Finishing Touches

Dave was able to finish the crib this past weekend, so we finally got to set it up in the nursery last night! Once it was in the nursery, we ended up moving it to three different spots in the room so I could see how it looked in each spot. But, once we--really I should say once I--made up my mind, we were so happy with the result! I absolutely love how the crib turned out, and I think it's so special that our baby will have a gorgeous crib to sleep in that was handmade by his dad. This will surely be a treasure in our family for many years! We still need to install the ceiling fan and shades and put the wall hangings up. We're also waiting for Grandma Missy to come home from Minnesota to sew the valance for the window....but, at least all the furniture is in and the clothes are all washed. And, after today, all of our hospital bags will be packed!



We also have the cradle for Baby Rinn's first few weeks set up in our bedroom. Dave's parents shipped it to us last week, and all the parts were spread across our kitchen as Dave set it up.




Dave's grandpa built this cradle for Dave and his brothers to sleep in when they were infants, and Baby Rinn's cousin, Griffin, also slept in it this past summer when he was first born. We can't wait to see how many Rinn babies will sleep in this as the years go by!

A Shower of Love

I am absolutely oozing with joy over the incredible shower I received on Saturday from my sweet friends! Amber, Corrie, Alicia, Jenny, Kimi, and Holly spent so much time planning such a special celebration to welcome Baby Rinn!

The cake was my absolute favorite kind (marble with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting) from Sweet Memories in Keller....so delicious! (There are still a few more pieces in our fridge that I am rationing out to enjoy as long as possible!) There was also delicious egg bake, fruit, punch, and these adorable cookies that Corrie made! All of the cookies had different words on them (such as baby, cute, sweet, mom) and were so cute! I think Kimi knew that I had been eyeing the wreaths that her boys have on their bedroom doors, so she ordered this wreath for Baby Rinn's hospital room & bedroom door! I love it! Since the girls know how much I love games, they planned some really fun ones! One was guess the celebrity adoptions....for example, did you know that Faith Hill, Bill Clinton, & John Lennon were adopted? And, did you know that Walt Disney, Julie Andrews, and Nancy Reagan were adoptive parents? We also played baby bingo while I opened all my gifts!

I was absolutely overwhelmed by all the amazing gifts that we received...it seemed as if the pile of gifts never got any smaller no matter how many I opened. Each person's invitation said a different "time" of the day for which to purchase a gift....bath time, bed time, reading time, etc. (There was even one that said mom time!) Because of this, we received a huge variety of presents...and it really seems that now we have everything we need to bring Baby Rinn home! We are truly grateful for the overflow of generous gifts we received.


Love all these sweet friends (and, of course, the ones who also aren't in the pictures)...they have prayed us through a lot of tough times, and it's so wonderful to be able to celebrate with them now!













And...Grandpa Kal & Daddy came back at the very end of the shower--just in time to get some cake and load a LOT of presents!

Rinn Summer Fun

Wow! It's hard to believe that it's already the middle of August. In some ways, this summer has gone so quickly...but at other times, it seems like we are barely inching our way to October. We have had a lot of fun this summer, though. Here's a quick photo summary of what we've been up to!

We have spent a lot of weekends enjoying Mom & Dad's pool with family & friends.

My cousin Anna was here for a month from Minnesota! We had such a blast with her! In addition to lots of fun in the pool, she also helped my mom & me paint Baby Boy's nursery! After a lot of deliberation on color, we finally decided on "Dancing Green." There were a few moments of sheer panic when we thought it might end up being neon green; but, once it dried, we loved it!



We also went to our first Fort Worth Cat's game with Mom, Dad, Uncle Jon, and Anna. Though we had a lot of fun at the game, the best part of the night was the ice cream sundaes at Braum's after the game!


We spent an afternoon mini-golfing with Anna. Though it might not have been the nicest course we've ever seen (let's just say that their only "landscaping" consisted of overgrown weeds), we still had a lot of fun. The following day, the three of us, along with my cousin (and Anna's brother) Nate, went to Hurricane Harbor for most of the day! We had taken Anna there last year, but this was Nate's first experience, and we all had a blast! We definitely agreed that our favorite ride was the Tornado!




And, Emmy came home for a weeekend from camp! We spent most of the weekend doing what my family does best: eating Swedish pancakes, swimming, and going to Pappasitos. Hope you're all enjoying your summer days as much as we are!

Minnesota Baby Shower

While I was in Minnesota, my sweet friend Audra, along with the help of our friend Nicole & my mom, threw me a wonderful baby shower! It was such a sweet time of celebrating Baby Boy Rinn with so many sweet family members & friends! Audra decorated my grandma's house in a construction theme! We have picked out the cutest construction bedding for his nursery...and since Dave is his dad, this was definitely appropriate! My grandma (who is "slightly" hard of hearing) didn't understand why there was "caution" tape everywhere; she thought that my mom & Audra were trying to warn the guests to watch their step when they entered her home! Once she saw the dump trucks, chainsaws, and other little trucks around, though, she figured it out!


If you know me at all, you know that I love games, so I was especially excited for the fun games Audra had planned! We started off with "Nursery Rhyme Jeopardy!" For example--

Q:Little Miss Muffet, a bit of an arachnophobiac, was eating these 2 things before being frightened away.
A: What are curds & whey?

Needless to say, it was a lot of fun...but what made it even more fun is that our friend Nicole (who lives in DC & is due any day with her baby girl!) video taped herself asking all the questions for Jeopardy. Hearing her voice & seeing her on the computer screen almost made it feel like she was there! ;)
We also played a game where everyone had 5 minutes to write a little poem or story about the baby using all different kinds of candy names! Then, I read them aloud & picked a winner, which ended up being Emily's!

When what's in the diaper looks kinda chunky,
And the smell in the air is a little bit funky
Don't get upset or give him a whopper
Just give him a kiss with a whole lot of slobber!

I was absolutely overwhelmed by all the incredible gifts that we received! Baby Boy got his first Covenant Pines t-shirt from Emily...
...and my great-aunt Eunice handmade this beautiful quilt for him! Also, my grandma told Eunice that we are going to use cloth diapers, so Eunice found some of the cloth diapers that she used on her children nearly 45 years ago in her attic! She washed them and gave them to me at the shower! They are just as fresh, soft, & white as the diapers that I saw at the diaper store in Dallas!

My grandma & her sisters are all so talented at making gifts...from my grandma, Baby Boy received a gorgeous blue & white sweater that she crocheted! There was also a matching cap, booties, and afghan. I already can't wait to have his pictures done in this sweater!















My grandma had also put this precious adoption poem in my card! I think it is one of the most sweetest poems/quotes that I have ever heard about adopting, and it's even more special to me since it was given to me by my grandma:

Not flesh of my flesh,
Not bone of my bone
But still miraculously my own
Never forget for a single minute
You didn't grow under my heart
But in it.

Of course, we received so many other wonderful gifts, too! I had so much fun showing them all to Dave when I got home yesterday, and now I really need to start organizing the nursery (which is overflowing!). My mom & I both brought an extra suitcase to Minnesota, and thought it was a tight fit, we managed to get everything home on the plane!

At the end of the shower, Audra led everyone in a prayer time for Baby Rinn. It was absolutely so special and a memory I will cherish! There were so many sweet family & friends at this shower--special people in my life who have supported, loved, and prayed for Dave & me for such a long time!

Baby Shower at Friendship

On Wednesday, May 27, the ladies at my school threw me a wonderful baby shower! Many of my friends at school have seen me through the highs & lows of our journey, so this was a special time of celebration as we wait for Baby Rinn!

The cake was so cute...and once the ladies started cutting & serving it, they discovered that the top half was white, while the bottom (diaper) part was chocolate! :) (Apparently the bakery didn't let them know it'd be made this way when it was ordered.)

It was also special for my mom to come to my shower! Since we still don't know if Baby Rinn is a boy or girl, she brought both boy & girl presents. The boy gift was all cowboy-themed, while the girl gift was all ballerina items....SO SO cute!

I was overwhelmed by all the wonderful presents that we received! We got a Bumbo, musical activity mat, many packs of Onesies, socks, hats, burp cloths, & a lot of the items we'll need for feeding. Plus, we got several Target gift cards that I'm sure we'll use for formula.

It was so much fun to take all the gifts home & show them to Dave! Our nursery is filling up very quickly! I am so thankful for everyone who made this shower so special...these are such precious memories!