Uncharted territory

We have had a couple of recent events we wanted to share with you. First, Marc received the opportunity to go to New York City with work. Second, and most importantly, we completed our adoption paperwork and sent it in for review. Finally, Kim celebrated her birthday.

New York City was like nothing Marc had ever seen before. While there he ran into Carson Daly, former host of MTV's TRL, Jillian Michaels, former trainer on NBC's The Biggest Loser, Michael, finalist on Bravo's reality series Project Runway and Michele Balan, recent finalist on NBC's Last Comic Standing.

While the photos on this blog serve as a representation of the experience, they hardly can capture it. New York City is a city that is alive with activity. The way of life there is like nothing else, and it is definitely a place worth spending some time examining. Marc even said that while Kansas City is his home, he would consider living there for a short period of time if he knew he could come back.

With the events that happened on and after September 11, 2001, seeing Ground Zero brought a mixture of patriotism and pain. The World Trade Center Memorial showcases photos, articles, clothing and many keepsakes from that day and days shortly after September 11 that invoke many emotions.

While Marc didn't get to actually go to and tour the Statue of Liberty, he was able to see it from Battery Park and it was yet another thing New York has to offer. He also rode the subway and went to Times Square. Times Square is every bit as big as it looks on New Year's Eve and is easily one of the busiest areas on earth. So much to see and try to take in. Again, these pictures hardly do it justice.

In addition, Marc took in his first Broadway show, seeing The Phantom of the Opera. It was both powerful and moving, a sight he hopes to show Kim in the years to come.

In addition, we have overcome the second milestone in the adoption process. We have completed our paperwork and sent it in to Christian Family Services. Shortly after, we received the following email confirmation:

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Hi! Sorry to be so delayed in getting back to you. Did want to let you know that we received the packet you mailed, along with your check. I have been really busy with several situations and sorry I haven’t had a chance to process the info yet. I hope to do by next week and then will want to schedule some individual interviews with you as the next step. You might also let your references know that we’ll probably be sending out the letters soon.
Thanks for your patience!
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So, your prayers are working and we really appreciate them! Thank you so much. Please continue to pray things continue to go well. We're hoping God blesses us with a financial plan so we're ready when the home study and legal proceedings happen.

We can't help but see other little ones while we're out and smile knowing God will soon be blessing us with a child of our own.

Finally, Kim celebrated her birthday on October 25 and while she had a few things on her list, there was one she wanted most of all. She is now able to straighten her hair just like they do in salons with her new CHI ceramic straightner. She's very excited and as you can see from the photo it makes her look even more like a princess.

On a separate note, Marc's good friend Mark Bond called from Branson during the Chris Tomlin concert and Marc got to hear Tomlin's new song "Glorious" off his new See the Morning album. Incredible stuff.

More soon.

Is summer really almost over?

When we last reported in, our house warming party had completed and was a great success and it was still hot as blazes outside.

Now, while the leaves are changing, the temperatures keep teasing us with 90 degrees one day and 68 the next. Fun, fun. Marc was extremely distressed when they closed the pool in our neighborhood the weekend after Labor Day (the weekend we went to see Kim's family) because it signaled that cold weather is just around the corner. Yuck. Kim was fine with it because she is ready for Fall to get here (her favorite time of the year).

Recently, Marc spent some time in Portland, Ore., on business. It is one of the few states he's never been to, so it was nice to be able to cross it off the list. While he didn't get to see much more than Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens in the distance from the airport, the weather was incredible and all went well while he was there.

One of the big stumbling blocks in the adoption process is the vast amount of paperwork involved in getting things moving, but it's more than just filling out forms and answering questions. In addition, the recent sumbling block has been the task of writing an autobiography of our lives to go with the last set of paperwork before our home study. It's not easy putting down on paper the events of our lives and the sample guidelines contain more than 50 questions. So basically, in addition to seein our tax records, bank statements and work history from two years ago to today, they are asking us questions, some as intimate as "How do you handle disagreements/problems," "Why did you marry" and "How did your parents show/not show appreciation or approval." Jeez, why don't you ask us how often we pee while you're at it, right?

Anyhow, we've completed that so now after we get two forms notarized, we will be ready to submit the entire packet. In addition to being finished with this, we now move up to the next phase where we will need to talk with individuals about getting the legal procedures and financing needed to complete the process down the stretch. We will also look to do our homestudy soon as well. We're nervous about both of these things as it's a huge financial decision and we're also still in that whole "are we good enough/meant to be parents?"

We know our God is an awesome God, and right now we're really clining to that. Our positions at work are demanding an increasing amount of time and it's beginning to wear on us. We've found that when we get home it's hard to get motivated after Marc's day of stressfully trying to put out fires and keep company and client happy and Kim's day of trying to put out fires with kids, school and parents. We know it will get better, but right now its hard, especially without a church home.


Over this past weekend, Marc's father celebrated his 61st birthday and a few of Marc's aunts and uncle came to town from Colorado to help him celebrate. In addition to great food and lots of laughter came the building and burning of the gigantic brush pile on the north side of the Vasquez Kearney home. It took a little while to start the fire, but once it began, the heat from the blaze pushed us back literally 50-75 feet away and the flames climbed to be about 50-75 feet high as well. At one point, it was so large that people in cars would slow down as they drove by to see it. This gave us an idea. Marc's father hauled out a few robes and blankets and started the Halloween season early. What a show for us and those who drove by! We went out again this afternoon to see them again and while the women went to the fabric store for some shopping, the guys watched football in the living room. That evening we all sat down to a homemade Mexican dinner complete with beans, tortillas, Spanish rice, guacamole and all the trimmings. It was nice to see everyone and we're going to try to make it out to see them in Colorado next year.

Yesterday Kim took many of her students to compete in Special Olympics and Marc participated in the 2006 Juvenile Diabetes Walk for the Cure at the Truman Sports Complex. Kim's day started early with the kids meeting at school to head over to Raytown to meet up with other students in the area to compete. The great thing about Special Olympics is that while the students do their best to get the highest score, they also root for each other and enjoy it as a time to be with friends rather than simply a sport. It's a pretty amazing site to see.

While she was there, Kim got to see students she has had in the past and catch up with them. Next year Kim will go with her students to the local area Special Olympics in Lee's Summit to compete in the outdoor games. Later on, she and the students will head to Columbia, Mo., to play against students from the entire state of Missouri in a two-day competition.

Thanks to the generous financial support of many friends and family members, Marc and Kim raised over $300 to go toward the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. While we didn't quite meet our goal of $500, we were quite happy with making the contribution toward finding a cure for type 1 diabetes. Blasting the latest from Third Day, Chris Tomlin and The David Crowder Band while wearing his walk sign, Marc made his way around the two-mile track with other walkers.It was a great time of reflection and it was amazing being around others joined in the common goal to help others. We hope to take part in the event next year and would like to thank those who partnered with us in prayer and through generous financial contributions. We could not have done it without you!

Well, it's the start of another work week and we're sure to be tired having completed writing this at 12:30 a.m. Actually, that means it officially Monday. Yuck again.

Oh well, have a great week and we'll see you soon.