Born to be our Babies

More to come soon...

2011-11-19T22:38:00.000-06:00

Not for sure that we still have readers out there but if we do, just wanted to drop a line and say that we are sorry we haven't posted in so long. To be honest, we've just been so busy but not only that, we've been on the fence about our 2 adoption. For awhile there seemed to be a little uncertainty in the program and we weren't sure if this was our true calling or not. Well after a lot of soul searching it turns out...IT IS! We are getting ready to bear down and start the paper chase all over again! Until I get back with a more detailed update, I've given the old blog a minor facelift and added a few new photos. Promise to update real soon this time!

Yet another long, overdue update...

2011-06-07T21:17:00.000-05:00

Long time no blog huh? It's been a really busy Spring so far and blogging time has really been at a premium if you know what I mean. Not a whole lot to report on our new adoption journey. We're still in the early, early stages of the process. We've just been so busy dealing with the wonderful IRS and the new tax credit. As if the government doesn't make the adoption process difficult enough, we have to go back and have copies made of every single adoption-related check we've written since 2007. Fun, Fun! Anyway, that's where we now stand. So without further adieu, here's a little glimpse of what the Hansel's have been up to the last few months.

We decided there was room for one more!

There have been lots of birthday parties...

...and lot's of opportunities to learn that not all b-day gifts are ours :)

We've started experimenting with puffs more....

...and more

We've also been introduced to Bubba and 'Nunna's Gator!

We've discovered the wonderful world of s'mores...

...and discoverd our "cool" side as well :)

Had the best Easter ever...

...and hunted Easter eggs...

...till we dropped.

We got our first Toms...

...and went to the zoo...

...even rode our first choo-choo!

It's been an awesome Spring. Life is definitely good and we are very blessed to share it with Marley! Will try to post some updates a little more often from now on.

The Big Announcement (TAKE 1)

2011-05-10T18:50:00.001-05:00

This was too good not to share. Our first attempt at capturing Marley's Big Sister Announcement. Not quiiiiiiiite what we were looking for :)

Marley's Big Announcement

2011-05-09T20:21:00.000-05:00

Check out our newest video. Marley's got a big, big, BIIIIIIIIIIIIG announcement for everyone. Look out Ethiopia, here we come.........AGAIN!!!

One year ago today (Pt. 3) HAPPY GOTCHA DAY!!!

2011-03-09T12:53:00.000-06:00

One year ago today we FINALLY landed in Addis and had our sweet baby girl in our arms a few hours later. Our lives have never been the same since. Happy Gotcha Day Mar-Mar. Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know! We threw this little montage of our first year together yesterday. Enjoy!

One year ago today (Pt. 2)

2011-03-08T18:34:00.000-06:00

Oh where to start? Alot of colorful words could be used to describe this day but for the sake of our readers will just call it "Bittersweet". We arrived at Frankfurt, Germany around 8 A.M. as scheduled and everything was going smooth...that is, until we managed to miss our flight to Addis. What a nightmare! For some reason, Frankfurt doesn't declare a set gate until about an hour before takeoff so the only thing we had to go by was the gate # printed on our tickets. BIG MISTAKE! We set there for a few hours until our scheduled departure drew closer and closer. We asked several airline and airport staff if we were at the correct gate, to which they all said, "yes". Yada, yada, yada....long story short, we missed the flight, was told that the next flight out wasn't for 2 more days (which meant we would likely miss our Visa appt), cried, cursed, finally found another flight out at midnight with another airline (Ethiopian Airlines), cried some more, forked out another $1600 and at 10:30 PM finally departed the hell hole that is Frankfurt Airport en route to Addis Ababa and our baby girl! Now if that's not bittersweet, I don't know what is!

Our inspiration through 2 days of layovers, missed flights

One year ago today (Pt. 1)

2011-03-07T17:54:00.002-06:00

One year ago today we boarded the plane from Kansas City to Frankfurt, Germany enroute to Addis Ababa. Had to be the most exciting day of our lives! We posted this to our blog just before our departure:

"It's hard to believe that after 3 long years, the time has finally come. We're off to get our beautiful baby girl!!! Don't know if the opportunity to upload photos or update our blog will present itself during our stay as we've been told the internet is slow...I mean, reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally slooooooooooooooow. Not to mention the frequent power outages but rest assured there will be plenty of pics and videos to go around when we get back and we can't wait to share these experiences with all of you! Sorry to rush off but we're sort of in a hurry... we're off to meet that certain little someone ;) Ciao!"

The Great iPad/iPod Giveaway!!!

2011-02-25T21:08:00.000-06:00

One of our adoption buddies is trying to raise the necessary funds to go on a mission trip to Uganda in a few short months and came up with a really great idea for a fundraiser. By visiting their blog you can donate and enter to win and iPad, an iPod, or Both! An iPad entry is $20 and iPod entry is $10. As if that's not a great deal already, she's also giving additional entries for posting a link back to their site on facebook, blogs, and twitter. To donate and enter for your shot to win these awesome prizes, click HERE!!!

Congrats on your upcoming trip to Uganda, Elisa. Hope all is well with you guys!

And just because, here's a shot of Marley getting ready to party it up at MiMi's (grandma's) b-day party tonight

one year photos....FINALLY!

2011-02-05T14:02:00.000-06:00

In keeping with our "better late than never" theme, here are some pics from Mar's 1 year photo shoot. Nothing like ordering them 4 months later :) Enjoy!

Two Firsts...

2011-02-01T20:01:00.000-06:00

Her first salon appointment

& her first overnight hospital stay :(

Marley can count to 10!!!

2011-01-30T10:36:00.001-06:00

This is the best video we've been able to get so far. She can do it by herself but it seems every time we pull out the camera, she gets a little shy and needs a prompt here and there. Pretty darn good for a 16 month old!

First Christmas!

2011-01-16T17:38:00.004-06:00

I guess better late than never seems to be our theme lately, but we did have a great first Christmas with Marley. Kris and I put a lot of thought into each gift we got her and really wanted to get toys that she would really like and would grow with her. Obviously Kris and I were far more excited about our first Christmas together than Marley since she had no clue what was happening anyway. We spent Christmas Eve with my family, which included my 4 year old niece and 1 year old nephew so you can imagine how crazy it became when it was time to open gifts. We all had a great time and Marley got several great gifts. Once we got home Kris and I made sure all her gifts were under the tree and that Santa had come. Christmas morning, again us more excited than her were up early waiting on Marley to get up. It was a wonderful Christmas morning, we took our time opening each gift and playing with it then moving to the next one. Her big gift this year was a kitchen that she does love, she also got her own little rocking chair, she got blocks, crayons, crayons for the tub and a little music player that she can pack around with her. We had also gotten her some Christmas pajamas but she got those the night before. Later that day we went and had Christmas with Kris' side and again she received several great gifts. Christmas with Marley will always be special but I don't think anything can beat that first one. Since everyone loves pics I will leave you with some. Hope you all enjoyed your holiday as much as we did.

Christmas Eve: Marley 1, Jarret 1 1/2, Jenna 4

Santa made it!

Trying out her new rocking chair

Oh boy! New blocks!

new "cd" player

Mar rockin' her new hat w/ Mommy

Patience! Dinner will be ready in a minute.

Hugs for Cousin Miles

Christmas photo @ Ronnie & Jenny's

Mar's newest thing, her "mean look" lol

Party at my crib, New Years Eve!

2010-12-24T15:17:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

Looks like Santa's a no-go

2010-12-16T19:15:00.000-06:00

We were at the Jordan Creek shopping center in Des Moines last weekend and thought we'd give Marley one more opportunity to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. Just as suspected, Santa's a no-go. It's funny, she likes to talk about Santa, Ho-Ho-Ho like Santa, and find all the Santa decorations on our tree but once she hits that knee, LOOK OUT! This was one of those arched-back, feet/arm-flailing, head-banging fits. She wasn't on his knee long enough for the photographer to get a pic. Luckily we were able to snap a quick, albeit blurry photo before Santa gave her up. Judging by Santa's expression, I don't think this was the first fit he had seen that day. LOL!

It works!!!

2010-12-09T16:44:00.000-06:00

Just got our confirmation email from Shutterfly regarding the $25 promo code if you post your card projects on your blogs. Big thanks to Anne, we didn't know anything about it till she pointed it out. Here's the email we just received: Thank you for your participation in the Shutterfly share project promotion. "We’ve confirmed your entry and are pleased to provide you with a discount code for $25 off your next order at Shutterfly.com. Please note this discount code expires February 15th, 2011. We look forward to seeing you again soon! Your redemption code is:"

New Heart in Africa Ornament!

2010-12-06T16:52:00.000-06:00

Just got our newest Heart in Africa Ornament from etsy. It's really cool! You can get your own HERE.

Marley checkin' out her new ornament

Happy (early) Holidays!

2010-12-03T19:56:00.004-06:00

Bright Red Filmstrip Christmas

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Hey guys, sorry for the double post but big thanks to Anne for sharing her knowledge of the $25 Shutterfly promo/blogger deal. Supposedly if you embed your photocard project on your blog you will get a $25 promo code for future purchases. Guess we'll see if it works. Thank you Anne! So now, if anyone out there in Blogger Land has shutterfly photo projects and wants a free $25, check out this link to see how: http://freebies4mom.com/2010/11/25/bloggers-get-free-25-gift-certificate-from-shutterfly/

Happy (early) Holidays!

2010-12-03T18:09:00.000-06:00

Just ordered our first Christmas cards on Shutterfly. Happy (early) Holidays!

Drawn from Water...

2010-12-02T16:50:00.003-06:00

What a touching organization! Check out this powerful story and wonderful organization. Thanks to Elisa Hyman for sharing this on Facebook.

If you have problems viewing the video, check out their website http://www.drawnfromwater.org/ and try viewing it from there. Take care!

"It Began with Bale" from Drawn From Water on Vimeo.

The Vivolo's article...

2010-11-22T21:12:00.000-06:00

Check out the article that one of our Ethiopia travel buddies wrote regarding their adoption in honor of Nat'l Adoption Month. We spent a lot of time with these guys while in Addis including a much needed trip to the Hilton for a little "westernization" and break from Ethiopian cuisine :) Click HERE to read their article.

The really, really, reeeeeeeally overdue post...

2010-11-16T20:43:00.007-06:00

Mar-Mar's 1st B-Day:
I know, I know...It's been forever since we've posted an update. Is anyone still out there? We used to get agitated at those families whose blogs we followed during our wait, when they would quit posting for months on end and here we are...GUILTY AS CHARGED! It's amazing just how little time you have for blogging once those little ones get here. I LOVE IT! So much to post about but where to begin? Ahhh yes, Mar-Mar's big 1 year birthday party! Had a blast with tons of family and friends who helped celebrate our special day. Let me tell you, this little girl raked it in too. Lots and lots of clothes and toys. Her momma and I got her a Cozy Coupe for her birthday and her reaction was priceless! We saved it for last and once we rolled it out she let out this very shrill shreak, you know, the kind that can shatter glass. She ran/hobbled over to it as fast as she could and wanted in immediately. It was GREAT! Judging by that last photo, I think we should have gotten a family pic BEFORE the party! So without further adieu, here's some shots from her birthday.

Our first Halloween!

Life as we know it...
The last couple of months since our last post have been an absolute joy ride. Marley is sooooo smart! She knows all of her farm animal sounds and is learning new words daily. We've even started counting to 3! And that walking thing? Forget it...We're into SPEED walking now. We're getting a wee bit pickier when it comes to eating but we love Bananas (that's "nana's" in Marley-bonics). Not much of a veggie fan, more of a meat & potatoes kind of girl. Just like Dadda :) We love, love, looooove books (particularly Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Our evenings are spent closing doors, taking the dog's bowls (and yes, sometimes the dog's food) away, laughing, rolling, hugs, kisses, tickle-tickles, and reading the same 3 books over, and over again and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. What did we ever do without our little girl?

It's our Referral-versary today!!!(from Dadda's point of view)
It was a cold dreary day with a heafty threat of snow in the forecast. I was very busy helping customers that morning when my cell rang at approximately 10:45 A.M. I looked down and saw the famous St. Louis area code and my heart sank immediately. Could this really be THE call? I answered the phone nervously and it was Ashley (our adoption consultant). She said, "We have your referral! Hold on while we get Staci on the other line." a few seconds pass and the next thing I hear is my wifey sobbing and blubbering on the other end of the line. Now when I say, blubbering I mean, reeeeeally blubbering. You know, the kind of blubbering that is almost incoherent. We both dropper everything and raced each other home to check out our beautiful baby girl for the first time. Truely the 2nd best day of my life! It's weird thinking that one year ago tonight, we were filled with a comination of disbelief and joy. Now here it is, one year later and I just kissed my little girl Night-Night. Happy Referral-versary Staci and Mar-Mar. I love you guys!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Melkam Lidet, Mar-Mar!!!

2010-09-10T17:21:00.000-05:00

That's "Happy Birthday" in Amharic. I know this post is a day early but we've got a lot going on tomorrow with the birthday party and everything. It's hard to believe that our little girl is getting so BIG! Really 2 big milestones this week. Today marked the day in which Marley has officially been with us longer than she was without it. It's a great feeling knowing that we've been there for the majority of her life.
Tomorrow we are having a cupcake themed party for Mar-Mar and are expecting lots of friends and kiddos. We're pretty excited, especially to see her expression when we wheel out the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe that we got for her 1st b-day. We were over at Brenda and David's the other night and Marley got in Jenna & Jarrett's Cozy Coupe and threw a screamin' fit when we took her out. Made our gift decision pretty easy.
Our last post was a vid of Marley taking her first steps. Since then she's pretty much mastered the art of walking. The girl absolutely refuses to crawl anymore. Her personality is hilarious. She is constantly cracking us up with her antics. Her newest favorite words are "Hi", "Bye", "Bree" (is actually a cross between "book" and "read") and BaBa". The last word actually encompasses many meanings. It means ball, bottle, and MaMa. Yes, we've actually discovered that Marley can fiiiiiiinally say "Mama", it just comes out as "baba". Mama is sooooo happy! Melkam Lidet baby girl!
Until next time, here are some new pics of the lovely and talented Miss Marley.

Hangin' out at Coco Keys in K.C.

Chillin encounter with livestock!

Chillin' w/ dada at the K.C. Zoo

Marley rollin' w/ cousin Jarrett

This is what happens with 3 kiddos and 1 Cozy Coupe :)

1st b-day invitation photo shoot

That's right, you're 1!

Mar-Mar's 1st Steps!

2010-08-19T21:37:00.000-05:00

It's official!!!

2010-08-19T20:45:00.001-05:00

Marley is a walker!!! She just took her first steps about 20 minutes ago! Age: 11 Months and 8 days. Got some really good video but the memory card decided to bite the big one (figures). Will try again though. Stay tuned!

Darn spammers!

2010-08-13T15:36:00.000-05:00

Just letting you know that in an effort to thwart those darn spammers from leaving junk comments on our blog, we've changed our settings so that only Followers can leave comments. So join our blog and keep in touch! We love hearing from all of our fellow adoption buddies out there.

Happy 11 months Mar-Mar!

2010-08-11T21:46:00.002-05:00

Today our big girl turned 11 months old (and daddy turned 32). Marley celebrated her 11 month birthday by pulling off a 1st. She was able to stand up out of the tripod position all by herself. It was hilarious. We have always said "WOW!" whenever she pulls up alongside a piece of furniture and I was standing in the kitchen fixing her breakfast and I heard "WOW!". I looked over and there she was standing up by herself in the the middle of the kitchen. I about died laughing when I figured out what she was saying. Needless to say, Marley's second word [the first being "dada" (sorry staci, had to throw that in there)] is "WOW!" We'll try really, really hard to get this new trick on tape.
It was the greatest birthday ever. I got to spend the whole day with baby girl, just the 2 of us, and listen to her ecstatically say "WOW" and watch another milestone come to pass. She is growing so quickly and it seems like every day brings new surprises. We are truely, truely blessed to be Mar-Mar's mommy and daddy.

Rockin' our new $5 pool (I swear it looked bigger on the box)

Having a blast camping w/ Uncle David, Aunt Brenda, Jenna & Jarrett!

Chillaxin in the new wagon Mimi and Papa got her

M's first Dallas Cowboys Game Day!

Hopefully there won't be too much of this happening on Sundays (daddy included)

Did I mention she has this knack for getting into absolutely EVERYTHING?!?!

More pics...I know, I know late again

2010-08-02T22:21:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, these pictures were taken back in March and we just recently got around to picking some out. So without further adieu :)

Extra, Extra!

2010-07-27T12:47:00.002-05:00

Here's a great article on the Davis family's adoption of Nyah. Well, I guess it's only PART of the article. I'd post the rest of it but I'm pretty sure there are copyright laws preventing me from doing so. Congrats again Jim and Dixie! What a lovely family.

Davis Family Article

Summer Fun!

2010-07-26T17:20:00.001-05:00

Alright so I know we haven't been the best bloggers lately. Before we had Marley we read lot's of adoption blogs and hated it when families would get home with their little ones and their new posts got farther and farther apart. Now we totally understand why! You see, just a few weeks ago, Marley figured out how to pull all the way up on her feet. Yup, that's right, we're officially the parents of a full-blown puller-upper and soon to be parents of a full-blown stands-on-our-owner too! Needless to say, large portions of our evenings are spent chasing Miss M around and around, taking things out of her mouth, and trying to convey the meaning of "no,no" to her. And you know what?!?! We wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!
     A couple of weeks ago we attended the CHI Reunion in St. Louis. It was such a blast FINALLY getting to meet several of the wonderful people who's blogs we have followed for the past few years. Finally got to meet the Salyers and Hyman families and lovely Ru and (other) Miss Marley :) It was awesome to finally be able to connect face-to-face with these wonderful families. We can't wait to see them again some day!
     While in St. Louis we met up with the Davis' (who just arrived home with their little Nyah about 2 months ago) and to our surprise had adjoining rooms. We had a blast hanging with these guys. There boys, Davin and Delton are a hoot and Nyah was just amazing. We spent Saturday with the Davis clan hanging at the reunion and then we were off to the zoo for the afternoon. It was the perfect weekend! We are truely blessed to have a fellow Ethiopian adoptive family like the Davis' living so close here in rural NW Missouri!
     Other than the reunion, it's been the normal summer stuff here. Marley has officially become a pool rat this summer! We love, love, LOVE kicking, screaming and splashing in the pool (and tub). This last weekend we had both sides of the family over for our first ever weenie roast at our new fire ring we just built. Lot's of weiners, smores, and games. Until next time, more pics!

All ready to meet my Ethiopian gal-pals in St. Louis!

Momma & Marley at the reunion

Finally meeting Missy and Elisa! Good to see Alida again too!

Marley meets Marley!

Breakfast in bed at the Mariott

Daddy and Marley at the Mariott pool

Momma and Marley doing kissy-faces

Havin' a blast in the tub

Tellin' Aunt Brenda a reeeeeally big campfire story at the weenie roast

Daddy hanging with Marley and Abby at the roast

"Purple Cat, Purple Cat, what do you see?"

2010-07-13T19:39:00.004-05:00

For some reason Marley's newest passion is Purple Cat in the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". Her reactions are priceless everytime finds him. :)

P.S. Disregard the messy room! For some reason, our house looks like this a lot more often :) Will post more updates soon!

Father's Day Fun

2010-06-22T12:49:00.001-05:00

Our first Father's Day!

She is getting sooooo big!

CHI Reunion

2010-06-17T17:34:00.000-05:00

We sent in our RSVP last week for the Bi-annual CHI Reunion in St. Louis July 10th and booked our room at the Marriott West for Friday night. Thought I would check to see if anyone else was going. Hope to see you there!

9 Month post!

2010-06-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok...I know she's been 9 months old for about a week now but here's how things are going so far. Since our "8 Month Post" Marley has since started going to a baby sitter 4 days a week. She has really handled it well...better than Momman anyway :) She had a checkup at the doctor a couple of weeks ago and weighed in at a whopping 18 lbs 4 ounces. That's almost 5 pounds since we've gotten her! She is getting to be such a big girl and has an awesome personality. We're not quite crawling yet but we have finally just started to figure out the army crawl and going forward. She mostly gets to where she wants to be by doing these little half-circles. She's also getting to that stage where she only wants to be everywhere she's not supposed to be :) Maaaaan do we have our hands full when she finally figures this crawling thing out! We now have 2 whole toofers and we are in love with "The Office" theme song. We really, really, reeeeeally love the Dell Computers "Lollipop" commercial...to the point that we squack and squeel when it first comes on. As if we needed any more reasons to dislike Wal-Mart, our daughter is now in love with that Darrell guy in their Roll-Back commercials. Damn you Wal-Mart!

She is so, so happy and we are very blessed that we were chosen to raise such a beatiful baby girl. She is truely the light of our lives and we can't imagine life without her.

For all of you adopting parents still going through the process: hang in there. It WILL happen! There WILL come a day when your holding your new little one and you look back on the process and realize that that long, long wait that once took you to the bring of maddness is just a faint memory. It WILL happen! Until next time, here's a couple more silly pics just taken yesterday of our little goofball.

Hilarious!

2 whole toofers!

Alright, Alright, enough with the camera already!

Better late than never...

2010-06-14T17:38:00.001-05:00

Finally getting around to posting some pics of Marley's Easter photo session. At the time these were taken she was about 6 1/2 months old and had been home for 2 weeks. My how our little girl has grown since then.

Two of our all-time faves:

Getting her pic. with Cousin Abby

The bunny was just a little hungry :)

New Onesie!

2010-06-10T20:09:00.001-05:00

Just got our new onesie today from fellow adoptive parent, Erin Sager. You can check out there blog HERE and You can get your own HERE!

8 months old!

2010-05-27T11:17:00.002-05:00

This post is a little late but Marley has turned 8 months old! She continues to be the best baby and is learning new things daily. At 8 months Marley can :

play patty cake or clap (which I love)
she is rolling all over the place from front to back and back to front
she has one tooth and working on several more
she has become a major mama's girl!
she will hold her arms out for Kris and I
she continues to be a good sleeper but due to the teething issue i do get up with her a few times a night
she loves to be outside and likes to take walks or swing
she loves to eat and loves any fruit
she loves music and loves the theme to "The Office"
she also shakes her head no for fun
she has learned that if she screams, she get's whatever she wants (uh-oh)

This last weekend we went to Kansas City, we did some shopping on Saturday then stayed at a hotel. Marley got to experience her first time in a swimming pool and she loved it. Then Sunday we went to the Royal's game with my sister Brenda and her husband David and children Jenna and Jarrett and Kris' brother Ryan and his wife Krissy. We had fun but it was hot, we had to come up with creative ways to keep Marley cool, needless to say we did not stay for the whole game.

Marley continues to be such a joy in our lives, she has been with us for 2 1/2 months and we have loved every minute of it! I am amazed every day how very blessed we have been to have her as our daughter. We look forward to a fun summer and making wonderful memories!

Lovin' that pool!

Baby's first Royals game

When you live in Missouri, you find all sorts of creative ways to stay cool!

Daddy gave me my first baby-hawk

1st tooth!!!

2010-05-05T15:21:00.000-05:00

Look reeeeeal close....It's there!

Congrats to the Davis family!!!

2010-04-29T18:13:00.001-05:00

Jim & Dixie found out they passed court today and will be traveling very soon to pick up their little one. We had the honor of meeting Nyah while we were in Ethiopia in March. She is such a doll! You can check out the Davis' family blog by clicking HERE. Congrats guys!!!

Here is Marley's reaction when we told her the good news!

Da-Da-Da....the PROOF!!!

2010-04-24T21:00:00.005-05:00

Momma has finally started to accept it :)

Extra, Extra!!!

2010-04-21T21:42:00.000-05:00

Check out the recently published news article on our adoption journey HERE . We made the front page! :)

ever been THIS exhausted?!?!

2010-04-20T16:17:00.002-05:00

Da-Da-Da...

2010-04-19T19:31:00.000-05:00

"Da-Da" is Marley's favorite phrase and "Ma-Ma" is in a serious state of denial ! Sorry Staci, I couldn't resist posting this one :) ---Your loving husband, Kris

Milestone!

2010-04-15T20:18:00.002-05:00

We hit a milestone today! Marley rolled over on her own for the first time! We knew she could do it, it was just a matter of getting her motivated to do it. Will try to capture it on video and post later.

7 month post...

2010-04-11T10:31:00.000-05:00

     Today marks Marley's 7 month b-day! She is such a perfect, happy little angel. It's hard to believe that she has been in our arms for a month. There's nothing quite like seeing her being held by someone else and the minute she hears mommy or daddy's voice, she's breaking her neck trying to find us :) We introduced her to church a couple of weeks ago and let's just say her first church visits have been highly anticipated by many. Church starts at 10:40 which is right around the time Ms. Marley takes her morning naps so that works out great. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful and welcoming church family!
     She is such a trooper with all the new people she's been meeting over the past month. She gives them this cute little shy, half-smile while shrugging her head down into mommy or daddy's chest. For a little baby that has been totally displaced from everything she once knew, she has transistioned really, really, reeeeeeally well. Except for the occassional hungry/sleepy cry she is smiles all day. She has this smile that she pulls out of the bag quite often that melts our hearts. It's one of those gummy smiles that stretches from ear to ear! Combine that with those dimples and it's game over. She's had us wrapped around her finger since Referral day and she knows it :)
     We are still trying to roll over although I think she could do it if she really, really wanted to. She rolls on her side with absolutely no problem and has done so since the first day we got her. I think it's just a little matter of figuring out where to have her arms to do it easily. This past week she has really started to sit up well on her own (tripod style) and has started scooting backwards too. She may crawl before she rolls over LOL.   One of her favorite things to do is stand on our laps and jump up and down. We've noticed how much stronger her legs have become as a result. We've GOT to get her a jumper.   Heck, she may walk before she rolls!   She loves, loves, loooooooves her bottles. It's like there's an alarm in her head that goes off every 4 hours and if you don't get it made quick enough, look out! Baby girl's got some lungs! She has also put on 1 1/2 pounds since we've been home bringing the grand total up to 15 pounds. She's kind of at that stage where she's starting to outgrow her 3-6 month stuff but the 6-9/12 are still too big.
     I'd love to type more but there's this beautiful baby girl laying in the floor smiling and watching me blog. Gotta get down there and get some lovin'! Until next time...

Meeting Uncle Ryan and Aunt Krissy

Our first Easter

Hanging with Grandpa on Easter

Mimi get this thing off me!

My newest expression. I like to call it my "Oh" face

Here I am at 7 months!

Hap-Hap-Happy Girl!

2010-04-06T12:21:00.000-05:00

This pic gets me rolling

Hilarious pic of the day...

2010-04-02T15:17:00.002-05:00

This picture was taken shortly after our Visa appointment in Ethiopia. Judging by the looks of things, Marley's had enough!!! :)

Super Diva

2010-03-30T11:54:00.000-05:00

To Ethiopia and back...

2010-03-28T16:09:00.002-05:00

Wow, where to start! We left KC on Sunday March 7th and finally made it to Ethiopia Tuesday morning about 7:30 am. We should have arrived Monday night but we missed our connecting flight in Germany, lets just say that Monday was one of the worst days of our lives. Anyway I will spare you all the details but we purchased new tickets and flew out Monday night.

Tuesday: We finally arrived to the HOH2 where we unpacked and showered! Best shower of my life!They said they would bring Marley to us and we figured it would be around lunch time so we took a short nap to catch up on all that lost sleep. It was about 12:30 when they arrived with her and we saw our sweet baby for the first time! We spent the rest of the day enjoying her, meeting all the other families and enjoying the 70 degree weather. The HOH2 has a great court yard and we really enjoyed sitting out there and soaking up the sun.

Wednesday: We went to the Hilton that morning to look around and to just get out. We went back to HOH for lunch and got ready for the Visa appointment which took most of the afternoon. It was again a beautiful day and we were one of the first families to go so we enjoyed the rest of the time sitting outside instead of the hot little room they put everyone in.

Thursday: That morning we ran to the store to buy more formula. We then went back to the Hilton for lunch which Kris and I both really needed. We ate with one of the other families also staying at HOH. I think we paid $50 dollars for the meal but we did not care. Later that afternoon we went to the Ethiopian National Museum. This is something that Kris really enjoyed.

Friday: This day Kris and I got to visit Marley's orphanage where they had a nice coffee ceremony for us. It was a very small orphanage and only had about 10 babies there. The staff remembered Marley and were excited to see her. There was also another family with us so we got to go to there orphanage also. This one was bigger and had a lot of older kids. Kris loved it there, Marley had fallen asleep on my lap so we did not get out of the van but Kris made a lot of new friends! He got some great video of the boys showing off their soccer tricks! Friday night I started packing for our journey home.

Saturday: This was shopping day, all the families went so we had a great time. We bought several different clothing items for Marley as she gets older. We also bought some coffee to bring back to a few people and then everyone went back to the HOH for a traditional Ethiopian meal and coffee. Us ladies also got the chance to make injera which is the staple of all Ethiopian meals. After all the activities had died down we headed up to the room to pack and get ready for the adventure home.
Flight home: Marley was wonderful the entire trip home. We also were traveling with another CHI family to Chicago, which was wonderful to have the company! We made it back to KC on Sunday, March 14th to a wonderful crowd of familiy waiting to welcome the newest member.

HOH2: for those of you staying there I have some tips. Meals are at 8, 12 and 6. They do usually come and let you know when they are ready. They have glass bottled pop and plently of bottled water for use. After every meal we would grab 2 or 3 bottles to take to the room with us. We did have 3 days without power for a few hours each time, two of the times were in the evening so take flashlights, more than one because one of our stopped after about 15 minutes of use. Take towels, we did and then left them. If you need one just ask and they will bring you some. There was also no convertor in our room, but luckily we had taken one. Not for sure what happens to the converters because I know several people in the past have left theirs behind and we didn't have one in our room. We left ours there too but you should probably bring one just to be on the safe side. There was not a lot of down time, there was usually a morning activity but then they would have you back by lunch, then an afternoon activity but back by dinner. It was okay not to attend the outings if you did not want to. Also, if you're staying in one of the suites and have a window overlooking the schoolyard, you will notice a little shanty house to the left of the schoolyard. Make sure you wave to the little girls there every chance you get. They were so sweet and seemed to be staring out there door waiting for an American to peek their heads out the window. You could just barely show your face and they would all run out (2 sisters and a little brother) waving and blowing kisses. The little bro also did his best Michael Jackson performance for us! It was hilarious! He looked like a little James Brown out there. We tossed them down some M&Ms and the mother came out blowing us kisses. What a sweet family! You will fall in love with them :)

It was the trip of a life time. Marley is the best baby ever! She is sleeping all night and is doing great! It is hard to imagine our life without her!

More pics!!!

2010-03-26T21:56:00.001-05:00

Chillin' with the Great-Grandmas

Love that smile!

These are some of our new faves:

All giggles...

2010-03-26T21:25:00.004-05:00

Our happy baby...

2010-03-24T16:02:00.005-05:00

We're Home!!!

2010-03-21T13:02:00.001-05:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

AND WE'RE OFF!!!

2010-03-07T07:21:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that after 3 long years, the time has finally come. We're off to get our beautiful baby girl!!! Don't know if the opportunity to upload photos or update our blog will present itself during our stay as we've been told the internet is slow...I mean, reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally slooooooooooooooow. Not to mention the frequent power outages but rest assured there will be plenty of pics and videos to go around when we get back and we can't wait to share these experiences with all of you! Sorry to rush off but we're sort of in a hurry... we're off to meet that certain little someone ;) Ciao!

HOLY COW!!! ONE MORE DAY!!!

2010-03-06T07:51:00.001-06:00

CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT ?!?!

2010-03-05T09:50:00.001-06:00

Countdown to take-off...

2010-03-04T16:49:00.000-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen...

2010-03-01T13:31:00.000-06:00

WE HAVE A SMILE!!!

Can't wait to look into these big, beautiful eyes next week!!!

Thank you Haney family for all the wonderful pictures.

One week to go!!!

2010-02-28T15:25:00.001-06:00

Well, we can't believe that our time is almost here! In exactly one week, we will be in the air! We have been very busy getting everything rounded up and ready to go. Friday night we were treated to a night out at the Blue Nile Ethopian restaurant in downtown KC thanks to Kris' brother Ryan and his wife, Krissy (THANKS GUYS). It was very small and packed the entire time we were there. The food was definitley an experience...not bad...different. They use lots of spices so everything seemed to have quite a kick.

Saturday Kris and I spent the day shopping and getting all the last minute things we needed for our trip and for her. It has been a long time since we have shopped on a Saturday during the day. we usually go in the evenings and now I remember why...it was a mad house everywhere we went!

Today we got the car seat installed! It took a little work but we finally got it figured out. We need to clean up her room and take some things down to the basement. Then I will have more room to pack!

Finally, we have a car seat!

Confirmed!!!

2010-02-23T12:40:00.000-06:00

2 weeks from now, Marley will be in our arms FOREVER!!!

HOLY COW!!!

2010-02-21T12:42:00.001-06:00

ONLY 2 MORE WEEKS!!! We are expecting several new pics this week from returning families too. This coming Friday we are traveling to KC for our first Ethiopian dining experience with my brother Ryan and his wife Krissy at the Blue Nile Cafe. Can't wait! We were able to bump our reservations for room and flight without any issues and there are still a few minor things we have left to do in the nursery (namely rearranging some wall hangings and filling nail holes). We plan on picking up a Diaper Genie Elite II this weekend at Babies-r-Us while we're in the city but other than that, I think we're all set for baby Marley.

The Blue Nile Cafe in K.C.

Freaking Out!!!

2010-02-18T16:26:00.001-06:00

The realness/freakout factor just quadrupled today after receiving some very good news from our consultant, Ashley. OUR VISA DATE WAS BUMPED UP A WEEK!!! We will now be leaving March 7th and traveling with 17 OTHER FAMILIES!!! That's GOT to be a record. We just got our reservation changed at the House of Hope II and our travel agent is working on our flight schedule so the wheels are turning and it definitly seems alot more real now. Holy Cow, that's just a little over 2 weeks away!!!

Of course it wouldn't be a post without a new pic :)

If all goes well...

2010-02-15T15:02:00.014-06:00

In exactly one month, we will be arriving in Ethiopia. We've got our flights reserved and our lodging taken care of. We have chosen LUFTHANSA airlines based on price, directness and crib availability. We will be leaving Sunday, March 14th and are scheduled to arrive in Ethiopia Monday, the 15th around 7:30 PM. Because of the lateness of our arrival, I am almost certain that we will not be able to meet Marley until Tuesday morning. What kind of torture is that?!?! Knowing your little one is only 5 minutes away and you still can't get to her!!! I'm sure there will be no sleep had by the Hansels that night.

After lots and lots of mulling we have decided to stay at the House of Hope II, owned and operated by Children's Hope. We had originally opted for the Melkam Guest House after hearing many positive experiences from recently traveled families but the only rooms still available were small and shared bathrooms with other families. We have a large suite booked at the House of Hope II so that will be nice plus all our meals and transportation are taken care of.

As the days go buy, the thought of us actually being parents is becoming more and more real and the freak-out factor (while still fairly low at this point) slowly climbs a bit each day. We've never even met our little one but already we love her very, very, VEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRY much and cannot wait until March 16th. Here's to the next few weeks passing quickly.

A few pics of the H.O.H. II...

and just because she's the most beautiful baby ever, here's 4 more pics!!!

Happy 5 months baby girl!!!

2010-02-11T12:37:00.001-06:00

And what better way to celebrate baby girl's 5 month birthday than with a new, really long video courtesy of the Miller family. We were both in tears at 6 AM this morning watching this for the first time. By the way, this little girls got the makings of being an American Idol someday. Check out the rythem in that head-bob to the nannies snapping fingers and the fact that she's trying to snap her own fingers too! LOL. Thank you Millers!!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Could it be?!?! A SMILE?!?!

the search for the elusive "smiling" pic...

2010-02-09T12:48:00.001-06:00

What a GREAT week so far! Officially became a family and now, new pics of our 5 Month old Marley! Still looking for that elusive smiling pic though especially after hearing Erica talk about her sweet little toothless grin. A big thanks to all of our readers for all the wonderful comments yesterday and also to the Gramling family for the new pics. Enjoy!

Thinking about a smile???

Almost there!!! You can do it!!!

The search continues...

OFFICIALLY MOMMY AND DADDY!!!

2010-02-08T14:50:00.002-06:00

We are totally beside ourselves at the moment. Just received word from Ashley (our adoption consultant) saying that our court date was moved up a few days and we [insert drum roll here]......................WE PASSED!!!!!! Our court date was actually Feb. 3rd and our tentative VISA date is March 18th. And now, introducing for the first time, Marley Ann Megertu Hansel!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

the 4-1-1 on Marley...

2010-02-04T12:46:00.007-06:00

Found this post on my facebook today from Erica Shubin regarding Marley. Erica just returned from a mission trip in Ethiopia and got to see and hold Marley for us! You can check out her blog HERE .

So without further adieu : "Oh my goodness she is PRECIOUS!!!!!!!! Held her, loved on her, kissed on her. My daughter asked if we could have her she loved her so much. I let her know she had a family that loved her so. I knew you had a court date coming up (Tsegaye told us) and it breaks my heart in two to hear you didn't pass...Oh and there is a picture of you two above her crib, she has the most AMAZINGLY soft curls her smile will melt you....she LOVES to be held and her toothless grin lights up a room! She is PRECIOUS!!!"

Thanks Erica. you have no idea how much this little bit of info means to us. So now, to all you families out there that may be taking pictures for us over the next few weeks. WE NEED SMILING PICTURES!!! :)

And finally; last-but certainly not least, a big CONGRATULATIONS to our very good adoption friends, the Williams family. they found out yesterday that they passed court and have a tentative VISA appointment of March 18. Hopefully, if all goes well, we will be traveling with this wonderful family. You can check out there blog HERE. CONGRATS AGAIN WILLIAMS'!!!

Heartbroken........again

2010-01-28T12:46:00.001-06:00

Without saying alot of things we may regret, let's just leave it at this: the same paperwork issues again and next "scheduled" court date is Feb. 10.

Coolest shower gifts ever!

2010-01-27T19:12:00.004-06:00

These awesome, totally customizable, adoption paintings are now being offered at River's Ribbons etsy store. Kim's mother, Ann Hogue, is an absolutely wonderful artists and painted this one as a baby shower gift for us this past weekend. It was so cool we had to hang it immediately. You can get your own fully customizable painting HERE !!! Our grandmother Betty made Marley's beautiful afghan shown in the bottom pic!

Well, tomorrow is the big day (at least we hope). Hopefully tomorrow we will introduce Marley to the world. Please keep us in your prayers tonight along with all those families still waiting for referrals or court dates as well. We spent this afternoon finishing up our shots in KC. To date we have received: Hep A & B, Typhoid, Meningococcal Meningitis, and Polio booster. Needless to say, our arms are a little bit tender tonight :)

Don't forget!!!

2010-01-27T11:46:00.000-06:00

3rd Times a charm???

2010-01-26T12:34:00.002-06:00

There was another error with our court date. This time they gave us the wrong date. Instead of the 26th it is the 28th. Jeesh, at this point you've just gotta laugh and thank God that it's only 2 more DAYS and not 2 more WEEKS. Is it Thursday yet?!?!

1 more day......AGAIN!!!

2010-01-25T13:35:00.003-06:00

Hopefully the 2nd time is the charm for us. Please pray for us cause I don't think we can handle another rescheduling or failure. We're sending our prayers to those families still waiting for referrals and court dates as well. Come on CHI, get on it! :)

**On a more somber note, we would like to extend our prayers to the victims and families of those lost in the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash just outside of Beirut**

Melkam Lidet Marley!!!

2010-01-11T21:49:00.006-06:00

Today was Marley's 4 month birthday and guess what?!?! We got to celebrate it with 3 new pics! Melkam Lidet baby girl!!!

The wait continues

2010-01-05T20:48:00.000-06:00

Well, our court date was rescheduled from today to January 26th. We were very saddened to hear this news since we were so excited to finally become parents and be able to share our sweet baby with the world. Hopefully we will in a few weeks. Kris and I want to thank all of our wonderful friends and family for their thoughts, prayers and continued support. We love you all!!!

This is it....ONE MORE DAY!!!

2010-01-04T05:44:00.002-06:00

2009-12-30T10:18:00.007-06:00

**Picture Update** Just want to add that yesterday evening we received 6 new pictures of Marley bringing our grand total for the weekend up to 10 new pics plus one really awesome video! Thank you Salyers and Geddings families!!!

New pics yesterday!!!

2009-12-28T14:08:00.004-06:00

Thanks to the Salyers family we received 5 new photos and an awesome new video of Marley yesterday afternoon. This is the first video we've recevied of her actually awake! It was pretty funny watching her. It's almost as if she's just discovering her hands. She's got her arms stretched straight out and every once-in-awhile she catches her hand out of the corner of her eye and she's like, "whoa, what's this?!" She is sooooo beautiful and already has a full head of curls! Can't wait to finally get our arms around her. Hopefully next week we'll be posting pictures. Our Court is scheduled for the 5th so needless to say, next Tuesday will be a very looooooooong day. The good news is that all families have been passing court their first attempt so hopefully that trend will continue into the future. Until next time, enjoy Marley's new 3 1/2 month "finger" picture!

The 5 cutest little fingers ever!!!

1 mo. referralversary gift: COURT DATE!!!

2009-12-16T13:56:00.006-06:00

That's right, exactly one month after our referral, Staci and I received our court date today. The magic date? JANUARY 5th with possible visa appointment on February 4th. That means in about 6 weeks, we COULD be holding Marley!

Melkam Lidet Marley!!!

2009-12-11T04:52:00.001-06:00

Happy 3 months baby girl!!!

Melkam Gena, Marley!!! (Merry Christmas)

2009-12-07T18:09:00.017-06:00

Wow, the Christmas season is upon us already! I can actually say that I am almost done with my shopping, just a few things left then all done. It's been three weeks today since we first saw Marley's sweet face! Since our referral, we have gotten 2 new pics and a short video (thank you Hyman family). We watch the video daily even if she is sleeping during the entire thing. If everything goes as planned, we should have more pics shortly after Christmas (big thanks to the Salyers and Geddings)! The Salyers family is also delivering Marley's first Christmas gifts for us next week which include a new blankie and some onesies, one of which is very special since it was made by my good friend Kim. If you'll remember, Kim has her own Etsy store called River's Ribbons. You can check it out HERE. Even though she's not with us, this is still baby's first Christmas. I hope the blankie brings Marley many, many nights of comfort until we are able to comfort her in person.

We got our Christmas tree last year thinking that Marley would surely be with us by this time but it wasn't meant to be. While she isn't with us physically, you can bet that she is certainly with us in spirit this year. "Hope" has sort of been our running theme for the past 7 years hence our tree topper. I got this last year as a little reminder to, as the great Jon Bon Jovi put it, "keep the faith". This year it serves as a reminder of everything we have to be thankful for. Kris also bought this really cool Africa ornament for Marley. The family making them is also adopting a child from Ethiopia so the money goes for a really good cause. If your interested in your own, you can get them HERE. We totally can't wait for next Christmas! Now come on court dates!!!

Our Christmas Theme:

Marley's first ornament:

Marley's 1st Christmas package (It's amazing how much you can cram into a gallon sized plastic bag)

The sweetest little Cowboys fan ever!!!

2009-11-23T12:42:00.007-06:00

Marley's first Cowboys get-up courtesy of daddy!

Oh what a feeling!

2009-11-22T19:59:00.011-06:00

Well the day, the call, the moment has finally come! The call came about 11 am on Monday, November 16, 2009. I was sitting at my desk talking to Shelly when my direct line rang. I told Shelly to wait, that it was probably just Kris since he is the only person who calls my direct line. When I answered it was a female voice and she said "Hi Staci. This is Ashely!" (our adoption consultant) It didn't hit me until she said, "I have Kris on the other line!" It was precisely this moment that I lost it. She then went on to tell us all about our new baby girl, half of which I missed because I was a blubbering mess at this point. After we hung up, Kris and I ran home to see her pictures, read her reports, and spread the word. It was such a GREAT day and so much fun telling all of our family and friends who have waited right by our sides this whole time!

Our official wait time: 14 months, 2 weeks and 2 days for our baby girl, but these little fingers have been a dream of ours for the past 7 YEARS!!!

The Hyman family left this last weekend to pick up their baby girl so we sent a little care package with them for Marley. They are also taking new pics for us, we are so excited to see these new pictures and to see how she has changed. Our hope is to have as many traveling families take pictures for us as possible. At this point, pictures are the only thing we have to get us through the rest of our wait but at least we have a face now! And what a "beautiful" face it is!

Marley's first care package!So what's next???
The most popular question asked to us now is, "when do you get her?" For those of you out there in blogger world that aren't familiar with this process, here's what's next. After waiting over a year for our referral, we get to wait again. This time we're waiting for that all important Ethiopian court date. This is the court date that will make her legally ours through the eyes of the Ethiopian government. This court date is more than likely 2-3 months away. Once we pass court, it is usually a few more weeks before we travel. We will then be in Ethiopia for approximately 1 week before returning home with Marley forever. Hopefully this clears up a lot of the questions people were having regarding this process. It's a whole new waiting game now!

Referral Day!!!

2009-11-16T14:11:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that at approximately 11 am this morning we received word from Ashley, our case worker, that we are going to be parents to a beautiful 2 month old baby girl. We're pretty limited on what we can say about her right now (until we pass court) but I can tell you that her name means "beautiful" and that she certainly lives up to it!

Good News-Bad News

2009-11-10T18:55:00.004-06:00

Wow, where to begin, Kris and I realize that we have not updated in awhile, so sorry to all of our followers, if we have any left:)

Well, as of October 29th we have waited 14 months, to me this can be viewed as good news or bad news. The good part of it is our wait is almost over, the bad part we have had to wait this long!

Last week our agency referred 6 children to 6 families, but no baby girls. Already this week they have referred a baby boy and a baby GIRL!!! That means we are 1 or 2 on the list, we don't know for sure. So baby girls=good news, referrals=good news! All of these referrals have come from a new orphanage our agency just started to work with so hopefully the other orphanages will catch up soon.

Kris and i have tried to remain busy to keep our minds off our long wait. In September my sister Brenda and brother-in-law David hosted a garage sale at their home as a fundraiser for us to help with travel expenses. We had many, many friends and family donate items to the sale. The sale was apart of many going on that day for fall city wide. Kris and I were both very excited and surprised with how well the sale went. Kris and I are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who care so much about us and getting Marley home! Thanks everyone for all your help! We continue to remain busy with work, I started a different position in July and is finally getting started on some of the main duties of the job, I really enjoy it so far, it will keep me very busy!

Okay onto another subject, our dogs. We have two spoiled dogs, Sam and Libby. Sam is 4 and Libby is 8. I know we are not the first people to have dogs before having children but I think we have the worlds most undisciplined dogs. Our poor child will never be able to walk around with a snack in her hand with out fighting off these two. And don't get me started on their barking, and boy they are loud, anyone who has ever come to our home knows this. So we have started putting their bark collars on them daily, trying to do some training, I just hope it is not to late! They are a lot better when they wear them, but they resort to their old ways when not wearing them. Hopefully they adjust well to life with a baby and hopefully Marley will adjust to them!

That is all for now, hopefully we will continue to have good news to report and are sooooo excited to be able to finally share our good news with all of our family, friends and readers!

Finally...

2009-10-19T14:18:00.003-05:00

Finally the Ethiopia courts are up and running! The Hyman family just received their court date today. I couldn't believe when they said it was THIS FRIDAY!!! We were expecting court dates to be another month after notice. This means, if all goes well, the Hymans could be in Ethiopia next month! This is awesome news. Really praying that the Salyers are next in line for their date. Now come on baby girl referrals!!!
Referral Update: Our agency handed out a referral today for 19 month old twin boys. The lucky family had waited 16 months.

How sweet it is!

2009-10-12T13:41:00.013-05:00

Nothing new to report on the adoption front but we DID have a blast in K.C. this past weekend. We headed down Saturday and picked out our new crib (which won't be available for pickup for another 7-14 days). For some reason, white baby furniture is never readily in stock. They had plenty of black and wood-toned furniture readily available but not white. For now, we'll just have to include a stock photo of Marley's new crib.

After crib shopping we headed over to my brother & sister-in-law's for the night. We tried out an awesome pizza joint in Liberty, MO called The Dish. Awesome, awesome pizza! If you're ever in the area, we definitely recommend.

The next day we watched our beloved Cowboys put the smack down on the loooooowely Chiefs! It was great!!!
--Kris

Inside Arrowhead, pre-smackdown

Little bro & I. (for some reason, his smile was turned upside down a few hours later)

Lucky 13...

2009-09-29T15:52:00.004-05:00

13 months ago today, our dossier was shipped to Ethiopia. We had just spent the previous year in the Vietnam program only to have our hearts broken when news spread that adoptions to the United States were, more than likely, coming to an end. Rather than stay put and hope for the best, we felt something pulling us towards the Ethiopia program. The estimated wait time the day our dossier left our hands was 6-10 months. Fast forward 1 year and 1 month later and we are now days, if not hours away from seeing our Marley for the 1st time. This has GOT to be the most exciting time of our lives and we are soooo ready for THE call! Thanks to all of you who have prayed, donated, or just offered an encouranging word over the last few years. We appreciate and love you all. We truly have the best family and friends! Here's to 13 months!

--Kris & Staci

Our heart's in Africa...

2009-09-26T15:16:00.006-05:00

We just got our Heart for Africa wall decal from the Sager's today and it looks great! If you've never followed the Sager's blog, they have been home from Ethiopia for a little over a month with their new daughter, Finley, who is absolutely adorable! You can read about the Sager's HERE or you can check out their etsy shop HERE. Thanks for the beautiful decal Sagers!

I must say it was a little nerve-racking hanging this because, let's face it, you screw up-it's over. Luckily it went up without a crease OR a bubble. This is the corner of the nursery our rocking chair will be (as soon as we get around to picking one out). Speaking of nursery, it's been awhile since we've touched it. We've still got quite a few things on our to-do list like finding new closet doors, decorating, night stand, etc, etc...Oh, and did I mention that our crib was recalled?!?! We've known about it for months but just recently got around to dismantling and sending off for our credit. I'm thinking it's just about time we start finishing this project once and for all.

The corner minus the rocker...

The crib that was not to be...

THE BLOG CHANGE WORKED AGAIN!!!

2009-09-24T15:49:00.004-05:00

Just not for us though. So far, there have been at least 2 referrals today that we know of! One for a sibling group and the other for a 4 month old baby boy. Again, due to age/sex requests, both referrals went to people behind us on the overall list. Such is the game at this point of our wait. A big CONGRATULATIONS to the Hubbard & Crouch families!!!

Really, really, REEEEEEEEEally hoping for that call soon. That makes 5 referrals this month but still our number remains the same. Come on baby girls!!!

Enough already!!!

2009-09-21T16:32:00.002-05:00

Trying this one more time...New blog look=more referrals. Bring 'em on!!!

Tesfa-Hope shirts...

2009-09-15T18:14:00.007-05:00

Just dropping a quick line to let you all know we've got our new Tesfa-Hope shirts available in our Etsy store. They are the coolest! The best part: they are totally customizable. We both had the stone-green & yellow shirts made with "7910 miles 4 marley" across the back!

I know we've been neglecting our blog the past couple of weeks but I promise, a blog update is coming soon! Things have just been a little bit discouraging the past few weeks on the adoption front since we hit the 1 year mark so we really haven't been feeling the blog. Time to get with it. We are close!!!

We're Baaaack!!!

2009-09-01T23:17:00.023-05:00

We just got back from our little Mexican excursion yesterday evening and man did we have a GREAT time! The family we had planned on going with had to back out last minute due to a family crisis so it was just us for one last, final hurrah before parenthood. Not a lot to tell you about the trip as we really had no real plans other than lots of good ole' relaxation, just us and a lot of sun & water. Our days pretty much consisted of breakfast, beach/drinks, lunch, pool/drinks, supper, beach/pool/drinks yada, yada, yada....you see a pattern here? :) The trip went exactly as we had hoped. And no, the cell phone never rang but we didn't let that drag us down. After a month without referrals we weren't too shocked.

Our hotel was very nice and the water was so beautiful & calm. The hotel also had a manmade reef about 50 yards out that was really great for snorkeling. We spent a few hours just exploring the water, fish, and coral around this little reef. We spent one afternoon away from the hotel on a snorkeling trip which was well worth the money. If you're ever in Cancun we would highly recommend booking a trip through Snorkeling Adventures. We went to the 2nd largest reef in the world (2nd only to the Great Barrier Reef) 3 different times, once in shallow water, once in deep water, and for the final trip in REALLY shallow water. So shallow that you had to be very mindful of your flippers not brushing against the coral. It was a BLAST and Eduardo (our guide) was terrific! They served our crew a really good lunch in between outtings also.

We stayed at the Riu Caribe which we would highly recommend. While it wasn't the fanciest hotel in Cancun, it was very nice and the staff did an incredible job making sure we were happy. Not to mention that the beach was perfect (especially if you're traveling with children) very placid, unlike a lot of the beaches in Cancun which are very choppy, rocky, and have very strong undertows. So if you're looking for a nice, little getaway: Cancun>Riu Caribe>Snorkeling Adventures. You can't go wrong with this combo!

I'll end with an email we just received from a family currently in Ethiopia regarding the recent referral drought:

"Ok, so I'm in ET now and have visited HOH (House of Hope) many times. Please, trust me, there IS hope! :)"

Hmmm, could good news be on the way?!?! Until next time, here's a few pics from our trip:

The traditional "Lounging with the feet up" pic

View from the hotelThe water was absolutely amazing

One of the two pirate ships that cruised past our hotel every eveningHaving dinner at the hotel's seaside restaurantNot quite for sure if these are coconuts or not. Anyone out there know?Neat little banana tree. The landscaping and foliage was incredibleOur last hurrah as a twosome!

The unofficial "And we're off" post...

2009-08-24T20:35:00.003-05:00

No this isn't our OFFICIAL "And we're off" post. Not yet anyways! Hopefully that one will come within the next 3 or 4 months however. We are headed to Mexico for some much needed r&r! The cell phone, camera, & camcorder are all packed just in case we get a nice, little phone call while we're away (if you know what I mean) :) It's going to be soooo nice to get away and clear out the cobwebs that come with this whole adoption journey. We are sooooo close yet the end result seems so so far away. Perhaps waiting for a year on the Vietnam wait list only to have it close down will do that to a person. It's almost like the reality of it all hasn't sunk in yet. In fact, I don't think it will until we actually get THE call.

On the adoption front, the courts officially closed the 21st of August and will remain so until late September/early October. Supposedly, the court closure will have no effect on referrals. Congrats to all those families that got their court cases heard before the closure. For those that didn't, hang in there. You're day will come! It's been a long 3 or 4 weeks since our last set of referrals. So long that I can't really remember how long it's been right off the top of my head (haha). Perhaps this is the week they start rolling in again! We're desperately hoping that we'll be home in time for Christmas with Marley.

A quick little update on Miles for Marley: A few of the beanies are ready to be posted to our Etsy store. We just need to take some pictures. We were going to get our little cousin Abby and our niece & nephew, Jenna & Jarret to model but that didn't go as planned. Stay tuned as we'll be posting these next week. We'll also be taking special orders for colors and sizes not listed in our etsy store.

In exactly one week, this will be our view...

2009-08-19T19:32:00.004-05:00

...and after the past 2 years of adoption programs shutting down, a seemingly endless trail of paperwork, and ever growing wait times, we are certainly ready for a little vacation! NOW COME ON REFERRALS!!! Better check with CHI and make sure they have our cell# juuuuuust in case something happens next week :)

Miles for Marley is open.....kind of

2009-08-10T22:17:00.005-05:00

Hey guys, just wanted to drop a quick line and say that we've got our first item available in our new Etsy store. The "my heart's in Ethiopia" line is now available. I know it's only one item but hey, it's a start! Check back often, more items are on the way including custom swarovski crystal bracelets and beanies.

As for adoption news, no referrals but I did notice that the Hoaglands FINALLY passed court today and will be traveling to Addis in September to pick up their baby girl. Congrats guys!!! I'm not for sure if all of the families that were effected by the abandonment issues have now successfully passed court but I do know that a majority of them have. This is great news. Now, more referrals!!!

BBQs, Friends, and Team Marley...

2009-08-09T20:11:00.012-05:00

Nothing new to report on the adoption front this past week. However, eleven families who's court cases were held up by the abandonment issues had their cases APPROVED this week. Congrats to these lucky families! The House of Hope will probably be pretty empty after they travel. Room for more kiddo's possibly?!?! Hopefully we will have some more good news to share later this week.

We spent Saturday evening with some of our friends and their families at a BBQ. The kids had so much fun playing on the swing set, swimming and eating smores. It was a great evening just hanging out in the Missouri heat with friends and family! It is so exciting to think that next year Marley will be here to enjoy these festivities! Thanks Steve and Wendy for the great evening.

Let me introduce you to River of whom River's Ribbons is named after. She was sporting the cutest little t-shirt; one of the Ethiopia adoption shirts listed in her mom's Etsy store, along with "Team Marley" on the back. It was the cutest thing EVER!!!

One of my oldest and dearest friends is getting married next weekend. It is long over due and I am so happy for Robyn and Tim, they are going to be so happy together.

I will end with some pics from the BBQ, I promised no swimsuit pics of the adults on the blog so just my niece Jenna and nephew Jarrett, whom we love dearly!

Jarrett, 6 months old

Jenna, 3

Introducing River's Ribbons...

2009-08-06T19:05:00.005-05:00

You'll remember a few posts ago that we told you of our dear friend, Kim's intentions of starting an Etsy store and donating the proceeds to our adoption fund. Well, the time has come and we are very happy to announce the grand opening of her store, River's Ribbons. Kim has worked very hard creating some very cute adoption-themed shirts for our cause. Although the shirts are shown in toddler size, they are also available in infant sizes if you so desire. We plan on getting a onesie done of the shirt pictured to the left and having it sent to our daughter in Ethiopia upon our referral. That will make a great pic one of these days! Kim also has alot of awesome hair ribbons ready to go, she just hasn't had the time to upload photos yet. Click HERE or the button on our side bar to visit River's Ribbons.Thanks in advance!

We would also like to announce that WE are opening our own fundraising-Etsy store very shortly. The name...Miles for Marley. This store will feature some very cute, hand-made beanies (courtesy of Kris' grandmother) for infants and toddlers among a few other things. We're very excited to get this up and running and hope you'll like what you find. Until next time, stay tuned for Miles for Marley!

That makes us 9...ish

2009-07-31T16:18:00.007-05:00

This one goes out to Tony Romo (the 3rd greatest Cowboys QB of all time) in honor of our new "unofficial" number (insert drum roll please)...................................9ish!!! We found out that there was another referral yesterday, this time for a 4 1/2 month old baby boy. The lucky family was on the wait list for 11 months and 1 week. Holy Cow!!! That's about as long as we've waited! Getting so, so close.

A quick recap of this week in referrals: 3 total; the 4 1/2 month old baby old mentioned above, a 4 1/2 month old baby girl, and the Salyers' 10 week old baby girl. What a great way to end the week. Let's all hope and pray that next week is just as good if not better!---Kris

Congrats Salyers & Sagers...

2009-07-30T16:36:00.005-05:00

A big, hearty "CONGRATULATIONS" goes out to the Salyers and Sagers this week. The Sagers are OFFICIALLY the parents of Finley Melat Sager today. They just received word they have passed court and will be traveling very, very soon!

Finally, after 12 months and 1 week, the Salyers got their big call yesterday! We can't wait to see the pics once they pass court.

After following these families for months and months, it's really cool to see their ADOPTION journey's finally coming to a close. I specify "adoption" journey because the REAL journey is just beginning!

Tasfa-Hope

2009-07-29T19:35:00.014-05:00

First of all, I would like to take the opportunity to dedicate this post to all of our wonderful friends and family! We love that we have such great friends and family who are just as excited about this journey as we are. Kris and I can not wait to get "the call" and share the great news with everyone. I know this journey has been hard on everyone, not just us.

Today marks 11 months of waiting. We've had two referrals, count-em....TWO referrals this week and both were for baby girls!!! A BIIIIIIG Congrats to the Salyers!!! By our count we are 10...ish on the overall list!

One of my very good and talented friends, Kim, is in the process of opening a new Etsy store and has graciously & generously offered us half of the proceeds to aid in our adoption/orphanage-supply expenses. She will be selling a variety of clothing items ranging from onesies & t's to hairbows & beanies. Kris's wonderful grandmother, Betty, will be crocheting the beanies (some of the cutest you've ever seen) so the next time your looking for that special little something for your special little someone, don't forget to check out her store *wink*wink* As soon as the Etsy site is up and running we'll post the link. Stay-tuned!

Kris and I spent the past weekend in K.C. for Ben & Lisa's wedding. It was beautiful and so much fun! It's always nice to hang with friends and family. Congrats guys!

To help us through the rest of our journey, we ordered our Hope-Tasfa bracelets from a fellow Missourian adopting family, the Kirksey's. The bracelets are the perfect little reminder during this part of the journey that it WILL happen. They are the coolest and the best part...the money helps a fellow adoptive parent! You can get your own Tasfa-Hope bracelet among other things, HERE. Until next time...
--Staci

Oh yeah, the change WORKED!!!

2009-07-23T17:49:00.004-05:00

Well okay, maybe the referrals didn't pour in today but the agency did give 1 today. A sibling set including a 3 year old boy and a 3 month old baby girl. The couple waited just shy of 16 months because sibling set's in this age range are so few and far between. Congrats to the lucky parents! I think....THINK that we are number 11 on the list. I say "think" because there has been some turmoil in the Ethiopia program this past week. The turmoil being a couple of families losing their referrals due to some "differences" our agency was having with the orphanage director. Due to these "differences", our agency has totally quit working with the orphanage. It's a very sad situation for the children and the adopting families. Sure hope these families receive some good news in the upcoming weeks. If you guys are reading this, hang in there.--Kris