Party Photos Part 2.

If it wasn't for that silly "ffff" sound in the word "Photos," that would have been some killer blog post title alliteration!


Marc's mom took some additional photos and provided them to us last night so we thought we'd share them with you as well. Today is Memorial Day and we hope you enjoy it as we all reflect on the incredible contributions the men and women of the armed forces have done to help keep our country free.

Even though it doesn't look like it, our niece Becca did actually have a good time. . . :)

More soon.

Celebrate good times, c'mon.

Last weekend we did it up Cool and the Gang style out at the pool house of a family friend to celebrate Jakob's official welcome home. We invited nearly 100 people from all over the United States and ended up having more than 70!

Everyone from old friends to new friends, clients to coworkers and of course family enjoyed the fun. Inside the room, we started at the door with the first photo we ever took of Jakob when he was born and in the NICU. The photos traveled around the room showing a timeline of his first 9 months and ended with a recent photo taken one week before the event. We also had balloons and decorations that matched the invitation along with a Mexican buffet, cake and champagne toast. It was a very touching and moving experience, and we hope the little guy knows just how special (and perfect) he really is. Yes, it's true. The news is out. He's the most amazing kid ever.

As a side note, Marc is finally learning to play guitar. Things have really fallen into place for it to happen and it's been a goal of his for quite a while. One friend has agreed to loan him a guitar to begin practicing on. Another has agreed to string it left-handed (because for some reason that feels right), and another friend who goes to church with us and is very well known in Christian music has offered to give him some lessons to get him off and running. The blessings from the people God has put us into contact with at Vineyard continue coming.

Marc's buddy Josh is leading worship in Lee's Summit and it's something he has dreamed about doing for quite a while. Josh sent Marc some great photos of some recent worship experiences and they are very cool. Josh is one of those few individuals who really looks like this is what he was meant to do. We've had our share of great worship leaders and a few really not so good ones. Josh is on the short list of people God has truly gifted.

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and we've got some good plans, but nothing extravagant. Today, Kim got to go with her school kids to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. she said it rocks. She also reminded Marc that there are no more Monday's left in the school year and soon she will be off on summer break. Marc took Jakob to the doctor because it appears he has another slight ear infection. We've got him on antibiotics now and he's on the mend. Tomorrow, we're going to do our best to catch up on sleep before heading over to see some friends we haven't gotten to hang out with in quite a while. Sunday, we're planning to see Iron Man and then Monday head back to the movies to catch Speed Racer and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Thanks in advance to the Brunk's, Hatfield's and Cole's who agreed to watch Jakob so Kim and I can have a little RNR time! You guys rock! Monday, we have a going away party for some really great friends who have been leading our small group. While we're really (REALLY) not excited to see them go, God has really opened up an awesome opportunity for them and we're not going to be the ones that stand in the way. . .

Our next big quest is to find a new daycare for Jakob for the fall. Because of the ever-increasing cost of gas, our day care provider and her family are moving to Overland Park to be closer to her husband's job. We're sorry to see her go as Jakob loves going there and we love using her (it also helps that she's literally across 291 from us). God will provide though. We do know that much.

[Yawn] It's late. More soon.

Mother's Day Irony

So, the little bear is ours finally and just in time for Mother's Day! With much admiration, Kim was able to finally celebrate her first Mother's Day and Jakob made sure it was a memorable one.

The weekend started Friday with us heading back to Portrait Innovations to get Jakob's 9-month photos taken. They truly are the devil because every photo they took of him came complete with a big smile and it was incredibly hard to narrow down the photos we wanted to have printed. See for yourself:

On Saturday, Jakob went shopping with daddy and then headed to Kearney to spend time with Poppa while Kim had a Tastefully Simple party at home. Because he couldn't wait to give her his present, Jakob watched as Kim opened a card that contained a 4-hour spa package complete with either a hot stone or deep tissue massage, followed by a manicure and pedicure with all the pampering a mom needs.

Sunday morning Jakob helped daddy pin on a Mother's Day corsage at church. He and Kim were there to watch Marc help lead worship in the Venue area. After church, Jakob gave Marc the idea to head to Olive Garden to get take out and bring it home so we could have a nice meal together. It was a great idea as every restaurant in the tri-state area was packed to the gills!

After the special lunch, we all three wrestled a bit on the big bed and Jakob decided it was time to officially unveil his first word. He said it clear as a bell and wouldn't stop saying it repeating it over and over and over again. The word?

"Da-da."

Yes, that's right. On Mother's Day, Jakob went on and on with "da-da." While Kim now hopes he says "Ma-ma" on Father's Day, she did say it was one of the best weekends ever.

This morning, Jakob did another first. Kim went in to check on him before leaving for school and saw that he was sleeping on his stomach. He's never really been a big fan of rolling over from back to front especially in his sleep so this was pretty amazing to see.

This weekend is the big celebration out in Kearney and it should be pretty amazing. We'll be sure to have photos on hand next week of the fun.

More soon.

Completed

February 2006, this quest began. Today, May 6, 2008, with all of the t's crossed and i's dotted, "Baby Boy Rosell" is officially now "Jakob Marcus Vasquez." The last thing our lawyer asked us was "And you understand that after today you will be this boy's rightful parents as though you had conceived him yourself?" To which we answered, "Yes." Then the ward of the state, in his final comments said, "Just one more thing your honor. I have a recommendation that this boy be adopted by the plaintiffs as they are more than fit for parenthood." So, as you can see, we're now the rightful parents (wow) of the cutest baby in the known universe. We're going to have jackets made.

All in all, a very emotional day, and we toyed with idea of changing the name of our blog to something like "Vasquez Family Experience" or something like that, but we can't. We've decided that in January we will begin the paperwork again to get started on the second addition to our family, Jakob's sibling.

How's that for summer blockbuster movie sequel spoiler?

Again, photos speak louder than words, so here you go:

More soon.

We were lucky

Over the past few days, we've seen the weather events of Thursday night on the AP Newswire and PR Newswire (specifically on the Today Show and Yahoo), but nothing could prepare us for driving down 291 toward the airport just yards past our house, or coming back toward our house in the housing addition to the west of us. The housing addition literally looks like a series of bombs blew up taking out windows, doors, walls, even one house's entire structure with only the front door standing. At one end of our addition sits an All State insurance mobile van and at the other an American Red Cross help station. It's literally hard to take in.

Thanks to our neighbor, who is not only a great guy but handy with tools, our patches are now covered with tarps as we wait for the State Farm claims adjuster make a decision on what is needed. We're hoping this comes out to be reasonably painless financially, but we're still not sure yet what's going to happen. The roof we have is not yet two years old, so we're hoping for some kind of warranty to kick in, but you never know what might happen.

Here are photos of some of the roof areas:

Yesterday, we headed out to Kearney to see Marc's mom and dad's new kitchen remodel (which is about 95 percent completed) and have a late lunch on the grill. The weather was so nice out we couldn't help but buy a swing for the little bear to have some fun in. He seemed to really enjoy it and we're so happy to be able to have him outside more often:

But probably the best part was when Jakob fell asleep laying in Poppa's lap:

Today is Cinco de Mayo. It's a big day for Marc's people. :)

In less than twenty-four hours, we will sit in front of a judge and Jakob's state ward and go through the final proceedings to make Jakob our legal son. We're excited, but nervous as well. In addition, Jakob's subsidy from the state begins this month, and we can definitely use the help with Marc's recent medical bills we've begun to accrue.

Also, we have begun the search for new daycare arrangements for Jakob to start back up in the fall. We received notice that our daycare provider and her family are moving to Overland Park where her husband works because of the high cost of gasoline. We're really going to miss her because not only is she great with Jakob, but the location is very convenient. Kim and I have been talking with individuals in the hopes of finding someone soon.

In our next post, we hope to have photos from the big day Tuesday.

More soon.

Hold on to your butts, because Kansas is going bye-bye. . .

Holy cow. As many of you know last night the northland was rocked with a major storm like nothing seen in quite a long time. There have been conflicting reports on whether it was a straight line wind storm or a full on tornado. Based on how the entire earth shook us awake at 1:34 a.m., it felt like a tornado. Our power has been out since 2 a.m., and the only light we saw last night was from those using flashlights to look around their homes and the many police officers with search lights passing by to make sure no one was injured. Marc surveyed the area after the storm at 3:00 a.m. with our neighbor while Kim tended to Jakob's first storm experience. Later this morning, we had many news helicopters flying overhead, and since images speak louder than words, behold these taken of Highway 291 that runs behind our house:

In addition, Kim put Jakob in the outfit Marc got while in Florida in January and it fits just fine. He's officially our first "Thing 1".

More soon.