A Quick Trip for Grandpa's Funeral

Dave's Grandpa Bailey passed away on Friday, January 24, and we flew to Chicago two days later.  

 I snapped this picture of Isaac and Emma in the backseat on the way to the airport--I love how they're holding hands and Emma is just grinning!!

Since Emma turned two a few weeks after our trip, this was her last flight as a free lap child.  :)  Dave and I laughed so hard when she crawled into this at the airport! 

I also think it's so funny how Isaac studies the flight brochures and diagrams on the airplane.  It must be very entertaining to him, because he "read" this for nearly an hour each flight.  

While traveling for a funeral is never fun, it was a blessing that we were able to see so many family members!  First, we spent the night at Emily and Caleb's apartment in Downer's Grove.  It was so fun to get a glimpse into their life!  Even though we got to their apartment quite late, we loved spending time with them.  

Isaac and Emma got lots of great reading and snuggling time with Auntie Em and Uncle Caleb.  And, Isaac even got to have a "camp-out" on the living room floor with Em and Caleb for the night.  

We had a little extra time the next morning, so we had lunch at Two Toots Cafe!  I've wanted to take Isaac to this restaurant ever since I first saw my Chicago-land friend Meghan post pictures of it!  Because of the sub-zero temps, Two Toots was pretty quiet--we pretty much had the whole restaurant to ourselves!

playing with model engines and riding the horse while waiting for the train to deliver our lunch

Can you see our baskets of food on the train cars?  There is a model train track that runs through the whole restaurant and "delivers" your meal!

I'll mark this down as one of my favorite times with my family!  I think I was as excited as Isaac!  :)

Right after Two Toots, we headed east to Iowa.  And, our kids fell right asleep!

 On Monday evening, we had a huge family dinner at Matt and Kelly's home.  Matt is Dave's cousin, and he and his wife have four boys.  Between Matt's boys, Isaac, and Griffin, there was a lot of excitement!  :)  I don't have any pictures from that night, but it was a lot of fun to be with so many family members that we rarely get to see.  

Isaac was so excited to spend time with his cousin Griffin!  We all stayed at the same hotel, and the kids had a blast swimming together.  

Grandpa Bailey's funeral service was amazing.  His pastor honored his life so well by pointing everything back to Jesus, which is exactly what Grandpa Bailey would have wanted.  Dave's Uncle Randy made an incredibly moving video tribute to Dave's grandpa that was shown in the service.   It was set to "I'd Rather Have Jesus" (click here for the YouTube link to the video--and grab some Kleenex).  

At the end of the service, a veteran gave a beautiful speech about Grandpa Bailey's military service.  He then honored Grandma Bailey by kneeling in front of her and passing a folded American flag to her.  After that, we heard Taps.  I don't think anyone will forget that moment. 

Rinn Family at Grandpa Bailey's funeral

So sweet!  Emma and her cousin, Sawyer, after the funeral

Following the funeral, we spent the rest of the day with Grandma Bailey, Uncle Randy, and Dave's parents at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Our kids napped for nearly three hours, so Dave and I were have such a special time talking with everyone, especially Grandma Bailey.  She is an amazing woman!  

Grandpa Bailey was a glider pilot in World War II.  He gave Dave this shirt from the glider pilot museum, Silent Wings, in Lubbock.  

We drove back to Chicago early the next morning.  We also got a peek into Jon, Kristy, Griffin, and Sawyer's life in Geneva by spending a few hours with them at their beautiful home.  Isaac wanted to stay and play toys with Griffin forever.  :)

Before flying home to Texas, we were able to see one more special person--Isaac's Grandma Debbie!  Grandma Debbie loved & cared for Isaac before he became our son forever, and she's never stopped loving and caring for him. Dave and I feel like we've always "known" her, but it was our joy to finally meet Debbie in person.  And, it was extra special to see her love on Isaac again after four years.