tea party

The kids and I spent the day baking cookies for a cookie exchange, and as a special treat, we had a tea party when we finished. The tea set was a gift to us from my aunt, who received it on her 9th birthday, and we hadn't yet taken it out for the kids to see. They loved it! The tiny cups made them giggle ("it's my size!"), and they felt very grown-up and important using them. They took turns playing the polite host ("would you care for more tea, madam?" and "allow me to offer you another cookie"), and told Andrew that they had tea with Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast.

Tea set from Aunt Shirley, tea towel from Grandmom

christmas shopping win

A few years ago, we stumbled across a really neat Christmas gift idea: goats.

Goats!

I'm not talking about the best white elephant gift ever*, I'm talking about real-deal, world's greatest Christmas presents. The kind that you are so excited about buying that you just can't handle it - you have to tell everyone you know because it's driving you crazy that you can't tell the recipient until Christmas day. The kind of present that makes you so excited to give that you hope you don't get anything in return because all you want to do is watch them open it and jump up and down with them as they realize what it is.

YES. Goats are that present. And so are ducks, chickens, cows, rabbits, bulls, and donkeys.

Check it out at World Vision.




*The best white elephant gift is actually a live water-frog...they're super gross (they have long scratchy toenails), they cost only $.25, and you can let it go in the creek with a clean conscience. We know this because a) we took a live water-frog to a party once, b) the gift exchange rules were amended for the next year to include, "no live objects", and c) even with the amended rules, we have never ever had a white elephant gift exchange since (which some people consider a good thing - you're welcome).

some kids

Recently I attended a church event for moms, and as part of their program, a different member shares each month about a missions organization that they support. The woman who shared did an excellent job as she shared about an organization that is close to her heart - and ours as well - Living Water International.

Living Water works to provide clean drinking water for those places in the world where it's simply not available. They drill and repair water wells, and they teach the people who use those wells about basic sanitation to prevent illness and how to maintain the wells into the future. We love this organization and have been on partner trips with them to Africa.

The speaker gave a passionate presentation on their work, and part of her presentation was a slideshow of pictures of the children who are impacted by the organization's work. "Some kids," she said, "have to spend their days going for water instead of going to school...some kids have to walk 6 miles for water that isn't even clean...some kids have to carry 40 pounds of water every day...some kids..."

And as she spoke, it made me think.

Those kids she was talking about? Those were my kids.

My kids went to get water from the wells. My kids took a long walk with their friends to pump water into bright yellow jerry cans. My kids, just this week, were just showing me how they carried those heavy water cans through muddy streets, in rain and shine. "Like this Mommy," they said. "Boy, it was sure heavy! And don't spill it because then you have to go back and do it again and you'll be in trouble. Whew." And then they sat down to show me how they took a rest after bringing it home. My kids, just yesterday, dug as deeply as they could in the sandbox at the park - knowing that water comes from the ground and wanting to see whether America water is deeper than Uganda water.

Some kids....

I'd never considered that when we partnered with this organization, we were doing more than serving some kids. We were serving somebody's kids. Somebody who aches to see their babies sick and dehydrated - again - from the water. Somebody who knows that it's the water that is making their children sick, but who can't do anything about it. Somebody who is really grateful to see them enjoy clean, clear water for the first time ever.

I'd also never considered how it will sound to my kids when they hear about some kids...it's odd to me, so I wonder how it will sound to their little ears as they grow up. There will probably be a mix of emotions as they hear about some kids and connect that to themselves and where they are now. I hope that we will all be able to share graciously and with humor. (Still, note to self: I need to follow up with them whenever we hear these kinds of presentations.)

The speaker ended with an invitation to tour the Living Water office so that our kids can see what some kids have to do, as a way to encourage them toward missions and compassion. "They can even see the dirty water and try carrying one of those heavy cans like some kids do in other places," she told us.

"How fun! Are you guys going to go?" someone asked at my table.

"I think they already know about it," I told them, "so we'll have to see." Some kids may prefer to play on a tire swing that day.

:)

let's adopt them up!

Ibra asked a few weeks ago if we could adopt another kid.

"We'd like to," I told him, "would you be ok with everything that goes with it?"
"Like you and me - we'd have to get a lot of shots before we go over there?" he asked.
"Yes, we'd have to do that," I told him as he shrugged off the idea of more shots. "But it would also mean that we could have some hard weeks in store. What if the kid was scared and threw fits and cried and needed me to be with them all the time? I would still get to play with you, but maybe not very much for awhile."
He thought for a minute and gave me a firm, "that's ok."

Then he said, "Mommy. There are a lot of kids who need a mommy and a daddy - we need to adopt them up! And besides, I've never adopted a kid before, so can we please adopt another kid? Just one? A girl for Suma and a boy for me."

adoption day!

As of today, the kids have been official Browns for 11 days!

We went to court early on Friday morning to meet with our attorney (thank you, Kara!) and get the kids settled in for a long wait. There were a lot of things that we weren't sure about - whether we'd be able to do the adoption that day (we had to see the judge about other paperwork first), whether we'd be out by lunchtime, whether the kids would be able to sit still... but all of that vanished when the judge came out. I'd seen him once before during a pre-trial conference and saw that he could be a pretty tough cookie. But not on adoption day! It was obvious that he loves adoption day and is genuinely thrilled for the families who appear that day. The kids sat with us in the court room as we watched other families complete their adoptions. It made me really glad that we have them sit with us in "big church" - they were so good the entire 2 hours that we were there! It also made me really glad to have my mom there (hi, Mom!) - she helped us keep the kids occupied with snacks and books for those few minutes when they needed a break from the court room and snapped a few pictures for us while we spoke with the judge.

Our turn finally came, and after a nod from the judge, we got to proceed with the adoption hearings for both kids. A few testimony points, a smile, and a "so be it!" - and Ibra and Suma were officially and legally ours, for better or for worse, richer and poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we all shall live. The judge gave both of them a stuffed animal and smiled for a group picture.

All the way home, the kids kept telling each other,
"My new name is...."
"Yeah? Well myyy new name is..."
"Well, mine is..."

They were so excited. And of course, no celebration in our family is really complete unless it involves a visit to the world's greatest restaurant: Chick-fil-A. And no great evening is really great unless we also get to put up a tent in the living room and watch a movie (Pinocchio) until we all fall asleep.

Happy adoption day, kids! We love you and are so thankful that God has made us family!

fun runnin'

Two weeks ago, we ran in the Run for Hope Houston 5k. It's a benefit run for Legacy 685 - the adoption, foster and orphan care ministry that we are part of - and it was fantastic!

Over the past few weeks, Andrew has been taking the kids for a run around our neighborhood - about a 1.25 mile loop - so we knew that they could handle the 1k. We planned to run the 5k afterward and debated whether to bring our little red wagon in case the kids got tired. (That plan was quickly shelved when I realized how that would feel the next day...) As it turns out, that was the right decision because the kids ran the 5k as well.

Whew!

Afterward, we enjoyed a Chick-fil-A lunch, dancing with the CfA cows, playing in the moon walks, and talking to friends. The whole event was fantastic, and we were especially thrilled to see our college friends, the Peeks (hi, Peeks)! We've kept up mainly through blog, so it was such a joy to see them and their sweet baby boys. That makes my heart so full!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

On a final note, it was so exciting to see how many people came out in support of the adoption, foster and orphan care ministry. All of the proceeds from the run went to a scholarship fund to help families bring children into their homes. I read about a family this week who believed that they could never adopt because they don't have the funds to do so. If you are in that boat, wondering how in the world could you ever afford it, please don't let that keep you from pursuing adoption! There are so many resources and organizations and ministries - like Legacy 685 - who can help provide scholarships/grants and interest-free loans. What is money to One who paves streets with gold? Seek Him, serve Him - He will lead you and provide for you.

hair updates

We've been having fun with Suma's hair, now that it's really and truly long enough to play with. She's usually pretty good about sitting still for as long as it takes to fix her hair - provided that I don't need her to tilt her head in some funny direction for any amount of time and provided that we have a nice, long movie playing.

I'm posting pictures here more to help me see the progress that we've made regarding her hair care. There is still a lot to learn, but we're getting there. :)

Flat rope twists
I love twists! They're easy to do, but most importantly (I'm learning) is that they're easy to take out! This style took one Winnie the Pooh movie (an hour-ish?) and lasted about a week, but it probably could have lasted longer had I used a good styling cream and used more rows.

I'm not in love with most close-cropped hair styles, but I like how they protect her hair...and I love how they look when you take them out! We don't have a picture of what the twist-out from the above hair style looks like (too bad because it was my favorite), but below is a twist-out from another time we did piggy-tail twists all over. It will be even more fun when her hair is longer because we'll be able to protect the style better overnight so that she can wear it longer.

One flat twist and "big hair

Suma likes "big hair", so I just put in one twist across the top of her head and put curl-definer everywhere else. If anyone knows of a not-super-expensive curl-definer (one that doesn't have sulfates), I'd love recommendations!

fall

I'm not generally an artsy-crafty kind of person, but when you suddenly have two preschoolers who have a lot of energy and need things to do...you start to stretch in some areas. :)

This last Monday, in an effort to get our extraverted and energetic selves out of the house, we took a nature walk in a nearby park. The kids collected pretty leaves and acorns and duck feathers, climbed trees and chased squirrels and ducks for the morning, and then we used those items to make "Happy Fall" artwork for the house.

So technically, fall doesn't start until September 22 at 10:49am EDT (really, almanac, to the minute?). But Starbucks started serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes on September 1, and that's good enough for me!

Happy Fall!

gig 'em

Two weeks ago, a friend from one of Andrew's mission trips invited our family to their tailgate for the A&M game (thank you, Chris and Kristin!). The kids have become pretty big football fans and can sing the entire Spirit of Aggieland, so we thought it was a good time to introduce them to the glory that is Aggie Game Day.

It was everything that an Aggie tailgate should be:

• family Maroon Out
• family yell practice in the car
• gorgeous weather
• a tour of the newly-renovated MSC
• hearing and saying "Howdy" all over the place
• college girls squealing over little kids in Aggie apparel 
• jammed cell phone lines so that you can't get in touch with the friends you're looking for - which really just buys you time to see old friends that you didn't know would be there (hi, Pickerings!)
• tacos and cheese dip and brownies
• good times with friends and lots of kids for Ibra and Suma to play with
• avoiding traffic on the way out of town

I mean really, can you beat that? Not even being out-scored at the end of the game put a damper on our Aggie spirits. :)

the best 90 minutes of the week

45 minutes, Take 1:

Earlier this year, we met a family who was preparing to travel to Uganda to adopt two children from Suma's babies' home. Their babies were two that we held and snuggled while we were there, and two that Suma especially prayed for since she's been home. They were finally able to go over there this summer, and after God working out a few snags, were able to come home this week!

Suma was so excited to see her friend. This little girl slept in the bed next to Suma's. She was our constant companion while we were there, and the little girls adored each other. So you can imagine how excited our little girl was to finally, after 10 months, get to see her friend again! Both of our kids, remembering how tired and hungry they were when we got home, wanted to take snacks to our friends. So we loaded up on some Goldfish, Mario gummies and Capri Suns, made a "Welcome Home!" banner and headed to the airport.

I wasn't sure quite how to prepare Suma to meet her friend. It had been 10 months since the girls saw each other, and while we've looked at pictures of friends and talked about them together, I knew that our little friend hadn't had the same opportunity. 10 months is a long time when you're a toddler, and with so many children coming in and out of their home, I wondered if her friend would remember Suma. I wondered how it would be for friends to meet and no longer speak the same language (or have very few words in common).

We arrived a few minutes before their plan landed and waited with other friends to meet them at baggage claim. They came down the elevator and were met with cheers and hugs and flags and signs and happy tears. Suma, feeling suddenly shy, gave her friend a wave. In the midst of the craziness, the girls kept looking at each other, and I could tell that her friend recognized Suma and was trying to place her. Suma, on the other hand, felt all the joy and excitement in seeing her friend again, sharing snacks with her and giving her a hug before we left. What a treasure! 

If this had been the only excitement this week, that would have been enough...but wait! There's more!

45 minutes, Take 2:

Since we've been home, Ibra has talked specifically about two friends from his home in Uganda, and he has missed them terribly. One of the boys is much older, and he is still in Uganda. But the other one, only 2 years older, came home to America just two weeks before we arrived in Uganda to meet Ibra. Ibra has told us how he and his friend would walk to get water and how his friend laughed all the time - I know he's missed him a lot!

A few months ago, as I was looking through pictures from his children's home, I saw that we'd been tagged in a few photos. When I called Ibra over to see them, he pointed his friend out to me. As it turns out, his parents were also tagged in the photo! We were able to get in touch with them over Facebook, and the boys got to talk on the phone this weekend!

Ibra's face glowed as soon as he heard his friend's voice on the phone! They could have talked forever, and hearing them ask each other questions was precious. They giggled when they found out that they both have cars at home (the kind to play with in the kitchen and the kind that sits in the garage), they can both ride their bikes without training wheels, they both have sisters, they both remember Uganda, they both love to swim and play outside, they both have bananas at home. "Whatever you have, I have it too!" they couldn't get over it, they thought it was so funny. 

What joy, what balm to lonely hearts to hear the voice of a friend! I am so thankful that both of our kids had such a precious time with friends this week. Thank you, Lord, for these 90 minutes!

earthworks

I was reading an article yesterday when I was interrupted by the sound of chopping coming from the backyard.

"Look, Mommy!" Ibra gleefully shouted, "I am cutting the grass for you! We are making a house - for me and Suma - and I am doing it!"

Something about the way he was wielding his wiffle-bat, combined with the chopping noise from a moment ago, raised a small flag....so I went to investigate.

Here's what I found:

Ibra: See how I cut the grass for you? I cut it good!
Me: Um. Yes. If you were in Uganda and were helping to cut the grass, I'd say you did a great job. But at our house in America, we should probably not use the bat to cut grass anymore.
Ibra: Why?
Me: Well, it's a little short...and you know, Daddy's job is to cut the grass for us. With the lawn mower. Remember like Uncle Charles used the tractor to cut grass? Like that, only smaller (*as you can tell, the lack of rain - and therefore, lack of grass growth - has made us forget a few things), and he pushes it.
Ibra: Ohhh, ok.... well, I guess we should just build the house this way then!

country life

This summer has been a crazy one for us, with the loss of two grandmothers and daddy out of town for a few weeks (SO glad he's back!) - but in the midst of all of that, we were able to go to Plano to visit my aunt and uncle while Andrew attended a conference. One of the days that we were there, we went out to their land. The kids had so much fun!

When we first got there, we walked around the property to check on their pecan trees. There is a dog out there who liked to walk around with us as well, and the kids did really well with him around. I'm always amazed to see the growth in them in this area - from crawling on top of our heads at the sight of a dog to standing/walking calmly beside one...great job, kiddos!

After that, Uncle Charles needed to do some mowing around the lake, and the kids were eager to help. Ibra was content to sit with his hands on the wheel while Suma tried driving the tractor herself. (When Uncle Charles told me that, I thought, "Yep...that sounds about right...")

After the work was done, we spent the rest of the morning fishing. The kids had been looking forward to going fishing for weeks, so they could hardly wait when we finally got out the poles and baited the hooks. They both did really well, and it held their attention for a good 60 - 90 minutes. Ibra learned to cast the line and loved it. He cast and reeled in, cast and reeled in, cast and reeled in, cast and reeled in.... sounds like we have a bass fisherman on our hands. He could have stayed out there all day, regardless of the sun or the heat or a growling tummy. Suma was content to look at the water and do tricky things like "fish with one hand". When that was done, she showed us how she could fish with no hands. Funny girl. :)

Aunt Shirley and I cheered from the sidelines. (And that is Suma fishing with no hands.)

After we picked up the rods, we took a quick walk to say hi to the family up the way. In some ways, I think it reminded the kids a lot of Uganda - they had turkeys and chickens roaming around the back yard, and some pigs, dogs and even a donkey penned around the house! Their little girl is about Suma's age, and she loved showing us around. We learned the names of the animals and get to pet some of them. The kids weren't sure what to make of the donkey when they heard him making noise, but when they found out that they could ride him - well! They wanted to take him at a full gallop down the road and maybe get one for our house as well.

Thank you, Aunt Shirley and Uncle Charles! We had lots of fun and loved getting to see you!

kitchen fun

Cookies? What you are doing in there? You are ready?

Tough guy faces (after sustaining their first bicycle injuries)

Shall we take it from the top?

Drum session casualty...followed shortly thereafter by the red bowl and a wooden spoon

Mommy, I need a chair so I can drum more!

pictures lately

The lost tooth...and the once-favorite/now least favorite sleep shirt
"Not that one, Mommy! That one hurts my teeth."

Playing with dress up clothes that Mom B gave to them (Thank you, Mom!)

Knight Ibra - he really loves the sword

Knight Ibra and Fairy-Princess-Minnie Mouse-Dr.-Maid Marian-IbraCanIWearYourSword-Suma

With the flower girl and ring bearer in what was almost a nice picture (drat you, slow shutter speed!)

Trying it again....

If you can't beat 'em...

Cow Appreciation 2012! 

LEMONADE!!
(And a shout out to the lady behind us who took the previous picture - thanks!)

car conversations

As heard on tonight's drive home...


Baby Convo: Take 1
Suma:  Why our friend has a baby in her tummy?

Me:  Because God put it there.

Suma:  Did I grow in your tummy?

Me:  No, you grew in your Uganda mama's tummy, but you grew in my heart.

Suma:  Oh ok. Next time, I want to grow in your tummy.


Baby Convo: Take 2
Ibra:  When I was born, I didn't have teeth...

Me:  Right.

Ibra: ...and I couldn't walk...

Me:  Uh-huh.

Suma:  And me, when I was born, I didn't have any legs...

Me:  m-hm

Suma: ...or eyes...

Me:  Wait. What?

milestones

I went to a baby shower recently where we played a game to guess details of the mom-to-be when she was a baby (birth weight/length, which tooth was cut first, etc). It was a lot of fun to see the guesses compared with the facts, and it made me think how much we've missed with both of our kiddos.

Now, this isn't a "I'm so bummed" kind of post. I realize that we've missed a lot of things with our kids, and there is just some information that we will never know. Were they big babies or little babies? Were they fussy or calm? When did they cut their first teeth? What time were they born? Did they have any kind of birthday celebrations before they came to us? I wish we had that information, but it's enough for me to remember that a) the Lord knows and b) that their biological families know and hold those treasures.

I'm thankful for that, and I'm also thankful that in His grace, we get to experience other milestones... like the first visit from the toothfairy and a first birthday celebration....

TEETH

A few weeks ago, we were completely caught off guard to see that Suma had a wiggly tooth. And by "wiggly", I mean "about to fall out of her head" kind of loose. WHAT! Where did that come from? It was so out of nowhere! We waited for the weekend to be over and kept bribing her not to play with it until we could go to the dentist. So we took her to our regular dentist, who charged us $50 to tell us that she should see a pediatric dentist and that she probably got hit in the face with something because the surrounding 3 teeth are also loose. Hm, thanks(?)...

All the way home, I kept asking her questions to find out if she had hit her mouth - we hadn't heard any screaming to indicate that she'd taken a spill of that magnitude, so we really needed to know if that happened and she hadn't told us. It's easy to plant false memories in a preschooler when you ask too many or leading question like that, so I gave it up pretty quickly because it was obvious that she couldn't remember any significant falls. But still...really? How did that happen?

The Lord very graciously provided a dentist, who - along with his wife - have been involved with Andrew's ministry for a few years. He looked at her, took a few x-rays ("This is interesting")...took a few more ("let's see this again at a slightly different angle")...and a few more ("how old did you say she is?")... and voila! It turns out that she had not been hit with a baseball or slipped at the pool, as we incorrectly assumed, but that she has grown up teeth moving in! What's more, little Suma-shark has several teeth that are moving in - so we'll have some excitement around here over the next few months.

Whew - the trip to Dr. W made me feel better! Although, I have to say, I'd rather deal with a number of medical issues than look at a wiggling tooth for more than 2 seconds. My specific prayer was that it would fall out on it's own and that we (or rather, me!) wouldn't have to pull it. Eesh, what is it about wiggly teeth? I just can't... So for the next few days, we gave her tootsie-roll pops and apples and all kind of good things to help that tooth along.

About 2 days later, I was getting her ready for bed. One of her favorite pj shirts is a little hard to get on when her hair is styled, so after navigating around the larger poofs, I gave it a good tug. "Oh!" she said, "my shirt kinda hurt my tooth a little." As she reached up to make sure that it was still there, I saw a gap where the tooth had been. "Come look in the mirror," I told her, "and see what that shirt did to your tooth." She was pretty excited - until it started bleeding. Of course, blood makes any kid scream, so we cleaned that up (while trying to keep a very curious Ibra away so that it wouldn't scare him) and went to search for the tooth.

She put her tooth in a little box and woke up to find 2 dimes next to it in the morning. "Centae!" Her big tooth is now moving in, and we expect that it will be joined by its other friends soon. 

BIRTHDAY

We celebrated Ibra's birthday recently, which he had been looking forward to for months. One of the first things that my mom told him was that they would get him a bicycle for his birthday. That was last fall, and he asked about it every day since. 

We loved getting to celebrate the day with him! We decorated the house, let him pick out a present at a local bookstore and choose what to eat for dinner/dessert. He was so excited, and kept wondering when his bicycle would appear. He opened presents from family after dinner, and just when he had almost given up about the bike - he opened a helmet and training wheels. "What are these?" he asked. "Let's go outside and see what they might go with," my mom suggested.

We covered his eyes and walked outside. As we went outside, my brother casually mentioned to him, "Boy, I hope it doesn't lick you!" That threw Ibra for a loop! He started giggling and trying to hide behind me - just in case it was a dog (he later told me). But, of course, he opened his eyes to see a shiny new bike! He was so thrilled, he could hardly stand it! He has been riding it every day ("I have to practice, Mommy!"), and asked this morning if we could just take the training wheels off already. This is coming from the little boy who decided that he didn't need floaties after having gone swimming for only 2 weeks, so we'll have to see.

We are so thankful to celebrate these milestones with our kids, and we're excited for all of the ones yet to come! Our Lord is good. :)

food fun

My grandmom has a magnet on her refrigerator that says, "Love people. Cook them tasty food." Which is really a great motto. It's one we try to live by in our house, and it is sometimes adapted to "Love kids. Take them to Chick-fil-A." It's basically saying the same thing...especially on days when kids eat free.

So yesterday, in honor of the circus that is coming to town, Chick-fil-A offered free kids' meals to every child who was dressed like a circus performer. Win! Not only do we have a weakness for chicken nuggets and lemonade, but we also we love to dress up.

And a special thanks to Daddy, who let them wear his boots on a rainy day...but didn't know it until we came home.

 They had so much fun dressing up that they wore their costumes to our friends' house afterward. 

In other food-related news....

My mom's friends hosted a "Granny Shower" for her just before the kids came home, and one of them made two super cute aprons for them to wear when they help in the kitchen. They got to wear them last week when we made cookies, and they have been wearing them ever since.

And finally, I'm telling you here because I don't have other coffee-addicted colleagues to commiserate with me at home - my coffee maker stopped working yesterday. As in: it doesn't get hot and it doesn't pump water. To begin a day of chasing preschoolers without a cup of good, black coffee (tea in the morning just doesn't work on so many levels)...the horror! So I improvised this morning:

And although the coffee maker threatened to release grounds into the black brew, I eventually got my coffee.

Whew. That was close.