was very bright, but it wasn't too hot. I think all the hard playing and the sun made the boys really tired. Chera fell asleep in Justin's lap and Kenenisa was exhausted.

We are off to dinner now. All of us are pretty hungry. Hopefully we will have good news to report tomorrow! Thanks for all the prayers!

----- Original Message -----
From: Donna B Brown <donnamt@insightbb.com>
Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010 10:36
Subject: Update!
To: donaldparker@vzw.blackberry.net,lesleys@ariseforchildren.com>, susank.ariseforchildren@gmail.com,susancallander@gmail.com>, ronda.cosby@jefferson.kyschools.us,lupitacross@hotmail.com, rebecca.edney@yahoo.com,jessicanaber@yahoo.com, brittneyj.armstrong@gmail.com,<kdozier@sobmlegal.com>
Cc: drae48@insightbb.com>,donnamt.ethiopia@blogger.com,coram deo abf <coramdeoabf@yahoogroups.com

> Two seperate updates. I tried to send the first one this
> morning but the internet wasn't working.
>
> Update 1
> We made it to our hotel last night at around 3:30 am. This was
> about 6 hours later than we expected. All of the flights except
> our flight from Louisville to Detroit had delays. One for snow,
> one for mechanical reasons, and one becuase of another
> passengers medical needs. The snow was so bad in Amsterdam that
> the airport was shut down. Once it opened back up there was only
> one runway. We sat in the plane for around 3 hours waiting. The
> KLM staff were wonderful though. There was plenty to eat, drink,
> and lots of movies to watch. Zoey was great. she didn't sleep
> much, but was pretty happy most of the way. The only time she
> got cranky was after our stop in Sudan. It was only an hour trip
> from Sudan to Ethiopia, so it wasn't too bad.
>
> We only got around 5 hours of sleep so I am sure we will sleep
> good tonight. In a half hour we are going to go visit the boys!
> I am very nervous and excited. I just wonder how much they
> understand and what they will be thinking when they see us.
> Justin is ready to play some soccer with them. We even brought a
> ball with us.
>
> Please keep us in your prayers. I really want us all to stay
> healthy. Also, our court date is tomorrow afternoon. Which will
> be early in the morning your time.
>
> Brittney-Justin gave Jared your gifts. He liked them very much.
> We also gave him some paper and a pen so he can write a letter
> to you. We will take a little video of him as well.
>
> Haley-I will probably give the boys your book on Tuesday after
> we know how the court date went! I know they are going to love
> it!
>
> Update 2
> We spent a lot of time with the boys today! They have already
> been moved to the transition house. This is where all the kids
> that are close to coming home go. When we got there, they were
> both napping. It took them a little while to warm up to us since
> they had just woke up from a nap, but that changed quickly. We
> were having fun and were covered in stickers in no time!
> Both said they remembered us from our previous trip
> Words can't describe how beautiful these boys are! Its just so
> amazing to actually get to know them after only looking at
> pictures for so long. Justin took his football(soccer for you
> Americans!) and played with all the kids. Suprisingly they also
> like basketball. Not sure if they have played with an actual
> basket, but they like to dribble and pass. Justin had such a
> great time coaching them, it was fun to watch. I video taped
> them with our flip and both boys cracked up watching themselves.
> I have a feeling we will be doing that a lot!
> We brought dum-dums for all the kids. Big Hit! I learned today
> that it makes the caretakers happy to get the candy as well.
> They were very appreciative to get some candy. Chera wanted to
> make sure everyone got a sucker. He asked for extras and took
> them to staff who hadn't gotten any yet. I was very proud of
> him. There are many negative behaviors that come from living in
> the orphanage, but I think there are just as many if not more
> positive behaviors. All the kids are looking out for each other
> and love to share with others.
> Zoey did great. The response when the nannies saw her was worth
> any trouble that it took to get her here. They were so happy to
> see her doing well. When we walked in the gates we heard many
> high pitched exclamations that "Hiwot is here"!
>
> Going to eat dinner now. Ready for some Ethiopian food! Then, a
> lot of sleep!
>
>
>
>
>
> Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
> Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
> (502)376-9064
> DonnaMT@insightbb.com
> www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
> www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com
>

Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
(502)376-9064
DonnaMT@insightbb.com
www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com

Update!

2010-12-05T07:36:00.001-08:00

Two seperate updates. I tried to send the first one this morning but the internet wasn't working.

Update 1

We made it to our hotel last night at around 3:30 am. This was about 6 hours later than we expected. All of the flights except our flight from Louisville to Detroit had delays. One for snow, one for mechanical reasons, and one becuase of another passengers medical needs. The snow was so bad in Amsterdam that the airport was shut down. Once it opened back up there was only one runway. We sat in the plane for around 3 hours waiting. The KLM staff were wonderful though. There was plenty to eat, drink, and lots of movies to watch. Zoey was great. she didn't sleep much, but was pretty happy most of the way. The only time she got cranky was after our stop in Sudan. It was only an hour trip from Sudan to Ethiopia, so it wasn't too bad.

We only got around 5 hours of sleep so I am sure we will sleep good tonight. In a half hour we are going to go visit the boys! I am very nervous and excited. I just wonder how much they understand and what they will be thinking when they see us. Justin is ready to play some soccer with them. We even brought a ball with us.

Please keep us in your prayers. I really want us all to stay healthy. Also, our court date is tomorrow afternoon. Which will be early in the morning your time.

Brittney-Justin gave Jared your gifts. He liked them very much. We also gave him some paper and a pen so he can write a letter to you. We will take a little video of him as well.

Haley-I will probably give the boys your book on Tuesday after we know how the court date went! I know they are going to love it!

Update 2

We spent a lot of time with the boys today! They have already been moved to the transition house. This is where all the kids that are close to coming home go. When we got there, they were both napping. It took them a little while to warm up to us since they had just woke up from a nap, but that changed quickly. We were having fun and were covered in stickers in no time! Both said they remembered us from our previous trip

Words can't describe how beautiful these boys are! Its just so amazing to actually get to know them after only looking at pictures for so long. Justin took his football(soccer for you Americans!) and played with all the kids. Suprisingly they also like basketball. Not sure if they have played with an actual basket, but they like to dribble and pass. Justin had such a great time coaching them, it was fun to watch. I video taped them with our flip and both boys cracked up watching themselves. I have a feeling we will be doing that a lot!

We brought dum-dums for all the kids. Big Hit! I learned today that it makes the caretakers happy to get the candy as well. They were very appreciative to get some candy. Chera wanted to make sure everyone got a sucker. He asked for extras and took them to staff who hadn't gotten any yet. I was very proud of him. There are many negative behaviors that come from living in the orphanage, but I think there are just as many if not more positive behaviors. All the kids are looking out for each other and love to share with others.

Zoey did great. The response when the nannies saw her was worth any trouble that it took to get her here. They were so happy to see her doing well. When we walked in the gates we heard many high pitched exclamations that "Hiwot is here"!

Going to eat dinner now. Ready for some Ethiopian food! Then, a lot of sleep!

Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
(502)376-9064
DonnaMT@insightbb.com
www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com

Test email

2010-12-03T04:13:00.001-08:00

Just sending out a test email/blog for updates during our trip. We are leaving today and should arrive Saturday night. Our court date is on Monday so keep us in your prayers.

Thanks!

Justin and Donna

Zoey Feeding Herself!

2010-11-19T17:26:00.001-08:00

I know that I have been a little out of the loop. So sorry. We have been very busy with doctors appointments, therapy, work, and getting ready for our next trip to Ethiopia.

Zoey is working hard in both Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. We have been working on self feeding in OT. As hard as we have worked, she just never seemed to understand that she could give herself the food. Well, today for the first time she fed herself with a spoon! Granted, I scoop it out and she puts it in her mouth, it's still a huge step! She gets super messy, but I am so proud of her! As you will see, she is pretty proud of herself as well! Check out the video! Don't forget to keep reading after the video. There's more!

Since I hooked you in with a cute baby video, I thought I would tell you about a great event happening tomorrow. Naomi's Fund is a wonderful organization that provides spiritual, emotional and financial support to adoptive families. We are blessed to be supported through this wonderful group of families. Tomorrow(November 20th) Naomi's Fund is having a Christmas Bazaar and an all you can eat Pancake Dinner. Tickets for the pancakes are $6 and children 2 and under are free. There will be some fabulous things for sale at the bazaar, especially if you like super cute children's accessories! There will also be lots of things families have brought from China and Ethiopia. Prices are very reasonable so its a great place to get some Christmas shopping done! There will be lots of kids games, crafts, and I will be doing a few music groups. See you tomorrow from 4:00-8:00 in the cafeteria at Christian Academy on English Station!

2010-11-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

We have had a fun, but busy few weeks. Zoey has been busy with Halloween and traveling. I plan to post on everything soon. In the meantime, I have posted something from my friend Natalie's Blog. The other day I read a reflective post of Natalie's adoption experience. She really eloquently summed up so much about the process. Take a moment to read her wonerful post. At the bottom are a couple pictures of her gorgeous son Tedi. Thanks for letting me re-post Natalie!

Counting the Cost

Here is the question. The real question of adoption. What will it cost you? Yes, it is a loaded question because "cost" in this sense is multi-faceted. Will it cost you money? Yes, whether you adopt from Shelby County, KY or Saigon. Will it cost you pride? Yes. Will your heart pay? For sure. Will it cost you friends, family, acquaintances? It may. Will it cost time? No doubt...... But more than the costs.....COUNT THE GAIN... How will you change, how will you change others, whether you adopt or support adoption, you gain....gain life. Take a look at the costs...our cost.

1) Financial: The main HANG UP. Adoption can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000. Most people who desire to adopt do not have that kind of money laying around, regardless of your yearly gross income. Looking down the barrel at $25,000, as was our case, you start to doubt your financial ability to pay for an adoption, afford a child or another child, make payments on your other responsibilties while raising money, find ideas for fundraising.....but you may doubt God...not openly but in the subconscious place you may not even be able to utter aloud. I admit that I did. JT and I fortunately were able to openly discuss our doubt and had friends who prayed over our doubt.

Gain.....we did gain money...but God showed us His love and grace... As JT now says, "God shows up when ordains something." We fundraised and God provided. He moves in the heart of those around you to support you. So when doubt starts creeping in (and I still remind myself of this), you and I have to remember that if we consume ourselves with doubt, we can not see what is trying to happen before our eyes.

"He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

2) Your Heart: While deciding to adopt, your heart will toss and turn like a third trimester pregnant woman. You will debate, get excited, get discouraged, become on fire, saddened at the state of the world.....you will wonder why children have to suffer.... Your heart will definitely Feel the cost while counting the cost. But your heart will be changed, your world will be changed. It will cost you the heartache rought by hours of inner deliberation but will free you to live a life of liberation....You will now know what is beyond your small world.... With that said, the liberation of carries its own cost.... That is where I am now. I KNOW, so now what...what ELSE can I do now that I know AND have adopted. Thus, my heart is still counting the cost, but now I stand affirmed that it is worth it... see pictures below if you don't believe me.

"Don't say, "I didn't know it!" God can read your mind. He watches each of us and knows our thoughts. And God will pay us back for what we do." Proverbs 24:12 (Contemporary English Version)

3) Who: Who will support you, be your cheerleader, wipe your tears, hold your hand, plan your shower, help fundraise, financially help, plug you in.... PRAY for you? Who will cautiously stand back unsure of their stance waiting to see 'how it goes'? Who secretly condemn your decision without asking you questions, probing your heart and theirs? Who will openly attack your decision, your heart, your future child, your finances to the point of your tears, frustation and possbily crumbling of the relationship? I have been in each of the places...simply because our adoption.... Thankfully I can say the damaged relationships are now in perpetual repair, but it can be a difficult season.....the cost. But Oh the gain. We will never know the hearts that have been changed by our adoption, NOT BY US, but by God using us to adopt. We will never know on this side of heaven if someone straddling the fence decided to move forward
with adoption because of Tedi and our adoption... we will never know if a heart filled with anger and distaste for different races and cultures has been swayed, softened and re-structured. We won't know the gain of others now...we do not need to know but we must remember such gain when we are adding up our cost.

I have struggled with each of these topics deeply and that is the only reason I feel slightly capable to write about these things.
~October 2009~

~October 31, 2010~

Some Great News!!

2010-10-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight while we were eating dinner, we heard Justin's phone ring. We didn't think much of it and he decided he would check it later. While I started to clean up he went into the bedroom to get his phone. He came back and told me: "Susan(agency director) has called us three times! This got us a little excited, but we were still somewhat guarded. Well, he called her back and she let us know that the boys have a court date on December 6th! A court date for this year was completely unexpected. We have friends that have just received court dates for the end of December so we were telling ourselves January/February. As we have learned, nothing can be predicted when it comes to Ethiopia!
If the boys pass court, then we will be able to go back to get them anywhere between 6-15 weeks. The rules have changed a little and there is now a possible longer wait in between passing court and your embassy date(when we can take them home). It will be wonderful to see them in December. I am so thankful that they will not have to wait as long as we were expecting. I pray that they are staying hopeful and patient as they wait to be with their new family. Thank you so much for all the continued prayers! We still need them!

MRI

2010-10-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

Zoey had her MRI this week. Although I was stressed about her having to go with out food, and I was a little worried about the sedation, she did great. She couldn't eat after 7:30 am, so I gave her an extra big breakfast. She gets pretty upset when she is hungry so I usually try to keep her from ever getting there. I have no idea if Zoey has every been starving or hungry on a regular basis(she obviously wasn't at her last orphanage!). She spent 3 months with her birthmom(who was a beggar) and 4 months in a rough orphanage. Since there is a good chance she has not always been well fed, I don't want her to ever feel the fear of not getting food. I want her to know that she will always have her needs met. She thankfully handled it pretty well. Just a little fussiness, but that was taken care of with some extra play time and attention.
Since we had to get her sedated, we had to get to Kosair pretty early. We got there at 1:30 for the 3:00 MRI. She had a rough time going to sleep after she received her medicine. I know she was tired, hungry, and confined(which she hates). She finally went to sleep and they were able to perform the test. While she was getting her test I went down to the gifts hop to get a magazine. While I was there I saw a cute little Zoe doll(from Sesame Street). I thought it was a perfect gift for Miss Zoey. Above is a picture of Zoey waking up with her new friend. She thankfully woke up pretty fast. After some juice we were allowed to leave. She took a long nap and was drowsy until 8:00 when she decided it was time to have fun! We let her stay up later than normal since she had slept so much. She woke up this morning giggling and squealing.

We hope to get the results this week. When Zoey was in Ethiopia, the doctors their believed she was blind. They couldn't find anything wrong with her eye so decided to perform a CT scan. The film was read in Ethiopia and a neurologist diagnosed her with Dandy Walker (a pretty severe malformation that causes fluid to build up on the brain). Thankfully we were able to get the film to the states and have it read here. She was misdiagnosed with Dandy Walker, but she did have slight brain atrophy(that means it is slightly smaller, presumably from when she was critically ill at 7 months). The MRI we just had done will be compared to the previous CT scan. It will be good to get a better look (MRIs give you a more detailed picture)and see if there have been any changes. I will update everyone when we know more about the results!
Thank you so much for all the prayers!

Check this out!

2010-10-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked us questions about Zoey's hair. I am not going to lie, this was somewhat of a stressor since I knew her hair would be very different than mine. Thankfully, we have many friends who have adopted children from Ethiopia and also have friends who are African American. They have all been so helpful! The care for her hair has been suprisingly easy. I only wash it once a week and condition it constantly. She has very soft and beautiful curls. We always want Zoey to lover her hair. That is why I absolutely love this video. Check it out!

Happenings in Zoey's world

2010-10-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

Zoey is doing unbelievably well. She is such a happy baby. I can't believe that I have the blessing of being her mom. She is finally well enough to reschedule her MRI and her audiologist appointment. Both of these were canceled previously because she was sick. They are both rescheduled for the 22nd. Our big things that we have done lately were starting physical therapy, our opthamologist appointment, and Zoey's first night without us.
We are using First Steps, a great program that provides therapies to kids in KY under 2 1/2. Until she gets stronger, Physical therapy will be her primary therapy. The PT comes to see her once a week. Right now, she is pretty terrified of him. It takes her a while to warm up to people. I am really hoping that she gets used to him soon. He gives us lots of stuff to work on throughout the week.
She is also receiving Occupational Therapy, but not much right now. Once she has increased her muscle tone, we will step up the OT. We are not in Speech Therapy yet. The plan is to wait a couple months to acclimate her to English. If she is tremendously behind, then we will start Speech. I am not too worried about this. Even though her speech is delayed, it is not too bad. She is very talkative (syllables and sounds) and I really don't expect it to be a long-term issue.

Here is Zoey working out with her Dad.

Her opthamologist appointment went well. I am increasingly impressed with Health professionals that work with babies. That has to be a hard job. Zoey did not like it at all. She did not want to be still and really did not like it when I had to hold her still! She really hated when he dilated her eyes and gave her eye drops! He found that she had a strabismus(cross eye/poor eye control, much worse when she wakes up), an astigmatism, and slightly near sighted. He said that her eye control could improve or it could get worse. We will go back in 4 months (unless it gets worse). If it hasn't improved, we will probably have to patch her eye for a few hours each day. There is also a chance that she could need glasses. All in all, not too bad since at one time doctors thought she was blind!

Here she is after the appointment. She hated the glasses they gave her!

Last night Justin and I volunteered at a prom for adults with disabilities, Shine. Justin and I have been volunteering in the disabilities ministry for a long time, even before we dated. We have such a love for the participants and so many memories that contribute to our relationship. We were super excited to help with Shine and knew we couldn't miss such an exciting day. My mom offered to watch Zoey. Thankfully, she has been very intentional about spending time with her. Zoey is used to her and likes her a lot. I'm not going to lie, it was stressful leaving her. I was in no way worried that my mom was capable of taking care of her, I just did not want Zoey to have any feelings of abandonment. She has lost her primary caretakers on 3 occasions in her short life, I didn't want her in anyway to have those feelings again. Thankfully, is used to my mom and was very happy to spend time with her. It was an incredible relief to know that she could handle this. I know that it will be positive for her to see that we will leave and we do come back.
Shine was wonderful. Words really can't describe what a fantastic night it was. It was such a huge event for everyone in the disabilities community. Many people I know have been excited about this for months now, planning out their clothes, hair, dates, and limo (yes, limo!). I am so excited that we had so many volunteers! There were a lot of people there last night that this was their first interaction with the ministry and I think our wonderful participants won over a lot of people! How could you not have a good time with our fun loving and sweet group? Justin and I helped to pair up prom goers with their escorts as they arrived. It felt like crazy, crazy chaos, but went really well. It was so busy, that I didn't really see Justin or get to dance with him. We will just have to go out dance on another occasion some time! I wish I had a picture of all the prom-goers. Everyone looked so beautiful! You will just have to settle for a picture of Zoey hanging out with her friend Ben.

Communication

2010-10-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

I have a few blogs that I keep up with and one of my favorites is Jana Cook's. Jana and her husband adopted two boys, Charlie and Sam, from the same orphanage that Chera and Kenenisa are from. Reading about her adventures with her boys is so uplifting and encouraging to me. It gets me super excited about our boys being here. A recent post of hers addressed some of the funny communication problems that can arise. When talking to other kids who have came from Ethiopia, I have noticed that they are very literal. With the crazy way we describe things sometimes, I can understand why it could get frustrating! Take a minute to read the post, it's pretty hilarious!

Even though we've been home for over a year, we still have a most difficult time with some words. And even if we know a word, we may not know it in the context used. Which makes for some hilarious conversations!

The funniest part is that Charlie usually thinks that he is right and you are wrong, even though I am the one that has lived in the United States all my life and he just got here. Sometimes makes you want to pull your hair out when you have a 10 minute conversation trying to explain that you take a backPACK to school, not a backTACK. He still thinks I'm wrong and he's right. Whatever.

So, here's Charlie's latest antics, taken from the Spencer County Children's Ministry Blog. He has had some really funny conversations with Nicole lately, to the point of getting frustrated with her when he doesn't understand what is going on. Sorry Nicole, but thanks for putting up with him!!

So I'm taking the kids to school this morning, and Charlie Cook is in the back seat with my girls. They are all looking at the pie sale forms from their school and reading about the pies. This is what I hear:

(Insert Ethiopian accent here)

"Turtle cheese cake pie? What? You eat a turtle, and a pie, and a cheese on it? Oh, no, I can't eat a turtle and I don't like cheese. I can't sell any pies."

Oh, my. I know I should have clarified. But, it was just too funny. I just left it alone.

If you think that's funny, try explaining DVR to an Ethiopian. He still thinks I have movies TAPED (as in scotch tape) to my TV that are now stuck, therefore I can't let him borrow them.

Hmm. Never did really figure out how to fix that one.

No MRI

2010-09-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

We weren't able to get our MRI yesterday. She had too much chest congestion to safely sedate her. Although I really wanted to get it over with, I am happy that they were cautious. Once she is feeling better we will be able to reschedule. Thankfully, it shouldn't take as long to make the appointment this time.
Thanks for the prayers!

Zoey Update

2010-09-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting back on here to blog a little. Sorry I am not the best at keeping it updated. Zoey is doing so well. She is such a happy girl. She has actually been sick for the past few days. She has an ear infection and quite a bit of chest congestion. It doesn't seem to affect her too much. She isn't cranky at all.
Tomorrow we go to Kosair for her MRI. They will sedate her since it is necessary for her to be completely still. I would imagine that it would be pretty scary for her so, so it is probably best that she doesn't experience it. She won't be able to eat anything tomorrow morning. I am really hoping that this isn't too much for her. She gets very upset when she is hungry. I will try and give an update as soon as we know more about the MRI results. I expect it to take a couple days.

Here are some pictures of a few of Zoey's "firsts". They are in a very random order. Sorry some of the pictures are sideways!

Zoey's First Cake. It was not only beautiful, but it tasted great too! Brittney added some Ethiopian Coffee to the cake batter. Zoey loved the icing!

Zoey's first picnic. Highview has a wonderful adoption ministry. Every few months they have African socials for adoptive families. A lot of the kids know each other from their orphanage in Ethiopia. This is Zoey with Feven. Feven was with Zoey in the first orphanage and moved with her to the second orphanage. It's pretty amazing that they went through so much together across the world and now live in the same town.

Zoey's first visit to someone's house. We went to the King's family's house for some pizza and pie. Zoey loved both the socialization and the food. This is her with Haley and Trina. The Kings have been unbelievably supportive throughout this process. I think Zoey will be pretty close to them!

Zoey's first trip to visit her cousins Jaleigh and Kiera. From the beginning, Jaleigh has been so excited about the adoptions. I was happy that she could finally spend some time with Zoey. The did great with her and both girls are quite the little caretakers!

First tattoo. Don't worry, it was temporary! We went to Family Palooza, a festival at our church. Our friend Betsy was facepainting and giving out temporary tattoos. Of course, Zoey couldn't handle having someone do something to her face, so she got a tat.

First Arise Family Fellowship. Every month, families from our adoption agency get together to socialize, share, and get news about their cases. It is usually the families that are still in process(which we are). We have been going so long, just waiting. It was nice to go with Zoey and to get the great news about the boys. This picture is with Susan, our agency director that found her in the first orphanage and rushed her to the hospital. We are super thankful for Susan's love for the Lord and her love for children.

Zoey's first trip to church. I love her in yellow!

First time sitting with Nana. Zoey is also sporting a cute dress that Nana got her.

Zoey's first UL/UK game. We spent it with the Armstrong family. Zoey loved hanging out with the kids even though they were wearing the wrong color!

First trip to the zoo. We went today with my friends Emily and Sally. Although she was indifferent about the animals, she had a lot of fun being around all the kids and rolling in her stroller.

First visitors. A few days after we got home, James and Brittney Armstrong came by to visit Zoey and to drop off the awesome cake.

News about Chera and Kenenisa!

2010-09-08T10:41:00.001-07:00

Last night at our Family Fellowship we received some wonderful news about the boys. Their files are complete and the orphanage can file for a court date once the courts open up! In country, the director of the orphanage told us his goal was to be able to file them once the court opened back up and he was true to his word. Even though Ganano told us this, we did not really expect it to happen. After learning more about their case and about how things work in Ethiopia, I understand how hard it was to get this done. We are very thankful for all their hard work.
The next step will be for the orphanage to file for a court date. This can't happen until courts open back up. I think this will happen in a couple weeks. Once they are filed, we will get in line to be assigned a court date. Before court closed they were assigning court dates for October/November. There will be a lot of cases filed at the same time so we expect that it could take a few months to receive a court date.
I don't know if I have blogged about this, but we do know for sure that we will have to go twice for the boys. Even though we have seen them, the Ethiopian Government wants us to to attend their court date. They are also wanting both parents to attend. We were planning on only one of us to go to the court date. One change that we found out about last night is that the time between passing court and when you go get the kids can be quite a bit longer now. The US embassy in now investigating each individual case, but this cannot happen until after the kids have passed court. The investigation can take between 15 day to 8 weeks ( on top of the 4-6 weeks we have to wait after they pass court). We understand and are fine with all of this. We have grown used to the constant changes that happen when you are adopting! The boys are safe, healthy, happy, and loved right now, so that is all we need.
One really neat thing that we just figured out. Zoey, Chera, and Kenenisa all had/have the same name last name in Ethiopia! Zoey and the boys are from different ethnic groups, that have different languages, so the spelling is slightly different and we in no way think they are biologically related. Chera and Kenenisa's last name is Berhanu, which means "light." Zoey's last name was Birhane, which means "my light." Pretty amazing connection there.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement!

Doing Great!

2010-08-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

We got some great news yesterday. Zoey's chest x-ray was clear! Because of the positive skin test we still have to go see a doctor at the Health Department on Tuesday. I hope that is the end of it, but there is a chance that they will want us to take a round of antibiotics as a precaution.
Because of the positive skin test we had been pretty isolated. On Wednesday we were finally able to get out so we took a trip to pick up our CSA share. This was the first time that Zoey and Buddy rode together in the car. Both did great. Zoey doesn't mind him at all and Buddy loves it because he can lick her all he wants and she can't get away! Here is a picture from our car ride. I couldn't get both of them to look at the camera at the same time. I can't imagine how difficult picture taking will be once we have Chera and Kenenisa too!

Pictures from our trip

2010-08-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

Just click on the picture and you can look at the whole album.

Yes we are alive!

2010-08-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are still here and doing just fine. We have been busy running to doctors and trying to catch up on sleep. The video I posted is from our hotel in Ethiopia. It think it is from Wednesday. Make sure to mute the music from our blog, the sound in the video is absolutely necessary!
Zoey is doing so well. She seems to be adjusting well to the new schedule and is sleeping great. She has not enjoyed the medical aspects of this week at all. On Wednesday we went to the Cincinnati International Adoption Clinic. We worked with them during the months before we went to Ethiopia to get a picture of her health and development. While there, we saw an OT who evaluated her development, a social worker who evaluated her attachment, and a MD who evaluated her medical state. The OT determined that her physical development was that of a 5-6 month old. This was not surprise to us at all. This is the same developmental age that we guessed she was. Her verbal skills are a little better. In this area, she is more like an eight month old. Although they cannot say for sure,
they expect that she will do very well once she begins receiving therapy. Next week she is going to be evaluated for First Steps. I expect that she will qualify for Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy. We are going to be busy!
The social worker was happy with how well she is attaching, and of course so are we! Dr. Staat found that she has a pretty bad infection in both ears, a little sore that has developed into a staff infection, and a parasite. She is taking a couple antibiotics to clear everything up. It's funny, she has all these things, but we feel like she is super healthy. When you are adopting internationally, your expectations are pretty low!
The clinic had us go to Kosair to have blood drawn for numerous tests. We went and did this on Thursday. I have never heard her cry like this! Even when she was mourning her nannies, it wasn't this bad! Unfortunately, they could not get all the blood they needed so we will have to go back on Monday. The tech there was very sweet and understanding. Thankfully, we will be there on Monday as well. When we were in Cincinnati, they gave her a TB skin test. Well, it was read today and she had a positive reaction. We are not too worried because in Ethiopia she received a vaccine called the BCG. This vaccine can create a false positive when those who have had it get a TB skin test. On Monday we will talk to an infectious disease specialist and I expect she will have to have a chest x-ray. Just as a precaution we are not having any visitors until we find out for sure.
Other than all the medical stuff, we have been eating, playing, and sleeping. She does not enjoy being "put in" anything, car seat, walker, bumpo, etc. I don't think she has every been restricted, so its all taking some getting used to. She loves toys that make loud sounds, but would really prefer tissue paper or a Ziploc bag! She is eating well, but resistant when we introduce a new texture. It takes a few bites to get used to something new. In Ethiopia she ate very little protein. Sometimes it can be hard on their bellies as it is introduced in the US. So far, she really loves her turkey and veggie baby food! She is sleeping very well and spent her first night in her crib last night. Since we got her she has always taken a nap, but it is always at a different time. Thankfully over the past couple of days we have been very regular. Hopefully it stays this way.
She is a super happy girl that absolutely loves getting individual attention. As you can see from the video, she LOVES her Daddy! She cracks up everytime he walks into the room. I am glad that Justin has another person included in his audience!
I am putting together pictures from our trip. Thanks for your patience!

Comming Home soon

2010-08-14T08:15:00.001-07:00

We are packing up now! We leave Ethiopia tonight at 11:45. We are very ready. It has been a very tiring trip and I think it is wearing on all of us. Hiwot has been pretty cranky today, I think it's because of her teeth and she has to be very tired from all the change she has experienced.

Nothing new has happened with our friends daughter that is in the hospital. We have spent a great deal of time tring to find ways to help, but seem to run into a roadblock everytime. It has been very frustrating. Please keep her in your prayers. We know that God can take care of her no matter what hospital she is in.

We will be arriving at the Louisillve airport at 6:00 on Sunday evening. I would ask that you give Hiwot space and don't try and pick her up. I don't want her to get overwhelmed in any way. We look forward to seeing all of you soon! I will try to send out an update if we are running late.

Friday in Ethiopia

2010-08-13T05:59:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the orphanage and got Hiwot's passport and Visa. She can now offically enter the US. She is doing very well. I think that she is starting to trust us more now. For the first few days she wasn't crazy about eating. Since last night she is doing much better and is happy to let us feed her. If you've seen pictures of Hiwot, you know she likes to eat! She is constantly sucking her thumb and fingers. Apparently in Ethiopia this is a very bad thing to do. People are constantly coming up to me and pulling her fingers out of her mouth. When she was at the other orphanage, Finot she used a pacifier all the time. I don't think they let her use one at Hope and now she hates them! We have tried over and over, but she won't use one.

I can't wait to get her into PT and OT soon. I know that she is going to thrive. We really believe that most of the nannies thought that she was in pain. Because of this, we are pretty sure that they were scared to push her too much. She has been working hard since we got her. I know she is probably exhausted!

I have been very impressed with the orphanage that our children come from. I feel like they are getting the best possible care that they could get in Ethiopia. There is a nurse on staff that is so knowlegeable and the nannies love the children so much. They are getting lots of food and vitamins. As we leave Chera and Kenenisa, this is a big comfort to me.

Both the Marcums and the Olsen's are leaving tonight. It has been great to get to know both of these families better. It has been pretty amazing to see the Marcum's and the five siblings that they adopted. They are all sweet, well behaved, and so beautiful. They very close to us, so I am sure we will see more of them in the future.

That is all for now. I will hopefully send an update tomorrow!

We Passed!

2010-08-12T06:48:00.001-07:00

We passed our Embassy Appointment! This means we can bring Hiwot into the US on a visa. She is doing so well. I really believe that she does not have much cognitive delay. It seems to mostly be physical. She is a little spoiled, but we are okay with that. She loves getting so much individual attention! She will give a little whimper when she wants some love and when she gets it, immediately smiles. She has been introduced to so much stimulation since we have been here. We have been going nonstop since she came with us to the hotel. She is handling it all so well. She is such a trooper.
Everyone gives her love. In Ethiopia, children are very highly regarded. Anytime someone walks by they will kiss her feet, snap at her(action of endearment here) take her from me to hold her, or talk to her. Many people have been inquisitive about her special needs. It is very obvious that she is delayed. I think there is very little knowledge about people with special needs here. It seems they actually believe that she is much worse than she actually is. We have received so much encouragement from other Ethiopians regarding her adoption. I was wondering if we would get comments from people who did not agree with international adoption, but it has all been good.
We are going now to visit our friends child in the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers as well as her family in America.

Ethiopia Update, Please Pray!

2010-08-11T13:51:00.001-07:00

Hello. Very short post today. The internet at the business center is completely off. The office at the hotel is letting me use their computer.
We need some prayers right now. We some friends that are also adopting from Ethiopia. Their little girl, is very sick. She is malnurished and has an infection. She was recently brought to Addis from a smaller city because she needed better medical care. The hope was that she could be put into a private hospital here, especially the Korean run hospital where Hiwot was treated. There have been some hurdles getting her there. There are some wonderful missionaries here also that are advocating for her. We are really hoping to make some progress tomorrow. Please pray for our communication, that God will place the right people in our path, and that he will heal her no matter where she is being treated.
Hiwot is doing great. I can't wait for everyone to meet her!

Day two with Hiwot

2010-08-10T11:36:00.001-07:00

This may be short, I am completely exhausted. I will go into more detail about all these things in a later postToday was a crazy day! Hiwot is such a trooper though. She hung right in there. They first thing on our agenda was to meet the boys. We went to the orphanage where they were and where Hiwot spent most of her time (when we got her she was in the tansition house). Everytime a nanny tried to take her, she would cry. Once she got back to us, she was fine. It was wonderful to know that we were the only ones that could console her.
The boys were wonderful! They are both so beautiful! And so skinny! Hiwot probably weighs more than Kenenisa. We played soccer and catch and had a great time. They are awesome football(soccer) players. Chera was doing some pretty fancy things. Justin was having a great time and coaching them! I have some great video that I can't wait to show everyone. They took us on a tour of the orphanage and the children performed a few songs for us. Chera led the group in a prayer. So precious! I have video of that too. The goodbye was rough. Justin explained that we would come back to see them as soon as we could. Chera told us that he was "happily waiting." He is so mature for his age and Kenenisa is just your typical 3 year old, into everything. We ended everything on a happy note, playing more football!
Next Hiwot had a doctor's appointment. The neurologist wanted Hiwot's birthmom to come so he could get more information for us about her medical history. To have a doctor facilitate this was such a blessing! I was very impressed with the doctor although the clinic was extremely primative. In the end he believed that her delay was caused by an infection that she had while in the first orphanage. This is what we thought, so it was no big surprise. He believed that she would improve greatly once she started receiving PT. Spending time with the birthmom was hard, but wonderful. My heart ached for her thinking about her saying goodbye to Hiwot for the last time. I think that it was reassuring for her to spend so much time with us today. We learned so much about her and about Hiwot. I am very thankful.
I know I have made many tying errors and might not even make sense in parts of the email. I am a little delerious from being so tired! No emotional rollercosters planned for tomorrow!
PS: our computure broke, so not skype for us this week!

Update

2010-08-09T23:41:00.001-07:00

Hiwot is doing so great today! She woke up smiling and giggling! She is giving us cuddles, smiles and kisses. She has a bit of chest congestion and we think an ear infection. Thankfully the doctor gave us some antibiotics that we have started. Today is a big day. Hiwot has a checkup and we are meeting bher birthmom. I am very excited and anxious to meet her. I know that one day Hiwot will have lots of questions. I would love to tell her as much as I can about her family.

We received some wonderful news about the boys. The director was very reassuring that the boys will be home soon. He said that their file is 80% complete and believes they will be filed for court in the next couple of months. With this good news, we are panning on meeting the boys today. We are not going to make it a big deal, just play witht them along with the other kids. Being here in Ethiopia has really shown us God's timing. We are thankful that we are getting the time to spend with Hiwot and take care of her needs.

I will update again soon. I can't post pictures on the blog, hopefully I can put a few on Facebook.

Zoey Hiwot Day!!

2010-08-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

Hello! So sorry that we have not been updating the blog. The internet has not been working at all here. We had not idea what was going on. Justin solved everything and reset the wireless for the hotel!

Now on to the important stuff! We went to the transition house this morning to fill out paperwork and meet Hiwot. It was torture sitting in the office while I knew she was right there in the next house over. There is another couple with us, the Marcums. They will be getting their five kids(yes five!) tomorrow. They graciously offered to video tape and take pictures as we met Hiwot.

After paper work, we were led into the baby transition house. We scanned the room and found our Hiwot(not hard to find, she's huge!!). We picked her up and there were a few moments of her just blankly staring. Then the crying!! The nannies were easily able to calm her and constantly reassured us. Even though it wasn't the best meeting moment, I am so happy that she wanted her nannies and cried out for them. We were so impressed by the care and love Hiwot was given. They do such a great job of loving and nurturing the children. This will make it so much easier for her to attach and bond to us. She cried off and on until around 5:00. Then it was like she suddenly felt comfortable. Ever since she has been babbling and laughing!

She is doing much better developmentally. She is rolling all the way over now, pushing with her legs and putting pressure on her legs. She seems to be tracking very well with her eyes. Other than sometimes being slightly crosseyed, I do not see any evidence of any vision issues.

Justin has been pooped on and thrown up on already! He takes it good though, he is completely in love with her!

Overall, our trip has went very well. The hotel is wonderful and the food is great! Thankfully we have not gotten sick at all! We are hoping to find out more about the boys tonight at dinner. Please pray for our meeting! You never know how the internet is going to work, but I will try to post more soon!

2010-08-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

We are here! Having a rough time with internet right now. This might be the only
time we can post. Blogspot, Insight, and Facebook are not working at all even though we can get on the internet.
Everything has gone very smoothly. Flight went great and the hotel is wonderful. Today we went to church and to the market. We have met many other families who are also adopting. Keep us in your prayers as we meet Hiwot tomorrow! Sorry so short. I
hope that the internet starts working better soon!

Leaving Soon!

2010-08-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy week! We have been running around like crazy trying to get everything done before we leave to get Zoey Hiwot. We have had so much going on including refinancing our house, getting a security system installed, crazy work stuff, showers, finishing Zoey’s room, and lots more. It will be nice to have some downtime in the airplane.
We are leaving tomorrow at 10:20 and will be back in Louisville on Sunday August 15th at 6:00. I will try to give updates through out the week. Pray that the internet works well! We are going to try to Skype while we are over there. Justin’s skype name is justinbrown33. So keep an eye out for us! Lots of people have asked for our fligth itinerary and our schedule while we are in Ethiopia. Here it is:

Saturday evening - Arrive in Ethiopia, check into our hotel and get some sleep
Sunday- Go to church with Endris, an incounty social worker. We will also do some touristy things and go to the market
Monday- Big Day! We will meet Zoey Hiwot, probably around 10:00am their time (they are 7 hours ahead of KY).
Tuesday and Wednesday- These will be open days that we will be doing paperwork and visiting a couple other orphanages.
Thursday-Our embassy appointment! Here we will get Hiwot’s visa so she can enter the US.
Friday-We hope to meet Hiwot’s birthmom.
Saturday-Begin the journey back home

06 AUG 10 - FRIDAY
UNITED       5843 COACH CLASS   EQUIP-ER4
LV: LOUISVILLE        1051A     NONSTOP       MILES- 286   CONFIRMED
AR: CHICAGO/OHARE     1114A     ELAPSED TIME- 1:23
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-2

LUFTHANSA     431 COACH CLASS   EQUIP-BOEING 747 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 1
LV: CHICAGO/OHARE      340P     NONSTOP       MILES- 4342   CONFIRMED
AR: FRANKFURT          650A     ELAPSED TIME- 8:10 ARVL DATE-07 AUG
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-1
MEAL

07 AUG 10 - SATURDAY
LUFTHANSA     598 COACH CLASS   EQUIP-AIRBUS A340-300 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 1
LV: FRANKFURT         1045A     NONSTOP       MILES- 3319   CONFIRMED
AR: ADDIS ABABA        635P     ELAPSED TIME- 6:50
MEAL

                                 14 AUG 10 - SATURDAY
LUFTHANSA     599 ECONOMY CLA   EQUIP-AIRBUS A340-300 JET
LV: ADDIS ABABA       1140P     NONSTOP       MILES- 3319   CONFIRMED
AR: FRANKFURT          555A     ELAPSED TIME- 7:15 ARVL DATE-15 AUG
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-1
MEAL

15 AUG 10 - SUNDAY
LUFTHANSA     430 ECONOMY CLA   EQUIP-BOEING 747 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 1
LV: FRANKFURT         1040A     NONSTOP       MILES- 4342   CONFIRMED
AR: CHICAGO/OHARE     1240P     ELAPSED TIME- 9:00
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-5
MEAL
                                 UNITED       7627 ECONOMY CLA   EQUIP-E70
DEPART TERMINAL- 1
LV: CHICAGO/OHARE      401P     NONSTOP       MILES- 286   CONFIRMED
AR: LOUISVILLE         609P     ELAPSED TIME- 1:08

Test Run

2010-08-05T06:46:00.001-07:00

Just a test run to see if I can email a blog in. :)

When we first learned about Zoey Hiwot #2

2010-08-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

On to part two. I don't have quite the time that I would like to finish this story out, but I will do the best I can. I apologize if there are lots of grammar errors, spiderwebbing, and rambling. I am trying to do it quick!

I would like to say one the first. In no way are we posting Zoey's story to shine a light on "what good people we are." There is absolutely nothing special about us, we are just trusting God. Our first intention is to give God all the glory for how he brought us here and how he has healed Zoey and taken care of her. Secondly, we want to highlight that Zoey is just one of millions of babies in Africa who are sick or who will die of very preventable and treatable illnesses.

After Justin and I watched the video of Hiwot. We spent the next couple of months praying, consulting with doctors and therapists.Thinking about adopting a third child was very overwhelming. It really wasn't the prospect that she was blind with other special needs, it was more: Can we handle getting three small children at once?
We immediately decided that we would pay for her medical expenses. We knew that it had been suggested that she get a CT scan to find out more about her possible vision problems, so we went ahead and paid for that to be done(which is very cheap in Ethiopia!). In December, we decided to go ahead and officially start the process to adopt her ( I think we always knew we were, we were just terrified!) but decided not to tell anyone until a family had seen her and we had more info about her health. Around this same time we received the report back from the CT scan. Of course we had no idea what any of it said. Through Susan, a local doctor read the report for us. He told us that she was diagnosed with a disorder called "Dandy Walker." This is a brain malformation that causes fluid to build up on the brain. He told us that there is a large spectrum and she could be a vegetative or she could live a normal life. She would more than likely have to have a shunt and said that he guessed that she had a larger head circumfrence. This was very overwhelming, but for some reason neither Justin or I really ever believed she had it. I learned everything I could on Dandy Walker and even found a local family who has experience with it.

In early January, our friends Brittney and James were able to go to Ethiopia to get their precious boy Dawit. They were able to spend so much time with Hiwot. We were so thankful for all the pictures and videos. Best of all, they were able to bring back films from her CT scan! A friend of ours Dustin, who is a doctor was able to take her films to work and have a neuro-radiologist look at her films. We were so happy when Dustin called to tell us that she does not have Dandy Walker and there was nothing structurally wrong with her brain! We were so thankful that it was a mis-diagnosis. We just needed to have faith and trust that God had us on the right path.

Those are the highlights of our journey that not everyone knows. We don't have a specific diagnosis as for why she is so delayed. Right now, the doctors are assuming that it is because she was so ill early in her life. The encouraging thing is that she has progressed in Ethiopia. In January, she couldn't hold her head up or roll. Now, she can hold her head up very well and roll side to side. I know that if she is improving there, she will do even better here once we get her into therapy.

I can't wait to post in Ethiopia! I will post more about our itinerary later!

When we first learned about Hiwot #1

2010-07-31T04:15:00.000-07:00

This may be a long blog post. Yes, these pictures of our Hiwot. She is so tiny! I thought I would share they story of how we first learned about Hiwot and decided to adopt her. Most of you know bits and pieces, but here is the whole story:

Last September, our agency director Susan was in Ethiopia to check on Arise children being adopted and observe a new orphanage she was thinking about working with. Here is a couple exertps from blog postings while she was in Ethiopia:

Blog 1:
Yesterday was maybe one of the hardest and most rewarding days of my life. We arrived at an orphanage to find one child close to death and 3 others very fragile. I have never experienced such desperate prayer in my life as I held a child of 8 months, weighing 7 lbs, her mouth hung open, stiff body and sagging skin. My wonderful team joined me in a car, each of us holding children that should have been in the intensive care unit of some wonderful hospital, as we struggled to hang onto them bouncing violently through giant pot holes choking fumes of black smoke. 4 babies needing hope and help.

The hospital doctor said that the one I held was 2 hours from death and critical...fever 103, sepsis, pink eye, upper gi infection, respiratory infection, roda virus and a severe case of dehydration...please pray for her. Her name is Hiwot...meaning LIFE.

Blog 2
A big thank you to all of you who have been praying for our children. We were so grateful to have been able to move 9 of the children to HOPE's orphanage where they will be well cared for by trained nannies and a full time staff nurse. Several of them still need to gain some weight and recover from their first months with little nourishment. Hiwot, the 7 month old, was admitted to the Korean hospital where she remains with a private nanny that we secured. I am still fighting images of her tiny frame and wide eyes that could see nothing but told everything. The doctor said that she was severely dehydrated and had very low levels of calcium and potassium. They have not been able to assess her further but I am very concerned about her lack of muscle control and eye sight. She was like a broken doll who captured my heart. It seems all I can do is take her to my Father and beg Him to fix her as only He can.

Back in the US and reading this, my heart ached for Hiwot. It was hard to imaging that a little baby could be suffering and dying from things that are very preventable and treatable. I knew she was something special and she stayed on my heart. It never entered my mind that we could adopt her too That would be crazy since we were also in the process to adopt Chera and Kenenisa.
In November, we got word that there were some problems with Chera and Kenenisa's case. The orphanage did not have a good idea as to when it would be resolved and the director of the orphanage was actually giving families new referrals. It was no question that we would give up on Chera and Kenenisa. They are our boys and we will wait as long as we have too. Susan that if we would like to take another referral, she had a baby named Rabera that was ready to be referred to a family. Ribera was in the group of babies mentioned above that had been taken to the hospital. When they found him, he was very malnourished. We prayed about this, but did not feel God leading us in that direction. Ribera is home now, healthy and happy, with a family in Wisconsin. While talking all of this over with Susan, I asked if anyone had adopted Hiwot. She said that she hadn't planned on giving Hiwot as a referral until she had another update on her health. She was hoping that when another family went over there to pick up their children, they could give the most accurate portrayal of her health. Susan had been given updates that she was medically stable, but was very developmentally delayed. Susan gave us a video of Hiwot that takes place right before she is rushed to the hospital. This was one of the hardest things I have ever had to watch. She was lifeless. No response at all. Just a flat eye gaze. We both cried some very ugly cries watching it.
I am going to have to continue the rest of this post in part 2. Hey, you know the ending!

Leaving Soon!

2010-07-28T04:23:00.000-07:00

It's official! We will be leaving for Ethiopia on August 7th! We really didn't expect to leave this early. It is pretty rare that you get an embassy date 4 weeks after you pass court. It usually works out to be 6. We are so excited that we will be able to meet Zoey Hiwot earlier than expected. If you would like to come to the airport for our homecoming celebration, we are scheduled to come back on Sunday August 15th at 6:00.

This is one of the most recent pictures we have of Zoey Hiwot. It was taken while Pat from our agency was there. Also in the picture is a nanny and Endris, an Arise in country employee. Endris has been very helpful and worked very hard on Zoey Hiwot's case. We are very excited to get to meet him when we go.

Thanks so much for all the prayers and support!

Video of Zoey Hiwot

2010-07-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

Here is some super cute footage of Zoey Hiwot! This was taken in January when our friends Brittney and James went to visit her. She is such a happy girl! If you want to hear, you may want to mute our music on the blog.

Introducing...

2010-07-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

Zoey Hiwot Brown!
Yes, since you are seeing her picture, this means she has passed court and considered legally adopted by the Ethiopian courts. Isn't that the most beautiful smile that you've ever seen? Our next step is to be assigned a date to receive a visa appointment from the US Embassy. Right now it looks like we will travel late August/early September.
We are so excited and thankful that Hiwot will be coming home soon. We can't wait until the day that we are able to tell everyone that Chera and Kenenisa will be coming home too! Thank you so much for the continued prayers and encouragement!

Cute Picture

2010-06-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, we are not allowed to post pictures of the kids until they pass court in Ethiopia. Since there are no close ups of the babies in this picture, I am able to post it. Hiwot's crib is the one all the way to the right. She is fast asleep. The pink paper on the wall is a picture we sent her with our picture, her picture and a message that we love her. Just thought it was a fun pic to post. Hopefully soon we will be able to post pics that show her beautiful, giant smile!

On another note, they boys process is still uncertain and we are in great need of prayer. A friend is making a prayer calendar for us. We need a few more people to complete it. The goal is to have a person for each day of the month. If you would like to participate, email Jen at jbrunig@hotmail.com. Feel free to tell friends and family that may like to be part of the calendar too.

Anniversary

2010-06-02T06:39:00.001-07:00

Three years ago today I married the man of my dreams. The past three years have been more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. Happy Anniversary Justin!

Chera and Kenenisa

2010-05-29T07:35:00.001-07:00

As most of you know by now, we have recently found out that a mistake was made and Chera and Kenenisa were never filed for court. There was a mix up with our last name. We are basically in the same spot that we have been in for a while. Their files are not complete and we have no idea when this will be fixed. If you remember, we found this out in November. An employee of the orphanage was doing paperwork incorrectly and this effected Chera and Kenenisa as well as many other children. This was a huge letdown for us, but we have faith that our boys will be with us soon. Thankfully, we know that they are safe, happy and taken care of. I am so thankful that we have had so many friends who have seen them and spent time with them. At least through all of this waiting I am not anxious about their well-being.
On a positive note, we are hoping to hear something about Hiwot soon. She has been filed for about 2 and a half months now and that seems to be around how long its taking for everyone to receive a court date and pass. I am working on Hiwot's room today, hopefully I can post some pictures of my progress soon!

Hope Orphanage

2010-05-10T18:39:00.001-07:00

While the Hanels and Wilkersons were in Ethiopia, they had the wonderful idea to tape their trip to our children's orphanage. Although they used the same agency, their kids were in another orphanage. We love learning as much about our kids as possible so we were so happy to see this. Towards the end of the second video, they pull up to a tan, apartment like building. This is the orphanage! Our kids are in there! It is reassuring that the building looks very nice. We have only heard good things about the quality of care Chera, Kenenisa, and Hiwot are receiving.
Since I can't post pictures of the kids, I am so happy that you can all see this! Thank you so much Hanel and Wilkerson Families!!!

Welcome Home

2010-05-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Last night night we were able to attend the airport arrival for 2 friends coming home with their beautiful children. First, Melat and her family came home and later, Bereket and his family came home. Bereket's parents Mike and Emily are friends of ours at church and sent the email that I posted in the last blog. Both families were so wonderful and spent time with our kids. It makes it all so much more real. Both Melat and Bereket's journey to the US have been problematic. Their families ran into so many road blocks through out the process. Now they are home with their forever family!
Emily said that the kids are doing wonderful. It sounds like Chera receptive English skills are pretty good. As Emily talked to him, he translated for Kenenisa. Emily said that Hiwot is progressing and should be sitting up soon. She is such a miracle baby, even the smallest progress says so much. Here are the pictures of the airport arrival. I can't wait until you can all come see us come home with all of our kids!

The Hanel Family!

This is my "try really hard not to hysterically cry face."

How cute is this guy?

Information about the Kids

2010-05-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

Our friends Emily and Mike are currently in Ethiopia picking up their 2 year old, Bereket Isaac. Here is part of an email that she sent out:

We finished our paperwork and went to another orphanage to deliver packages to the Brown's kids and a few others. It was a 20min car ride that was extreemly bumpy.. I can't believe the tires are still on thecar! We were taken into the orphanage and to the baby room. It was the nicest baby room I have seen this week in an orphanage. The walls were white and clean and the floors were wood. We were not allowed to wear our shoes in the room as the babies spent some time on the floor. Iwalked over to the crib that held Hiwot. Donna& Justin- she stared up at me with her big beautiful eyes and smiled. She smiles on command and she she kicks her legs and will hold on to your finger. She can also grasp a pen. She follows items that are in front of her and she seems to know her name because when you say her name she smiles. She cannot sit up on her own yet but she will be there in a few weeks I think. She has two teeth coming in so she keeps her hand in her mouth. If you leave in month or two I would say that she would be a 18 to 24 months in clothes. The easiest thing is to bring dresses and leggings. They had a 4t dress on her and it was huge. On all the kids I got their feet and hands traced.

After we left Hiwot's room they made us go in a room and wait while they went and got Chera and Kenenisa. Chera came in first and he was a delight. He was all smiles and nodded at me as I talked to him. He smiled really big when he tried the sandals on (they fit). I showed him the stickers and put one on his shirt. He shook his head and took the sticker off and put it on his forehead. :) I showed him the pictures and he just wouldn't stop smiling. He thought it was funny I traced his foot and his hand. 4/5 or 5t should fit him in clothing. He is on the taller side but is skinny. Kenenisa came in at this time and was a little hesitant. Chera was able to understand what I was saying and sounded like he was translating to Kenenisa. He will be such a big helpt to you! Kenenisa's shoes are too small (I would say the next size up). He wanted his stickers on his forehead and he immediately asked me to unwrap a sucker. I would say he is 3t in clothing.
- I cried leaving them. I know they are in good hands and the staff are really nice but it broke my heart that you aren't here with us. They are so beautiful and you will be such proud parents as they are really sweet.

New info on the boys

2010-04-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely horrible at this blogging thing. We have good news about the boys for a little while, and I still haven't shared it here. If I have seen you, you already know about this, but we have a lot of family out of town. A couple of weeks ago, we found out that all of Chera and Keneisa's paper work has been complete and they were filed for court! Better yet, they were filed on the same day as Hiwot. We were not expecting this at all. Since November, we knew that there was an issue with their paperwork. We had no idea what it was or when it would get resolved. When this happened, the orphanage had found out that some of the other kids were actually un-adoptable, so we had a fear that an issue similar to that would come up. This was an amazing blessing for us. Especially since they were all three filed at the same time. Ethiopia is so un-structured, we really didn't have any hope that they would go through the courts at the same time. It is not definite that we will get them at the same time, but it is looking possible now.
In an earlier blog I mentioned changes in the Ethiopian process. To sum it up, Ethiopia is now requiring parents to make two trips. One trip will be at the court date and the next will be 3-10 weeks later when you pick up your child. The details and effective date of this new law has changed a great deal over the past couple of months. At this point, it looks like anyone who has not been seen by the court before May 9th will have to make two trips. There is no way to know if we will have a court date before then or not. They seem to be trying there best to get as many people through as possible. If one or both of us does have to travel twice, we will deal with it. Everything happens for a reason. Please keep us in our prayers, we would love to have a court date soon!

Changes

2010-03-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

The past couple of weeks have been filled with wonderful and not so wonderful things. First, the wonderful. Hiwot's paperwork is complete and she is now able to be filed for court. The next step will be to receive a court date.
Now for the less than wonderful news. There is still no news on the boys. We have no idea how close they are to being filed for court. Also, there has been a change in both the US embassy and Ethiopia's processes. Up until this week the time frame between passing court and receiving your children was 4-8 weeks. There will now be a few extra weeks to allow the embassy time to form their own adoption investigation. This is of course not ideal, but the changes that Ethiopia has made are even bigger. Before, parent's were not required to go to Ethiopia until it was time to pick up there children. As of yesterday, Ethiopia is requiring parent's to also make a trip to the child's court hearing. Very little is know as to how this will effect all of us. It is understandably causing a lot of stress among the Ethiopian adoption community. I love to travel, but four trips to Ethiopia does not sound fun at all. We are in need of a lot of prayer right now. Here are our main requests:
-For Chera and Kenenisa's paperwork to be completed and filed for court
-For Hiwot to receive a court date and stay healthy
-More and clear information regarding the changes
Thank you so much for all of the encouragement and prayers!

It's a girl!!

2010-02-08T19:36:00.001-08:00

Why is our blog pink you might ask? It's to celebrate our new addition! We would would like to announce that we are currently adopting a third child. Yes, you read that right. She is a beautiful 10 month old baby girl named Hiwot. If you keep up with our blog, you will know that I have mentioned her before. Thankfully, our friends Brittney and James spent a lot of time with her. They brought home tons of video and pictures. She is so chubby and happy!

She does have some developmental delay. She cannot hold her head up well or sit up on her own. Thankfully, we were able to get a CT scan done and have it read in the US. Besides a little fluid on her brain, her CT scan was normal. She has been through so much in her short life, we were so thankful and relieved with this positive news.

I know this is surprising for many of you, but let me reassure you that we have taken a lot of time to make this decision. We have been planning and praying about it for months. We have consulted with friends, counselors, and doctors. It was obvious from the beginning that we needed to help Hiwot in some way, but it took us a little while to get to our decision to adopt her.

We have decided to name her Zoey. I have always wanted to name a little girl this, without even knowing what it means. The word Hiwot means "life", which is very appropriate for this little girl. When we decided to adopt her, I knew we needed to keep her name meaning if we gave her more western name. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be able to name her Zoey. When I stated searching names, I found out that Zoey comes from the Greek word for "life." It couldn't have been more perfect! We can't wait for you to meet Zoey Hiwot Brown!

Please keep us in your prayers this week. Hiwot needs a stamp from a office that has been closed for a month, but will be opening this week. Also, someone from the US is going to Ethiopia to look into all of the paper work issues that Chera and Kenenisa have. I will post any updates that we get!

Brownies

2010-02-07T13:49:00.000-08:00

We had all of the Browns over for lunch today. I had to share a picture of our sweet nieces Jaleigh and Kiara. They brought over a Brownie that was decorated with our's and the boy's names. Without knowing, they used the same colors of the Ethiopian flag so it was perfect. I can't wait until the boys come home to meet their cousins! Thank you girls!

The boy's room

2010-02-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hello. I am trying to blog more about our process. We really don't have any news right now, so I will share a little about how we are getting ready. I painted their room a few months ago. We chose a bright, light green. I also bought some letters that spelled out their name and painted each letter a different bright color. We found a really cute bedspread at Target that has a sports theme. It is bright, primary colors and the light green walls will look great with it.
Since we did all of that we haven't accomplished too much else. I have a full sized bed in storage that the boys are going to sleep in. At first we thought that we would get bunk beds for them, but many people who have adopted siblings said that the kids like sleeping together. Since they are sharing beds with other kids in the orphanage right now, I think this will be an easier transition for them.
Hopefully we will have time in the next couple of weeks to set more of their room up. I will post pictures when we do. Until then, here are their names that will go on their walls. Their big brother buddy decided to get in the picture too!

Dawit's Arrival

2010-01-30T08:02:00.000-08:00

Hello! So sorry it took me a while to blog about this. Dawit arrived last week and he is such a cutie! It was so exciting seeing him come home. For those of you that are unfamiliar, the airport arrival is super exciting. It's like a big welcome home party right there in the airport. We can't wait until you all can come see the boy's arrival!
Dawit has adjusted so well and his sisters are in love with him. As you can see from the pics, his sister was very insistent on giving him his bottle. For those of you who don't know Dawit's story, it is such a miracle that he is here. He was very underweight in the orphanage because he was premature and had a cleft palate. The nannies did not know the correct way of feeding him, so he was not gaining any weight. Thankfully, a doctor from the states was able to see him and brought some special bottles for babies with a cleft palate. He has been thriving ever since! It has been very inspiring to see Dawit come home.
Brittney and James were able to get some great pictures and video of the boys. We can't post them here, but would be happy to show them to you in person. They are getting so big! The Armstrongs said that they had just gotten up from a nap and were very shy. Chera told them thank you for their things we sent. It's very surreal to watch them opening the gifts that we sent.

Please keep our boys in your prayers!
Donna

A random bunch of information

2010-01-17T19:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone. Donna here. We haven't blogged in a while, there hasn't been a great deal of change to report. Thankfully, the Ethiopian official has been replaced. The replacement is new to the position and moving very slow. We have also found out that there are some issues with Chera and Kenenisa's paper work. This needs to be straightened out before they can go before the court. Please pray that all of this will be fixed soon. I know it has taken a while to bring our boys home, but God's plan in becoming very evident through all of this.

On a very exciting note, our friends Brittney and James Armstrong are in Ethiopia right now picking up their son Dawit. While there, they are going to spend some time with Chera and Kenenisa. We sent some things with them to give to the boys. This was the first time we did this. We sent each of them a toddler friendly truck, a squishy soccer ball, stickers, crayons, a coloring book, a t-shirt and some suckers. Sounds like a lot I know, but everything fit into a gallon sized Ziploc bag. We can't wait to hear from the Armstrongs on how the boys are doing.

One last thing. We would like to ask your prayers for a sweet little girl that has been on our hearts. Our agency director Susan met Hiwot, who is nine months old, in September. When she met her, Hiwot had a very high fever and was unresponsive. Susan immediately took her to the hospital. The doctor told her that Hiwot was hours away from dying. Little Hiwot was severely dehydrated from Rota Virus and a sepsis infection due to severe diaper rash. Ironically, Hiwot means life in Amharic. She has recovered from her illnesses, but could have some cognitive and physical delays from all she has been through. She has been on our hearts for the past few months. We have been praying for her and have contributed to some of her medical expenses. She has been through so much in her short life, but God has consistently taken care of her. I know he has an awesome plan for her life.

I will blog again this week when I here news about the boys from James and Brittney. I may even post a picture of sweet little Dawit Armstrong!

Please Pray!!

2009-11-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I was hoping that my next blog would be news of a court date. This morning we received some discouraging news. The official that is in charge of investigating adoptions in the region that the boys are from has been convicted and jailed for corruption. She had apparently taken bribes from an adoption agency to move their process faster. Thankfully, neither our agency our boys are involved in this. Now, all cases in the region that the official covered are stalled. We have no idea how long it will take or what needs to be accomplished before they start hearing cases again. This effects four other families at our agency and many children at the orphanage. Please pray that this resolves fast and we get a court date soon.

Fundraising Update 3

2009-09-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

I think this could be the final tally but you never know. Looks like your generosity has brought in $9,208 so far. Adding this to the matching grant or $4,000 we have reached a total of $13,208. This may be just enough to cover the rest of our adoption expenses if we can get a good deal on plane tickets. If not, then the Lord will provide. We thank God for ALL of you! Thank you for allowing God to work through you to lift this burden for us.

In Kyle's sermon this weekend, he talked about how we should wait for God actively and expectantly. He balanced this with the fact that we should not get ahead of God and do things on our own. I believe that God has been showing Donna and myself that what this looks like. I pray that we all learn to soar like eagles, allowing the wind (Holy Spirit) to carry us. It is much better to soar than to flap your wings vigorously and grow tired. Kyle's Sermon

Thank you Lord for loving us so much that you gave your one and only Son to die for our sins so that we may live eternally with you in heaven. Praise Jesus!

Ethiopian Government goes on Break

2009-08-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

We have heard that the Ethiopian government has taken a 1 month break for September. This means we do not expect to hear any progress on a court date until October at the earliest. We will continue to pray for a court date and for their safety.

The Cook Family came home this weekend and brought Charlie and Sam home. They were staying in the same orphanage with Chera and Kenenissa. We think that having some familiar faces here for them when they get here will be special for them. It was exciting to see them at the airport and made us think about the day we will be bringing the boys home. While we anticipate this day we can find comfort in a sovereign God who is in control. Praise Jesus!

Fundraiser Update 2

2009-08-25T09:19:00.001-07:00

I thought this was worth another update due to the signicance of the change. We have receive another $2,415 bringing our total to just under $7,000 raised. I know there is still more coming in so God is not done yet. This is an amazing way for God to confirm His plan for our family and we give Him all our Praise and Thanks. We also thank ALL OF YOU for allowing God to use you in this way.

Adding the matching grant from Louisville Orphan Care Initiative bring the TOTAL to $11,000. WOW!!! We are only about $3,000 shy of funding the rest of the adoption. This is incredible generousity that you have shown us and we THANK YOU!!!

Fundraiser Results

2009-08-24T04:01:00.000-07:00

We serve a GOD who loves us and will always provide. Donna and I are learning more and more about His love for us and how His plans never fail. He used all of you yesterday to raise $4,584 at the Fire House Fundraiser and we are still receiving donations through the mail. WOW!!! We are touched by your generosity and humbled by the magnitude of love that was poured out on us and our boys this weekend.

THANK GOD FOR ALL OF YOU AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING GOD TO USE YOU!!!

More updates to come...

Love,
Justin, Donna, Chera & Kenenissa

Fundraiser Update

2009-08-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder about our fundraiser this evening. Hope everyone can come! I also wanted to make sure that everyone knows that it is at Fern Creek Fire Station #2, not #1. Number 1 is in the heart of Fern Creek and #2 is south of the Gene Snyder.

See you soon!

Fundraiser

2009-08-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

It's offcial! Our fundraiser will take place on Sunday, August 23, from 4:00-8:00 at the Fern Creek Firestation 2. The address is 9409 Bardstown Rd. Louisville,KY 40291 and it is just south of the Gene Snyder on Bardstown Rd. We will have Ethiopian food for you to try as well as burgers and hot dogs. There will also be a Firehouse tour from 5-7pm.

Our goal is to raise $4,000 in order to make the most of the matching grant from Louisville Orphan Care Initiative. Exceeding this goal would help even more as we still expect bills of $14-16K for court fees, visa's and travel costs.

We ask that if possible, RSVP by August 17. It would be great to know how many people will be attending. If you forget to RSVP or your plans change, don't worry, just come anyway! If you cannot make and would still like to donate, you can write a check to Louisville Christian Foundation and send donations to:

Louisville Christian Foundation/Naomi's Fund
c/o Andy Gould
6200 Burnham Place
Prospect KY 40059

Please put our names on the memo line of the check or put a note in the envelope to designate the donation to us. If you have any questions or would like to get involved by volunteering, please feel free to call us or post a comment on this blog. Please SPREAD THE WORD!!!

Ethiopian Art Night and Lecture

2009-07-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

We are just getting home from such an awesome night. Sojourn Community Church had an Ethiopian Dinner/Art Exhibit/Lecture tonight. There was some beautiful art and photography. A few of the families from our agency that have adopted children were also there. All the kids were wearing their beautiful, Ethiopian traditional outfits. So cute!
As soon an we walked in, I felt a wave of emotion. It was so wonderful smelling the food, smelling the coffee, seeing the art, and meeting local Ethiopians. The whole experience made both Justin and I feel closer to Chera and Kenenissa.
The speaker was a missionary who grew up in Ethiopia. His talk was on Ethiopian Christianity and it's influence on art, music, and life. During the talk, he mentioned an Ethiopian king named Kaleb. The king was very instrumental in the spread of Christianity in Ethiopia and was a wise and discerning leader. What is wild, is that we were planning on giving Kenenissa the name Caleb. It really made us happy that the name we chose to give Kenenissa is both important to us as Christians and to their Ethiopian culture. I think that we are probably going to go with the spelling with a "K."
After the talk, we met the speaker to find out more about King Kaleb. We didn't plan on finding out anything about our boys, but we found out some great things about their names. In Ethiopia, names are very important. All names have beautiful and thoughtful meanings. We have not been able to find out the names of the boys from anyone! We have asked 5 Ethiopians, and none of them knew. Considering there are 72 languages in Ethiopia, I guess that is not that strange! I have searched and searched the internet, but have found nothing. When telling the missionary about the boys and without asking him, he immediately told us the boys name meanings! Chera means "Grace" and Kenenissa translates to "one who is taken care of by the community." A pretty nice ending to the night that I did not expect. I am including some pics of our night.

Lifesong

2009-07-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

We have been approved by Lifesong! This means that through Louisville Orphan Care Initiative we will receive a matching grant of $4,000. Now, we need to raise $4,000 to receive the grant. We are planning a fundraiser in August to raise funds. More info to come!

Learning more about our Boys

2009-07-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

Through pictures, video and friends we are learning so much about our boys. As I previously mentioned, some friends of our were just in Ethiopia picking up their little girl. We have found out from them that the youngest, calls himself Kenessisa. We have heard and seen so many variations on his name, I think since that is what he calls himself, then we will stick with that. Hollie said that he is very active and is the "leader" of the toddler room. Hollie said that Chera was quiet and shy.
Our agency director's husband, Pat, has just returned from a trip to Ethiopia. He returned with some great pictures and video of the boys. These pictures show them playing with each other and loving on each other. In the video they are running, jumping, and playing ball. I can probably cancel my gym membership with the workout they are going to give me everyday!
I wish I could post the video and the pictures! Hopefully we will have news on a court date soon!

USCIS Approval!!

2009-06-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

We received our approval to adopt from the USCIS(US citizenship and Immigration Services) today! We were fingerprinted for this and applied back in February. There was a small little glitch in our application, so thankfully it has been taken care of. Technically, we didn't have to have this until we traveled, but it is quite a relief that is is taken care of.

The only thing that we are waiting on now is our court date in Ethiopia. It is very uncertain when this could happen. At the least it will probably be a month till they tell us the date. If we were to pass court on the first try, we would go pick up the boys in 6 weeks.

We just got some fabulous pictures of the boys from our friend Hollie. She recently picked up her little girl Maddie from Ethiopia. She is a photographer, so it just doesn't get any better! I was on an adoption high for a couple days after getting the pictures. They are such beautiful boys! I think my favorite picture is of Hollie holding Kenenissa. It made it so real! I wish I could post the pics for everyone, but we can't until we pass court. If you see me , ask to see the pics!

2009-06-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

Primal Scream Theology from Russell Moore on Vimeo.

Justin - Here is a sermon from Highview. Some friends of our who go there suggested we check it out. This sermon really touched us and we hope you will view it.

Watch Lightning's Adoption Story

2009-06-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Lightning Ahlers - My Adoption Story from The Ahlers Family on Vimeo.

This is a video of a young man that we met at our first adoption conference. Hearing their story planted the seed for us to adopt from Africa and we are very thankful. We hope you enjoy this video and that it blesses you.

Camp Freedom

2009-06-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

Justin and I have just returned from Camp and are completely exhausted! Totally worth it though! Camp Freedom is a weekend camp through the disabilities ministry of our church. We have been going for 4 years now. Justin actually asked me out on a date after camp 3 years ago, so it is a pretty special place for us.
We had such a great time. We swam, played basketball, sang, had smores around the campfire, and learned about our unique abilities that God has given each of us. Our team was so great. It is so much fun seeing the campers year after year.
On Saturday some friends, Brent and Holly, were coming home with their new little girl from Ethiopia so we took a few hours off camp to go to the airport. It was so great! It was so neat seeing her with her new brothers and sisters. While in Ethiopia, Brent and Holly went to visit our boys in the orphanage. They were able to play with them and take lots of pictures. Our boys were in a different orphanage than their daughter, so it was quite humbling that they took time out of their trip to check on our boys. I can't wait to see the pictures!!
Time for bed now. Early I know, but didn't get much sleep this weekend!

2009-06-14T18:50:00.001-07:00

Yard Sale

2009-06-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great yard sale on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who came. Our awesome friends Donnie and Amanda came by on Friday night. They brought us some great things to sell, helped us set up, and Donnie helped us with our marketing! Thank you guys!

We have never had a yard sale before so didn't really know what to expect. We didn't price anything, just asked people to pay what they thought it was worth. People were very generous. A couple taking a walk gave us a great donation and many others donated without even buying anything. A very sweet little boy gave us a bag of coins, it was very touching! We raised much more money than we expected.

It was great meeting people from the area. So many people had adoption stories. Some had adopted children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, and we even met a few people who were adopted themselves! It was quite an uplifting day! God is good!

Yard Sale!!!

2009-06-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

We will be having a yard sale to raise funds for our adoption. It will be this June 13 from 8:00-2:00. 9605 Long Rifle LN, Louisville KY 40228. Love to see you there!

Things that make me happy

2009-06-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

We went to our first Tuesday Family Fellowship at our Agency this week. This is a meeting for all the families adopting with Arise. We usually talk about the process and learn more about Ethiopia and it's culture. Here, I met someone who was able to talk to our boys when she was in Ethiopia a couple months ago. This was very exciting and made it so much more real! She said that they were sweet and very quiet.
There were a few people from Ethiopia at the meeting. I was hoping to find out some info from them on the boys names. We actually found out that Kenessisa's name is actually Kenenisa. We thought this was possible since we have seen it spelled multiple ways. Still no luck on their name meanings.
We found some new pictures of the boys on the snapfish account last night. There were some really great pics of Chera. He was smiling, acting silly and playing with an adopting family. It is great to see him acting like a kid!

The expanded Brown family

2009-05-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

We have our referral! We have actually had it since last week, but I am horrible at this so I am just now posting it. We are getting two brothers, Chera who is 4 and Kennessisa who is 2. They are both beautiful boys. They are thankfully very healthy. The next step is to get a court date in Ethiopia. Timelines are very uncertain with this process.

We went to celebrate at the Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant here. This was both Justin and I's first taste of Ethiopian food. The injera will take some getting used to, but I really enjoyed my doro wat. Justin loved eating with his hands!

I can't post pictures of the boys on the internet until we have passed court in Ethiopia so if you see me, ask to see the pictures!

Beginning

2009-05-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

I am finally starting the blog! I have been meaning to do this for a while. My husband, Justin and I are currently adopting from Ethiopia. Right now, we are waiting for our referral. Hopefully soon we will know more about our child. We began the process at the beginning of February. It has went by very fast. I think I was so focused on completing the home study and dossier that the days and months flew by. I hope to have more news soon!