What's in a Name, Part II

In some of our early marriage talks about baby names, both Dave & I discovered that we loved the name Isaac. Of course, when we picked the name Isaac for our firstborn son, we had no idea of the journey that was ahead of us as we sought to grow our family. Once we decided to adopt, were matched with our birthmom, and found out that Baby Rinn was a boy, the name Isaac took on an even greater meaning to us.

In the Old Testament, Abraham and Sarah named their long-awaited son "Isaac" because it means "he laughs" or "he will laugh." Sarah laughed at God when she heard that God had promised she and Abraham a son in their old age. After her Isaac's birth, she said

"God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." (Genesis 21:6)

Throughout our struggle with infertility, I was hurting so badly, and I wasn't seeing God's goodness through our pain. We yearned for the sound of a child's laughter in our family...so, the main reason that we love the name Isaac is that we knew this sweet boy would bring that long-awaited laughter!

Obviously, we had no idea of the story that our little Isaac was going to have. As we left the hospital without our Isaac on Sunday, October 18, we sat in the parking lot & called our parents, who were all weeping right along with us. During those terrible hours of waiting to find out what was going to happen that afternoon, God had reminded Dave of the story of Abraham & Isaac. As Abraham was walking up the mountain to sacrifice, Isaac asked, "Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham replied, "God Himself will provide." Another of our dear friends put it this way: That even while Abraham and Isaac were walking up one side of the mountain, God's provision (the ram) was walking up the other side. Though Abraham could not see the ram, he had faith that God would provide for him. Even in the pain of coming home without Isaac, we believed that God Himself would provide for us...and little did we know how incredible His provision would be!

Since I love names so much, I am always asking my grandparents about the history of their extended family members' names. While talking with my Grandma Joan awhile ago, she shared that her grandfather was named Isaac...immediately my ears perked up and I started taking notes. Isaac Theodore Edman was my Grandma Joan's paternal grandfather, which makes him my great-great-grandfather. Isaac Edman immigrated to America from Sweden. While we had already chosen the name Isaac for our firstborn son, we think it's extra special that his name has a link to our family's heritage.

We chose "David" as Isaac's middle name based on Rinn family tradition. The firstborn son in each Rinn family has his father's name as his middle name.

Isaac's great-great-grandpa--Roy Nelson Rinn
Isaac's great-grandpa--Benjamin Roy Rinn
Isaac's grandpa--Timothy Benjamin Rinn,
Isaac's dad--David Timothy Rinn

As far as we could tell in our research on the Rinn family geneology, Great-great-grandpa Roy seems to be the first Rinn who gave his firstborn son his first name as a middle name. But still, that's a tradition that's lasted 4 generations so far, and so it's noe one that we wanted to break!

So...needless to say, we had our own ideas on why we picked the name Isaac, but God had a far greater plan for this sweet baby boy's name! We are still in awe that God brought our Isaac home to us!

Girls' Weekend in Chicago

Last Friday morning, my mom & I flew to Chicago to visit my sister. We had planned a "Girls' Weekend" as soon as Emily decided to move there....after all, Chicago's the perfect location for a Girls' Weekend--who can pass up the Magnificent Mile?

It was great to see the cute apartment where Emily is living with 2 other friends. I still can't believe that my little sister is old enough to live on her own! But, it was so fun to see what her life in Chicago is like! She's very close to the train & bus routes, so we spent most of the weekend using public transportation to get around. Let's just say that there were some VERY funny moments with my mom on the train...she wasn't exactly "comfortable" riding the train. In fact, she even told a guy whom she was sitting next to (and who was using quite "colorful" language) "You're scaring me!"--HA!

Our activities mostly consisted of lots of shopping, playing Scrabble, trying out some great restaurants, and staying up late every night talking! Of course, we had to take a picture by this dala in Andersonville, a neighborhood of Chicago that was originally a Swedish settlement. We also ate at a cute Swedish restaurant, Tre Kronor, on Sunday afternoon. And, what would a trip to Chicago be without Chicago-style pizza from Giordanos?












Our weekend was such a blast that we decided to make it an annual tradition. Even though I wish Em were closer, I'm excited that she'll be home soon to see her new nephew!

Trip to Minnesota--June '09

I've been meaning to blog about my trip to Minnesota ever since I got home 2 weeks ago...but somehow life has just been too busy! I did enjoy a wonderful time in Minnesota, though!

I spent the majority of my time with my Grandma Dolores. The two of us had a fun time at the General Store in Minnetonka, where we had lunch and shopped around. Grandma & I also played many games of Scrabble & UpWords together. I think the funniest moment of all was when my grandma played "sexy." She couldn't figure out why my mom & I were laughing so hard! When we explained that it's funny for an 89 year-old to play that word, she said, "I always play 'sex' or 'sexy' whenever I get the 'x.' " Hilarious!! Also...it's amazing how GOOD she is at these games! I was only able to beat her one time during my whole trip! In addition to playing Scrabble & UpWords, Grandma & I also visited my grandpa's grave & looked at a LOT of picture albums. My favorite thing to do with Grandma is to hear about "the olden days." I love the stories that she shares with me!




My cousin Anna & I also spent a fun day together! We "celebrated" our Swedish heritage at the American Swedish Institute in downtown Minneapolis. I was 8 years old the last time I visited this museum, so it was a lot of fun to go there again! We toured around the museum and saw the life-size picture of our great-grandpa which is displayed on the third floor. We also took pictures on the "life-size" Dala horse...where else, but in Minnesota, could you ride one of these?

My sister is working at Covenant Pines, the Bible camp that we both attended when we were growing up and the camp where I also worked for 2 summers. It was such a blast to be back at camp and remember all the fun memories that I made there! Emily is the Activities Director on staff, so I got a first-hand view of what is involved with being the AD...which mostly involved screaming directions into a megaphone, wearing crazy costumes, and managing groups of chaotic campers! Seriously though, she is doing an awesome job, and I am so glad that she's able to be at camp this summer. When I wasn't assisting her in her AD duties, I spent most of my time reading by the edge of the lake...while wearing a sweatshirt! The sunsets were absolutely gorgeous, and it felt SO good to feel the cool Minnesota breeze--something we definitely don't have in Texas right now where our heat index is 110!!


Another big event that I was able to attend in Minnesota was the wedding of my high school friend, Molly! Molly & I played basketball together, and she's definitely one of the craziest people I've ever known. My sweet friend Audra & I were able to go to Molly's wedding together. It was so fun to catch up with friends & teachers from high school that I don't get to see very often!







Lastly...what would a trip to Minnesota be without Caribou Coffee? (or, more specifically...six trips to Caribou?) ;) Besides friends, family, all things Swedish, & the changing of seasons, I think I miss Mint Conditions more than anything from Minnesota! If you've never tried one, you are missing out! So...in a nutshell, this sums up my wonderful week back in my "homeland." I'm so excited that I'll be able to introduce our sweet little boy to all my Minnesota friends & family the next time I'm up there!