Fall Fun!

So many fun things to do this time of year!  We decided to go apple picking at a local orchard but got distracted by all the fun carnival rides that happen to be there that weekend!

And for Halloween this year we would like to introduce everyone to Dr. Aaron!

As we are having all this fun, please pray for my brother and family who are waiting for their power to turn back on.  They live in PA just west of New Jersey.  Thankfully power is all that they have lost.  

New nephew!

We were so excited to head out to Eastern PA to finally visit my new nephew, Asher, over Labor Day weekend!  Oh, I could have held him forever, but I didn't want to hog him from Beppe (Grandma in Friese).  I'm telling you every time I look at him, I see my brother (freaky!).  

Aaron had a great time getting to know his new cousin and he can't wait until Asher is old enough to play with him. 

Gotta to love the "I love Daddy!" shot!

Unfortunately, we won't get to see Asher again in person until Christmas, and I'm sure he'll be gynormous by then!

Officially waiting

As of Monday our Dossier is in the hands of the Chinese government!  We officially have nothing to do but wait.  I'm getting pretty good at that.  I guess we will find out how good.  Only the Lord knows how long that wait will be until we are introduced to that yet unknown Bogner.  I can't wait to look into his/her face (via photo) and say, "Yep, that's a Bogner!" and bring that Bogner home!

I am very much tempted during the slow carefree summer time to start signing up to volunteer for  a bunch of things once fall starts.  But the Lord keeps reminding me, "Wait!  You have no idea what I have planned for you this year!"  So I am trying to only commit to things that are in and of themselves pretty flexible.

I have decided (because I'm crazy and have the time) to start to study Mandarin via Rosetta Stone.  I have already done the first lesson, and this is going to be challenging!

I can't believe we are already approaching the end of July.  Aaron is currently in a growth spurt and eating like there is no tomorrow.  I don't know how long it will last, but for the time being I don't have to be frustrated with him being a S-L-O-W eater.  He is inhaling his food!  In fact, I need to now remind him to chew his food before he swallows.  It is an ever changing dynamic, this thing we call life!

Excitement in June

Adoption update - Our month of June started with receiving our federal paperwork that we had been waiting for, earlier than expected.  We should now be able to file our dossier with China within the next week or 2!  Only God knows the timing of all this but my dad has been praying that we would travel to China in October.  (No particular reason he picked October that I am aware of.  He just likes to pray specifically and then watch God work!)

We have been using our waiting time well.  We took a week and flew to the west coast of Canada for a family reunion of sorts.  We hadn't been back to see everyone in about 3 years, so it was time!  We had a wonderful time.  I was worried about how Aaron would do with all of the traveling and I am so happy to say that he did fabulously!  I would say that the toughest part was the time change.  4 AM is not an acceptable wake up time!

Aaron with his headphones listening to his music all ready to go on the BIG plane.   

Evidently, smiling is a little too much work.  

My dad's side of the family, some of whom I have not seen in probably decades or had never met before.  It was so good to see everyone!

I loved spending time with my grandma, who is fabulously 96 years young!  Go Grandma!

A trip out west would not be complete without of trip the De Dutch, or as we like to call it, Pannekoeken house!  Yum!

Petting the goats at the farm.  No worries, Aaron, I was a little afraid of them too!

Petting the starfish at the Vancouver Aquarium, so fun!

Pacific Ocean!  Yeah, no where near warm enough to swim!

Hiking up the mountain to Bridal Falls with Pake, so beautiful!

Well, we hope our next big trip to be to China!  We will keep you posted!

Step In Time

 So of course, we love music in the Bogner family!  We introduced Aaron to Mary Poppins a few week ago and he now loves to "Step In Time" with the chimney sweeps.  And Daddy now lets Aaron "play" his guitar under supervision.  But just playing a guitar is not fun enough!

We also have to sing in the microphone while we strum, and for more background instrumentals we press a button in the book behind us for a specific song to play.  Never a dull moment, and loving it!

The adoption paperwork is now pretty much done, and we wait...thank you for all of your prayers!

Oh, 2012 what do you have in store?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our holidays were nice and quiet and relaxing, which is just what everyone needed.

We have decided to finally jump into the crazy world of potty training. I'm in no big rush, so we are going slowly and trying to focus on our successes. He really enjoys his one Skittle that he receives for each successful deposit. It will be interesting how long he makes this process last. One day at a time.

We are near finishing our paper work for our adoption. And soon we will be having a conference call with our agency to give us an idea of how long our wait might be. One day at a time.

Moving along

I am so thankful that finally the week before Christmas, life is slowing down a bit. We have been busy the past six weeks with Thanksgiving (yummy!), classes to maintain my teaching certificate, practices and performances of Christmas concerts and dramas, and birthday parties! Thank you to Beppe for the fabulous "Under Construction" cake! I can't believe that Aaron is 3! When I look at him now I notice that this face is getting thinner and has lost pretty much all of his baby face. He's my big boy now.

There is still a sense of loss during this time as someone is definitely missing.