Quick Catch Up

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE TROEDEL TRIBE
I had been waiting to post until I had time to put pictures on too, but if I do that you may just be waiting FOREVER! Here is a little of what has been going on:
On December 9th we celebrated Micah's 3 year Famiversary! I can not believe that it has been 3 years since my baby boy was placed in my arms FOREVER! He is growing into an amazing little man and is SO smart, too smart for his own good sometimes :).
Delson is doing GREAT in school. I am so happy that we moved him to a smaller, private school. It was the BEST decision we ever made, the difference is like day and night. He was in a Christmas program for school this week and was a wise man. He did great and was the kid singing SUPER loud without really knowing all the words :)
Sitota just finished with her first semester of ballet. She is taking it at a local church and has really liked it. She continues to LOVE reading and also drawing. She is busy practicing for a musical she is going to be in at the end of January:)
Scott and I have been busy preparing for our mission trip to Haiti, we will leave the day after Christmas and will return on New Years Eve. I can not wait to see what God has in store for us and who he has already chosen to cross our path.
I pray everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!! - Melissa

A bit of Christmas Thanks

Today we decorated the house for Christmas and the kids were SO excited to help. The moment that really stands out for me is when the kids placed their special ornaments on the tree that represent their birth families. As they placed their ornament on the tree each child took the time to say a little prayer for their families.
Micah has an angel that he chose to represent his birth mom and said that he was thankful she had him and prayed that she is safe. Though we do not know her name, she did such a loving thing when she gave him over to the police as a newborn as she could not care for him but did wanted him safe.
Delson has an ornament that was handmade in Haiti and asked God to keep his Haitian mommy, Verigne safe(his Haitian daddy, Pierre,is no longer here on earth).
Sitota has a cross that she chose to remember her family. She thanked God for her Ethiopian mommy and daddy, Worke and Wolde, whom are no longer with us on earth and prayed that God keep Tariku and her other brothers and sisters in Ethiopia safe. , and the precious young lady who was loving enough to bring her newborn baby boy to the police so she knew he would be safe. I am so Thankful for all they gave up so we can have our family.
We are so thankful to all of those listed here for the blessings they have given us.

Perfect Match

Had a funny (and interesting) conversation with Micah the other day after we had read a book about adoption. The book referred to how God had found us both and matched us. Here is how our talk at lunch a few days later went:

Micah: Mom, I don't think God is really good at matching.
Me: What are you talking about honey?
Micah: Remember how we read a book and you said God matched us.
Me: Yes
Micah: Well put out your arm (I do so and he puts his arm next to mine). See your arm is white, right?
Me: Yes
Micah: And my arm is brown, right?
Me: Yes
Micah: So I don't think God is very good at matching.
Me: We may not match in the color of our skin, but God did match our hearts and I am so happy you are my son.
Micah: And I am Happy you are my mom (followed by a big hug and kiss!)

Gotta LOVE that kid!!

My Sticker Chart

Recently we began giving the kids an opportunity to earn an allowance. With this began the creation of their very own Sticker Charts. Being that we have a variety of ages for those able to earn some cash, we also have a wide variety of "chores", some of which are really just behaviors we would like them to improve on. I got to thinking what MY sticker chart may look like if I were to have one. Here are a few I came up with:
Kids Chart - No Time Outs
My Chart - Take a Time Out! Sometimes a break is really needed to refresh and regroup. I have a Really hard time admitting that I need to take some time for myself in order to "behave" better.
Kids Chart - Finish your meal before leaving the table (can you tell we have a 3 year old!)
My Chart - Take time to eat 3 meals a day. I can not tell you the last time I sat down and ate breakfast in the morning. I am "too busy" making lunches, getting kids dressed, brushing said kids teeth, getting shoes and coats on, etc. I REALLY need to make time to at least eat...maybe my morning would go better :)
Kids Chart - Dress yourself in the appropriate clothes for the day
My Chart - Get dressed in something other than jeans and a t-shirt. Since becoming a mom my attire has REALLY suffered. I joke that I try to make sure the kids always look nice because then no one will pay attention to what I look like. I however enjoy looking nice and classy even with being a mommy!

I could go on and on, but you get the point...it appears I need to work on my own improvement a little bit and I intend to do just that :)

BATS

I LOVE hearing about everything Delson is learning at his new school. It is AMAZING what he can all take in when there is not the chaos of 25 kids in the room. Last week he was learning about bats and we had this conversation on the way home from school:
Delson: Mom, did you know that even if you do not like bats you can not kill them? They are God's creation and you do not want to make God cry by killing them.
Me: That is true Delson, we don't want to kill living things (praying in my head, God PLEASE do not let a bat show up in the house as I KNOW I would go postal on that!!)
Delson: Mom, did you know that the bats are running out of caves? Maybe we should build a big cage for the bats so they don't end up gone like dinosaurs!
Me: Ummm, I am not so sure that is a good idea...

Rainbow

Today as Micah and I were riding down the street I had the pleasure to be with him when he saw his first rainbow. I know we have tried to point them out to him before, but he never could really see it until today. Nothing is better than sitting in the car with your 3 year old while they are in total amazement at God's beauty. He even knew that Noah was the first person to see a rainbow (thank you WONDERFUL Sunday school teachers!!) and we could use it as a learning opportunity to talk about God's promises. What a Wonderful

The Joy of Raising Boys

Today the boys were playing outside and I ran in to answer the phone. I went to look something up for someone and was going to head back outside when I hear Micah crying and see a neighbor lady walking toward the house. I run out the garage door and see Micah riding up on his bike balling as Delson yells, "It wasn't me!". Well, the neighbor lady askes me to walk with her to her house (3 houses down) and says that my son was destroying her antique wooden sled. We get there and she shows me the 3 boards that were broke and thrown in her yard. I apologize over and over then ask how we can make this better. She says maybe he can come and rake leaves, I said that would be fine. I then said that he has been really into being a fireman lately and I think that he gets carried away thinking things are real, then I state "I guess that is what happens when you are 3". She says, "3?? Oh no honey, it was the older boy!" The whole time I thought it was Micah because he was crying SO loud and Delson said it was not him when I came out. So....I head home with my new info and have a LONG talk with Delson. He says he does not know why he did it. I have him get his money out of his piggy bank and make a I am sorry card to bring down. He delivers his "gifts" and says he is sorry and will NEVER do it again. We then talk again to get to why and he explains that they were playing fireman and he was pretending it was a car on fire and used a shovel as an axe to get the "people" out of the car. He claims that he didn't think about how it was just pretend and that we can not do that. We had a long talk and had him do some work around the house tonight instead of playing...oh the joys of boys :)

Fall Fun Pictures!

The post you have all been waiting for...pictures! The kids have been LOVING the nice fall weather we have been having and have enjoyed getting out in the leaves and apple picking! Here are some fun pics of what we have been up to!

Did you miss me?!?

I am back. I have REALLY missed my blog and I hope that you all have too. So, since it has been SO long since my last post, I will give you some updates on how everyone is doing:
Sitota is now a beautiful 10 year old little lady. She is in the 4th grade and currently goes to Carl Traeger elementary school. Recently Sitota started ballet and LOVES it. She also is very into cooking and takes a kids in the kitchen class. Sitota has enjoyed taking swimming lessons and is now at a level 3. She is looking forward to trying out for a local children's musical in a few weeks. We have had some bonding issues and she is struggling with abandonment issues regarding her family in Ethiopia, but we are working through those things and have made Great progress. She is a true blessing and her smile can brighten a room.
Delson is now 5 years old and still full of energy. He started Kindergarten this year and was struggling with the large class size so he will be starting at a Lutheran school this week. The fact that he will be the 8th kindergartner there will be a HUGE blessing. He is enjoying getting outside to run and ride his bike. Delson's favorite thing to do is build things and he is Very good at it.
Micah is now 3 years old and smart as ever (along with that comes that he is sassy as ever too!). He started preschool through our rec department and LOVES going to school like the big kids. He goes 2 days a week for 2 hours, which is perfect for him. He also did dance and gymnastics through the rec department, but is taking a little break while in school. Micah's big loves are race cars, airplanes, and fire trucks. He is loving his time with mom while the other kids are at school :)

As far as me and Scott, we are preparing for our mission trip to Haiti this December. We will be going with a team of 5 people from our church to Haiti. This will be truly a life changing experience and we are truly blessed to be a part of this team. Also, after MANY discussions we feel that our family is now complete and rather than focus on any additional adoptions we are going to put our energy into what we are blessed to have. This was actually a difficult topic for me as I have felt like I was being led to add one more child to our family, but I am finding the joy in what I have and realize that no one can fill the void I feel but God. I am trying to take some more time to focus on myself as I have not been good at taking care of me and it shows. By taking care of me I feel I will be able to better take care of my family as well.
Well, that is what is going on. I am going to try to be more faithful to this blog to let everyone know what is going on...and of course will get some recent pics up soon!! - Melissa

One Year Ago

I can not at all believe that one year ago today I was at the airport in Green Bay anxiously awaiting the arrival of our son Delson. It had been such a LONG journey for Delson to get to us, that I really thought the day would NEVER come when I would be holding my son in my arms forever. This year has been full of challenges, but through it all I know that this was all God's plan and that Delson is truly a blessing in my life. Delson continues to grow in so many ways and I LOVE growing closer to him daily. Tonight he wanted to go to McDonalds for ice cream to celebrate his famiversary. Posted is a picture of us from the airport last year and one from McDonalds tonight. You can start to see the joy in his eyes and for that I am SO thankful! Melissa

The One-Upper Gone Bad

Here is the conversation the boys were having in the car today:
Micah- "I am going to be a police man when I grow up!"
Delson - "I am going to be a good cop when I get big!"
Micah - " Oh yeah, well I am going to be a good cop who puts bad guys in the back of my car!"
Delson - "Yeah, well I am going to be a bad buy and ride in the back of a police car when I grow up!!"

Jumping Through Hoops

I had a tough time coming up with a name for this post. Some other options were: Watching My Money Go Down the Drain, Positive...or not, or Could it Get Any Better!. Here is what has been going on in the past week at the Troedel house: We got the information we now need to apply for Delson's green card and then can apply for his Certificate of Citizenship. Good news right?!?! But as with everything that comes from the government this too comes with a price. I won't get into all the details, but want to get to the meat of things. One of the things we need to do is have Delson get a physical at a Civil Surgeon (aka Federal Government Approved Doctor!). In order to get him this appointment we need to first get him in for a TB test. Simple right?!?! WRONG! We took him in last Friday so they could read his scratch test and he had a positive reading. Now, before you panic, the most likely reason for this is that he probably received a vaccine while in Haiti that would cause a false positive skin test and therefore would need to do a chest xray in the future to rule out TB. We have NO documentation of him having had vaccines while in Haiti, but it is possible. So today we had to bring him back to the clinic for a chest xray and also lab work (5 Tubes of Blood!). I had to cancel his appointment we had for tomorrow with the civil surgeon because we first have to have the proof that he does not have TB, so now he goes next week. Did I mention that we are unsure whether insurance will cover any of this since it is elective testing?!?! Great!
To put icing on the cake Delson also failed his eye screening at school (especially the depth perception part) and we need to bring him in for an actual exam ASAP...did I mention that we took him in April and they found nothing so insurance will not cover it unless we wait till this April to bring him in...
So there you have it! On a good note, I think that I am making some progress on my resolutions. This is a VERY good thing. And after all, it could ALWAYS be worse!!! Melissa

Things to Work on 2011

With the new year brings resolutions. This year I have several areas I would like to work on. Most are goals regarding how to become Happy again, I feel I have lost the Joy I used to have and really want to work on getting it back! 2010 was a year of MANY changes for us and I would be lying if I told you I have adjusted to all of them well and am Joyful for what I have been given all the time. This year I REALLY want/need a change in attitude more than any other changes :) Here are the goals I will have posted to review everyday:
1. Laugh more and Yell less
2. Listen more and Talk less
3. This is a tough one to even type, but I want to learn to LOVE my son (Delson). You see everything about Delson's adoption has been hard. The process, the years of waiting, behavior issues, attachment issues, RAD, etc. I have struggled to attach and see past the behaviors and LOVE my broken, but perfectly as God planned little boy. This year I will do EVERYTHING I can to help him and help me to accept him.
4. Make a difference in the life of a stranger.
5. Make time for myself to do things I enjoy(ed) doing. I have felt like I never have time for me anymore and I know that I would be happier if I would just make a little time to get back to things I have always enjoyed!
6. Workout videos HERE I COME :)
This is a list that I will not take lightly and will be posting them and reviewing them everyday so that I do not forget about these things that are SO important. Here is wishing everyone a HAPPIER NEW YEAR!! - Melissa