China bound

Like any good military family this is our deployment stage:) china Ao (area of operation)





Prepping to deploy to china for operation Wyatt come home!

With a travel date pending we have plenty to do...

Collecting items and sorting out cloths, this is no easy task! 2 weeks of cloths for 4 people in two completely separate climates ( below zero the first week and 80 degrees the second) we are challenged to adapt , improvise and overcome a 42 pound luggage limit! Very fun.

Over the next two weeks please pray for us to stay healthy and for our trip to go smooth.

We Thank the lord daily for the opportunity to be Wyatt's family.

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The new Christmas story

This is the new Christmas story, Lucy style of course!!

So there are three guys (we don't know their names) but they followed Beth to get a ham (might have something to do with what we ate for lunch). Aka:Bethlehem

They followed a star and instead of finding a ham they found a special baby like me!

12 days till Christmas:)
Love Lucy Ladybug brown



I am just a little bit bad!!

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Giving

A huge Thank you to our Lifehouse family! John and I are humbled by your giving. Our son might never really know what happened during the "Be Rich" series but each giver will take great joy in knowing they took part in bringing him home to his forever family. May a blessing be brought to your heart when you see him enter those church doors.

I am honored the lord gave him to John and I to raise and love. My greatest desire is to use both Lucy and Wyatt's story to glorify his name. I can't imagine how and why he decided to use a sinner like me for such a wonderful ministry!



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Chinese visa's

They arrived! One step closer to leaving. It became real last night while opening out fed ex package and seeing the chinese visa stickers in our passports that it is for real. We are going to china:)




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Location:Township Highway 130,Convoy,United States

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Party rocking in our house tonight!!

We are dancing tonight with joy our Chinese visa's arrived today. What a wonderful way to end our day with a Fed ex package, just another step closer to our trip!


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Holidays

Yesterday was a beautiful day! We stayed home as a family, decorated the house for Christmas, baked cookies and watched frosty the snow man together just the three of us.



This week out good friend aaron Burns put together some photos i sent him and made a photo album and care package and mailed it to Wyatt's orphanage in china for us!


I get chills thinking he will see our faces for the first time this week. My thoughts this week are this, I wonder what he thinks his family is? To him all he knows are the nannys and fellow orphans he shares his day with. To him we seem like just a photo. To us his photo is everything. With each waiting day that passes our hearts are growing for him and we love him already!


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Be Rich

Last Sunday night we were invited to Pastor Matt and Tina Braun's home for a sweet dinner and fellowship. Matt shared that he would like to honor us along with the Spath family in our adoptions with Life House church giving a financial donation to our mission in bringing an orphan home. It was an evening I will never forget.

So today while Jb and I sat in the middle of hundreds who attended service, we were surrounded by people who gave sacrificially to support our adoptions. Our story along with The Spath family

www.weareblessed-thespathfam.blogspot.com

was shown on the big screen. It was neat to see the complete differences of why we adopted. John and I just wanting a family, while their family of 6 wanting to do something just because their eyes were open to the need. Prov 24:12 It is so special to see the lords hand in both of our lives working in the most magnificent ways. We both trust this is his plan for us. The icing on the cake was Pastor Matt didn't even know that today was Orphan Sunday until our dinner last week.

We are amazed by the support and are honored that we will one day carry our son into the front doors of the church knowing that the church family took part in bringing him home to his forever family. I want to thank each and every person who attended, who pray for us and most of all who gave money to help change a child's life forever!

www.lifehousepeople.com

Be Rich 2012 Adoption fund






 

Family!

This past month we have had so much fun together as a family! Yesterday John and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. It is amazing to think that one of the big reasons we decided to get married was to have a family together. The last few years of having Lucy part of our life has surely been the greatest blessing we could have ever asked for. Recently someone asked us why we adopted. Wow, to sum it up in a short answer is nearly impossible but really looking back at the years of infertility struggles and frustrations we now clearly see it was the lords plan for our life. As time has past our hearts have become aware and tender to orphans and knowing this both of us are willing to follow the lords calling to care for them. This photo might say it all. She asked her daddy to be her prince for Halloween.

Upon returning from China with Lucy we both secretly discussed doing it again if the money was available. With a few little things falling into place we together grabbed hands and decided once again to jump in! We fully trust and know that exciting things are about to happen to care for Wyatt.

In the last few weeks we have had James 1:27 which reads Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. It is so clear that work needs to be done.

So last month it all came together. I was asked at work to sell some of my knitting and then a few days later I received a box of clothing from my friend Marie Bond for Wyatt. It hit me like a brick to the forhead when I discovered one of the tags on the shirt read YOU FOUND ME!

Of course I cried and then ran downstairs to begin a facebook page to post my knitting for money to help adoptions. In my first two weeks I have had so many blessings that I just can't explain. People donated over 30 bundles of yarn, I have mail orders for over $330 (the exact amount of Wyatts passport), a volunteer knitter (Jenny Van Meter from work) and a ladies house party that wiped out my entire inventory:) I addition I had several friends give us checks towards our mission.

 It is over whelming.

As we wait for the RA (final approval before travel) I am encouraged. I am glowing to share what all the lord is doing in our family!I promise to post more soon.

 

Tea cups to Tonka trucks

When we got home from China with Lucy we never dreamed that we would be returning. In fact when our social worker did Lucy's final visit we were told if we renewed our homestudy right then that it would be much cheaper for a second adoption. I remember jb and I looking at one another thinking we weren't sure we could afford the $250 application fee never mind the thousands we didn't have. In my heart I knew that if the money were available we would do it again in a heart beat!

Well two weeks later the door opened and the lord made it clear that this was his plan for our family! Jb's favorite saying is "wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans". So for the second time we began the dreadful paperchase and tasks of our homestudy. Months had past and several unexpected delays came and of course set backs, times of discouragement and frustrations all came and past. We stayed faithful to what we felt was the lord speaking to our hearts. Trusting on his provision, patients and timing.

Although it took a bit longer on finding a child, On August 22nd we accepted a referral of a little boy 3 years old from Baoji City, Shaanxi China. He like Lucy is special needs (according to China) and had a small hernia repaired about a year ago. When I saw his little face I knew instantly as I did with Lucy that he is ours!!In fact the first photo of both of them they are in the same exact position with an arm raised in the air.

So as we patiently wait once again for the offial referral certificate and travel approval I thought it would be a perfect time to update our blog and ask our friends and family to join us in praying for our journey to get our son: Chen Huanqing soon to be Wyatt Brown.

In the next 6-8 weeks when I am anxious to get our luggage packed and take off, I am going to gently remind myself to stop and just enjoy my time with my husband and beautiful daughter. It is the last of just the three of us as a family!

buckle up.

Ready for Wyatt!

With any adoption there is a vision, a death and a resurrection. I love looking back and seeing the hand of the lord in our story. Although that is Easier said when the result is in front of you.

Last month while at work I was heart broken when I noticed my jade bracelet that I bought with the intention of wearing it every single day until i gave it away to my daughter on her wedding day, was laying broken on the floor. I was crushed wondering how and why this could happen. My dear husband awoke the next morning eagor to share that he lay awake figuring out that the only reason could be that it broke in two because a second child was ready!

I lack in patients but during this waiting stage It has been revealed to me that we are being prepared for another family member. Our hearts are open and our guest room has transformed into a little boys room. It is full of family memories and trinkets of both Johns dad and my dads. We mutually agree that when john and I pass we will leave behind little money but an entire legacy through the chance we provided in our adopted children. I know that I won't be living in regret wishing I would have done it again if...

John informed me that If we can afford it he wants 3-5 Chinese kids in our forever family. I say let's get thru the 2nd and to be careful what you ask for. With several files of little boys reviewed so far we have not come across our next family member. In waiting my greatest hope is that I can be used to encourage someone else to follow our path in adoption. I trust in the lords great plan and anxiously wait for that to be revealed. We are ready to share the love we have for a little orphan boy waiting in China for us.

Stay tuned:)

A family for you!

Tonight I write with good news... We have completed our homestudy and submitted our waiting child application. This is an enormous process and with honesty it has been much harder this time around. I admit the tedious paperwork and multiple trips to the doctor, notary and endless hours of paperwork and classes there were times I was ready to just say "forget it".

That was until last night when I read this blog by our adoption agency, titled "Is there a family for you" please look it up. Go to http://www.awaa.org/ then go to the bottom and click BLOG. It was a beautifully written article about families adopting boys from China.

In the last couple of weeks Jb, Ladybug Lucy and I have been praying for another child to join our family. A short few days, maybe a week or so ago we finally began to feel that our hearts are ready. So over the last week, I realize I am nesting. My closets are being cleaned, projects and decorating ideas have started and most of all the peace of knowing right here on Monmouth Road in Convoy is a family waiting for him.

Adoption is by far the worst for someone like me who lacks patients and wants immediate results. It has it's moments but I know and trust tonight the lord is preparing us here along as half way across the world for a match to be made. I fully trust in his perfect plan and am ready for the call.

Adoption is a beautiful thing and I along with our family am so blessed. I hope to be updating our next post with either a face or a name and or finding this article to encourage someone out there to adopt:)

Good night Moon!