the vogeltanz family

I am praying tonight for my friends currently on the adoption roller coaster. Today some new changes were implemented into the Ethiopian adoption process (By the Ethiopian government). While the new changes are put in place to make sure the adoption procedure is safe, carried out with integrity and ultimately aim to best benefit the children, they surely frustrate and cause anxiety in the hearts of the parents just longing to bring home their children. In simple terms (and I am still trying to figure it all out) families will now travel to Ethiopia twice instead of just once as Bryson and I did. Both parents will travel for their court date and to meet their baby…then go home and wait…then go back to pick up their baby. I really pray these new changes won’t keep people from pursuing adoption in Ethiopia. So so so many children are waiting for their forever families!  Here is how my sweet friend Andrea who is on the waiting list explains the new procedure and how she is trusting God each step of the way…

“Today, as I learned of MORE recent changes with the Ethiopia adoption program–I am sticking to the race the Lord called me to and trusting HIM to be the writer of my story. I believe in the end, the wait–the hurdles–the unknowns–the heartaches–will all not only be worth it…but in the process of being refined and standing by what I believe the Lord called us to–we will not only be blessed but also more Christlike. Amen?!

Due to approximately 41 families revoking their adoptions in Ethiopia once they got there (for whatever reason) and recent CBS reports about an agency which is now being questioned (not ours)—new policies have been put in place…which will ultimately delay our adoption by they are guessing approximately 7-8 weeks (2 months). Two trips will also now be required. One trip will be made by BOTH parents immediately after referral (approximately 2 weeks after) and parents will stay in Ethiopia for approximately 1 week to “bond” with the child and at that time sign papers and officially accept the referral. THEN, both parents will journey home with their hearts full of trust that they will pass court—hopefully the first time. After court, an embassey date will be set–and only one parent will be required to travel at that time to get their child. AND THEN at that point can you make plans to come cheer, cry, jump up and down, PRAISE THE LORD, and do a happy dance WITH ME at the airport!

There are risks. There are unknowns. And I won’t go into details on those—simply because—they are risks and unknowns. And I’m not concerned with them—because I just happen to serve the God of risks and unknowns. Yes, I do. When I trusted Him as my Savior and He said, “Follow me” I knew there would be risks and unknowns. In fact, all I saw were risks…and the unknowns—gosh, they were everywhere. BUT I serve an all powerful mighty God. AND God also knew–because He is writing my story and I have told Him I will follow Him regardless…always…no matter matter the risk or uncertainty…that He would remind me before this call with my agency that He is the one writing my story.”

Praying for you Andrea and all my blog world friends as you trust God to write your family’s story. The wait is worth it. May your journey bring much glory and fame to Christ Jesus!

We made it to WV safe & sound and are having a great time. But, I’m not gonna lie, the plane ride with two kiddo’s by myself was…um…STRESSFUL! Just keeping it real folks. The morning started at 3:30am as we drove to the airport for our early morning flight. That right there should have been a red flag that the day was going to be a rough one! Once we settled in on the flight, I could feel the glaring eyes of judging passengers burning in my back as I bribed Nash with lollipops, food, and anything else I could pull out of my Mary Poppins carry on bag to keep him happy and quiet for the duration of the flight (and not very successfully I might add.). He was obsessed with the widow blind…open, close, open, close,open, close, open, close,open, close, open, close,open, close, open, close,open, close, open, close,open, close, open, close. I think you get the picture.  Meanwhile, I was banging my head on the seat in front of me and counting down the seconds until we landed (**okay, not literally, just written for effect so you feel my pain!). Poor Nash was just so excited to be flying he couldn’t keep his energy contained…I just feel bad for the guy sitting in front of us receiving all that energy in the back of this chair. Ay yi yi! Needless to say, I was ecstatic to finally land  and be greeted by my sister and her two precious kids waiting for us a baggage claim. From now on I think I am going to take John Denver’s advice and let Country Roads Take Me Home instead of the not-so-friendly skies.

Now that I have calmed down from my stressful voyage, everything has been going great and Evyn is LOVING all the attention and accolades of her new family. Everyone is just so happy to meet her and cover her in kisses! We have even let a few people hold her for the first time! Up until now, only Bryson and I have held her as a way to enhance our bonding with her. We are taking it slow (not ready to leave her with a sitter or anything yet!), but it sure is fun to have other people get hold and love on our bundle of joy!

Here are some pictures of our first days home…

Ladies and Gentlemen please take your seats. (**obviously taken before the fun began...and before Nash realized the windows had blinds that moved.)

water break at the airport.

Evyn Olivia meeting her namesake... my sister Olivia

Falling in love with Marmi

Evyn + Charis playing and talking about the latest hair bow styles.

Nash + Xavier playing with a vintage toy...aka, my toy growing up!

Nash's first Tomaro's Pepperoni Roll, a Clarksburg, WV classic!

I love nothing more than a good craft project! This week’s agenda was getting Evyn’s announcements printed, put together, and in the mail before I headed up to WV to visit my family. No small feat. My friend Linsey designed these letter-press looking announcements for us and I put on the final touches. I really love how they turned out…and I’m really happy to have this marked off my to-do list!

BV and I are not good with traditions. We forget everything. This really bothers me and I am resolved in trying to fix this about us. We are taking some small steps towards fixing this problem. We have now implemented: “Thursday night dinner downtown”night. We go as a family to one of the downtown restaurants (usually involving a coupon) and talk it up like a tradition we have done for years. All traditions have to start somewhere, right? Well, we have only been at it for about a month and already this week we had to have “Thursday night dinner downtown” on Monday night. Oh well. We really do try.

Does your family have traditions? Do you dream about having family traditions? Chime in and let me know what your traditions are, when they started and what you love or hate about ‘em.

Enjoying Thursday Night Downtown…

food please?

BV thinking up the perfect twitter to capture the moment....

Someone is thinking about crawling. Every now and then she will lift her belly off the floor like she is going to make a run for it, but it quickly droops back down and a little smirk comes across her face like she is sayin’ “fooled ya!”.  Diva is spelled E-V-Y-N around here.

phase 1 | Happy!

phase 2 | Plop.

phase 3 | And she is up!

phase 4 | Seriously? This really isn'tthat fun, mom.

Me and the kiddo’s are headed to West Virginia to visit my family. Country roads take me home!!! Isn’t is amazing how someplace can still be “home” even after you haven’t lived there for more than 10 years. I hope my kids feel that way one day about coming to visit me and Bryson. I hope they always have a little longing in them to come “home”.  Happy Thursday friends…

Evyn got her Green Card in the mail a few weeks ago and I just realized I forgot to post about. So, without further adieu …

And since it is snowing again in Georgia today (really? what’s with the snow this year?? I moved to the south to get away from the cold!) and the theme of this post is catching up on things I forgot to post earlier, here are a few pictures of the snow storm that hit a few weeks ago.

Nash told me he was embarrassed to go outside because of his McGiver rigged snow boots. (that was my interpretation of what he was saying at least)

snow with dad.

Bryson teaching Nash how to jump in the snow...

a bit cold, but fun for a southern boy.

Last but not least, here is Evyn in a…um, shopping bag.

Athens, I Love You.

Bryson dolled Evyn up in her Georgia gear this weekend while I was away on a retreat. They went to the UGA baseball game to cheer on the Dawgs. She does look good in red & black…but then again, I’m pretty sure she looks good in just about anything (though BV would argue that no one looks good in orange.). Soon Bryson will begin teaching her how to bark and chant UGA. Let the brainwashing begin…

Go Dawgs.

Okay, okay! I’m back. I took a little blog breather last week and decided not to post anything. As another blog mom once wrote,  ”Just because I don’t blog about it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen!”.  Any of you other blog moms out there ever find yourselves looking at life through the, “Hmmm, this would make a good blog post” lense? Or how about, “This would make the funniest Facebook status”! Not that those things are bad, but when my mind starts living there I know it’s time for a bit of a blog & technology sabbatical. Plus, with the Olympics going on the past 2 weeks I haven’t been doing much other than chanting USA at every possible moment. Any other big Olympics fans out there?? I’m pretty hard-core. I cry no matter who wins (but especially when it’s the US or Canada. Really proud of Canada! I so want to move to Vancouver now!!), I pace back and forth (or leave the room) because I get so nervous, I constantly check the medal count and I love the behind the scenes stories about the athletes. Not to mention, I laugh at all of Bob Costas’ jokes. I’m sad the fun is ending tonight, so in honor of the Olympics here is my most favorite commercial that makes me weep each time I see it. Geesh, I’m competitive and emotional! What a mess I am!

I know you totally cried when you watch that commercial! Love it! Have a great Sunday night…

This morning I jumped out of bed and threw on a skirt and a t-shirt. I went upstairs to get the kids up and this is the conversation that followed when I walked into Nash’s room:

Emily: Good Morning Nash!

Nash: Wow! You a princess, mama?

Emily: Because I have a skirt on?

Nash: Yeah! Woooooow!

Emily: I guess so then.

Nash: Okay, Princess Mama. Time to eat?

Not a bad way to start the morning. My 2 year old thinks I am a princess! Maybe I should wear skirts everyday.

5 years ago just before we moved.

In January, Bryson and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary of living in Athens. I’ll never forget making the decision to move from Atlanta to Athens. We committed to stay here at least five years as we helped launch Athens Church. Next to getting married it was the biggest commitment we had ever made. But we believed wholeheartedly it was the right move for us…even though it was hard to leave behind the community, amazing jobs, and friends in Atlanta. ATL is only 66 miles from Athens and we go back pretty often, but moving to Athens we knew we were going to have to put our roots down and invest our lives into this community. And what a great move it has been!  It has been such a privileged to watch God unfold amazing stories of life change all around us as He has used the church to impact lives and lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. What an honor to be a part of HIS story.

The funny thing is, I hated Athens for the first year and half I lived here. I was literally counting down the days to when our 5 year commitment was going to be up and we could move on. Now, I wonder if we will ever leave! It was a really difficult season for me and a hard transition. I was tired of moving and starting over and quite simply pouted and let myself be depressed about it for a year before I started coming around to the fact that Athens is a pretty stinkin’ AWESOME place to live and raise a family.

So, in honor of our 5 year anniversary and in true bloggy style,  I’m ready to shout it from the virtual mountain top that I do in fact LOVE Athens! Here are 5 of my favorite things I love about life in one of the greatest small towns in America…

1. The University. It’s one of the coolest college towns in the nation! Go Dawgs. I believe college students can change world! I love being surrounded by students, hanging out and investing in the lives of these amazing kids.
2. All things local. Athenians love local stuff! Local grown, local shops, local restaurants, local made. If it’s homegrown we love it. (Fav local shops: Helix + Toulas!)
3. The Pace of Life. It’s great here. A little slower but still productive. (and no traffic! bonus!)
4. Food. Athens has some AWESOME local restaurants. Yum-o! (Favs: The Grit, Last Resort, Clocked, the list goes on and on!)
5. The People. People are real and authentic. They are not so caught up in material stuff as some of the other places we have lived. Round here it’s a little country/redneck/hippie which is nice. It just makes you feel at home.

5 years ago...saying goodbye to life in Atlanta

putting our roots down and building our home in Athens

we had just moved to Athens and spent many many hours at the starbucks downtown since we didnt have internet at home yet.

Athens, I really do love you….

Being that this month is Nash’s Half Birthday (He is halfway to 3!), here are some of the latest stats on the little man of the house these days…

1. Current love = Robots + Rocket ships. Everything ends up as one or the other.
2. New hobby = “I help you, mama”. This boy loves to cook and help get food ready. Need to find him a more manly apron to go along with this new hobby. The vintage apron from the 50’s just isn’t cuttin’ it.
3. Big Brother Award= keeping sister happy + entertained in the car. Thanks to him, evyn loves the car seat.
4. Funny phrases = He talks up a storm these days. Here are some of my favorite recent phrases in his repertoire: “oh, sorry ’bout that, mama.”, “I watch you, mama”, “talk to me, mama”, “Oh, gosh!”
5. Personality = Sweet with an independent streak that keeps us on our toes. Loves kisses, high fives, and hugs.
6. Also enjoys = playing in the dirt, watching Word World and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and listening to mama talk in funny voices (ex: he likes for me to give funny talking voices to his cars and toys).

I love watching this little person grow and learn each day. He is really such a joy (minus the moments when he dumps all his toys around the house, has a meltdown in Target, or refuses to eat something that he loved the day before! But hey, if that’s the worst we’ve got going on, we are doing okay, right!?:)) . Honestly, I really LOVE this age and it is so FUN to have a little buddy around the house. It’s been fun to watch him love to learn new things and have real conversations with him. He is constantly pointing to things and asking “Who’s that, mama?” meaning “What’s that” and just wants to know about everything.

Nash, I adore you little boy! Praying for you each day is a great honor. I can not wait to see what the Lord has in store for your life. Praying you grow strong, wise, and run hard after the heart of God. May your life bring Him much glory little one!

Happy Valentines Day to my

amazing husband…

It’s a joy to live life alongside you.

It just keeps getting better and better and better………..

We have been home with little miss Evyn for about 6 weeks and have learned quite a lot about our sweet daughter. Each day she surprises us with a little more of her personality as it comes shining through. Up until this week she has been a pretty serious baby and though she seemed happy and content, it took a lot of work to get a smile or a laugh (actually, I should say Bryson and I have had to work hard for smiles, Nash draws them out easily). But this week I discovered 2 things that make this baby girl light up with giggles and squeals of joy! The first is this:

Evyn goes crazy when she sees the picture of this little boy on her hair moisturizer jar. It’s so sweet and funny!

The second thing that makes her literally shake with excitement is her first love, “Gymbo”. Yes, Gymbo the clown from Gymboree. Who knew that one day I would have a kid who loved clowns?!? Check it out for yourself. (**note, you will also get to see her newest trick, clapping! Also, please ignore my annoying mommy voice. I’ve really got to work on that! On second thought, nah, the kids seem to like it so I’m going to stick by my annoying mommy voice! ).

Happy Thursday friends. It’s almost the weekend again. Where did the week go?

My sweet neighbor, Kristin, snapped these pictures of Evyn for me this week…

what a looker!

classic evyn look...she loves her lil' tongue.

why so sad?

"mom, you seriously want me to sit in this grass? Seriously?"

love.

soooo much love.

All those summers in the sun came back to bite me yesterday. With my reddish hair and fair skin I’ve always jokingly said I was a “poster child for skin cancer” and while that comment used to get a laugh or two, it’s not so funny today.

Last week I went to the dermatologist to get a few moles checked out. I left the office without one of my moles and it took a little trip to the lab. I got a call last night from the dermatologist, a good friend of ours, that the mole came back with some good news and some bad.

The bad news: the mole is Melanoma In Situ which simply means it is melanoma cancer that has effected the top layer of the skin.

The good news: It was caught early. PRAISE JESUS moment!  I will have to go back to the docotor next week and have a little more skin removed around where the mole to make sure it is all gone.

The news rattled me a little. It just makes you pause and get perspective. When you hear your name and the dirty little “c” word in the same sentence it feels like a punch to the stomach. And to think, it was just a little mole that I might have ignored for another year or two! Thank God it was just a bad mole that we caught early and not something more serious. Grateful for his protection in my life today.

So what’s the practical application? I feel a little vulnerable today and I think it is probably a good thing. While we aren’t called to live in fear, we do need to be wise with our bodies, our holy temples, so that our lives can bring much glory to God. So wear sunscreen…get checked…care for your bodies inside + out. It’s the only one we have.

Now I need to stand on my soap box and yell at you readers:

HAVE YOU GONE TO THE DERMATOLOGIST RECENTLY?

YOU SHOULD.

What is it with boys and technology? Nash LOVES (maybe obsessed would be a better word?)  the remote, the radio, the DVD player, the TV, the camera, the ipod, our phones, and especially our computers. Here he is trying to teach Evyn about technology by showing her how to use his “laptop”. It was so funny to watch him explain to her how to use it and push the buttons. He was so serious about teaching her!

"Do it like this baby doll..."

"I teach you!"

I borrowed this cool idea called “six” from Debra Parker’s blog. FYI: Amazing story unfolding on their blog and in their lives as they wait for their son to be cleared to come home from Haiti. They were one of the families who were in the adoption process when the earthquake hit and are in the middle of a frustrating battle to get one stinkin’ piece of paper signed so they can come home. It breaks my heart! Her husband is in Haiti now literally living + sleeping on the Embassy floor and fighting  to bring home their son. Read their blog. God is amazing and is going to receive much glory from their story! (***UPDATE: Debra’s husband and son are in air! They are flying home today! PRAISE GOD!!!!!)

She is an awesome blogger. Very funny + transparent + creative. She often does a post called Six where she has 6 pictures of things that made her happy, representations of her week, or just random stuff. I love it. Copying is the greatest form of flattery, right?  Hope that’s okay Debra! Praying for you and your family!

1. My burlap Tom’s Shoes. Love them. They are starting to stink, but I will wear them anyway.
2. 2 teeth have officially come through.
3. watching Nash play in the dirt makes me happy. the smell of mud reminds me of my childhood.
4. evyn’s tongue…she loves that thing.
5. A good egg. I heart cage free, grain fed chickens who make beautiful eggs. (Even if they do cost $4)
6. way too much medicine for the ear infection that will not go away. On day 7 people!

I’m at a crossroads.

We watched the documentary film called Food, Inc this week. My world was rocked. Basically, the movie poses the question, “where does our food come from”. It wasn’t that all the information was new to me. I already knew chickens are overfed and overcrowded in chicken coops around america. I know most of our food is genetically modified. But the movie hit a nerve and I can’t shake it. After chewing on the film for a few days (ha, no pun intended. okay, maybe it was.) I think, at the core, what bothers me is that it’s not just one industry that seems to be messed up…like beef industry or the chicken industry and I can just say, I’ll never eat ____ again. It’s that ALL commercial food industry is messed up in one way or another. We aren’t eating good food. It’s all connected. It’s all messed up. Whether it’s how the animals are treated, fed, or slaughtered or how our veggies are grown and covered in pesticides, or how the FDA isn’t really regulating the way they should, or how the workers who process the food are poorly treated. (FYI, the movie didn’t come across as a political propaganda film. It actually blamed both parties.) It all seems pretty messy and honestly, too big for me do anything about it. This leaves me perplexed and not sure what my next move is…let alone what my next meal is. Needless to say, I haven’t had much of an appetite the past few days.

So here is my question. What do I do? How + what do I change in my every day life…everyday eating…every day cooking…every day grocery shopping. I think the answer is to move to a remote island commune and grow our own food. BUT, unfortunately that isn’t a feasible option. So the next logical answer is to go completely organic and work towards supporting local farmers. I love this idea, but my budget does not. The day after the movie I went to the grocery to do a little test. I happened to have a random gift card to the grocery store and figured this was as good a time as any to use it. I wanted to see what shopping for “organic” + “minimally processed food” was like. I just picked up some of the stuff we eat during an average week and choose the organic options. I didn’t end up with much. I spent about $40 from my gift card and only got this much stuff:

Eggs alone were $4. Chicken nuggets $7. Crazy. We live on a budget, so going all organic at this point in our lives isn’t really an option. BUT, I want my kids to eat good food. I want to eat good food. I know eating well now will mean being healthier later. So where is the middle ground? Although we are generally an all of nothing kind of family, I think the answer for us is figure out what our “nonnegotiable” are. In other words, what are the items that I will ONLY buy organic. Milk, for example, is an easy one. We have been buying organic milk for the past several years. We don’t even hesitate at the store. What other items need to be added to that list? After seeing the film, I think eggs and meat are going on the top of the list.

So now my question for YOU…

If you shop for organic foods what are your nonnegotiable? In other words, what are the items that you will only buy organic? Where do you get deals on organic foods, how do you work it into your budget?

Chime in, I need some help here.

Nash + Dr. Denmark | July '08

Happy 112th Birthday Dr. Leila Denmark!

Today is the 112th birthday of one of my heroes, Dr. Denmark. You read that right…112 years young! When I was pregnant for Nash I began researching and reading books on how to do this parenting thing. I was confused and frustrated with all the different schools of thought on how to care for your newborn…they all seemed to contradict one another and I didn’t have a peace about following any of their suggested routines. Living in Georgia I began hearing other moms mention stories about Dr. Denmark who practiced medicine here for over 75 years and saw more than 250,000 children! I was intrigued. After reading all the articles, books and resources I could get my hands on about Dr. Denmark I was confident that this was the parenting path for my family. Nash thrived on Dr. Denmark’s wisdom and feeding/sleeping routine…as did Bryson and I! Even now with baby Evyn we are beginning to implement her schedule and it is already improving her sleep routine, eating, and overall schedule. It has given us such a peace and a freedom in knowing how to care for our precious kids and keep them healthy, well fed & rested, and strong.  I know her ways are not for everyone, but we LOVE Dr. Denmark. Without her wisdom and methods, I’m sure I would be a crazy mama!

Meeting Dr. Denmark!

“THE MUSH”

In honor of Dr. Denmark’s birthday I wanted to share her “mush” recipie that I feed to my babies. It’s super easy to make and healthy + hardy. Evyn gobbles it up!

• 3 TBSP protein (I use Black Eyed Peas)
• 3 TBSP Banana
• 2 TBSP fruit (I use unsweetened applesauce)
• 3 TBSP Rice Cereal
• 3 TBSP veggie (added at lunch and dinner only)

Evyn eats this mush 3 meals a day (adding in veggies at lunch and dinner). I make 21 containers of “the base” (black eyed peas, applesauce, and bananas) each week and freeze it so that meal time is a breeze.

yum-o

[The book I recommend if you are interested in learning about Dr. Denmark's method is "Dr.Denmark Said It" by Madia Bowman. Also, check out this local article about her 112th Birthday!]