Our Trip to Minnesota!

Last Wednesday morning, Isaac & I flew to Minnesota!  He had been a great traveler when we flew to Florida in March, & he did an equally great job this flight.  I am surprised, though, that he never sleeps on the plane.  He is much too interested in looking out the window and staring at the "fasten seatbelt" lights!  He was so cute on our flight home that the stewardess asked if she could walk with him in the aisles...before I knew it, he had visited the kitchen, first class, and most of coach.  The stewardess was showing him off and telling everyone what his name was! 

The reason for our trip was two-fold.  I really wanted my Grandma Dolores to meet and spend time with Isaac.  She has prayed for us to have a baby for so long, and I knew she couldn't wait to get her hands on this little guy!  Even though I send her pictures of Isaac all the time, there's nothing like meeting him in person.  Of course, I took a ton of pictures of Isaac with his Great-Grandma 'Lor--here are a few of my favorites!

It meant so much to me to see my grandma cuddle and sing with Isaac.  The song she sang to him the most was "Pony Boy"--she even sang it for him in Swedish a few times! 

We spent most of our time in Minnesota with Grandma 'Lor.  We ate at LeeAnn Chin (one of my favorites that I miss in Texas), and we also went to the Mall of America one evening. 

Grandma & I also spent a lot of time looking through her photo albums.  If you know my grandma at all, you know that she loves pictures just as much as I do!  I love looking at all her pictures & hear her talk about "the olden days."  Even though I was sad to say good-bye to my grandma, we are excited that we get to visit her again in July for her 90th birthday party!

The other reason for our trip was my 10 year reunion!  Most people are shocked when they hear how small my high school class was--I graduated in a class of 25!  But, when you're in a class that small, everyone gets to know each other really well.  It was so fun to see so many from our class again, and it seemed like we were able to pick right back up where we left off!  On Friday, several of us met at the Como Zoo.  There were quite a few kids, and they had a lot of fun looking at the animals.  Even Isaac was enthralled with the giraffes! 

On Saturday evening, we all had a cookout and bonfire!  It was so fun to catch up with so many dear friends!  It's hard to believe that we graduated from high school 10 years ago...in some ways, it feels just like yesterday; and other times, it feels like a lifetime ago.  I'm so glad I was able to travel up to Minnesota to be a part of the reunion.  Hopefully it won't be 10 more years before I see many of these friends again!

Baby Beethoven

Our friends, the Pattersons, just borrowed us a ton of new toys for Isaac!  One of his favorites is this toy piano.  He occupied himself with this toy piano for quite a long time yesterday!  I, of course, was thrilled!  I'm sure that he was thinking about composing a sonata when I snapped this picture....didn't Beethoven start composing around 7 months? 

Isaac had a big day yesterday!  Not only did he discover this toy piano, but he also sat behind it on his own for nearly 5 minutes without tipping over!  He hasn't been too interested in sitting lately; whenever we try to "practice" sitting, he straightens his legs and tries to stand.  He'd much rather stand and jump than sit!

Isaac also starting "rocking" back and forth on all fours yesterday!  Life's about to change pretty soon! 

Isaac: 7 Months

Isaac's new "accomplishments"

--Eating everything he can get his hands on!  His new favorite foods are Puffs and baby MumMums!  Isaac gets so excited when he sees me get the box of MumMums out of the cupboard.  (This might not be a good sign?)

--Rolling over & over & over & over....I think we need to put baby gates up soon!  When he's on his stomach, he's also pushing up and "scooting"...crawling is just around the corner!

Highlights of this month

--Gotcha Day!  On April 26, Isaac's legal name became Isaac David Rinn!  His adoption was finalized at the Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio.  We've always known that Isaac is ours, but we're glad that the State of Texas now recognizes him as a Rinn, too!

--Moving to our new house!  I was surprised at how aware Isaac was of his new surroundings.  It seemed to take him several days to "adjust" to our new house.  His eyes still get huge every time we walk up & down the stairs!

--First trip to Minnesota and meeting Great-Grandma Dolores!  Isaac & I had a great visit to Minnesota, and he was a great traveler.  It was so special to me that my grandma got to meet Isaac!  I loved hearing her sing songs to him.

Happy 7 month birthday, Isaac!  We love you!

Mother's Day 2010

My heart couldn't have been more full this Mother's Day...it was my fourth Mother's Day, but the first with a baby in my arms.  For the past few years, Mother's Day has been one of the most difficult days of the year.  My heart ached to have a baby to hold....and Mother's Day was such a poignant reminder of what I didn't have in my arms.  In the past, Dave had always been so thoughtful to plan special getaways on Mother's Day weekend to take my mind off our infertility.  Last Mother's Day weekend, we had just been matched with Isaac's birthmother, so it was an especially sweet Mother's Day.  But, even that was nothing compared to having this precious baby in my arms this Mother's Day!

  On Sunday morning at church, our pastor, Brandon, prayed an incredible Mother's Day prayer.  He prayed for moms whose hearts rejoice on Mother's Day....for moms whose hearts are breaking because their children aren't following the Lord....and for women whose hearts are breaking because they desperately want a baby.  Dave & I were sitting next to our dear friends Mark & Corrie, & I think Corrie & I used half a box of Kleenex just during Brandon's prayer.  It was such a reminder of the pain I had felt so deeply that has now been replaced with such joy....but also a reminder that Mother's Day is still difficult day for many women, regardless of their circumstance.
I couldn't be more grateful for the gift of Isaac...Isaac is proof that God does make beauty from our ashes (Isaiah 61:3)!

Saying "goodbye" to our first home was much more bittersweet than I ever imagined it would be. As we packed box after box and walked through empty rooms, it was impossible not to remember all the memories this home contained. There were so many happy times in this house--holidays, parties, progressive dinners, our gazebo--and also a lot of tears. 

This is definitely our favorite memory from this house:

We are so grateful for all the help we received moving!  Last Friday morning, we had several friends along with my cousin Nate & uncle Kym who helped us load the truck.  We started at 8 in the morning, and we were completely out of our house by 4 that afternoon....it went so quickly! 

After our friends had left with the moving truck and the trailer, Dave & I took a few last minutes and walked through the house one more time.  It was so strange to see it completely empty.  I cried a lot as we walked through each room, and even Dave was sad as we looked at the gazebo one last time. 

But, there wasn't too much time for tears because we had a lot to unload at our new house!  We unpacked enough bedding on Friday night to sleep in our new house, and then we hit the ground running early Saturday morning.  My mom helped me set up the whole kitchen, which was a huge help!  My dad tore out a lot of bushes, weeds, and even a tree, while Dave & Nate did tons of projects throughout the house.  Even though this was a foreclosure, it is in great shape and hasn't needed many "huge" repairs.

To make it feel even more like home, my parents planted a lot of flowers in front of our house on Saturday, too.  Slowly, we are making this house our home, & we are looking forward to many years of wonderful memories here!