Meeting Tsegay and Almaz

These wonderful people are in charge of House of Hope. House of Hope is the home where Marley is right now, waiting for us. Tsegay and Almaz came to the United States on vacation and we drove up to St. Louis to show our pretty faces, and get to meet the people who get to love on Marley! This couple is so humble and genuinely passionate about caring for orphans. After meeting them, we found out that our paperwork HAS been submitted for a court date! As soon as the courts reopen, we should be assigned a date. If all goes as planned, he said we could possibly travel at the end of October! Okay, that is like five weeks away. OMG! Seriously, that really is such amazing news. Now, we do understand that a lot of things are out of our control, but we are really finally coming up! AHHHHHH!
I also got to see one of my very best adoption mommies in St. Louis. Missy and I had a blast and are really hoping to travel together! Her little one and Marley share the same Nanny!

Here is a picture of our Ethiopian food, half eaten. It was so beautiful, we just dug in and then decided to take a picture. We have some kind of beef, chicken and vegetable. It was all served with Injera, a spongy type of tortilla. Very yummy!

The Crib

Brandon surprised me the other night, by pulling out the crib! I looked over and there he was, in Marley's room and had all the crib pieces out and ready to assemble. My man, he is such a find! This is our first real step towards preparing for her arrival. Miles has been getting very anxious to meet his little sister and assisted in the crib building. The bed set will be changing, we are still staying pretty simple with the bedding.
Call us crazy, well I suppose we are a little bit crazy, but regardless you'll be confirming it after this! We have a pretend Marley...lol! Someone passed on pretend Marley to us as somewhat of a joke and well here she is.
I always said that I would be dressing Marley up in bows bigger than her head. Here is the beginning of that! I hit up a craft sale today and got a great deal on a few starters! Miles thinks pretend Marley is great. Here is him putting her in her new crib....hilarious I know!
As of yet, we still do not have a court date, but remain optimistic that it will be in mid October with possible travel in November. We have learned that when it comes to adoption, to expect the unexpected, so we know things may come up. We still remain hopeful! If all goes as planned, Marley will be home around the time she turns six months old.

**If these pictures are disturbing to you please know that we do not carry around pretend Marley to the store, bath her or try to feed her. She is just a funny little doll...haha**

Happy Four Months Marley!

She's already four months! Man that went by fast. All the pictures and videos have kept us up to date and seeing her grow is so cool. Marley's cheeks are filling in and she seems to be developmentally growing as well. All the little coo's just melt my heart. It's just so amazing that in about two months our daughter will be home. I know I keep saying that, but it's just so freaking cool! She got her little blanky that we had made for her and we get to see her with it! Here is us with it before it was sent to Ethiopia.
Happy Four Months Baby!