TAGGED

Finally I have been Tagged!!! I have been waiting forever :-) Thanks Josh and Kara : http://pattersonsofethiopia.blogspot.com/

So here are 7 random things you may or may not know:

1. In high school I played Bruce the Spruce the talking Christmas tree at Younkers. It was always fun to have to come up with a creative reason as to why Bruce talked like a girl...

2. In 2006 I won a Jo to Go contest to come up with a slogan. And the winning billboard read: The Quicker Perker Upper!! Pretty cool huh? I got to have billboards all around WI with my name and slogan for a full month. I also got a pretty cool gift basket.

3. My first time on a plane was when Scott and I flew to San Francisco in October 2003. I was also surprised by an engagement ring on that trip! (Love ya Luvey)

4. I have only had flowers delivered to me at work 1 time. It was my birthday a few years back and I thought they were going to be from my husband, so I proclaimed that if they were not I would marry whoever they were from...sorry Danette, but I am going to have to stick with Scott!

5. Soon I will get to retire from the corporate life and be a stay at home mom. I can not wait to play all day!!! I don't want to grow up....

6. In my senior year of high school I had some art work at the John Micheal Kohler Art Center. They would showcase 2 seniors from each school and I was one of them!

7. I have never had a real Christmas tree... I am not sure if I ever want one, just never had one.

Now I need to Tag some others, so here it goes:

http://www.midrine.blogspot.com/

http://andy.wojtowski.com/

http://adelebooysen.blogspot.com/

http://danettebrooks.blogspot.com/

http://bringinghomekenley.blogspot.com/

Ok, so I know that is not 7, but I am not sure if there are any other bloggers that read this :-). Enjoy the night ~ Melissa

Shoot Outs!

We have been blessed with so many friends and family members who have been helping us out as we prepare for Baby "M" to come home. Because Jean Delson was over 2 years older than Baby "M" will be, we had a lot of things that we needed. It is totally different to bring home an infant rather than a toddler. This week we were blessed again with Many needed items. Grandma and Grandpa Troedel were able to find some warm outfits and also a much needed Winter jacket, Andy and Amy W were able to hook us up with a TON of awesome little outfits for when he comes home ( I can not wait to dress him up!!! We are talking CUTE), and our stroller finally came so a HUGE thanks also goes to Grandma and Grandpa Meyer!!

Scott and I spent the day today organizing all his new clothes and also putting the stroller together. As you can see from the picture, even Pepe is excited to get Baby "M" home!! ~Melissa

COURT DATE!!!!

NOVEMBER 20th!!!! That is the date we will be in court and God willing the date that we will become parents to an incredible baby boy!!! We were very lucky to have gotten a date so quickly because due to the courts having just re-opened they are back logged. We thank God to have gotten a date so quickly and continue to pray that everything will go well on November 20th. What a Great Christmas this will be!!!!!! ~Melissa

Another Leap Forward

We found out today that our dossier has already been translated and authenticated at the Ethiopian level. We are now filed with the court and waiting to be issued a court date!!! Because the courts just re-opened there is a bit of a back log. Our agency said that it is taking about a week to be issued a court date and so far the dates have been for early November. This is all GREAT news and we are over joyed at the progress we have been making. GOD IS GOOD!!! ~Melissa

On the Way!!!

We got an email today from Agitu, the director of BFAS. She said:
...your dossier was forwarded from Washington, D,C, to Addis Ababa on Monday. BFAS in Addis Ababa will inform us when they receive it...The court will open on Monday, but BFAS has to have your dossier authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then have it translated into Amharic and have it authenticated by the Ministry of Justice for court filing....
So, good things are happening and we hope to get our court date soon and bring our little one home!! ~Melissa

OUCH...times 10

Today we had the pleasure of getting the necessary vaccines needed for our upcoming journey to Ethiopia. We went to the travel doctor with the thought that we would probably only need the REQUIRED yellow fever vaccine...boy were we wrong! After the consultation with the doctor it was determined we would each need 5 shots! YIKES. Scott was a trooper and went first. I had a hard time telling if it was hurting because he kept a very serious face throughout the entire ordeal. I asked if they could maybe just mix them all together into one shot, but was told that was not how it is done :-(. So, as soon as Scott was done it was my turn...in went the Hep.A, not bad just a little sting. Next was Typhoid, which we both decided was the worst and continues to make our arms sore even 12 hours later. The 3rd shot was for Yellow Fever, this one is required in order to get our Visa for Ethiopia. Then for FUN she decided to switch arms and finish off in my left arm with Polio and Meningococcal, I don't know if I was just getting used to them or if those just didn't hurt, but I was glad to be done. So $1200 and 10 shots later we are ready to travel...now we just need those courts to open back up on the 28th!!! ~Melissa

VACATION

We have a kind of Tradition of going on a New Years Eve casino bus trip with Scott's parents every year, but this year we should have a little one to take care of by then (God Willing). So, we decided to do one last get away with the 'rents and went on a bus trip to Iowa over the past 3 days. It happened to fall on Scott's birthday as well. We both had TONS of fun...didn't come home rich, but didn't come home broke either. It was nice to have a little time away and relax a little. Now it is back to getting this house in order for a baby! ~Melissa