Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Cake walk??? Uh, NO!

Since we have started telling people of our referral for "S" we have gotten very mixed responses. It is funny how everyone was so happy and excited when we got the referral for Micah. not sure the difference, maybe because he was a baby?!?!? Many people are saying we are CRAZY for wanting to adopt a child "that old", we will have nothing but problems, and those who think that it will be great to have a "little helper". We are not choosing to adopt "S" because we think it is going to be easy to bring home an older child or because we think she is going to be a helper with Micah. We do know that we will possibly have many challenges with her and are trying to prepare for how we will handle the language barrier, the grief she may have regarding the death of her mother and the loss of her home land, the attachment issues we may have, schooling, Micah's adjustment to a big sister, the list goes on and on. Those who have adopted in the past know all to well that you can never be 100% prepared for the challenges you may have because no child goes "by the book". We have taken class after class (mostly because they were required!) about all the things that can go wrong and how to handle the situations as they arise. We were extremely blessed that Micah adapted so well and other than a few minor issues, we had what would appear to be the PERFECT match...
When we were in Ethiopia to get Micah we spent a lot of time in the baby room at the orphanage he was in. It is soooo easy to fall in love with each and every one of those little cuties, but we both said that we know that they will all have families, after all there is a waiting list up to 2 years long for the infants. The kids we were drawn to were the older children, the ones that we were all taking Cute pictures of...and then leaving there in the courtyard. I knew then already that we would bring home an older child someday. I did not know who or when or what age, but I knew that God was placing this mission in my heart and I would follow.
What we are confident about is that God has chosen this journey for us and He will get us through. We also know that now more than ever we (Myself, Scott, Micah, and "S") NEED the love and support of our family and friends....I pray that we have that!!!
Next time new pictures of Micah ( I promise!! Today I just needed to vent). Melissa

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

It's a Girl!!!

Today we had our home visit for our update to the home study. We talked with our social worker about the possibility of adopting a older girl from Ethiopia. We were made aware of a little girl (5-7 years of age) that was available for adoption. We had been aware of her for a week now and had prayed about her and knew she was meant to be our daughter. He agreed to approve us for her and we called BFAS right away. Agitu is now sending us our official referral letter and then we will have to wait for our home study update to get to them and for USCIS approval and then we can be filed for court!! I can not post pics until after we pass court, but she is beautiful!!! More updates soon!! Melissa

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Micah's Day in Court

Today was the big day that we have all been waiting for - Micah's Re-adoption. This needs to be done so that he can become a US citizen and we also got to legally change his name. He is now Micah Muse Troedel Officially!!! The hearing went great and Micah did a good job sitting (as good as any toddler can do!). The judge did agree to correct his b-day, so it is officially February 23, 2008!!!! He was lucky enough to have his Grandmas and Grandpas , as well as Auntie Heidi and his cousins to support him and celebrate his big day. He was so excited that he fell asleep on the way home from court and slept through the party :) Here are some pics!! Melissa

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Road Trip

Over the 4th of July weekend we took Micah on his first real Road Trip...all the way to Iowa! We went to visit our good friend Danette, who is also Micah's God Mom. Our friend Adele was also staying with Danette so we were able to catch up with her as well. Micah did great on the ride down...slept all the way through WI and did not wake until Dubuque. We stopped there for some lunch and then continued to Cedar Rapids. Micah LOVED his Auntie Danette and took to her right away. It was great to watch them interact, she was really good with him. Adele happens to do photography as well and got some GREAT pics of Micah while we were there. He saw his first parade and fireworks (he did not watch most of them and instead snuggled in on mommy!!). We all had a wonderful time and can not wait to go back again!! Here are some pics that Adele took...Enjoy- Melissa