Jacob is 11! Where does the time go?!?

Well last weekend was quite a birthday bash for Jacob (and exhausting for his parents). Matt joked the entire weekend that it's a birthDAY not a birthWEEKEND, but he is good humored about my partying! The boys had a long weekend for Columbus day so we had 4 friends sleep over on Thursday night. They were all well behaved, got along well, but oh my the house took a toll that night! There was alot of eating junk food, candy, trampoline jumping and of course nerf gun wars!

On Saturday, we had a cookout with family and later a bonfire. Jacob was collecting money to buy himself a DSi, and whaddya know a little birdy told his Aunt Zan and Uncle Jimmy he was saving for one and they got it for him! He was so surprised and happy!

Sunday was his actual birthday, so we gave him our gifts in the morning. Jacob really wanted a bb gun and some wii games! He gave his thank you hugs all around for the gifts! He spent very little of the money he collected for the DSi, just some more video games and drawing supplies.

Overall it was a successful birthday weekend.... happy 11th Jacob!

Happy 7th

"I have realized that we never 'have' children, we receive them. And sometimes it's not for quite as long as we would have expected or hoped. But it is sill better than never having those children at all"- Jodi Picoult

Happy 7th baby

Update on Mia!!!!

We just got an update on Mia with pictures! She is 2 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 24.2 pounds! For the docs in the family who are reading this her head is 47cm.; chest 51 cm; 20 teeth; and her foot is 14cm. She has cynosis and cannot do vigorous activities. Her language development is fine.

She has lost some weight, which is concerning, but not suprising with her heart condition and with her being institutionalized. We think that she is beautiful and cannot wait to get her home!

Summer catch up

Well first I will post about our adoption process with Mia. We have recieved our LOA for her, which for those of you not in the adoption prcocess is a letter that states that China acceepts us adopting her and we sign stating that we want to continue. Next stop... travel dates!!! We are dying to get her and to know when we will be traveling, so keep your fingers crossed for us!

This summer has been busy. The boys were totally bummed that we did not go to the beach this year, but we were not comfortable setting up a vacation, when we were hoping to be in China!!! Anyway, we got them a pool for the back yard. They love it and it paid itself off after the first week we had it. They swim everyday. I enjoy that they enjoy it too, but keeping the water clear has been a challenge for me. We filled it from the outside tap, which is well water, and it has been a battle all summer. Most of the time it's cloudy and then occastionally will turn brown, green, or yellow! I am the daughter of a chemical engineer, but that gene did not come down the pike to me.

We also went to Kennywood and Idlewild amusement parks. The boys had a wonderful time on both of those trips!

Motocross racing is always a constant for the boys. The boys did well this summer. Competiton is always stiff at these events, but they love doing it and really enjoy the sport.

Our next post will hopefull be the post that we have the dates that we will be going to china and will have our beautiful daughter Mia in our arms!

Catching up

Well, things have been pretty busy around here at the Vogel house. First I will update everyone about Mia. Our paperwork has Hillary Clinton's official stamp of approval on it and we will be getting it back on Monday and then it goes to CHINA!!!! We are so excited and hope that they process everything and invite us to come get her soon! We cannot wait to bring her home!

May is always a busy month at our house... Logan turned 8! I really can't believe it... it seems like just yesterday that I was bringing him home from the hospital. I'm sure it's a moment you never forget and when he turns 18 I will probably think the same thing. All that Logan wanted for his birthday was a hippity hop and a hamster or guinea pig. We strung him along for several weeks, telling him that I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to get him one. So we had his guinea pig ready when he came home from school on Friday and he was so excited!

Then it was a party with some of his friends at the house. A slip n slide, pinata, and water balloon toss went over well with all of the boys! Logan had a wonderful time with Jacob, his friends, and his cousin Nick!

The boys have only been able to race one motocross race because it rains every weekend! They have been disappointed, but I'm sure we will have several races in a row because of all the cancellations and we will keep everyone updated on their progress. During the first race they both placed 3rd, so they were happy about that! We are also proud of Jacob because he received the citizenship award, an award only given to one 4th grader! So proud of him. I'm sure the summer will bring more adventures for us and we will keep everyone posted on our journey to Mia.

Questions....

It started this past Tuesday at dinner. I thought I would be ready and I am in a way, I just never know how much is too much. I just am honest and roll with it I guess. At dinner Jacob mentioned that a girl in his class had to have a surgery on her arm. Logan asked "What's surgery?" So I tell him that it is when there is something wrong on the inside of your body and the doctors have to cut you open to fix it. Jacob then asks "Won't Mia have to have a surgery to fix her heart?" I explain to both of them that she will have to get her heart fixed with a surgery, but that she will be all fixed when it is over. Logan then says, with wet eyes "But that will hurt her won't it? I feel bad for her, I don't want her to be hurt". So I tell him that it will hurt at first, but that it will not hurt forever and that she will be good as new. Both boys seemed satisfied at this point, for now... part one over.

Round 2 bedtime. Logan tells me that he is afraid that she will die, like his brother Killian. So I try to be as honest as I can and let him know that I can't promise she will be OK, but I'm pretty sure she'll be OK.
At this point it is both boys talking...

"How did Killian die"---- "He died of SIDS which means his brain told his body to stop breathing, but this only happens to little babies. You and Jacob are fine and since Mia is 3 this should not happen to her either. No one really know why it happens"

"What was he like" --- "He loved you both"

"How did you know" --- "He smiled at you both all the time. (to Logan) you liked to play with his feet, and (to Jacob) you loved to hold him and feed him a bottle"

Jacob says "I remember that" Logan says "I don't remember him at all"

I tell Logan that he wouldn't because he was only 18 months old.

Jacob says "I remember the police officers and ambulance people in the house and that you used to cry every day" So of course I start to cry again and tell him that I miss Killian all the time, but I have just learned to live with the sadness in my heart.

Then Jacob says "If you had me, Logan, and Killian would we still be adopting Mia?"
He is so intuitive it kills me. So I tell him my truthful thoughts, which are I don't know. Our family and our life is different now. If Killian was here, who knows what our life would be like. I tell them that I would give anything to have him back, but that it just wasn't meant to be. I tell them that we are so proud of them, that they are willing to share us with a little sister and love her with us.

I am so proud of my boys and thankful that they feel comfortable in asking me questions. It still always throws me off guard though.

Moving through paper...

We have been very busy here trying to get all of our paperwork completed so that we can go get our girl! I just wish that everyone else (like the gov't and state departments) would feel the same sense of urgency that we do! I looked up her chinese translation this morning and her name means "peaceful cloud". From her description in the paperwork from China, she is a peacemaker, so I think the name fits!

Around here we have been pretty busy. Spring (it actually feels more like summer) has arrived and so have the sounds of motocross around the house. The boys will have their first race in a few weeks and are very excited! They have been riding any day that they can on the track around the house.

During the month of March, I decided to paint the house! I painted the upstairs hall, living room, dining room, kitchen, and family room. It looks great and I just have to finish the downstairs hallway.... Matt thinks I am nesting and I probably have to agree with him! We took the boys to the driving range to try out their new clubs they got for Christmas. They had alot of fun! We also went bowling for big brothers/big sisters and we had a good time with Chris, Lori, and Nick!

Easter was fun. The boys got new motocross racing outfits, which they were excited about. They also went hunting around the house for their eggs, which they always enjoy. Then it was a relaxing afternoon at Matt's sisters house and a wonderful meal! This weekend is a surprise birthday party for Matt's mom and my parents come in for Nick's first communion. The month of April is turning out to be a busy one!

I'll keep posting as things move with the adoption!