Adoption update

I am sure that if you look at when my last post was you will wonder why I have not written anything in the past couple of months. The first reason is this: Our adoption agency told us not to. We were informed that if something we say in a social media setting is offensive to the country we are adopting from we could hurt our chances to adopt as well as any one else's chance to adopt there. There is no way that we would EVER want that to happen. However, we want our friends to know what's going on. Please feel free to email me at any time with questions and I will do my best to answer them. My email address is brown.taralynne@gmail.com.

We can say that we have completed our home study and are preparing grants. We have also started a puzzle fundraiser to help us with costs until grants come through. I will be posting pictures of the progress of that fundraiser here on a monthly basis.

Garage Sale and Lemonade Stand

We have been learning this summer at church about prayer. Prayer isn't something new, of course, it's something that we as Christian do (or should be doing) every day, but our pastor has been challenging us to change up our prayers. One of those challenges was to pray a God-sized prayer, and that it was I did for our garage sale June 22nd and 23rd. This sale was our first fundraising effort toward our adoption. Many friends and family brought us donations to sell. We were so blessed by them. Phil's mom also came and helped me on Friday while Phil was working. There is no way that we could have done it without her.
My God-sized prayer was this..."Lord please provide money from this sale to cover the cost of our adoption agency application ($225) and our passports ($220). So that would have made a grand total of $445 that we would need to raise in 2 days. I don't know about you, but I have NEVER had a garage sale yield that much money. 
God provided all the money and more! By the end of the sale we had made $579. Not only that, but God felt that it is was time to answer another prayer I had prayed. He gave us a piano for FREE!
Let me take a step back and share. On Friday a friend of ours called and asked if we could use some furniture for our sale. We of course said "yes". We were willing to sell anything. :) They told us that they would even bring the items and drop them off in our garage if we weren't there. Then they called back and asked "you wouldn't like a piano too...would you?" Would we? WOULD WE? I started to get all choked up and I told her "Becky, did you know that I have been praying for a piano?" She was just as shocked by my reply as I was by her offer. It turns out that the family had to move their mother to a nursing home. This woman had been a wonderful pianist and they had no clue what they were going to do with her piano. They had even considered giving it to Goodwill or (gasp!) leaving it in her apartment. God is an amazing giver of gifts and He knew back 6 months ago when I was so upset that we didn't have the money to buy a used piano what was coming. After hanging up, I walked inside and looked at Phil and started bawling as I declared "God has given us a piano!" 
Our sale is still generating revenue from Craigslist postings. So far we have earned over $600. 
Phil and I had been hesitant to share our adoption journey with people (before the sale) because there are so many opinions out there. But after the sale I knew that we had to declare what God had done, and that we simply couldn't say "God blessed our garage sale" We needed to share what He was doing in our lives. So I posted out on facebook this status "If you think that God doesn't answer prayer, I am living proof that He does! This weekend He answered 2 of mine: 1. Our adoption fundraiser garage sale - I prayed that God would help us to earn enough $ to cover the application fee and our passports...well, He did and More!, 2. We were given a piano! I had been praying that God would somehow work it out that we could get one. I was thinking the money to buy it, but God had other plans and surprised me. DON'T STOP PRAYING!!!"


That post was followed the next day by "Some of you noticed in my last update that we did an adoption fundraiser. Yes, our family is in the very beginning stages of adopting our 4th child! Please pray for us. We want to be completely in God's timing. We have already seen His hand working and know that we have His favor. Thank you for your love and support!"


We have had so much support. God is good.

Our Calling

In April of this year Phil and I went to see a movie. We never could have guessed that going out on a date would change the course of our lives. We went to see "October Baby" (see the trailer here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L52Lciaui4o). On the way to pick up our children from a friend's house Phil and I were talking about the movie and how it had made us feel. Then Phil turned to me and said "I think that we're supposed to adopt". I was floored, not just because I was shocked at what he said (which I was) but because he said exactly what I was thinking at that moment. We knew that God had placed a calling on our lives. Since then we have done research and interviewed 2 adoption agencies. The cost of adoption is very intimidating, but we live for the God who owns it all. He will provide our needs.

What's a Mall?

Today before taking the kids on a field trip I had to run to Greenwood Park Mall to get my jewelry inspected. It was so sad that the second I walked in the door I was completely out of my element. When did this happen? I never imagined that there would come a day when I wouldn't feel comfortable in a mall! I used to love shopping. What has happened to me?

I believe that it is has been a accumulation of many things, but three really stick out to me.

1. For the past 6 years I have been avoiding all shopping centers because of the unavoidable frustration that comes with bringing a baby/toddler with you. Come on, you have to admit that trying on clothes with your kids is  definitely not on your fun list.

2. We have gone from a dual income family to a single income one. That really cuts into extra free spending, and we all know that window shopping, all though fun, isn't completely satisfying.

3. It's no longer about me (and I mean that in a good way). Sure there are times when I would like to have a new pair of shoes or just get something when the mood strikes, but that's not what it's about anymore. I am no longer the only one who needs things. I have 3 wonderful children who trust me to provide all their needs.

I am not sure how to end this, because it is just a rambling of my crazy thoughts, so I will end it with this.

Philippians 4:19

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Popcorn Anyone?

In complete Tiger Scout gear

Showing pride in his Pack

We are so excited to have a cub scout in the family. Austin entered 1st grade this year and is now able to join scouting.
Today I got his uniform completely finished. Putting badges on can sure be tricky!
We are also now full swing into our biggest fundraiser of the year. POPCORN! The scouts are doing a popcorn blitz today, and they will be celebrating their success tonight at a pizza party. So...popcorn anyone?

Our First Field Trip

Super Excited for the tour to begin

Today we took a field trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We joined some of our friends from Heritage Builders in a search for animals in art. Austin met up with his friend Andrew and we got the tour started.
The kids were told all about different types of painting and sculpting techniques. Austin and Ariel did a great job sitting and listening to our guide. Eva had a mind of her own :)

This was our first true field trip. So far we have also  done a craft time and bonfire with other home schooling families. We are so blessed to have been able to join this group. Our next event is gym class, and all three kids will be participating in it. So much for being anti-social homeschoolers. :)

Listening to our guide

My pride and joy

I am so proud of the garden that I grew this year. It was hard work getting it in, and at times I have not wanted to weed it. The organic produce that we are getting from it is well worth the effort though. That right, I grew an organic garden this year! When I look at it even today, I am so amazed. I am also very thankful for parents who taught me how to garden while I was growing up. When I think back to the whining and complaining I did about weeding and watering that family plot who knew that I would end up loving it so much. I have come to find garden relaxing despite the work and how tired I feel after it. As a mother of three it is very rare for me to find time alone. My garden is a place where I can do that. I do hope that someday my children will be able to join me in growing food, but for now I find joy in knowing they see the effort I put forth and are eating healthier because of it. The pictures below show what I have been able to can so far. My tomatoes have done so well that I plan on canning some spaghetti sauce next. I am so excited!

Organic Roma Tomatoes

Diced Tomatoes

Home Schooling Update

After much prayer, a home school convention, and discussion with friends Phil and I have decided to home school Austin for 1st grade next year. We are really excited and look forward to all the opportunities that this will give our family. Thank you so much to all of those who prayed for us during our decision making. We know that this is the Lord's will for us, and we are ready to get started!
It is our plan (at this time) to keep Ariel in Pre-K at Westside Christian pre-school  for 2-3 days a week. She loves being there and it will give Austin and I some one-on-one time that we may need. Eva will still be at home.
This morning I spent a hour at an Abeka materials display ordering the rest of his curriculum. We didn't have to worry too much about what curriculum to use this year because he was already using Abeka (for language arts) and Saxon (for math). Both of these are great, and we felt that it would be good to keep going with them.
Thank you all again. We are so blessed to have friends like you!

It's potty time!

For over a week now Eva has been telling me "poop" when she went in her diaper. It didn't matter which she had actually done, and I didn't think a thing of it. Then she started pulling her sister's (and once brother's) underwear on over her clothes. I started to wonder about her interest in potty training, but I still didn't give it a whole lot of thought. Then last night she said it and actually ran toward the bathroom. I decided to give it a try and helped her get on the little potty. She ended up going pee in the potty! I was shocked. Austin and Ariel were 3 before they wanted to potty train, and Eva won't be 2 until August. She got to wear a pair of her sister's princess panties until bedtime :)
Today I decided that dresses and pull-ups are a pain when you are potty training, so she went without either. I am pretty sure that Eva is the smartest child I have ever met (NO, I'm not biased :) Twice today she has run to the bathroom all by herself, sat on the potty and peed! She of course was rewarded with multitudes of praise and (the coveted item) a M n M. She has been wearing (sort of) her training panties all day, and we have had no accidents, only pee in the diaper during nap time. It still seems early to me, but I am very optimistic that I will have no children in diapers by the end of the summer!

Is home schooling for us?

If you had told me 6 months ago that I would someday be seriously considering home schooling I would have told you that you are crazy. The only teaching that I have done is with adults about their health. I have not had any training in how to prepare lesson plans or such, but God has for some reason given me this burden.
A little over a month ago Austin's school (Westside Christian) announced that they will be closing at the end of the year. Phil and I did tons of research to see what other Christian schools are in our area and what their costs were. We were not opposed to sending our kids to public school, but we absolutely LOVED the education that Austin got at Westside. He learned much academically, but his spiritual growth this year was what amazed us the most. Unfortunately none of the other Christian schools compared in price to Westside, and with us being on a one income budget we couldn't afford it. During that time I had been praying that God would reveal to us what He wanted for Austin's schooling. It was then that He gave be the burden of home schooling. I knew for a fact that it wasn't me who wanted to do this, so I prayed (and still do) daily that God would take the burden away if it was not from Him. I visited the public elementary school that Austin would go to, and sat in a first grade class. I really liked what I saw, but was disappointed about the schedule they set for their first graders (arrival at 8am with lunch at 10:20am). From what I know of my son this would not be a good schedule for him. I prayed even harder. I now ask you, my dear friends to pray with me. I am about 90% sure that I will be homeschooling Austin for 1st grade next year. This past week was Austin's Spring break. I used it as a home school "test" week. What I mean by that is, I did lessons with him. Please pray for us that Phil and I would be completely like minded about home schooling. God is good, and I know that He has a perfect plan for our life and Austin's schooling.

25 days of Lent left

There are days that are hard and there are days that are easy. I have been learning I am much more of an emotional eater than I thought I was. On stressful days I find myself walking over to the pantry and looking in to see what I can stuff in my face. I am so thankful for the commitment that I have made, and for God revealing to me what an unhealthy obsession I have with junk food. I am now 4 pounds lighter too!
My devotion time has led me to some really great verses, but my favorite one so far is Psalm 103: 1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

How great is our God!

What is Lent?

Every year I hear about what people are giving up for Lent. I have thought about doing it, but it wasn't until reading my friend Megan's blog http://jandmschmidt.blogspot.com/2011/03/fat-tuesday
just yesterday that I decided this is the year for me. I am going to give up all desserts until Easter. In addition to that I am going to read at least one Guidepost devotional everyday. I have always struggled with devotional time, and this will be a great way to dedicate myself to it for 40 days.
After a conversation with my sister today, as I was excitedly telling her what I was doing for Lent, she asked me a very important question. "What is Lent" My answer.."I don't really know. I think that it's a Catholic holiday". So I did so research, and it case you are wondering just as I was, here it is.

Lent in the Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. Lent is a time of sacrifice for Jesus. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentance, alms giving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
According to the Canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.
This practice is common to much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans.

So it isn't just a Catholic observance. Thanks Wikipedia :) I am so glad that my friend shared with me how she was not only giving up something, but also spending more time on God. I had always thought that it was just about self deprivation. I am excited to see how God will transform my life (both physically and spiritual) over the next 40 days.

Christmas Cards

After reading another friend's facebook status I realized that I needed to get a move on with Christmas cards or else we would end up like we did last year, doing nothing.
This year I decided to use Shutterfly again for our holiday cards (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards). I LOVE shutterfly. If you have never tried them before I highly recommend it! I have also done a calendar (http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars). It was for my Grandma who was in a nursing home. She really enjoyed seeing the picutres of all her family. My mom and Jon received a mouse pad from us, for Christmas this year, with a picture of the kids on it.
I have never been disappointed with shutterfly's quality. All of the products that I order have some to me quickly as well. My favorite projects that I complete with shutterfly are their photobooks. I am not a very good scrapbooker, but I desire a way to preserve my photos so they are easier to share. The photobooks are a terrific way for me to do that. You can see all of them on my shutterfly share site at http://thebrownhouse.shutterfly.com/
Here are some more ideas that you could use shutterfly for:
Thank you cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/thank-you-cards Christmas cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards·
Birthday invitations to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-invitations
They offer so many ways to share your photos and are always giving discounts and freebies. For example they are right now offering 50 free holiday cards just by posting why you love shutterfly on your blog. Go here http://bit.ly/sfly2010 and sign up by Dec 1oth to blog about and get your own free cards.

Time to myself

I can't begin to express how precious time to myself is anymore. Three kids, a husband, work, and basically anything else that can take up my time does. I need my free time back- or do I? I often think about that. I have come to the realization that if I didn't have the kids, Phil, church, friends or church activities (all the things that take up my time) then I would be very sad and lonely :(
That being said though I do want to make more time for writing in this blog. I just got done reading through some of my old posts, and I couldn't believe the things that I had forgotten. So in my case, this blog will be the best journal that I keep. I have a hard time writing because I tend to hold the pen so tight that my hand cramps up 3 sentences in and makes it not enjoyable.

Our New House

You know the old saying 'Good things come to those who wait'? I'm not so sure if that is always true, but our waiting and trusting in God (which has been very stressful at times) paid off. Just a little over 2 months after listing our house it sold, and because we made an offer on our new house before April 30th we qualified for a huge tax credit that we will not have to pay back. God has answered my prayer and desire for a bigger house and yard. Our closing date on the new house is June 9th (Austin's 5th b-day) The kids will have their own rooms and we will have room to host people and not feel like sardines :) We give God all the credit for this and are so excited to move into our new home. I have already started packing and getting rid of things that we do not need. It has been so wonderful to give away kid's clothes and accessories that we no longer use. So many friend's have blessed us, and it feels great to be able to in turn bless other people.

Busy, busy, busy

I just looked at the last entry I posted and saw that it was in February. At first I was shocked, but I am no longer surprised after thinking about all of the things we have been doing lately.
On March 3rd we put our house up for sale. I am so tired of living in such a small house, and although we manage not to trip over each other too much, it's time to move on. The hard thing is, we really love our house :( Oh and we have found a huge house that we love and put an offer on it. All that's left to do is sell our house before the end of May!
In April Phil and I started coaching a 4-5 yr olds soccer team. They are so much fun, and have improved a great deal in a short amount of time. Our son, Austin, is on the team and it's so cute watching him play.
On May 5th Phil's dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had surgery two days later. The day of his surgery was amazing. I don't think that I have EVER prayed as hard as I did that day. God is faithful and has been answering our prayers as every day Tom gets stronger and stronger.
Today we had another showing on our house. I had a lot that needed to get done, but again God blessed me with the strength and time to get it all done. The waiting really stinks, but I know that God will answer our prayer for a bigger home in His time, not mine.
Now that the house is all clean it's time for a relaxing evening with the family. Isn't it wonderful when you have the house all clean and can just sit and relax?

Oh What A Night

Last Saturday we had Brenna and Kayla over to spend the night. It was so much fun! Phil and I had the kids all dancing around. Phil dug out his old cd collection from highschool and we even taught the kids the Macarena :) We tried putting them all in Austin and Ariel's room with Brenna and Kayla on the floor, but that was trouble :) They kept giggling and laughing so much we knew they would never get to sleep. So unfortunately for all involved we had to sepertate them. Brenna and Kayla went over into Eva's room and we put Eva in our room in her pack-n-play.
Well, in the middle of the night it got worse. Ariel threw up all of her dinner and was really sick. Poor thing! Phil and I were cleanning up and doing laundry and loving on her until the early morning. By the time we were done I started to have sharp pains in my stomach too :( And Valentine's morning I joined our sick girl in throwing up. What a very unromantic Valentine's Day we had this year. I stayed in bed all day while Phil took care of the house and kids. He was so great.
Thankfully neither Austin, Phil or Eva got sick!

Super Bowl Fun

Even though the Colt's lost, we had a great time with our friends! Those in attendence included: The Anserts,The Vesters, The Grannises (our lovely hosts), Shaun's friends Amanda (and her family) and Shahid and us.
We got all decked out in our Colt's apparrel and ate lots of great food. Maybe next year the Steeler and Colts will give us better results :)

Another Thought About the Frog

Just as I was willing to reach down into the toilet full of pee to fish out my son's precious frog, God is willing to reach down and pull us out of the crap that we are in
Just as the frog was special and worth saving to Austin, we are special and worth saving to God.
What makes us so special? It's nothing that we have done, but what Christ has done for us. He is in us. That's what makes us special!

What you do for your kids

Have you ever thought "There's nothing that I wouldn't do for this kid"? Well, today's adventure proves that there is truly nothing that I wouldn't do :) We all woke up early 6am - Eva and 6:45 - Austin and Ariel. As normal I told Austin to go pee in our bathroom and took Ariel to their bathroom. While in the middle of peeing I heard Austin yell "oh no, froggie's in the toilet". I thought to myself 'you've got to be kidding' and ran in to the bathroom. Sure enough there was the frog in the pee :( Without thinking I grabbed the poor frog and flung him in the sink and turned on the water. At the same time I shouted at Austin "Why did you do that...what were you thinking?" as if he really meant to do it! I later explained to him that he wasn't to pee and hold his animals because that's what happens, but I'm sure at the time he was a little confused at my being so upset. Besides, he was the one who might lose his precious frog!
After rinsing poor froggie off I toweled him dry and proceeded to apply heat from the hairdryer. You see, froggie isn't just a stuffed animal, he's a beanie baby stuffed animal, and experience has taught me that beanie babies can not be washed and should not get wet! As I was sitting there drying off the frog, I thought how amazing it was that I was willing to do this when the frog was more than likely going to need to be thrown out anyway (he was really wet. But I kept working on him, even put him in a pillowcase in the dryer and dusted him with baking soda. Now the frog is almost as good as new.
All this got me to thinking about my life and what a mess it is, but God hasn't stopped working on me. He is daily washing me out and cleaning me up. He has put more effort into me then I will ever realize. Isn't it amazing that God doesn't throw us out saying "well, that ones too dirty for me to even consider dealing with"? Romans 8:38-39 says "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." What an amazing blessing!
Now I want to hear your crazy stories about what you have done for your kids. Please post a reply.