A New Year & A New Start

Posted on December 31, 2013 by William

It’s noon on New Years Eve and this Brown family is still in their PJ’s. No, this is not how I envisioned jumping into the New Year. I love PJ days, but not when you feel under the weather. On PJ days, I want to sleep in, make pancakes (William and Feven’s favorite), watch a little TV, drink coffee, and just enjoy being home. So, as we all are feeling rather puny, I have been pondering the New Year…

Last year was somewhat of a blur. Feven and Liam grew before our eyes. (How can they change so much in one year?!) Feven is so full of energy. I love watching her play and sing (she’s always making up a song). She is so tender and caring, especially with her brother. She’s definitely a little momma. It’s so cute to see her pat Liam on the back or hold his little hand. He definitely cramped her style when he was tiny, but now they are able to play together. That is so much fun to watch! This year, we learned Feven does not like ballet. We endured it to the end. Our motto became, “The Browns don’t quit” and we didn’t (at least this time). We are giving gymnastics a try in 2014, and Feven is super excited about it now.

Liam is totally different. He eats and licks EVERYTHING! Feven did not do this, so I am learning what things shouldn’t be left out or what doors must stay closed! Liam is pretty laid back and usually displays a more serious look. But, he’s super sweet and cuddly. We are still completely amazed when he does something new…anything! The other day he pushed the laundry basket from one end of the house to the other…walking! Cheers and praises followed, and Liam just grins.

In 2013, we also said goodbye to dear friends. One of many advantages of William’s ministry is that we get to “hold the rope” for so many families who have chosen to go to other nations proclaiming the good news. This past year, several made that transition, including one family we are especially close to. That was hard. Even though we are so excited for them, we really miss them. So, in 2014, I look forward to being an encouragement to these families by praying for them and loving on them. We are so thankful for each family whose chosen to go, and we are amazed that the Lord has allowed us to be part of their lives.

On top of these changes, we have seen the Lords faithfulness and His continued grace in our lives. When I feel like a slacker mom—and don’t get the Christmas cards out (for the 2^nd year in a row, sigh) or find I can’t keep up with other moms who seem to have it together—I find such comfort in knowing God loves and accepts me just the way I am. I am still learning this, knowing that I don’t have to please others but rather find contentment in Christ. There’s such freedom in these things amidst the changes of life. I am praying this year that I can embrace the changes, because they are always coming. I’m praying that I will be more flexible and not get so bent out of shape when I don’t measure up. Life goes on. Jesus mercies are new every morning.

So…here we go 2014! We may not be ringing in the year loudly (pretty sure we will be in bed before the ball drops), but even still, we pray this is a year is full of joy and contentment wherever you find yourself.

Beyond Measure

Posted on August 10, 2012 by William

Summer is wonderful, isn’t it? Feven seems to love everything about it! She loves being outside. She loves the water. She can’t get enough ice cream! And, running!? Yep, the girl still loves to run like her daddy. 🙂 Who knows, maybe she has those running genes?

William probably wouldn’t want me to post anything about him, but I just can’t leave him out. (Sorry, babe!) He has been so good to me and Feven during the pregnancy. He is so full of patience, something I work on constantly! And, he is just so stinkin’ cute! Pretty sure I’m in love!

And, here we are at 23 weeks of pregnancy! It really is amazing! I can feel him kicking all the time now. That is the most incredible feeling! Now, I am trying to wrap my mind around his arrival. It’s less than four months away! Wow.

Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t wrap my mind around that yet. Let’s just enjoy the moment, huh?!

So, what are we going to name this boy? David Liam Brown. We’ll call him Liam. William has always loved the name David because of his role in the Bible. He was a warrior, an artist, and a “man after God’s own heart”. We pray our David will follow his example and learn from his mistakes. But, we are going to call him Liam. Liam is a shortened form of William, and we love that he’ll be named after his daddy. Also, Liam means “protector, provider” – another characteristic we’d love for our boy to be known by.

So, as summer days wane, we look forward to the cooler days of fall. We think of apples and cider, leaves and crisp days . . . but mostly we dream of holding Liam. Feven talks about rocking and feeding him. She is such a “big” sister already. This is such an exciting time for all of us.

Beyond measure, we are thankful.

Baby Brown

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Charis

I’ve been a little negligent with my blogging lately, but it is all for a good reason! I haven’t felt the best lately, so a lot of things have fallen by the wayside. Blogging has been one of those things. But, I do want to continue (keeping family up to date and recording what God is doing in our lives). So here goes…

As you may have heard, we are expecting a new little baby Brown around the 6th of December!

When William and I married, we thought the chances of us conceiving were slim to none. We knew the Lord could work miracles, but even still, with the advice of doctors and my past medical history, we thought the chances were slim. I had been on chemotherapy drugs for years because of a rare autoimmune disease. Knowing all this, William and I married knowing adoption was the probable way the Lord would grow our family. And we were perfectly happy with that!

In 2010, Feven came home from Ethiopia to be a part of our family forever. Our first is truly a blessing! After adopting Feven, we longed for more but weren’t sure how that was going to happen. At that time, we were still being told pregnancy wasn’t an option. So, I continued to have a deep longing, as do most women, to add to our family, but we did not know how or when that would happen.

As the months rolled on, the Lord opened doors for us to consider pregnancy. This blew our minds! For so long, we were told this wasn’t going to happen. I was taken off the chemotherapy drug that I had been taking weekly for over 15 years. My body didn’t seem to need it anymore. So, just 6 months after bringing Feven home, the doors seemed to fly wide open.

From October 2010 to March 2012, we hoped that we could conceive, but our faith was tested many times. Looking back, I knew the Lord could move this mountain, but it still seemed impossible. We had lots of tests, challenges, tears and uncertainty. We trusted the Lord, but we just didn’t know what the outcome would be or how He would work.

In March of this year, William and I decided we would start the process to adopt again. It didn’t seem to us that the Lord was going to use pregnancy as we had thought. We were once again ready to add to our family, so we started to work toward adopting again…again not knowing how or when. But, we began to get excited!

One Sunday, William returned from a trip to North Africa, and the following Monday morning, I told him I needed to go to the doctor. I was convinced I had a UTI. When I got there, the doctor insisted on doing a pregnancy test. I thought it was silly, but went ahead with their expensive, thorough testing. The doctor returned a little while later with a little white test cupped in her hand. The nurse was with her, and the staff listened in the background for my response. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on. But, I was soon overwhelmed with joy! I bent over in tears and said, “No way!” The doctor reassured me it was accurate and that they performed two tests to be sure!

Our doctor (also a friend) called William to come in, telling him that she needed to “run some tests” and that I needed his support. There is no telling what was running thru his mind at this point! He had to get himself and Feven ready to run across the street to the doctor’s office.

I will never forget when he walked in the room, and I told him I am pregnant. The tears just rolled down his cheeks. Definitely not the way I had envisioned us finding out, but it didn’t matter! So thankful and overwhelmed with joy!

Now we are almost 17 weeks. We are still shocked and amazed that the Lord allowed this to happen. We can honestly say we had nothing to do with it because this truly was a miracle.

So, here we go! Hopeful and excited! The Lord continues to give us opportunities to trust Him. We look forward to sharing how He works, and we pray we are faithful to His plan for our lives.