The Browns are moving again

Hello All –

More big news for this little blog – The Browns are moving again. It seems to be God’s will for us to keep on the move and not settle. I tend to want to settle and be in one place forever, but He has another plan and we want nothing more than to keep following His way for us. I mean, really, could measly man dream up the incredible path God has taken us on these past 6 or so years – I don’t think so.

So it was sad to know that our time in Ethiopia is nearly done – our hearts have been so fully involved here with the beautiful work of uniting families and loving orphans, with the birth culture of our children, and with the many wonderful friends who have been like family here. I feared that the kids still in the orphanages, those who may never find their forever families, wouldn’t understand why we had to leave and would feel abandoned by us.

But, God has made it clear that we are to be on to something new and has also given comfort through Scripture, Hebrews 11:15 among others: “If they (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) had been thinking of the country they had left , they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

My fear about the kids at the orphanages was also comforted through a good conversation with the kids at Kechene that showed us they understood why we had to leave and that they know we will always love them deeply.

Also, we know all the work here will be left in the capable and passionate hands of the Norwoods, and two new families coming to work for Gladney, not to mention our wonderful Gladney Ethiopian staff.

So, all that said, we are excited to see what’s next. We have applied with Frontiers, an organization which describes itself as, “An international community of ordinary people, serving in teams, going to the hardest places in the world, bring efforts of human aid and relief, working in the global marketplace, while living as ambassadors of the Gospel to those who have not yet heard.” We don’t know much more than that right now. We are returning to the States in April and will have a phone interview then and see what happens. We are open, again, to anywhere in the world. That reminds me of the last time we were open to going anywhere in the world --- and precious Enoch was waiting right around the corner to lead us to precious Marta and Ethiopia.

Could this new turn possibly be as exciting as that???!!! We shall see. Life is such a thrill.

In other news, Ezra is saying “Mama” sometimes “Ama” and I think she means it. It seems to have a more general meaning than my name – it’s more of a, “I need something and I want mommy to get it/do it.” She is growing quite opinionated and becomes furious when you save her life by taking away some dangerous object she has chosen to put into her mouth. Enoch really enjoys the process of ripping objects Ezra’s found on the floor away from her. It’s one of his very important big-brother duties.

Marta is doing great with school and we’re looking forward to wrapping the year up. She is learning more guitar and has picked up “Do Re Mi” on the keyboard from a friend of hers here.

I have to admit I am feeling a little hyper as I write this (an emotion I don’t come across easily) because we just found out we’re going to HAWAII with Ryan’s parents in June. It’s just the kind of R&R we need, and I am so excited for the kids to experience it. We are ridiculously blessed.

Well that’s all for now, enjoy the pics. I know there are a lot of Ezra, but she IS the baby ;)
Love from the Browns

“Selam no” from the Browns!

(“Selam no” is a greeting in Ethiopia inquiring if you are at peace).

It’s time again to fill you in on what’s going on at the Brown house.

We’ve had a full house recently, which we’re getting pretty used to and enjoying. Emily, who took a semester off of her freshman year in college, is volunteering with Gladney and has joined our work team and our family for her two-month stay in Ethiopia. She spends her days faithfully loving on Gladney’s kids and has been a great ‘big sis’ addition to the fam.

Also, Ryan’s mom just left after a nice 3-week visit. We all loved having Gege around and her visit flew by. The timing of her visit was a blessing because she was able to see Ezra start crawling and get her first tooth.

That’s right, Ezra got her first tooth at 9 ½ months. We were starting to wonder if it would ever come. It didn’t seem to bother her when it broke through but now that there is a bit of tooth out, she has been fussy and feverish. She also started crawling at 9 months, the same age as Enoch. She is loving her mobility but has totally lost interest in toys – it seems only cords and plugs will do, so we’re on our toes.

Favorite Ezra tricks of late:
-Waving.
-Clapping.
-Dancing by bobbing up and down.
-Squinching up her nose and lips and making a snorty sniffle just to be cute.
-Patting me on the back when I pick her up.
-Eating big, healthy meals – she loves veggies, fruits and meat!

Least favorite Ezra tricks of late:
-Picking up any and every tiny little thing on the floor and tasting it
-Crawling to do dangerous things the minute you turn your back
-Bursting into tears when we we take away something dangerous that she is playing with.

She is still a super sweet, happy baby. She is pretty attached to me. She could be totally content hanging out with someone else but if I enter the room, she wants to be in my arms and/or have my full attention. We’ve already seen a little sibling jealousy from her when I’m holding Enoch. And so it begins . . .

Enoch is still a great big brother in large part. Every once in awhile when he gets tired of being in the car he’ll reach over and squeeze her hand too tight or kick her chair and he can be on the stingy side with his toys, but most of the time he is very loving and considerate of her. Sometimes when she is fussy he will come running, saying, “I’m comin’ Ez!” and bring her toys or give her a snack.

Marta is doing well with school. She is doing a lot of writing and reading, and she just got a 90 on a big fraction test we had. Word problems have been killer in math, but she has practiced a lot and is getting them down. She is still enjoying ballet and guitar. We have made some new friends with a daughter Marta’s age, so it has been great for her to have a friend her age.

She is so 13 – it has been amazing to watch her transform into a teenager – growing in maturity and responsibility, desiring strongly to be grown up while still holding on to carefree kidhood. She is a very thoughtful, sensitive and caring young lady. She wants to work with orphans and adopted kids like her when she grows up. Whatever she does, she’s gonna be great.

Ryan and I are good, too. We are trying to pray more and be more patient parents.

We have a trip home to DFW planned for mid-April through mid-May to rest and see family and friends. We are looking forward to that time.

Thanks for your care and prayers for us.

With love, from the Browns

September Update

September 25, 2008

September has been a big month for Ezra. She started eating baby cereal and she rolled over! I knew she was ready to eat when she attacked an empty bag of Cheetos Marta and I had just finished. I thought she just liked the crackle of the bag, but she went after every crumb of cheese in there and cried big time when we took it away from her. It was crazy!

Her first baby cereal was a big event for all of us. We got the video camera out and everyone took turns feeding her. She ate it and enjoyed it like she had been eating for months – no weird faces or pushing it out with her tongue. On the contrary, she grabbed for the spoon and wanted to feed herself. Funny girl. I think she is looking more and more like Ryan – what a cutie. Her eyes are still a beautiful clear, dark blue.

Homeschool with Marta is going well. We’re pretty laid back about it, but we’re getting a lot done. My worry about handling Enoch and Ezra while doing school with Marta hasn’t really been an issue. Enoch joins in and pays attention sometimes and plays on his own other times. Ezra is such a good baby, she is content to be held or play with toys while we work together.

Marta loves playing with Ezra and taking care of her more and more. If Ryan and I go out for a date and leave the kids with a babysitter, Marta takes over as Mama and runs the show. Ezra gets the biggest smile and sometimes squeals with joy whenever she sees Marta, Enoch, Mommy or Daddy. It is so sweet.

We are planning a little getaway to Cairo next month – one of the advantages of living overseas – being closer to exotic vacation spots. We are trying to coordinate the trip with Scott and Monica’s trip over here so they can join us there on the way to Addis. Pretty neato – hope it all works out!

Love you guys,

R, A, M, and the two Es

July Update

Ezra turned 3 months old last Saturday. It seems like she’s been with us forever and, at the same time, that time is passing very quickly. She has proven to be very flexible and adaptable through our major transition back, as have Marta and Enoch.

Ezra is so dear and we all adore her. She is a happy, smiley baby who delights in being talked to and in chewing her fists. She also likes to grab her toy links and seems very determined to reach the little animals on her mobile someday. She has grown a lot but we haven’t measured her since we’ve been here – we’ll probably be shocked when we finally hear the new weight. Her hair is getting more blonde, and her eyes are still a clear, dark blue.

Marta likes to help out with her and is a fun and loving big Sis. She is frustrated that Ezra’s adorable little shoes don’t fit yet though. Enoch loves to hold and hug and kiss Ezra. He gets a kick out of it when she is kicking her legs or when her arms flail and her hands touch his face. He also loves to brag on her when she is holding on to her toys or blanket. Ezra is pretty lucky to have such a great older sister and brother.

I can’t help but think all of the time of what they all will be like 2, 5, 10 and 20 years down the road. It is fascinating to watch little lives. “Twinkle, twinkle, little Star” is one of the songs we sing to the kids and one day I realized that song has a great double meaning. Children are the stars and we wonder who they are inside – who they will be someday. “Up above the world” and “like a diamond” sing about their specialness and preciousness.

We are doing well back in Ethiopia. We took a great trip with our friends and coworkers, Travis and Joanna and their kids Avery and Silas, to a wilderness lodge that had a beautiful lake, gorgeous forest and many interesting and social animals including baboons. Marta rode a horse on a long ride through the forest and, though a little scared at first, came away from the ride a definite horse lover. Enoch rode too, with Joanna, and did great!

We started potty training Enoch this week, and the boy is ready!! He is doing an awesome job and is loving all the high-fives after his successes. He loves to play outside with all of his cars and trucks. We are in the rainy season here, so there are always great mud puddles for him to play in which is his new favorite thing. He also uses those puddles to wash his trucks.

Baby Picture

Little Ezra Glory Brown

ITS A GIRL!!!

The Brown family is now 5. Ezra Glory Brown entered the world at 4:59pm on Saturday April 26, 2008. She weighed 8 lbs and 2.9 ounces.

We have pictures, but don't have the cable to connect to the computer. So you'll just have to wait.

Thought you might like to see...

--Ry

Any day now...

The newest Brown should be here any day now. For those of you who haven't heard... it is supposed to be a girl and no we don't have a name yet. Personally, I feel like I need to see her before I can get a good feel for what her name should be, but this scares Abby a little bit. :) This is all new for us, both of our other children came named for us...



We are sorry we haven't been updating much... or really updating at all. We will try and post after the baby comes, and maybe put a few pictures up.

Here is a picture of Ab and Marta to tide you over until the little one comes.
--Ryan

New York City Event

Our family will be in New York on Thursday, March 20th at the Gladney office for the following events:

4pm-6pm Ethiopian Program Meet and Greet
6pm-8pm Info Session about all Gladney International Programs

We welcome current and prospective adoptive families to join us, and we'll be happy to answer questions about Ethiopian adoption and older child adoptions.

The Browns

Hello all-

Hope this update finds you well! We are all doing quite well here in Ethiopia. We have been living and working here for a year now and are finally feeling settled

Recently, I've been thinking about the name of this blog and how inadequate it is these days. This blog, which started as

Hello Everyone,

Sorry it has been so long since we checked in. Life and work are still very busy over here in Ethiopia, but our ability to balance it all is getting better which is good for soul and sanity.

The kids are doing well. Marta is going through all the naturally difficult adjustments that come with the massive changes she has faced in joining our family, but we’re all learning how to grow as a family. Just to think of how much everything has changed for her is overwhelming, and she is living the overwhelming change. Even though things are better, her world is upside down, and it will take time to adjust.

School started for Marta today and she had a great day! We found a very nice school, praise the Lord. This is the first year for the campus by our house so enrollment is a little slow getting going – there are only 13 kids in the whole school and 2, including Marta, in the 5th grade. But it seems to be a very supportive environment and I think it will be great for Marta as she adjusts to a more difficult and all-English curriculum. She doesn’t mind a bit that it is small and likes it a lot. We are so happy that she is happy there.

Marta fell in love with swimming and became quite good with all the practice while we were home this summer, so Ryan and I decided to have a family swim day at one of the hotels in the city. We picked the Ghion Hotel instead of the Hilton or Sheraton because it was much more affordable and had quite the experience.

It is not very warm in Ethiopia right now and it rains frequently which cools everything down a lot. The day we went the sun was shining and seemed like it would be great. When we got there, we looked around lost for about 10 minutes trying to figure out where to change into our swimsuits. There was no locker room or changing area so we just had to change in the bathroom. Everyone else that was swimming had come wearing their swimsuits under their clothes. Then we checked out the pools – they have one huge Olympic size one and one small wading pool. There were about 6 people in the huge one and about 60 in the small one – packed in it like Sardines. We then figured out that both pools were extremely cold, but the smaller one was slightly warmer – I don’t think we let ourselves draw conclusions about why it was warmer J. Ryan dipped his foot in to the big pool and knew that none of us could make it swimming in there so we headed, reluctantly, to the small pool. It was also too cold to get comfortable (even Enoch who loves water had a totally serious get-me-out-of-here look on his face the whole time.). After about 3 minutes when Enoch’s lips started quivering, we all happily got out of the pool and went home. It was a ridiculous venture.

A few weeks ago we started a reward chart for Marta where she earns points for chores and good behavior. Her big reward was swimming at the Hilton and she earned the points to go last Saturday. We had a very nice time and the water was luxuriously warm – it is fed by hot springs – the same hot springs that were the reason for the founding of the city! Anyway, an amazing thing happened. Marta had only been swimming 3 times before our trip home last summer, and so she’s no expert, though she is a quick learner as mentioned before. We were all in the pool, in water that wasn’t deep for her. Suddenly, a girl a little younger than her grabbed her from underwater. Marta pulled her up out of the water, the girl was choking on water, and walked her to the edge of the pool. She rescued someone at the pool! We were so proud of her. She acted like it was no big deal.

Enoch is up to all kinds of hilarious antics and lots of violent outbursts. He is constantly busy – arranging and rearranging things. Right this minute, he is taking pillows from the couch and setting them up around his diaper changing equipment. Recently, he lined up all his cars in row like a parking lot. He is still crazy for cars and recently spotted a shiny, new Mercedes he almost jumped out of my arms to get close to. He loves the kitchen, and sometimes gets extremely upset if we’ll only give him one pot with its lid to play with rather than 2, 3 or 4 pots and their lids. He’ll find things to put in the pots and stir them up like he’s cooking, and he loves to watch the process whenever we’re cooking – stovetop, microwave, oven – no matter the form, he wants to watch. Marta also enjoys cooking and has tried to recreate several recipes she remembers from the orphanage with varying levels of success.

He (and Marta) both love to dance. If music starts playing in a different room, Enoch will drop whatever he is doing and run as fast as he can to the music and start dancing. Even when the ring from Ryan’s cell phone goes off, he can’t help but move. He is always inventing new dance moves and they are really impressive.

He has recently started climbing on everything. We moved to a new house and the previous people left behind a small lightweight stool. That stool became his ticket into everything slightly above his head. He would carry it around and explore the newness of this upper realm – the problem was most of those things weren’t good for him to get into and the stool was so light that it would slide out from under him easily – thus the stool is now far out of his reach. He has learned the beauty of boost, though, and will use pillows, books, toys, anything he can to go beyond his reach. It’s a scary stage. He’s already trying to climb out of his bed now, too.

With this stage comes boo boos, and he is really into explaining his boo boos and punishing whatever object hurt him. If he falls down, he’ll show us where he fell and show us with his hand how hard he hit, saying OWW and pursing his lips while inhaling air to express the pain. If he is banging a toy or swinging it around and he accidently hits himself with it, he’ll hit the toy to punish it.

If things aren’t going his way, he’ll get very angry and throw whatever is near him and then usually bang his head against the sofa or something. We’ve started time out for these tantrums and he really seems to get it now. He makes hilarious faces of disappointment/upset feelings while in time out and then when I come to get him out, he gets really happy.

He is speaking some words in Amharic and some in English, picking and choosing which language’s word he prefers. He understands nearly everything, and it is great to be able to communicate with him now.

Children are such miracles, and we have been so blessed by the way God brought our children into our lives and by the way he has blessed many other people through them. From the beginning of my experience of adoption with Enoch, I have felt that the adoption of a child is an equal miracle to the birth of a child – the feelings were just too enormous and joyful to beat. Now I will know firsthand the two equal miracles because God has given us a third child, who is currently less than an ounce and (prayerfully) growing inside me. That’s right, there was just another big announcement on this blog. (We’re also amazed at how frequently God sends these gifts our wayJ)!

So feel free to share your pregnancy advice, books, morning sickness cures, etc. with me because I’m pretty clueless so far. I have started prenatal vitamins so don’t be concerned about that. The doctor says we’re about 2 months along so due sometime in April.

Thank you for your prayers for us – they are needed and felt. Blessings to you. We pray that God would bless you abundantly and that tomorrow, you would be nearer to him than you are today.

Also please pray for Kirubel, a 4 mo. old orphan boy who has craniosynostosis (what Enoch had) and some other problems with his skull and brain requiring surgery. Doctors in Fort Worth and Dallas along with an Italian adoption agency that does 12 surgeries per year on kids are looking at his case and we hope one of these opportunities will open for him to give him a chance at corrective surgery and life. He is currently in Gladney’s Infant Foster Care in Ethiopia being loved and well taken care of. He has shown great improvement in health and development since he left the orphanage, and we are praying that he continues improving daily and receives the gift of surgery abroad quickly.

And more prayers for the older orphans who were part of the Bright Futures Camp (many were chosen but were unable to go because of a lack of host families) but do not yet have families. They can be seen at achildtolove.org. Click on Int’l. Children, then Ethiopia. Pray that the children will not be overly discouraged and depressed and that God would provide families for each of them. Praise for several kids who did not get to go to camp, but were still found by their forever families!

The work here is great – many wonderful families have come to add many wonderful children to their families. We (Gladney) recently opened a new foster care for older kids (ages 2-11) which we’re very excited about. It is not as big as we need it to be, but it is a start and is helping us learn how to best take care of this age group before growing bigger. The children there are absolute sweethearts and it is fun to have our ‘own’ group of kids to care for. Here they are:


If you have comments for us please email them to us because we can’t read them on the blog (it’s blocked here).

FAMILY OF FOUR

Yesterday we had court here in Ethiopia, and Marta was added to our family- HIP HIP HOORAY! We are all very happy that the process is finished, although it still doesn’t seem real yet. Since she has spent a lot of time here at our house it still seems like just another visit, but we are happy to remember that she is home and we don’t have to take her back to the orphanage any more. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement throughout the process. And for those of you who may be wondering, NO we don’t have any plans to start the process again. We’re not making plans of any kind for more kids – the surprises have just been too great! Lesson learned: Be careful not to miss something extraordinary because it is not in ‘the plans.’

Marta is a dear child, spunky for sure, but as sweet as can be. She is very affectionate – gives great hugs and likes to be close. She has a huge, genuine smile. She is sporty and competitive and seems to be good at everything. She prefers pants and shorts to skirts most of the time, but also likes to be girly and loves pink and purple. She can’t get enough of movies lately – Finding Nemo is the favorite, followed by Curious George. She also loves music – Ethiopian popular and American female pop stars – and is often singing along loudly with headphones on (aka Poor Man’s Karoke). She gets shy with new people, understandably, and doesn’t want to speak Amharic or English, but she seems to be getting more used to meeting new people. And once she knows you, she’s crazy for you!

All four of us will be home in July for Gladney’s Ethiopian Bright Futures Camp. We’ll be flying over with 40+ kiddos who will be hosted by families in the U.S. and who will hopefully find forever families while there (Host families still needed by the way-check out the link). The camp will be a very exciting time for many. We’re also looking forward to time home with family and to introducing Marta to family, Texas and life as we know it in the U.S.

Enoch has made some big changes since I last wrote - - mainly that he is a walking machine now. He started walking on March 16th and about two weeks later he was done with crawling. He can nearly run now, but he still has that really cute ‘toddle’ walk and is still figuring out level and surface changes (concrete to grass- Whoa, buddy!).

He is still a big-time entertainer and has added some pretty cool routines to his repertoire. Upon hearing the first note of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” he will drop what he is doing and start the hand motions. He also loves to give rounds of applause when he is excited about something. A unique feature about life in Ethiopia that he thoroughly enjoys is the daily sightings of sheep herds. He waves his arms and legs wildly and makes all kinds of calling noises at them. He is still so observant, watching and memorizing every process, pushing people out of the way who might be blocking his view. The processes he likes to repeat the most are cleaning – he does a lot of wiping things with any tissue or cloth he finds – and getting food out of the fridge and then going to the drawer with his bowls and spoons and getting everything he needs to eat – even when he doesn’t want to eat at all!

He has a vicious habit of hitting when he hears “no” and he is too tired to deal with it. He also has some jealousy of Marta and she is often the victim of his attacks, but she is very sweet to him (though she does indulge in big sister torment at times) and I think he will learn to appreciate her quickly. Recently she has been working hard on getting him to say her name and kiss her on the cheek.

I recently heard of a couple from our church in Ft. Worth who will be adopting from Ethiopia. We don’t know them personally, but of course are excited for what lies ahead for them. The ‘mom’ is an artist and is selling her art to raise money for the adoption. Beautiful stuff! One painting, called ‘Love is Waiting,’ uses Ethiopian flag colors and is of a sweet little bundled baby. Can’t wait to find out who the real child will be that the painting represents. Go to aworldinvented.net and click on "For Sale."

Blessings to you all!

Love
Ryan, Abby, Marta and Enoch Brown

P.S. We can't check our blog page, we can only post, so if the links aren't working and you have my email, please email and let us know! Thanks! And now . . . more pictures!

Beauty on the Playground

Mother's Day 2007

Handsome Devil

One Year

Hello from Addis Ababa everyone!

This past Sunday (March 11th) marked one year since we met our precious little Enoch. I know you remember that at that time he was 2 months old and weighed just 5 pounds with a lot of growing and a skull surgery ahead of him. Now he is 14 months old, a healthy weight, recovered from the surgery and thriving.

He is standing and wanting badly to walk, but is still using walls, furniture and our hands to get him from place to place. He is always, always moving. Even when he eats, he wants to move all around the room playing and checking things out.

He also loves to dance. Whenever he hears a song he likes he starts bobbing his body up and down. He is developing some new moves – a head-banging thing and he also shakes his head from side to side. One of his favorites is rolling his arms up and now he will stand when he does it. One time, we went to visit the babysitter at her house and she had a radio playing on the floor. Enoch went straight for it, turned up the volume, changed the station to an English one, and started dancing! It was hilarious.

He is very observant. He still loves to watch people doing things – working and other processes. He’ll follow every move with his eyes, stretching around people or things to make sure he gets a full view, and later you’ll see him playing imitating what he saw. His favorite activities to mimic are washing clothes, mopping floors, and especially driving! He gets intensely excited when he gets in a car or sees someone he knows that drives (because he hopes they will take him to their car to play). When he gets in the car, he goes first for the steering wheel, but also spends time trying to work the gear shift, the door and window handles, the horn, the lights, and even the keys – he’s got it all figured out. He also makes a great ‘Vroom Vroom’ sound while he’s steering which he carries over to his play with trucks and cars in his room.

He has very recently started saying Mommy/Mammy to where he seems to be indicating me specifically, so that’s really fun. He also gives great, snuggly hugs and kisses my face which he thinks is so funny.

He is such an extraordinary blessing, and we are so thankful to God for bringing him into our lives (or us into his ☺); for blessing so many family members, friends and strangers; and for leading us to Marta. Praise the Lord, His Works are wonderful.

I would like to tell you about another Henok (the Amharic form of Enoch) now. We met him on our adoption trip last summer and of course he stood out to us because he has the same name as our little guy. We recently discovered, when gathering information for Henok to participate in Gladney’s Bright Futures Camp, that this Henok has amazing parallels to our little Henok, more than just the name.

Henok K. is 11 years old. His exact birthdate is unknown but the best estimate from his orphanage file is January 2nd, the same as Enoch! AND, Henok K. was very recently diagnosed with craniosynostosis, the same condition that Enoch had. The visible signs of the condition are not obvious and as far as we know there have been no problems with his brain’s development, but the doctor says he will require surgery to correct the condition.

Henok is a wonderful kid and has been selected for this year’s Bright Futures Camp. I imagine that of all the many people who were so touched by baby Henok, there may be a family who was being prepared for big Henok to come along. Please pray with us for Henok, that he will find a forever family.

Here is a little more information about him:

Henok is friendly, affectionate, and outgoing. He is in 4th grade and his favorite subject is science. He would like to be a scientist when he grows up. He enjoys reading in his free time. He also loves playing with babies (especially little Henok) and is also very good with his hands. He can often be found repairing or making new creations out of broken toys and electronics. Henok gets along well with the other kids at the orphanage.

God Bless Each of You,

Love,

the Browns

P.S.
In other family news, the adoption for Marta is moving along – all our paperwork is submitted to U.S. Immigration office and we are waiting for their approval. After that, we think the rest of the process will move quickly. Please pray for a speedy approval – we are all so anxious to be together.

The car is doing pretty good – it requires a lot of TLC which usually costs some money – but it is getting us around and we’re very thankful for that.

The new house is good, too. We’re glad to have our own place and the location is nice. Some work remains to be done in the house, so we’re hoping everything will be completed soon. We’re working on buying all the big stuff and the little stuff for the house as we find time, but it is still quite empty.

Okay, here are the pics:







ENOCH AT WORK











Just Looking Cute














Our Beauty

Hello from Afar!

Okay so finally an update. Please forgive us – we’ve had busy days and even on the not –so-busy days have been too exhausted to write and/or had spotty internet connections. Excuses are inadequate, so let me just say sorry.

Anyway, we are here and things are going well!

The best part about being here is getting to know Marta more and spending time with her. When we went to her orphanage the day after we arrived, we told her with Belay that we would like to adopt her and asked her if she wanted that too. She smiled and looked down kind of embarrassedly and softly said yes.

Before we got to Addis, Ryan and I didn’t know when would be the best time to tell Marta we wanted to adopt her since we didn’t know how long the process would take and worried she wouldn’t understand the wait. But shortly before we left the States, a conversation with Belay revealed to us that she might already have a good idea of our intention, and we knew, also from Belay, that she was strongly hoping for the same thing. We left expecting God to show us the right time to tell her, and the time was right away. And because she has observed the waiting process for other kids getting adopted, the wait isn’t puzzling for her.

That doesn’t make the wait fun, though. We’re so ready for her to be with us. It takes us two minibuses and about an hour to get to the children’s home where she lives, but we visit nearly everyday.

It has been wonderful getting to know her. She is very sweet and affectionate, playful but also mature. When we visit her we’re also visiting all of the other kids at the 160+ person children’s home so our time is really divided, but she doesn’t seem to mind sharing us. We look so forward to time as a family, though.

She likes playing with Enoch and also volunteers to help out with feeding him if it’s mealtime when we’re at the children’s home. He likes playing with her, too.

Marta’s birthday is December 28th, and remember Enoch’s is January 2nd, so the Christmas-New Year season will be extra special and celebratory for us!!

As we prepared to come to Addis and adopt Marta we were open to adopting another child at the same time about the same age as Marta, but didn’t know who that child would be. We felt confident that God would make clear who the third child would be if in fact that is what he had for us at this time. We love and enjoy so many kids here – they are the reason why we live here – but so far, we haven’t felt God’s leading toward anyone for #3. It’s hard to write that because we do love them so much, but we’re only interested in following God’s plan, not in controlling circumstances. So right now it looks like we’ll only be adopting Marta, but we remain open to whatever God has.

-----------------------------------------------------
I am sure you all are starved for an Enoch update, so I’ll deliver now. The little prince is growing up fast. – only about two weeks short of 1 year old! He continues to be a blessing to all who meet him and to nearly every stranger in the street. This culture seems to adore babies more than I’ve experienced before – young and old, male and female all go bonkers for babies which is sweet.

He is developing a bit of an attitude as he realizes that he can’t do just anything he wants i.e. topple fruit stands, taste-test trash from the trashcan, chew plastic wrappers off of things, escape out the back door, etc. His toys are much less entertaining these days than all the fascinating objects contained in the kitchen and bathroom, so he keeps us on our toes. His favorite toy to play with now is a ball or anything else that rolls; he still adores dogs (conveniently there is one here at the house where we are staying); and he is captivated by singing (even mine!) – captivated or bobbing up and down to dance along. Such a little entertainer.

The boy has so much potential – I can easily imagine a future for him in entertainment – singing, dancing or comedy; in engineering – he loves to figure out how things work; in ministry –because he is such a blessing and a miracle – the list is endless.

He is standing very well while holding onto things and pulling up on anything and everything, especially my leg when I’m making his meals. He loves playing Peek-a-boo and often initiates the game with us by squatting down to hide himself behind something and popping up. It is the funniest, most adorable thing - - and quite impressive since he’s basically doing squats!

We hired a babysitter recently because taking him everywhere everyday was not working. It takes so long to get around the city that when we go out we’re gone all day and Enoch was not getting good rest during the day – just 30 minute naps here and there. Our babysitter’s name is Buzuye. She is a very sweet young lady, a 22 year old orphan who grew up at Marta’s orphanage, and who acts as a ‘big sister’ to Marta at the orphanage. She and 30 other older orphans are being transitioned out of the orphanage at the end of this month so it was the perfect timing for her to get a job. We are very concerned for the girls who do not yet have jobs because work is extremely difficult to find here. The girls have been trained in a skill, either sewing, computers or hair styling, so with some other concerned people we hope to help them in their transition possibly by helping them to start businesses together.

Please pray for the protection of these girls in this transitional time and how we can help and encourage them effectively.

Work is beautiful. We feel so blessed to be able to do this job and are awed to see glimpses of the huge, beautiful, incredible work God is doing. Two families have come for placement of precious babies since we’ve been here and that was a joy to witness. The families themselves were an encouragement and blessing as well.

Prayer Requests
-For the older orphans transitioning out at the end of this month.
-For loving families for those orphans who, because they are over age 3, have siblings or have special needs, have an extremely slim chance of being adopted.
-For relationships with the older orphans and the orphanage staff to build trust and deepen.
-For us to be disciplined in study and develop in the Amharic language quickly (to communicate well with our daughter and help aforementioned relationships build).
-For Gladney families currently in the adoption process – for peace and perseverance as they await and anticipate uniting with their children – and for quick and smooth processes for them.
-For the children waiting for those families – infants to 11 year olds – health, peace, security, safety, preparedness, perseverance.
-For families considering adoption to know God’s direction clearly and to trust it, not fearing the ‘What Ifs.’

-For Marta’s adoption to be completed quickly and smoothly and for God to continue to prepare both us and her to be family.
-For a continually stronger marriage and wisdom in parenting.
-For our health.
-For Enoch’s and Marta’s protection, spiritual understanding and growth, and assurance of our unconditional love.

Thank you all for so much love, encouragement and support (and patience for this update)!

Nothin' but good news!

We had another checkup at the neurosurgeon's office today and all looks good! Enoch certainly doesn't show any evidence of a baby who went through major surgery less than three months ago - he is just as busy and happy and good-natured as a baby can be. He has gotten very agile and quick in his crawling maneuvers and makes sure to practice standing every day.



















He is so sweet and so funny and our hearts just can't get enough of the joy he brings. His sleeping patterns seem to be changing, so we've had some rough bedtimes lately, but I'm sure it'll all straighten out soon. He's got 7 teeth now!! The last 5 all came in in the last month. Luckily, they didn't bother him too much - he was just really droolly :)


We are thinking about Marta and sweetie #3 all the time. We are getting all of our adoption paperwork together to take with us when we move but won't be able to file it until we do our homestudy, which we hope to do in January after we've settled into life there a bit. We don't know what the time frame will look like for the girls' adoption, but we just trust God with every bit of it. #3 is still unidentified ~ We will wait on the Lord to see who His plan holds. We excitedly anticipate seeing what He will reveal and fully expect it to be beyond our imaginations! Much more news on the girls in the future. I am sure a whole new story of miracles awaits us.

Our move to Ethiopia is coming up in about a week, November 9th. It feels crazy and unreal that it is so soon, but when we imagine being there - seeing Marta and the other kids we met before and starting the work we are so excited about - it is thrilling. I know, though, that there will be a lot of adjustments to make that could be stressful so please pray for:
- our humility;
- dependence on God;
- patience with each other;
- and for us to adjust to any circumstantial changes in caring for Enoch

Also, for the big picture:
- please pray that we will have many opportunities to share the Hope that we have, the Hope that never fails or fades;
-that through awareness, many families will experience the miracle of adoption and many children (orphans worldwide) will find the love of families;
- that we would daily remain open to God's leading, following His way and not our own;
- and even bigger -- that God would heal the country of Ethiopia!!!!


Alrighty, I've got some great pics for ya:

We took a trip out to New Mexico recently to visit my parents' old west saloon in Billy the Kid (and Smokey the Bear) country.






































In a schoolhouse built in 1895.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may remember a blog where I, amazed at the strength with which Enoch overcame obstacle after obstacle, suggested that he may be Superman. Well, Halloween found him playing the part! Dun-da-da-dun!











I think he was about to try flying off the couch!































Even superheroes have got to eat!

He's Crawling!

Last week was full of big changes for Enoch! On Monday, Oct. 2nd, he reached the nine month mark and one of his two front top teeth broke through (the other follows closely behind). Then on Thursday, he was suddenly able to move himself across the room going forward. He did a very cute little army crawl with his elbows and knees pushing him along. Little did we know that army crawl would change into a full crawl the very next day! It was amazing to see how fast those changes took place - I mean, he has been working on moving for months, but then all of the sudden with little transition, he could just do it.


The Littlest Pumpkin -- sometimes I like to call him Pumpkin Pie!

Big News!

Hello Everyone!

Please allow me to blame the gap in postings on significant changes developing in our family. I'll try, now, to make up for it with full disclosure of everything that's happening and pictures!

First, Enoch is doing great. Happy, happy and working hard to crawl. He can slide backwards and move himself around in a circle quite well! Also, yesterday Ryan discovered that his two front teeth are starting to come through!

He talks alot including da-da and is just such a little entertainer. He loves toys that make sounds, and he can't help but bounce his little body up and down when a toy plays music.

He still eats very well, evidenced by his cuddly cushiness, and has been VERY interested in everything that we eat. Ice Cream is his favorite, but he has been happy to try small samples of grapes, noodles, beans, crackers, chocolate and all the other stuff Ryan secretly sneaks into his mouth :)

Alright, now onto some bigger announcements:

The short story is GOD IS LEADING US TO ADOPT TWO MORE CHILDREN AND MOVE TO ETHIOPIA TO WORK WITH ORPHANS. WHOA! Okay, I know that was two big bombs (bombs of blessing), but I'll try here to show you how this has been building, one block on top of another, for the past year and a half (at least).

When we returned from teaching in Russia in May 2005, we knew our next ‘mission’ would be longer term and that we would transition to another kind of work. We knew we would be overseas again, and we were open to going anywhere in the world. At first we thought it was an agricultural internship and were all set to go but then dear Enoch came along, and we had to postpone the internship. It looks now like that plan was a tool of God's timing so we would be here when Enoch arrived.

Once we knew Enoch was going to be our son we started throwing around the idea of going to work in Ethiopia so at least one of the three of us wouldn't have to be a stranger in a foreign country:). While we were in Ethiopia for Enoch's adoption we got a definite sense that it could be where we end up - the place for long term work.

We loved meeting and talking and playing with the older orphans (ages 3-20) and saw endless potential in the ways we can offer hope and help improve their lives. We fell in love with their smiles, laughs, hopeful eyes, their hugs and hand-holding. But, we also saw children with nothing to do all day, children desperate to connect, and children on their way to losing hope. We heard about the dim and sometimes tragic futures of kids as they get older and older without the love of families to ground them.

While there, we also felt that we were meant to adopt some of these older children. I was less certain than Ryan that the time was now, but he is a man of great faith, and one nine year old girl there seems to own that same faith. Her name is Marta and from the first day we met her, Ryan knew there was something special about her, a special connection that to me, from the outside, looks like God told her that we were supposed to be her parents. We want to adopt two girls about the same age so they have a support system, a partner to relate to and weather the transition and challenges ahead. We considered the one or two decision heavily and feel like God is in the business of doing the things man thinks impossible - so we're trusting him completely and going for it!

So three kids in one year - - I'm glad they're not all babies! Whew! Just like in the beginning with Enoch when it was overwhelming to think of becoming parents instantly, this decision was overwhelming. But now we're ready and our excitement builds hourly!!!

When we returned home from Ethiopia, we started planning a trip back to 1) adopt and 2) determine whether our future work would be there. Immediately things started coming together really easily.

First, an American guy who owns a house in Addis (he lives in Addis on and off throughout the year and frequently has guests stay at his house) agreed to let us stay there for free in exchange for caring for his guests while they are there. And second, we got a job with Gladney working with orphans and adoptive parents! Just before we got the job with Gladney, we had decided that God was leading us more and more toward work with orphans and away from the agricultural internship. When we notified the agricultural organization, they understood the situation and were excited for our plans.

The job with Gladney is a dream job - we can hardly believe it's real! Our job will be assisting Belay in taking care of adoptive families, keeping adoptive families updated on their children while the families are still waiting to travel, raising awareness about children who need families via articles and a blog, teaching English to orphans and other fun stuff like that.

We'll be employed with Gladney so we're not technically missionaries but our heart for these children comes directly from God; our first hope for them is that they would find hope in their Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ; and we are committed to depending on God's wisdom and strength for every moment of work that we do. We are amazed and completely thrilled at the work He has given us to do.

We move to Ethiopia and start our new job November 9th. Our assignment is indefinite, but we will be back within a year to introduce our new family members! We have already started the paperwork for the adoptions and will be crazy busy getting all that and everything else together in under 2 months before we go!

Obviously prayers are needed.

We ask for your prayers for:
us to continue devoting daily time to our personal relationships with God;
us to continue to wait on Him and listen for His voice;
our dependence on God for and in all things
Enoch's recovery to continue to go well
to prepare us to parent 'the girls'
to prepare 'the girls'
us to make a smooth transition into the work there
us to make a smooth transition into life there
this list could go on forever but those are the biggies - thank you.

John 10:27 Jesus speaking:"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me."

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the big gap in postings, but Enoch is doing great. Happy, happy and working hard to crawl. He can slide backwards and move himself around in a circle quite well! Also, yesterday Ryan discovered that his top two front teeth are starting to come through!

He talks alot including da-da and is just such a little entertainer. He loves toys that make sounds, and he can't help but bounce his little body up and down when a toy plays music.

He still eats very well, evidenced by his cuddly cushiness, and has been VERY interested in everything that we eat. Ice Cream is his favorite, but he has been happy to try small samples of grapes, noodles, beans, crackers, chocolate and all the other stuff Ryan secretly sneaks into his mouth :)

Missions background

Many of you know our background, but for those of you who do not, let me get you up to date. While we were in college, Ryan and I both felt a call to overseas Christian work. Before we were married, we committed to go together after we had been married for awhile.

'Awhile' turned out to be about a year and we spent our first anniversary at a training to become English teachers in China. After having spent the first year of our marriage close to family it was difficult for me to leave, so I told myself we'd be gone 'just one year.' One year turned into two, and we were blessed with many amazing experiences and very special friendships with students and other friends, though the experience had its trials, too.

After the second year, we felt called home and I was happy to be returning to normal life. Then after just a few months home, we heard about an urgent need for an English teacher in Russia, and Ryan felt sure that we were supposed to go. I had a very difficult time accepting this because I had set my heart on being home. Things didn't get much easier once we arrived in Russia, it was a difficult assignment for us, but I prayed and trusted God to show me why he brought us there. Through studying Scripture and teachings at church, God showed me, while still in Russia, that I had not fully yielded my life to Him. I held onto plans I had been making for myself since I was a child, and though I was yielding 'just one year' here and another year there, I had not given control of my whole life over to God. As a result I was miserable following his plans for me because I was too worried about how my needs/wants were going to be met. I wrote down all the things I was holding onto and gave them over to God's control, and it was freeing.

Colossians 3:1-3 "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
One of the things I wrote down was having children. I had to accept that I didn't know if God's plan for me included children ( and trust that God would provide for that desire in some way.

Bright Futures Camp!!!

Hey all you Enoch lovers!

Check out what's going on with some other Ethiopian orphans who are staying with host families in New York right now for Gladney's Bright Futures Camp!

www.xanga.com/BFCEthiopia

Hello All!

Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated, but I hope you all rested assured that 'no news is good news." It's true - Enoch is doing great, recovering beautifully. We had follow-up appointments with both surgeons today and they both said he is looking good and healing well. His incision is coming together very well and some of the stitches are starting to work themselves out - the stitches will not need to be taken out, they will come out on their own. Enoch does still have some swelling in his forehead, above his nose and over his eyes, but it will continue to go down with time.

He is feeling good, is not needing any medication, and is back to his smiley self. He is also back to his good sleepin' self which is nice for his parents.

He is growing up fast, though. He was 17.2 lbs and 25 in. today, and he'll be 8 months on Saturday. Recently, he has been sitting in a high chair at restaurants and in the kid's seat in the grocery cart (instead of in his infant carrier). He has enjoyed the new perspective - the power position of sitting up - which is great because I think I have reached the limit of my strength with that infant carrier.

Okay, now finally what you've all been waiting for:

New Pictures!!!!

Home from the Hospital!

Hey all!!

We were discharged from the hospital yesterday morning. Once they were able to take the breathing tube out (extubate him) on Saturday, Enoch just got better and better by the hour. He had to stay in ICU for 24 hours following extubation and just did splendidly during that watch period. We moved to a regular hospital room Sunday morning and at 7:30 Monday morning, they told us we were ready to go home! They decide that based on if the swelling is down enough for his eyes to open, if there is no sign of infection, and if he is eating well. Check, check, check, our guy is doing great!

He smiled for the first time since surgery on Sunday night and since we've been home he's been smiling more and more. Can't tell you how great it was to see his smile after 3 1/2 days without it. He has been getting back to his old self playing with toys, smiling and laughing but he has more crying spells than he used to which I'm sure are the result of some lasting discomfort. He still has some swelling in his forehead and around his eyes. Also, yesterday and last night he did not sleep much - don't know what to make of that, but hope it doesn't last long. He was up four times during the night last night!!

But altogether soooo good for just 5 days out!

We can't thank you enough for your prayers.

Love, the Browns

How to say...

Some people have asked about the pronunciation of Enoch (EE-nawk), so we thought we would help everyone out with this link. ENOCH

Just click on ENOCH and it will take you to a website with a wav file so that you can hear the pronunciation.

Post-Op Update

Hello everybody!! I am happy to be writing to you – to be connecting with you – because I feel pretty disconnected, and I know you are all thinking of us often and wanting to know how our little prince is doing. I am also very happy because I have good news to report!

The surgery went well and the doctors are pleased with how he is doing. His forehead looks fabulously smooth, though he is still swollen which is normal. We have been in ICU since the surgery ended and will be here until tomorrow, Sunday, at least.

They say his recovery has been going fine but the road has been a little rougher than these recoveries often go, though they say nothing uncommon has occurred - - does that make sense? The biggest deal was that he had to have a breathing tube until this morning (Saturday) because his airway was too swollen for him to breathe well. Many kids are able to do without the tube right after surgery, but the doctor said 1 in 5 or 6 need it afterwards. The need for the tube may have been a result of him needing a significant blood transfusion (significant? – I’m having trouble finding words with all this medical talk☺) during the surgery which caused extra swelling/buildup of fluid – transfusions are expected but his was larger than most cases. They didn’t give us any reason for that –just the way it goes sometimes.

His airway was far from the only thing swollen – his face and neck were extremely puffy, especially his eyes which were swollen shut. He also had fever, peaking at 104 degrees, all of Thursday and Friday which was disconcerting. Because of the breathing tube, they kept him sedated and on pain medication around the clock, so it was pretty difficult to realize that our precious boy was under that post-op mask of swelling and medication. Our relief came when he would start to wake up between doses and do all his familiar little hand and leg movements. - - and when we would look at his adorable little nose which was not subject to any swelling.

Thursday and Friday were extremely tough – Thursday, first because of the agonizing wait during surgery and then afterwards, dealing with the fact that things were not going to be sailing as smoothly as we’re used to with him (because of the breathing tube and fever). Friday because of the disappointment of still not being able to take out the breathing tube or leave ICU and because he was trying to wake up a lot but had to be continually sedated.

Now, as I sit here Saturday night trying to write about Thursday and Friday, I have difficulty remembering all of the struggles because today, Saturday, has been full of positives! Warning: You are about to get bombarded with exclamation points.

-When we woke up this morning, his swelling had decreased significantly and his temperature was normal!
-Later in the morning, they removed the breathing tube, and he breathed on his own with no complications!
-After lunch, they started removing some of the lines they were using to monitor him – by dinnertime they were all gone!
-Midafternoon, we got to hold our precious boy!! What a Moment!!!!! A reminder of what a gift he is to us.
-Throughout the day, a steady stream of beloved visitors and a steady decline in Enoch’s swelling.
-Late afternoon, we got to feed him a bottle!! It was soooo wonderful to get back to doing normal stuff.
-And best of the day, on the second bottle, he opened his eyes – bright little slits under puffy lids - and looked around!!!!!!!!!!! His Aunt Ashley and Uncle Matthew and Scott and Monica were visiting and I sat him up to see who was there. Ryan came near us, and Enoch looked at his face and reached out his hand to touch his cheek. Enoch then turned to me and reached at my lips. Treasured moments - to know he knows we’re there.

He loved having his bottle – we all know what a good eater he is! They started him with just 3 ounces since he hadn’t taken anything by mouth since Wednesday – worried it might come back up. But he took it fine, didn’t lose it, and actually went to sleep and was content with it for a good while. They let him take 6 ounces after that and were a little nervous that it might be too much – but our boy handled it fine ☺

All indicators show that we will get to move out of ICU into a regular room tomorrow (Sunday).

We have been so fortunate to have the same nurses the whole time we’ve been here – two working during the day and one working through the night. They have taken such good care of Enoch and of us, and we have gotten so comfortable with them.

Our doctors have also been very nice, especially our anesthesiologist. He came in and talked with us before the surgery, asking us about Enoch’s adoption and his name. From our responses, he praised God’s sovereign hand in the intricate details of creation and God’s personal nature in the way he blesses his people.

He then told us a story he heard T.D. Jakes tell about Enoch in the Bible. The story described the way Jakes saw Enoch’s relationship with God and his taking up into heaven. He said it was like God and Enoch were very good friends taking a walk. They started out at Enoch’s house and walked and walked getting to know each other more and more closely. As they got to know each other more and more, they got closer and closer to God’s house, and when they approached God’s house they just decided Enoch should go in to stay.

If that story was hard to get, check out what is written about Enoch in the Bible in Genesis 5:21-24 and Hebrews 11:5-6.

The doctor then prayed for Enoch and us and the surgery. The whole conversation was so calming to us. We love that guy!! He also came to visit us on Friday and reassure us about the breathing tube and how the surgery went.

Again, we are endlessly grateful for your thoughts, love and prayers on Enoch’s and our behalf. You have carried us and poured many blessings into our lives. We trust God and give him glory in every circumstance. Praise Him alone for his protection of our son.

Please continue to pray for Enoch’s comfort and success in recovery and healing.

Also, by the way, we had a court ceremony to finalize the adoption under Texas law on Wednesday, August 9th. It was a special time. We got to stand before the Judge with all of our family and friends who were able to attend and testify to our love and willingness to care for Enoch as our son for life. Yes, there were lots of warm fuzzies. Afterward we took pictures, and the Judge, holding Enoch, naturally fell under the spell of his irresistible charms.

Good News! Ryan got a job!! He is working as a server at Cheddar's Restaurant in Arlington, and is off to a great start. Thank you for your prayers for us in this area - the job came last Monday - quickly as we had asked. Sorry for not sharing the praise with you sooner :(

Enoch is doing so many new, exciting, big boy things since we got home. All of the sudden he started rolling from his back to his tummy to play with things. He is getting stronger and stronger, sitting up straighter, pushing up with his arms and really wanting to move! He has also had some cute new talking noises, starting to use the letter 'd'. He is eating the first stage of baby food and developing in that area well - he loves to hold the spoon!! He continues to be so sweet, smiley and add so much joy to our days.







Texas Boy with Grandmommy!










A Smile as Big as Texas!
















Baby Brown












His surgery is just around the corner on August 10th. We know God will hold Enoch in His hands through this as He has throughout his life thus far. We ask for your prayers for the doctors, for me (mommy) to feel peace and trust during the surgery, for a successful surgery with no complications, and a recovery that is easy on our little one. I hate to think of him hurting, scared, sad or confused in the recovery time. I feel like I don't know much about the recovery, but will hopefully find out more at the pre-op drs. appointments. What I do know/remember from the first drs. appointments: The average hospital stay for this surgery is 5 days with the first night in ICU. We were told to expect his face to swell after the surgery, and for it to be the worst on the 3rd day. It will be hard to see him looking like he is hurting, but I just hope he doesn't feel bad. The doctor said the kids are usually very resilient.

Anyway, we know there are so many of you praying for our precious boy, even many who we do not know. We feel the blessing of those prayers and we are so grateful. Thank you, thank you!

Homecoming

We've made it home!! We were busy wrapping things up until after the close of business the day we left, but everything that needed to happen happened - not a moment early, but our expectations were correctly set, and so we had no worries.

We enjoyed our time in Addis so much and are already anticipating when we will return.

Snapshots of our trip:







The Boys and a View of Addis











The Countryside













In a thatched roof home












Ryan and our Ethiopian brother, Abiy.











Reunion at Hennock's orphanage.











Tipping the scales at his in-country check up.



















Bundled Baby



















A Few New Friends









Sweet sisters mentioned in the previous post.








We are all adjusting to the time change very well and are preparing to settle here for the short term. We will benefit from your prayers for:
us to be good parents;
a quick job search for Ryan; and
for clarity for our next step.

Thank you for so much love and support. You bless us immensely!

Ryan, Abby and Enoch Brown

Update from Addis II

Hello Again!

We are happy to write and announce that we are officially mommy and daddy to our precious Enoch!!

The process was slow getting started because our court date was postponed one week, but we were approved by the court on Wednesday the 5th, and things went quickly from there.

Thursday, the 6th, all the paperwork was finished and Gladney's lawyer here, Dr. Tillahun, congratulated us on being mother and father. At that time, we found out that Enoch's birthday was determined from the police and hospital records to be January 2, 2006! Our little January baby - we're so excited to have a definite date - can't wait to celebrate :) !

We spent the rest of the day getting a birth certificate and passport for him which were long and complicated processes, but which I found so exciting. Your prayers for a smooth process were answered - we met several hurdles but got over them quickly without trouble to speak of. Enoch was a big help because Ethiopians will allow you to go to the front of lines if you have a baby, Belay is a master at finding the right person to talk to when you get stuck, and God's grace covered it all. Praise Him for extreme graciousness. I was really sick to my stomach the entire day (from something I ate, I guess), but nothing could take away from the wonderful things that were taking place to make us a family. I will treasure the day!

All that is left to do is to turn all the paperwork in to the American Embassy which we'll do on Monday.

He has continued to be a perfect angel - cheerful and very patient through 10 million errands - and everyone he's met here has fallen in love with him just as we all have. He had to have blood taken today for a blood test, and he smiled and enjoyed the company of the nurses throughout the process - no tears . . . he might be Superman.

Sorry there are no pictures. We have dial-up here, shared with others, so it would take too long. We'll make up for it when we get home.

We'll be home next Wednesday. I can't tell you how fast time has gone since we've been here, though it does seem like ages since we've seen and talked to all of you. We three Browns will be happy to see you and rejoice with you at the completion of this phase of the miracle of Enoch.

I would like to ask for your prayers for a sweet, 17-year old orphan girl that has received a full scholarship to attend a Catholic high school in New York this fall. Please pray that she will be able to get a visa to come to the U.S. when she applies at the American Embassy next week.

Please also pray for the older orphans here and around the world. It is extremely difficult for kids older than three to be adopted, but of course they need the love of families! We have gotten to spend a lot of time with the older kids and just adore them, so get ready to hear about them when we get home. They are so fun, loving and lovable.

Ciao! (as they say here because of the heavy Italian influence)

Update from Addis I

We are here and doing fine!! Sorry for so many days without word, but everything has gone very well so far.

I guess we can say we have moved into phase II of the amazing blessing of Hennock with our arrival in Ethiopia.

The craziness of getting Hennock's ticket wasn't resolved until the day of departure from Washington D.C. We had tried to get his ticket arranged in advance but it just didn't happen, so we had to go to the Ethiopian Air office in D.C. at 6 am the morning of our flight to buy it. (He didn't need a seat, but on international flights you have to buy a discounted ticket for infants). It was a bit stressful to not have his ticket guaranteed, but it turned out to be no problem to buy it at check in.

The only other little bump was that we thought we would pick up our checked bags for our overnight in D.C. and packed accordingly, but after waiting for the bags for over 30 minutes, we discovered that they had been checked through all the way to Addis! We didn't think they stored your bags when you had an overnight layover. Anyway it turned out to be fine. We had the essentials except for enough diapers, which we were able to buy.

We weren't able to get out and see the monuments in D.C. which was disappointing, but we did get to see one of my friends who lives there that I haven't seen since our wedding, so that was great!

The flight went very smoothly - Hennock was his normal, happy little self and didn't have any trouble on either flight with his ears or the confinement or anything. I was amazed that he was able to tolerate so much - his easy-going character runs deep.

A big help for Ryan and I on the international flight was a bassinet provided by the airline that hooked into the wall in front of our seats so we could put him down when he went to sleep. We joked that we were in the nursery of the plane because there were two other babies in our row.

We were happy to have direct flights, but before we left I wondered if we might want layovers to stretch out some. Now after doing it, it seems that direct is definitely the way to go, much less tiring than a bunch of layovers, even though Ryan and I didn't sleep much more than an hour each.

When we arrived in Addis Ababa we were met by Belay, Scott & Monica (who arrived 10 hours earlier), and Abiy who works for Belay and who Scott and Monica unofficially adopted on their last trip. Abiy is 28 years old, and a great addition to the family!

First impressions of the city were pleasant weather - cloudy and cool- and beautiful trees and hills all around. Many things we've seen on our drives around town - the shops, the herds of animals, the fruits and vegetables for sale on the street, the way people dress - remind us of China, especially the smaller city we lived in. The association is comforting, but at the same time I don't want to compare them too much, overlooking the contrasts and thereby learning less about the uniqueness of this place and these people which have become so important to us.

From the airport, there was no rest for the weary :). We went straight to lunch at Belay's favorite restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and then to Hennock's orphanage! His reception by the caretakers was very sweet. All of them came up to him, looked at the child unrecognizable from the last time they saw him, and kissed him and praised God for what He had done. Some, from far away, saw him and said, "Hennock? Hennock?" and quickly made their way to see him. Hennock was excited to see their happiness and gave them big, sweet smiles. The children in the orphanage were happy to see him too and adored him with kisses and soft touches on his cheeks.

We stood on the porch with a group of caretakers and orphans, and one caretaker talked for awhile about the miracle God had done for Hennock and said, "If God could save Hennock, He can do anything!" Then she started telling us about three sisters, who were among the group standing with us. They are beautiful, shy girls, but teenagers, and therefore very unlikely to be adopted, especially together. But the caretaker expressed hope for them and faith that God could work that miracle, too, and that we were there this time to help these girls. I share completely in that hope and faith, and I am so thankful for the advocates these children have in their caretakers and in the people working for Gladney. I'm happy to be among their advocates now, too.

Then we played with some of the kids. Two young girls were taken with looking first at my hands then at my arms, then my ring and watch and glasses and hair. They smiled sweetly and giggled as they pointed out some things of interest on my arms (like blue veins) to the young boys standing nearby. Ryan came over then and they thought it was pretty funny that we both had rings on our left hands, glasses and watches. Several of them tried on our glasses and watches. One little girl, about three, attached herself to Ryan's leg and played with him for most of the time we were there.

We got big news from Belay that day. The date of the police report, the day that Hennock was found, was January 4th! That means that he is younger than we originally estimated, probably just under 6 months now. That means he was probably two months when he arrived, not three. Kinda crazy to adjust those estimates we've said a hundred times, but it's fun to have our baby back - he was just growing so fast!! Hee hee!

Sunday
We went to an international church, a Chinese restaurant for lunch, and then over to Belay's to hang out. They had quite a few visitors because their friends are still coming around to congratulate them for their 2 month old son, Kidus. It was a very nice, relaxed time and Ryan and I got to experience our first coffee ceremony ---
Did you know coffee was discovered in Ethiopia?----- It's a pretty grand ceremony with a great result! We also had some wonderful bread - the biggest loaf we've ever seen, a delicious pastry/cake thing, and some popcorn. We got some cute pictures of Hennock and Kidus together - we know they'll grow up to be great friends!

We got to read the police report at Belay's which was a special moment. He was found at 9 a.m. in the general area of where we are staying. That's pretty wild because it is a really large city and not much else has been close to where we're staying.

Monday
One highlight of this day was machiattos at the Ethiopian equivalent of Starbucks which additionally has the Sonic feature of carhops! Ryan and I are not huge coffee fans but we find these machiattos to be delightful!

Another highlight was dinner with Belay's wife's (Honey) sister and her husband. They are very warm, fun, welcoming and easy to talk with. They made a ton of good Ethiopian food. After dinner, we just hung out and talked. Hennock and I spent a lot of time upstairs with Honey and Kidus and some other ladies talking about new motherhood.

Our court date was scheduled for tomorrow. This is the first step of the adoption process and the court dates only come up on Wednesdays. The court is moving locations and our date has been delayed a week. That should make the timing interesting, but we're not worried about it. We're going to the court and the embassy tomorrow anyway to tell them about the situation and see if they can do anything to get things started so the process will be finished by the time we have to leave.

Today, Ryan, Hennock and I took a walk around the area where we're staying. We'd only driven around before which was a pretty disconnected feeling so it was good to get out and be closer to the reality of this place. Most people smiled and waved when we did, and we talked with a few different groups of people. Hennock is adored here the same as he is at home. We thought he wouldn't stand out quite as much as being so cute here, but he does!

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for us. Things are going great!

And we're off!

Our travel date has arrived - We're leaving today!! Today we take a flight to Washington D.C. and spend the night to catch a Thursday morning flight to Ethiopia. We're glad for the short 'practice' flight to hopefully learn anything about traveling with a baby we might need to know for the long flight (16 hours straight - no layover).

We are very excited and ready. We can't imagine what our time will be like there, but feel content to just show up and discover what God will do.

Prayer Requests as we go:
For no stress/right attitudes as we travel.
For us to have no trouble picking up Enoch's ticket from D.C. to Addis.
For the adoption finalization process to go smoothly in Addis Ababa.
For us to be sensitive to anything/everything God wants to show us during our time in Ethiopia.
For wisdom.

Not an exhaustive list, but all I could get out in the minutes before we head off. Thank you all for your prayers and love for us. We'll see you in 3 weeks!

We Have Tickets!!

Lots of big news in this post!

We have our tickets to travel to Ethiopia!! It was a BEAR to get them because many of the flights were sold out, the prices were really high, and on and on, but we ended up getting some. Thank you for your prayers for that. We will leave on June 21st (less than 2 weeks!) to go to Washington D.C., then we'll fly out of Washington D.C. on the morning of the 22nd and be on our way to Ethiopia. We'll stay nearly three weeks, returning on July 11th with a brand new Brown!

Our check-up appointment with the pediatrician came (at long last) yesterday. Hennock weighed in at 13 pounds!! The doctor and her staff were thrilled with how healthy and chunky he is these days, and from here, they'll be treating him like a normal, healthy baby - we won't go back again until his 9-month checkup in September. So that is wonderful news.

The doctor reduced his calories to the normal amount, and she okayed Stage 1 baby foods! Ryan and I rushed out and bought him one of every flavor of the stage 1s, and this morning Hennock had his first baby food meal of butternut squash. He didn't each much of it in the morning, but when I brought it out again at lunchtime, he took and swallowed a good number of bites.

The doctor saw his bottom teeth trying to break through, and said we would probably see them in the next month!

All these big moments seem to come so quickly.

We're lovin' every minute!

A physical therapist came today to help us with some exercises to help catch him up in neck and back strength and get him acclimated to the motions for sitting and crawling. The little guy is working hard and definitely wants to move - wants to run, in fact - so we know a little time is all he needs to be able to slip right out of our hands.

More NEWS

The past couple of weeks we have been trying to work out the logistics for the timing of our trip to Ethiopia, Hennock's surgery, and the start of Ryan's internship. It was all pretty overwhelming, and we were forced to consider some yucky options (like being apart for a month), but God has brought about a blessing of a resolution. Have you noticed how good He is at doing that?

ECHO (the organization Ryan's internship is with) called last week and offered the option of Ryan postponing his internship until March 2007 and after considering it, we have decided that is the best thing to do. So, all you Hennock admirers, REJOICE for he'll be around a little longer. I do want confessions, though, from the sneaky among you who prayed for this resolution rather than for the adoption to be finalized before the internship. Ha Ha! - Just kidding ;)

So now we hope for your prayers for our extended time here. We won't pretend to know exactly what God has planned for it, but so far we plan for Ryan to find a job for the remaining time and to find an inexpensive place to live.

Hennock is still Mister Happy All the Time and now holds the additional title of Mister Strong Neck :)

Thank you all for your love and care for all three of us. The following is a Bible verse from a card we received that, I feel, couldn't be more fitting:

"This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous to see!" PSALM 118:23 The Living Bible

On a side note, check out our baby carrier, The Ultimate Baby Wrap. Though he's not giving it away in this pic, we both adore it!! Isn't he the cutest bundle?

Newsflash : The surgery has been scheduled!

for August 10th!

I am so happy to finally have an answer for this important question so often asked by all of our 'followers.'

We are happy with the date and look forward to having the surgery complete and for a more normal kind of life to begin (and by normal, I mean as normal as our lives are capable of being :).

The adoption process is still moving along fine, and it looks like we'll be traveling to make things official at the beginning of July. We are working on plane tickets but don't have them yet, so that last piece of the timing puzzle still needs to be set. Unfortunately, it is the high season for travel to Ethiopia so the prices are steep, but we expect to have tickets very soon ~ so exciting!
- - -

How blessed we will be when we can call him our son and give him our name. We use the name Enoch when we speak to him or about him, but in my heart, I have reserved using it in any official way because I cherish the significance our adoption day will hold (even though we've had the great privilege of knowing him during the months of the process). Know that the day our adoption is complete will not be merely a formality, but an honor.

After all, he is a prince of Ethiopia. :)















And I feel compelled to let you know there are 4.5 million more (in Ethiopia alone) like him in need of families.

For those of you remembering us in your prayers, we are thankful for you and ask for God's continued blessing on this process.

Our first Mothers Day!







Well things moved slower through CIS (Customs and Immigration, the U.S. gov’t side of things) than we had hoped they would, but WE HAVE BEEN APPROVED by them now and our paperwork will move on to the Ethiopian side! It is great news to have that approval, and finalization feels so much closer!

Belay estimates about 3 weeks from this point before we can travel to Ethiopia to finalize, so unfortunately, the timing of the adoption and internship is not working out the way we hoped. But, we’re staying calm. We know it will work out fine and are just waiting for it to sort itself out. We’ll let you know when the situation is clearer.

The results from Hennock’s last blood work show that he continues to thrive excellently and that his electrolyte levels are normal now. That means he no longer has to have calcium and magnesium supplements, and the doctor reduced his calories to 22 from 24. He has not been back to the doctor and therefore has not been weighed since the last entry, but we guess he is at least 12 pounds. He is looking so big and has definitely felt heavier in the last week.


The doctor also okayed him to start eating baby cereal, so last night, we opened the door to solid foods! He seemed a little stunned by the first bite but was very accepting of the new food. Feeding him solids and getting him used to the spoon feels like very unfamiliar territory, but I guess we’ll both learn quick enough.

Today, we had a doctor’s appointment with the plastic surgeon who will perform the second part of Hennock’s surgery (First, the neurosurgeon goes in and fixes the skull, then a plastic surgeon makes everything look the way it should). He was very nice and showed us recovery pictures of another baby who had the same surgery. There is a lot of swelling, so it is good to be prepared for it. It will be sad to see him looking like he is hurting, but the surgeon talked about how resilient and tolerant the children are during recovery. I am thankful that he is too young to be afraid.

We should have a surgery date in the next few days when the two doctors can find a date that works for both of their schedules. The doctor today said he thought it would probably be in July.

The sweet little prince is sleeping through the night with much more consistency, is gaining neck strength daily, and is still such a happy little guy.

For prayer, we ask to see God’s hand in the craziness of this timing, and continue to trust Him and rely on Him for all things. I also ask for prayer for Ryan and I to be purposeful and prayerful parents who teach our son, above all else, to trust in the Lord.

We've got a 10-pounder now!!! Hennock continues to grow at a marvelous rate and bring us sooo much joy. He has been here 8 weeks today, and has doubled his weight. When we look at the pictures of him in the hospital, we can't believe how small and ill he looks because he has always looked perfectly beautiful to us.

The doctor is very pleased with his progress and said he is on track to be in normal weight range by 7-8 months (He is about 5 months now). That is remarkable to me, to think he could catch up so quickly, but it is happening before our eyes.

Last weekend, Hennock visited the famous Fort Worth Zoo to add another notch in his tourist belt, and this time he stayed awake!:



Our adoption paperwork is in the hands of the U.S. government, and we hope to know next week a good estimate of when we can travel to Ethiopia to complete the adoption. Thank you to so many of you who are praying for us. Please pray for all of the remaining paperwork to go smoothly and quickly. Sorry if we seem impatient, but our move to Florida awaits. Please pray also for our preparations to move and for good time with family and friends before the move.

We had a new miracle this week: Back in November, I was visiting a family member in the hospital and fainted, breaking my tooth and cutting my lip. Since I was already at the hospital they took me over to the ER and I had to get a few stitches. Anyway, that resulted in a sizable bill for which we applied for financial assistance from the hospital because we didn't have insurance. We've been waiting for months to find out if our application would be approved, and this week we found out that it was - our entire debt was forgiven!! This makes paying for the adoption much more manageable for us.

God continues to awe us by taking care of every detail of this amazing blessing. I have to say again (I haven't said it in awhile) that everything happening with Hennock is God's work. It is absolutely NOT a series of kind things kind people are doing for a cute baby, but the work of a majestic, purposeful, and loving Heavenly Father. It makes me wonder what other miraculous stories He is unfolding in others' lives. It humbles me because I know I am completely undeserving of the great love my Father lavishes upon me. All praise, glory and admiration are due Him.

Wow! This past week flew by with not much time to stop and update. At our last appointment with the pediatrician, Thursday the 20th, Hennock weighed in at 9 pounds, 4 ounces, so he's still growing like a weed in spring. Since his growth is so stable, the doctor reduced his formula's calories from 27 to 24 calories per ounce.

Since that visit, he has started eating 5 and 6 ounces much more regularly (that's up from 3-4), and stretching out his feedings to closer to 4 hours apart. He still has longer stretches during the night (usually 5-6 hours) and even slept through one night this week - sleeping from 9:45 pm to 6 am! That was exciting. He hasn't done it again, but I feel we're not far away from it. The doctor also mentioned that we could start thinking about cereal in the next month.
We spent a couple of nights in Weatherford with my parents which was very fun! Here I am with the happy boy at my parent's house:














Hennock has been Mr. Smiley lately, smiling at all of us and strangers - such a little charmer. Because of this, when I saw a onesie with the words "heart breaker" on the front, I knew it had to be his! Although, there are no signs of breaking hearts, yet, just making hearts happy wherever he goes.

Please continue to pray for the adoption process and the timing of Ryan's internship with ECHO. We really need to travel to Ethiopia and complete the adoption before Ryan's internship starts on June 12th because he won't be able to take off that much time after he starts. We trust completely that God has those details worked out just like he has worked out so many other details in this story and believe our prayers will be answered!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and love for Hennock!

If there is anyone you would like me to add to the notification list, please email me their email address!

Milestones and Easter Treats

A milestone in the adoption process was achieved yesterday – We turned in the last two items needed to complete our Gladney application and the Dossier that will be sent to Ethiopia!! Now, as far as I understood, Gladney will send the stuff on to the
appropriate U.S. and Ethiopian government offices. Our adoption assistant at Gladney said that we were about ¾ of the way through the process! It felt great to turn in the last stuff and to hear that we were ¾ of the way!! It seems like the next step in the process will be a lot of waiting for the government processing – please pray that the governments move as quickly as they did to get the little one here for the surgery so he will be officially ours as soon as possible.

A big milestone for the little big man today: He was having tummy time (which helps babies start to hold their heads up and eventually to crawl) and he lifted his head for the first time to look at the pictures his cousins colored for him!!!! It was so exciting! I was really talking it up to him, telling him how proud I was, but he acted like it was no big deal and just kept staring at those pictures.

I have taken him out and about alone a couple of times now and things have gone surprisingly smooth. Before I went out, I wasn’t sure how I would be able to handle all the baby equipment, but it’s pretty user-friendly stuff, so things have gone well.

Hennock’s first Easter was a wonderful day! He wore a super sweet blue and white bunny outfit from his great-aunty Marcia and met/charmed (to meet him is to love him) a lot of new friends at church. After church, we spent the day at Uncle Matthew and Aunty Ashley’s house with a lot of family and friends. There were TWO backyard Easter egg hunts, which was great for Hennock because he slept through the first one! I found a tiny little plush bunny basket just his size for the occasion, and from his family and friends he got an Easter bunny, an Easter ducky, an Easter lamby and even a Texas Rangers baseball cap!! Such a big day!

Family Photo on Easter












Hennock with his Easter basket













Hennock in his new baseball cap!













We can’t wait for our doctor’s appointment this Thursday because we are so excited to see what his weight is up to! Prepare yourself for a big number; he’s been working hard ☺!

PRECIOUS PLAYERS

Kathleen Hiser
Gladney International Program Coordinator
Kathleen has been right there with Scott and Belay helping Hennock every step of the way. She loves him and has been completely committed to doing whatever it takes to save his life and find him a loving family. Her workday extends far beyond the hours of 8-5, Monday through Friday.

When Hennock arrived and was in the hospital, Kathleen desperately wanted to visit him but had a cold and felt like she shouldn’t. After a few days, though, she was better and came to visit the baby she had worked so many hours to help save. She was so happy when Ryan and I decided to adopt him because she trusted that we would be a loving family for him. When she came to the hospital to visit, she went through all of the paperwork with us and has been walking us through every step of this confusingly detailed process (and Ethiopia is a relatively easy one). We are so thankful for her, yet another huge advocate for Hennock!

Kathleen with Hennock at the hospital.

Our growing boy!












Sweetest smile I have ever seen!












Well, the long-awaited appointment with the surgeon finally arrived, and it went very well! In attendance at the appointment were Ryan and I, Monica, and our friend, Ed, who was visiting from Boston. This boy has quite the entourage most everywhere he goes.

We all liked the surgeon and liked what he had to say. The highlights:

They weighed him and he was 8lbs. 6 oz.!! The number was inflated because he had all his clothes and a soggy bib on and is usually weighed in only a diaper, but we’re pretty sure he is at least up to 8 lbs.!

The surgery is ideally done when babies are 4-6 months old. Hennock’s surgery will take place in either June or July, giving him time to catch up to the 4-6 month stage. There is not a magic number he needs to reach; the surgeon just wants him to have more time to continue thriving as he has.

The surgery will be performed by the pediatric neurosurgeon and a craniofacial surgeon and involves breaking and repositioning the skull and building up the ‘brow bone’ (that’s not the term the doctor used, but I can’t remember it) on which his skull rests. (At least that is what I have gathered, I’m not sure if I have imagined it completely correctly). The doctor said that Hennock’s form of craniosynostosis is not affecting his brain or development right now, and that the purpose of the surgery is to repair the deformity on his forehead, which he said will become more and more prominent.

Typical hospital stay after the surgery is 3-5 days, and he will naturally look pretty banged up while he recovers. He will not need to wear a protective helmet after the surgery.

The surgeon has had excellent success with this surgery. Most children only need one surgery, and most do not have developmental delays. The doctor will see him periodically for follow-ups to ensure things are growing the way they should.

Many have asked how this will affect our plans for agricultural training in Florida starting this summer. We definitely still plan on going but don’t know exactly how all the timing will work out right now. ECHO, the training organization, is aware of the situation. God has provided for every detail so far, and I know he has a plan for this part, too.

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PRECIOUS PLAYERS

Belayneh Tafesse (aka Belay, pronounced Buh-‘lye)

This is Gladney’s in-country coordinator for Ethiopia, the man I spoke of last week in the section on Segi. I am so excited to tell you about him! To me, he was Hennock’s first advocate, and he is a monumental part of why he is with us today. The duties of Belay’s job include visiting the orphanages and seeing to the care of the orphans. Belay cares for each child as if it were his own and works diligently taking them to doctor’s appointments and to the hospital when necessary. It was he who introduced Scott and Monica, who knew of him because of the adoption that did not go through, to Hennock when they visited, explaining his condition and the grim future he faced if he underwent the surgery in Ethiopia. He didn’t give up on Hennock. Instead he presented his needs to the people who could help. When Hennock stopped eating, he called Scott to start that miraculous process of getting him to the States, managing to get past the Ethiopian government’s substantial red tape. When he applied for Hennock’s passport, he gave him his first name as a last name - Hennock Belayneh – as is the custom with fathers and sons in Ethiopia.

Coincidentally, (if there is such a thing) Belay and his wife traveled to the States about a week after Hennock, so they have been able to visit him and be a part of the excitement of Hennock finding his family with us! I am so grateful for his heart for orphans, his love for Hennock, and his willingness to do whatever it takes to give children the best chance at life. Like Segi, we consider Belay and his whole family a very special part of our family.

Belay holding Hennock













Segi holding Hennock

Little (though not for long) Hennock continues to thrive, and we continue to find so much joy in caring for him! Here is what a typical day looks like:

6:30 Hennock wakes up to eat and get his diaper changed.
7:30 Hennock is happy and smiley since his belly is full, and he stays awake playing with his toys and us for about 30-45 minutes.
8:15 He takes a nap.
10:00 He wakes up to eat again and have some medicine (Medicine time is a breeze now because we are mixing it with his bottle).
10:45 More play time, perhaps a stroll outside and some exercises.
11:30 Back to sleep or stays awake looking around the room or at some toys.

. . .and the pattern continues with a lot of diaper changes thrown in and a guest here and there. He eats every 3-4 hours during the day, and at night he can go for a 5-6 hour stretch. The overnight feedings have not been bad at all! He usually eats at around 10 pm, then 1 am, then 6:30 am, and he sleeps great in the in-between times. It is very manageable, but still will wear you down after several continuous days.

From the beginning, bathtime has been one of Hennock’s least favorite times of day – when the water touched him, he would scream at about the same volume as when they took his blood. I guess it was from the instability of his temperature, though the crying continued even after he was able to hold his temp well. But, today during his bath, he didn’t cry! He made faces like he wasn’t happy about the process, but it seemed like the warm water felt good to him. I’m very happy that most of the stress of bathtime has been relieved. Hopefully he’ll be splashing and smiling soon!

We had our weekly visit with the pediatrician today, which also means the weekly weigh-in. Drumroll please . . .He’s up 11 ozs. to 7 lbs. 8 oz.!!!! This morning we all made guesses about what weight he would be up to, and his GeGe and his mommy know him best – we both guessed 7lbs. 7 ozs., but I hate that we underestimated him an ounce ☹
Once again, he WOWed the doctor and her staff with how wonderfully he is doing. Besides the good weight gain, his calcium and magnesium levels are up to normal! We will continue doing everything the way we have been – 27 calorie formula with calcium and magnesium supplements, and she said if he continues growing the way he has until now, then he could be in normal weight range in a couple of months. His doctor’s visits are so exciting! Since things are going so well, the doctor said we could wait two weeks between appointments this time.

Last week was about major growth and this week seems to be about breaking through on some of the developmental milestones – it is so exciting to watch him start using his hands more to reach and grab, to start cooing, to follow things with his eyes, turn his head when he hears us, and tonight, though sadly I missed it while typing this update, he giggled. His dimpled smile is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen – I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle a giggle.

Some of you know that Hennock is here in the States on a tourist visa (because they could get it much faster than a medical visa), and we have made several jokes about him seeing the sights. Well today, we took him to his first tourist attraction – the Fort Worth Stockyards! Our good friend Ed, who we taught with in China, came to visit us from Boston, so we took them both around Fort Worth today sharing the highlights of the city. Ed enjoyed it pretty well, but Hennock slept the whole time! A little disrespectful ~ hope he’s not advancing into the teen years too quickly! Just kidding, we understand if this little prince doesn’t want to turn into a cowboy! Made for some humorous pics, though: Hennock with the policeman on horseback, sleeping; Hennock at the cattle drive, sleeping, Hennock meeting his first armadillo, sleeping, etc. Here’s a cute one for you:



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PRECIOUS PLAYERS

Segi Desta

After Scott, my father-in-law who works at The Gladney Center, had tried and failed several times to make a connection with the Ethiopian government to discuss establishing an adoption program, he got a name of an acquaintance of the husband of a co-worker: Segi Desta. All that Scott knew when he emailed Segi was that she was from Ethiopia. It seemed like a shot in the dark, (if someone asked you if you could help get your government to start an adoption program, could you?) but Segi was the perfect link between the Ethiopian government and The Gladney Center for Adoption. Yes, God was working. Her contacts and her passion for the idea got things rolling almost immediately! The Gladney Center was approved to handle Ethiopian adoptions just 6 short months after Segi got involved. She also connected Gladney with its current in-country administrator for Ethiopia, a very special man you will hear about later.

Segi, who has lived in the U.S. for about 35 years, carries a deep love for her home country and tirelessly does anything she can to help the Ethiopian people both in Ethiopia and here in the States.

Segi was probably Hennock’s most frequent visitor in the hospital – she loves him dearly and came every lunch break she could and sometimes in the evening, too. She also cared for us – went above and beyond caring for us – by providing or arranging for dinner every night and many lunches, too, while we were staying in the hospital.

Segi is such a vital link in Hennock’s story and in the stories of all the Ethiopian orphans who will be adopted through her work. We are thankful for her willingness to be used by God, and we consider her a part of Hennock’s family.

Friday, March 31, 2006

On the eve of the 3-week "anniversary" of Hennock's arrival, life continues to be wonderful in almost-parent land. The big news is that at his doctor's appointment yesterday, he weighed in at 6 lbs. 13 ozs.!!! Remember, that is up from 5 lbs. 12 ozs. exactly one week before. We knew he would be up to 6 because we can see the changes in his face, legs and allover, but we didn't think 6-13 was possible! It was so exciting for us! The doctor (who is the best, by the way)was excited, too, and made it seem like it was all because of our hard work and love, but I know that it is Hennock that has been the hard worker. The love for this child comes so easy, there is absolutely no credit deserved for loving the weight onto him.

Many people have been asking what weight he needs to achieve before he can have his surgery, and we just don't know. We haven't met with the surgeon yet, so anything we know about the surgery is general information we have picked up here and there. By the time the appointment with the surgeon comes around on 4/10, we will be full of questions for him.

Thank you for so many encouraging emails - they touch us deeply and we're saving them all so when Hennock is older, he will be able to read about his extraordinary story and know how many people love and care for him.

Monday, March 27th

Check out those cheeks!
It has been very good to be home this week! Hennock has continued to be an angel of a baby, only crying when he has good reason, and doing his job of eating and gaining weight very well. We went to the pediatrician last Thursday, and his weight was 5lbs. 12 ounces, and we can really tell he is starting to fill out.

He seems so happy and content, smiling more and more and checking everything out with that intense stare of his. We all feel like we could just gaze at his sweet face forever.

His pediatrician said he was looking great and wants to see him weekly to monitor his progress. Next time, they will check his calcium and magnesium levels (the electrolytes they were monitoring in the hospital) to see if those are normalizing. He got three shots (the regular immunizations that babies get at 2 months), which wasn’t fun for him, but he did really well, as usual, with the tough stuff.

The last 3 days or so he has started getting hungry earlier and eating more so that’s great! We can’t help but look forward to the day when the 2:30 am feeding no longer exists.

His initial appointment with the surgeon is April 10th, so we will not know any details about the surgery until then.

It will be amazing to watch this little one grow. We continue to feel so blessed and privileged that he is part of our lives.

We are still wading through the adoption paperwork, but our Gladney paperwork guru says we’re getting close! Please pray for a smooth and speedy acceptance and finalization.

We love him so much! Thank you for the love you have shown for him and for us.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

We’re home!!!! We got home Monday at about 3 p.m. This adorable picture is of Hennock all snuggled in his car seat ready to roll on home. He is doing wonderfully, and his doctors are very pleased with his progress. We are feeding him 2-3 ounces of super-calorie formula every 3-4 hours, and he is doing great. He does get drowsy and disinterested at quite a few feedings and doesn’t eat his max allowable, but he tends to make up for it a few feedings later. We keep learning new tricks to wake him up and get him eating, so it’s hard work for all of us (including him) but everything is going great! He seems to be totally over his jet lag because he sleeps through the night (except for feedings) really well, and sleeps a lot during the day, too, which is good for his weight gain. He continues to gain and hold his temperature really well.

He came home with three medicines to take daily: 1) Polyvisol, a very yucky tasting and smelling vitamin supplement, which he takes once a day. 2) Calcium supplement, 4 times a day, but a reduced amount because the day before we went home, his calcium jumped up to a normal level for the first time!!! That was awesome news!! 3) Magnesium supplement, 4 times a day, another yucky one. Medicine times are not fun, but I was telling him today that we gotta do it, so we might as well get used to it ☺.

Last night, his first night home, he slept wonderfully and very quietly in a cradle handmade by his future Great-Grandaddy Dwight. The cradle belongs to Ashley and Matthew’s family, but his four cousins love him so much they don’t mind him borrowing it one bit!

Okay, I have been using a lot of pronouns to describe the little angel until this point in the letter because now I am going to tell you about his name. We loved the name Hennock from the first time we heard it, but then when he got here and we heard all his lovely Ethiopian ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’ pronounce his name, we realized we were saying it incorrectly. The beautiful Ethiopian pronunciation is like Heh-noke – the first vowel sound almost sounds like the e in egg and the second vowel is the o in cloak, though even more rounded. Texan/American pronunciation doesn’t do the name justice, so Ryan and I have decided to go with the English translation of the name, Enoch (Remember, we know that it is not actually our privilege to give him a name yet, but again we believe that this adoption is something God is doing and nothing will thwart his plan). The pronunciation for Enoch is not exactly simple either, but that’s what we want to go with. For us, the meaning of his name is just way too special and significant to even think about changing.

So really his name will be both Hennock and Enoch because they are the same name like Thomas and Tomas, Matthew and Mateo. We understand that you all know him as Hennock (pronounced Hennick) so we’ll give you and ourselves time for the name transition, and to our lovely Ethiopian friends, you are always welcome to call him Hennock. If any of you native English speakers want to call him Hennock, you can practice and take a short quiz with us to be approved to do so – hee hee! Small joke there ☺ Again, I hate to sound presumptuous in the way I write this, but please know that I boast not in anything that we are doing, but only in what God is doing.

I think I will continue to write his name here as Hennock since it is written, not spoken and since he does not yet belong to us.

2 Corinthians 10:13
“We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.”

1 Corinthians 1:27-29
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”

Hennock has his first out-of-the-hospital doctor’s visit with his pediatrician on Thursday, so I’m sure we will then get an update on his calcium and magnesium levels and his weight. His appointment with the neurosurgeon is scheduled for April 10th. It is a few weeks off because the doctor wanted to see him after he had gained some significant poundage. We won’t know any details about the surgery until then.
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PRECIOUS PLAYERS

In this blog, I want to start a series of descriptions of the many people God has used to make the hundreds of miracles in and around this situation come true. I will try and describe one or two of these precious players each time.

Scott (alias: PaPa, the “a” is pronounced like the ‘a’ in apple)
Scott is my husband Ryan’s father, and no one has a bigger heart for the world’s orphans than he does. He began working for the Gladney Center for Adoption 16 years ago as a financial guy. He says that it was the Lord who laid the desperate situation and rapidly increasing number of orphans around the world on his heart. In the last few years, out of his own interest, he has played an increasing role in orphan care, culminating in a recent trip to Ethiopia to establish Gladney’s newest international adoption program. While there, he was made aware of Hennock’s surgical need, and after returning, when the need was guessed to have become urgent, he pooled all his resources and prayed and worked the seeming impossible into existence to get him here quickly (with the help of others you will read about later). His faithfulness to God and sensitivity to God’s heart has led him on a path of great purpose and blessing. (“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27).

Scott and his wife, Monica, in the process of getting Hennock here, agreed to serve as his host family – to care for him in their home and at the hospital throughout his medical needs. In this way, he came to Ryan and I because we live with them. Now that God has revealed his plan for parents for Hennock, Scott is blessed beyond his own imagination with a new grandchild. Soon there will be 5 children who refer to him fondly as “PaPa.”

Friday, March 17th

I feel terrible that I haven’t gotten an update in sooner, but there isn’t actually a lot of down time here at the hospital, so I really have to grasp for time to write. But I definitely want to document every detail of these extraordinary days.

Much has happened since I last wrote, and every bit of it has been wonderful! Okay, the biggest news first, and I gasp at the magnitude of it as I write this: Ryan and Abby Brown, that’s my husband and I, have felt a calling to adopt this little miracle child. God always seems to have a surprise worked into every step of his plan for Ryan and I, and it turns out the way he wants to grow our family is the most amazing and surprising yet! Ryan and I have been married 4-1/2 years, and have no children yet. We have always said we wanted children, and the deep inner desire to be a mother really turned on in me about a year ago while we were living as missionaries in St. Petersburg, Russia. When we talked about it, Ryan said no, he just wasn’t ready for it yet, and living overseas was a practical barrier. I was content to wait until we were both ready, but several times over the past year I became anxious about the timing of when we would have children because we are preparing to be long-term missionaries, and our lifestyle - as far as accommodation and income - is not totally stable so I couldn’t imagine when it would work out. I often thought I just wish we would get pregnant (even though we were using birth control) so that God would take the planning out of our hands. Well, who could have imagined that he would take the planning out of our hands this way???!!!! Before Hennock arrived, Ryan and I talked about him - how exciting it would be to help Scott and Monica (Ryan’s parents and Hennock’s official host parents) take care of him.

One morning about a week before he arrived, I was praying for him, and I felt God showing me that he can do anything and that he might even be adding to our family by bringing this child from Ethiopia. I didn’t feel certain that God was telling me Hennock would be my child, but that he was showing me how there is never a need to worry or be anxious, that he has a plan and nothing is out of his power. At the time, I imagined what it would be like to be a mommy and then to be his mommy, and I was overwhelmed with feelings of joy, privilege, and blessedness.

Well, when we met him last Saturday, ironically Ryan and I had a big switch in our feelings of being ready for children. He knew instantly that he was meant for us, and I adored him but was frightened to death of the thought of being a mother with no time to prepare. I always imagined having 9 months to prepare whether we got pregnant or adopted (and I love to prepare, study, and know as much as I can before I start something), so I was reeling at the thought of being a mother RIGHT NOW - even though technically it wouldn’t be legal right away, but since he is here and we are his caretakers it would be that way.

Can you feel the intense anguish I was going through???

And I didn’t have any guilt about my feelings because I sincerely wanted the very best, perfect parents for him even if it meant it wasn’t us. Well, everyone around us thought it was meant to be for us to be his parents, but I felt uncertain and afraid in my heart. I prayed to God to give me clear confirmation through Scripture so there would be no doubt about what we were supposed to do, and because God is so good and faithful and loving - he did. The next day, I did a bible study on Enoch, the man in the Bible who Hennock is named for (Enoch is the English translation of Hennock) and found the verses I included in the last post. The life of Enoch was a blessing, and the verse in Hebrews about faith was a conviction - that I didn’t have enough faith to believe the AWESOME thing that God was doing or that he would be my strength throughout even this!

So then, even though God gave me exactly what I asked, fear remained in my heart about the massive responsibility of being a mother. But I slept on it, I acknowledged that God had given me what I asked for, and throughout the next day, my heart began to feel lighter and lighter until I was able to trust God completely to help me be the mother I want to be. By the time I was on my way to the hospital after work, my heart was spilling over with joy, and I wanted to run from my car into the hospital to see the child that would be my son. (I didn’t run, but I walked real fast).

Since then God has given me 1) assurance that this is what He is doing, 2) confidence in taking care of Hennock, and 3) so much joy in just looking at him and thinking about his future.

Even though we have only just begun the process of adoption, and international adoption is complicated, I have no doubt that he will be ours because it is absolutely NOT anything we are doing, but only what God is doing. I never dreamed I could be so astounded by the Glory of His Ways!!!! HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!!!!!

By the way, many people have asked if he will have to go back to Ethiopia, and the answer is yes, but we believe that the timing will work out fine after his surgery (more later, but the surgery is not urgent right now) so that Ryan and I will be ready and can take him back to adopt him. He has to go back because he is on a tourist visa, and the adoption needs to take place through the Ethiopian government. But any of you who know Ryan and I, know that traveling to Ethiopia is a huge bonus for us because we have a passion for the world and of course, would want to know where Hennock came from and know the people who knew him and loved him before we did.

And now, notes from the hospital room:

Regarding his nutrition, on Wednesday he gained 3 ounces!!! That was huge because on previous days he was only gaining grams a day. Yesterday, he didn’t gain as much, a bit less than an ounce, but he’s getting the calories he needs to keep on growing. He is up to 2 ounces of formula every three hours. The doctor said 2 ounces fills his little tummy right up, so he will stick with that amount until he grows more (by the way, the amount seems to be very satisfying to him). Each of the last two days, the doctor was able to increase his calories, and I just found out, we are going up again today! He went from 1/2 strength formula to 20 calories/oz. to 22 to 24 and today we will go to 27 cal/oz. formula! That is a high calorie level that will help him gain weight faster, and it is the level he will go home with and stay with for awhile. Since Hennock arrived at the hospital, the doctor has been working on his calcium, magnesium, and potassium levels -- to increase them to normal levels. His potassium level straightened out quickly, but he still needs calcium and magnesium supplements. The good news there is his levels are steady and slowly climbing and out of the scary low range.

Speaking of going home, the doctor has said he should be able to go on Monday or Tuesday! That will be so great, and hopefully we will all get just a bit more sleep than we have been. Another really great thing that happened yesterday is he got to get off the monitor for his heart and respiration. They were using the monitor to watch his calcium and magnesium levels, and now those electrolytes are stable enough that they don’t have to watch the monitor anymore!! That made such a difference in our comfort because we could take him anywhere in the hospital we wanted, rather than just the two-foot radius around his bed.

I started writing this around 8:00 am this morning and with all the activity of the day cutting in, it is now a quarter till 5:00 pm and there are still volumes to write in this story. So I’ll say goodbye for tonight and write again as soon as possible with more news.

Love,

Abby and Ryan (Hennock’s almost Mommy and Daddy)

P.S. Just remembered to tell you real quick that we did find out yesterday that his HIV test was negative :)

Something Extraordinary is Happening!

Something extraordinary is happening in Fort Worth, at the Gladney Center for Adoption, in our family, in the life of a child. Hennock, a three-month-old orphan from Ethiopia, arrived in Fort Worth on the evening of March 11 after a gauntlet of details came together in the space of just one week to get him here. We took him directly from the airport to the hospital where a room was prearranged and a doctor was waiting to assess his immediate needs. Nutrition was (and is) the #1 priority as the little guy only weighs about 5 lbs., and he has taken to his feeding regimen like a champ! He is only allowed to eat 1 oz. every two hours, and the first two days he could only eat half-strength formula! This is to guard against a condition called refeeding syndrome which the doctor said can occur if a malnourished child is given too much food too fast - their electrolyte balance can get out of whack and cause serious problems. Now, remember that the orphanage where Hennock was had plenty of formula for the babies, so he was fed well, so at this point we’re not exactly sure why his weight is low except for a bout of thrush he had about two weeks ago, during which he stopped eating.

We also have to keep him really bundled and watch his body temperature very closely because he doesn’t have any fat to keep him warm. The result is that his hospital room is quite toasty.

He is a wonderful patient and tough as nails. Good Patient Award: He had a CT scan on Sunday, and he was absolutely still until they finished - he started fidgeting right after they finished. Tough as Nails Award: They have had to draw blood every morning to monitor his vitamin levels, among other things, which has been so difficult ‘cause he hardly has blood to give - great veins but hard to get blood from. Of course that process is painful for everyone, and the stick hurts him, too, but he only cries during the painful parts, calming right down as soon as the pain subsides. I’m amazed at him.

All the tests (CT Scan, hearing, Tuberculosis, et al) they have run so far have come back with very positive results - nothing alarming - and his vitamin levels are increasing daily. It will be thrilling to watch him grow.

The surgeon who will operate on Hennock is out of town until Thursday, but another surgeon took a look at him and the CT Scan today and said that his skull is only partially fused and it would be no problem to wait until Hennock’s nutrition level is up to do the surgery. Time frame on that is unknown right now.

We found out that Hennock’s name translates to Enoch in English, and that he was named after Enoch in the Bible. We already loved his name, but when we read the verses about Enoch in the Bible we were incredibly blessed! Here they are for you:

Genesis 5:21-24 “21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”

Hebrews 11:5-6 “5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

I can’t say enough about the facility and staff at the hospital or the outpouring of love from everyone who has heard Hennock’s story. Thank you so much. We are overjoyed to share the blessing of knowing him with you.