Isaac's Gotcha Day!

It's hard to believe that Isaac has already been a part of our family long enough to have his GOTCHA DAY!  But, when we look back at the past year or so, it's amazing how quickly everything happened.  The truth behind that is that God perfectly orchestrated every single one of these events in order to bring Isaac into our family...and we couldn't be more thankful. 

• On April 3, our profile went live on Adoption Network's website!
• On April 4 and April 10, we surprised our parents with the news that we were adopting!  
• On April 8, we received a call from Adoption Network that a birthmother had chosen us (less than a week of being on the website!).  We endured a heart-wrenching 24 hours before we decided that we weren't the right family for this baby.  This was a very difficult decision to make, but we didn't feel any peace about it.  As a sidenote, we found out one month later that this birthmother ended up backing out of her adoption plan and chose to parent her baby.  We realized that God had led us to the right decision and kept us from much heartbreak (though we also didn't know what heartbreak was ahead of us).
• On the evening of Thursday, May 7, we received another call from Adoption Network that we had been chosen by another birthmother.  Ever since the April 8 call, we had been praying that God would give us a very clear sense as to whether or not we would accept a placement.  Before we hung up the phone that night, we both knew that this was the baby for us!  (This also made for a very joyful Mother's Day weekend!)
• On Friday, May 8, we accepted this placement!  Baby Rinn was officially on the way!
• On Tuesday, May 12, we spoke with our birthparents for the first time on a conference call.
• On June 6, we drove down to Waco where we met our birthparents for dinner. 
• On June 10, I went to an ultraound appointment with our birthmother where we found out that Baby Rinn was a boy! 
• On October 16, 2009, Baby Rinn was born!  David & I were able to hold him about an hour after delivery.  The next two days were completely blissful as we cared for Isaac while he was in the NICU. 
• On October 18, 2009, minutes before our birthparents were supposed to sign their relinquishments, they changed their minds.  This was definitely the worst day of our life.  After spending one more hour with Isaac, we drove back home with an empty carseat and broken hearts.  It was absolutely devastating. 
• On October 31, 2009, our birthparents changed their minds about parenting and chose to give Isaac back to us.  It was definitely the greatest day EVER! 
• And today--April 26, 2010--was Isaac's Gotcha Day!  His name has been officially changed from his birth name to Isaac David Rinn.  We couldn't be more thrilled! 

What a special day for our family!  Isaac's adoption was finalized at the Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio.  We headed down to San Antonio yesterday afternoon along with my mom (a.k.a.: Grandma Missy).  :)  Our lawyer was Melissa Hines, and she did a great job of putting us at ease and also making sure everything went smoothly. 

This court starts the day with uncontested cases, since they usually go so quickly.  Since Isaac's finalization was uncontested, ours was the second case that was heard. 

Once we were called to the bench, we were sworn in by Judge Renee McElhaney.  Melissa began asking Dave & me a series of questions regarding Isaac and our placement.  I cried through most of them, especially when she asked,  "Do you understand that, after this date, this adoption is permanent and cannot be changed?" 

After the questioning, Judge McElhaney cooed with Isaac for a few moments before signing his Decree of Adoption!  We took a few pictures before leaving the courtroom, and then we went to the clerk's office with Melissa to have the copies of the Adoption Decree certified. 

We are now able to send in one last round of paperwork in order for Isaac to receive a social security number.  (Up until this point, he has only had a temporary dependent identification number so that we could claim him on our taxes.) 

We are so thankful that Isaac's finalization went smoothly and that his adoption is final.  We have kept up a good relationship with Isaac's birthparents, and we haven't been nervous that anything would happen with Isaac's adoption.  But, it is comforting to know that he is now truly ours on paper and in name, though he has always been ours in our hearts.

Isaac's signed & certified Decree of Adoption

God has brought us through so much through our miscarriage, infertility, and adoption journey...He is faithful! He has taken our pain and turned it into unbelievable joy & happiness! Isaac's "Gotcha Day" is proof that God can and does take our ashes and turn them into beauty.

Thank you, Jesus, for our Isaac!

"Gotcha Day" is Coming Soon!

As if next week could get any busier (we are closing on both houses on Thursday and moving on Friday), we found out that Isaac's finalization is scheduled for Monday at the Bexar County Courthouse in downtown San Antonio!  Of course, we are ecstatic about moving into our new home, but that is nothing compared to having Isaac's adoption finalized! 


The date to finalize an adoption is set once the child is 6 months old & the adoptive parents have met the necessary requirements.  For the past 6 months, we have sent monthly letters & pictures to our birthparents via the San Antonio adoption agency.  We were also required to provide proof to the agency that Isaac was going to the doctor for his regular checkups.  Additionally, our social worker has made 2 visits to our home in the last 6 months to interview us jointly and individually as well as watch us interact with Isaac.  Following his last visit, our social worker sent a report to the adoption agency recommending Isaac's adoption to be finalized.  Needless to say, we are very relieved that all the piles and piles of paperwork are done....but, best of all, it is absolutely wonderful to know that the State of Texas will now officially recognize Isaac as forever ours, too! 

When we leave the courthouse, we will have certified copies of the final decree of adoption!  We will also be able to obtain a new birth certificate for Isaac which will replace his birth name with "Isaac David Rinn" as well as list our names as his parents. 


In adoption circles, the day an adoption is finalized is known as "Gotcha Day!"  We had our own little "Gotcha Day" on October 31 when we brought Isaac home, but we are ecstatic that Isaac's real "Gotcha Day" is coming up so soon! 


(Also....we are so excited that our dear friends Mark & Corrie have the finalization for their daughter Landrie's adoption set for the day after Isaac's!  We have gone through nearly every part of our adoption journeys together...so it just seems fitting that we finalize at the same time, too!)

Isaac: 6 Months

It's amazing how quickly half a year passes!  Isaac had a great sixth month appointment with Dr. Dalton yesterday!  He now weighs 17 lbs. (46th percentile) and is 26 1/2 inches long (54th percentile).  During the appointment, he tried stuffing Dr. Dalton's stethocope into his mouth, and he also managed to find some tongue depressors from Dr. Dalton's lab coat to play with....Dr. Dalton said he's a "curious fellow."  :)

Isaac has changed so much this past month!  He now eats rice cereal, oatmeal, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, blueberries, mangoes, peaches, & applesauce!  He seems to like sweet potatoes and mangoes the best, but he'll eat anything that is presented to him (along with necklaces and hair).  :)  He also started sitting in the highchair for all of his meals this month.   

Isaac's favorite new toys are the Johnny Jump Up and the Exersaucer.  He also loves to roll around & has recently started rolling in his crib at night & during naptime.

Isaac still loves when anybody sings to him, and he sometimes likes to "join in"--it's precious to hear his little voice!  We are so thankful for this baby boy and that God gave him to our family.  We also just received notice that Isaac's adoption will be finalized in Bexar County (San Antonio) in early May!  We can't wait for that day! 

Happy Half Birthday, Isaac!  We love you so much!

Easter 2010

In Your surrender as You laid down Your life

You took up a sinner's cross and Your life rescued mine

I'm found in the arms of love

For Your love it has saved my soul

I'll run to Your arms of love, Your light's going to lead me home

The lyrics above are from "King of All Days," an incredible song that we sang at Keystone Church yesterday morning.  Our Easter service was powerful and reminded us, again, of how amazing God's sacrifice was...He loves us so much that He sent His Son to rescue us from our sin and from ourselves.  Amazing!  (Check out Brandon's awesome Easter message here.) 
 

After church, we headed to my Uncle Kym & Aunt Bernie's home for a delicious Easter dinner with our family.  After dinner, we took Kym and Bernie, my Uncle Jon, & my grandparents to our new house.  The auction company recently gave us the key code so that we can get in anytime.  It was so much fun to walk through it again! 

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Kym & Bernie's playing games and Ping Pong as well as Skyping with Poppa Tim & Grandma Susie.  They were missing Isaac, and we were all remembering that last Easter we flew to Steamboat to surprise them with our news that we were adopting a baby! 

Last week, my friend Jenny & I took our boys to the Grapevine Botanical Garden to take some pictures of the boys in their Easter outfits.  Isaac was far more interested in the tulips than looking at the camera, but I still think these pictures are adorable! 

SOLD...to bidder 425!

Dave & I are so excited about our new home! It has all happened so fast that we're still finding it hard to believe that we actually are moving!  While we were in Florida, we found out that our house sold!  We are closing on our current home on Thursday, April 29 and will be moving on Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1.  (Yes, we will be having a "moving party"--help us move and we promise to provide great food!)

Our new home is in a neighborhood only about 3 miles from our current home.  We first saw this home in January when we were out looking at houses with our realtor.  We absolutely loved it (especially Dave!) because it had absolutely every feature we were looking for in a home, it was in the area that we wanted to still live, and it was on a large corner lot.  It had been on the market since October of 2009.  The bank which owned it had repainted the whole house & replaced all the carpet in December.  We kept our eye on it, but we also kept looking at other homes and waited for ours to sell. 

In February, we noticed a small note on realtor.com saying that this house was going to auction in March.  To be honest, we weren't quite sure what to think.  A (very) small part of us thought that we might have a chance at winning it, but we were sure there would be many bidders and that it would probably go for a higher price than we were willing to pay.

 Now, I have seen footage on the Today show of home foreclosure auctions...there always seems to be hundreds & hundreds of people, TV crews everywhere, an auctioneer talking so fast you can't even understand him...and when somebody wins a bid, they jump in the air and cheer!  So, that was pretty much what we I was expecting.  For some reason, Dave had a more realistic idea of what this auction would be like.

The auction was held on the evening of Tuesday, March 16 at a hotel ballroom in Las Colinas. When we arrived an hour early to pre-register, we thought the auction might have been cancelled since the lobby & hallways seemed nearly empty.  (Where were the TV crews, I wondered?)  Since we got pre-registered so quickly, we had nearly an hour before the auction started, so we went on a walk.  By the time we returned, there were a few more people, but not nearly the hundreds I had envisioned.  My parents met us, and the four of us went into the ballroom where the auction was to be held. The auctioneer explained that only six houses would be up for bid that evening, which was why the crowd was so small. 

This house was the second one up for bid, and I think I held my breath for the entire time (which was probably only 45 seconds!).  There were 2 other people bidding on it, & they were both investors.  The bids were going up by $10,000 increments.  One of the investors bid at the $10,000 increment that was near our stopping point; we weren't willing to go another $10,000 higher.  One of the men who worked for the auction company quickly came over to us & asked Dave if he wanted to go up another $10,000, and Dave said no.  Then he asked if Dave would go up $5,000, and again Dave said no.  He finally said how much Dave was willing to go up, and Dave said only $1000.   Because it was such an odd amount (considering that the bids had all been going up by $10,000), the auctioneer stopped and said (to the auction company worker near us), "Did you make up that number, or did he?"  Everyone in the crowd (except for us!) laughed.  Then the auctioneer said to the investor who had made the bid previous to ours,  "You're not really going to let him take it from you for $1,000, are you?"  When the auctioneer said that, I really thought the investor would go higher, but he didn't...so the auctioneer pounded his fist on the podium and yelled, "Sold to bidder 425!"  My eyes filled with tears and Dave & I stared at each other in disbelief!  We couldn't believe it!  Dave's face was so ashen white that I thought he was going to faint.  The amazing thing is that we won the bid at the EXACT amount--to the dollar--that we had decided upon before the auction.

We knew that the bank had the right to accept, reject, or counter our offer.  We were pretty sure that they would most likely counter it, since we had won it at such a low price....but we didn't think they would counter more than $5,000.  Needless to say, we were shocked when we received an e-mail on Wednesday saying that the bank had contered at $25,000 more than our offer!  Yikes! 

Dave & I talked about what to do, we prayed, our families prayed, Dave & I talked some more, and some more, and some more...Dave was convinced that we should not go up any higher.  I begged, pleaded, cried, and tried my best to convince Dave that, yes, we should go up a little higher...I didn't want to lose this house at all.  Dave explained that he wasn't comfortable going any higher due to the higher utilities & property taxes we would have at this house, & I finally agreed that he was right.  He called the auction company back to explain that we wouldn't budge on our offer. 

 

And...I am so glad he refused to go higher, because on Friday we got a call that the bank accepted our initial offer!  I don't think I've ever heard Dave yell so loud!  Since then, we have driven by, walked around, and peeked in the windows of our new home at least half a dozen times.  We couldn't be more excited about this new house!  More than anything, though, we are once again in AWE of God's provision for our family!  This is definitely a story that is going in our miracle book!   

Our Trip to Florida!

We had a great week with my (Bethany) family in Fort Myers Beach on our first Bergstrom family vacation…well, at least the first one since both Dave & Isaac have joined our family! We left early in the morning on Saturday, March 7.  Isaac did great on his first airplane ride!  He was fascinated with looking out the window.

We stayed at Gull Wing, and our condo had a gorgeous view of the ocean. We enjoyed a lot of time walking up and down the beach, and one evening we even saw dolphins swimming near the shore!

We had so much watching Isaac's reactions to the beach & the water!  This was his first experience in the water (besides his baths!), and he couldn't have been more adorable!  We dipped Isaac's toes in the ocean and took him swimming several times in the pool. Isaac didn’t seem to mind being in the water at all and even smiled a few times, which made us so happy since we hope that he loves the water as much as we do!

We usually cooked dinner in the condo and all ate together. It was so fun to sit around the table laughing together and telling stories. And, in typical Bergstrom tradition, we spent a lot of time playing Scrabble and Ticket to Ride.  One morning, Dave & I rented a tandem bike and rode over 20 miles to Bonita Springs, which is south of Fort Myers. It was a lot of fun to see all the different types of houses & condos along the Gulf. 

Though the locals kept saying that this was the coldest winter in 30 years, it didn't keep us from enjoying sun!  We're so grateful that we all got to enjoy such a wonderful week together! 

Isaac: 5 Months

Highlights of this month:

--Isaac's first airplane ride, first trip to the beach, & first family vacation....we had a great time with my family in Florida last week! 

Isaac's New Accomplishments:

--Eating rice cereal!  He is doing so much better at eating from a spoon.  Last night, we started sweet potatoes...and it seems like he's going to love them as much as his mom does!  ;) 

--Rolling over!  I think I scared poor Isaac the first time he rolled over because I was so excited!  He has mostly rolled from his back to his stomach, but one time in Florida he surprised us and rolled from his stomach to his back!

--Grasping and passing objects---Isaac is learning to use his hands in order to grasp and hold onto different objects.  He has also started transferring an object from one hand to the other!  (He has also started yanking my necklaces, too!)

Happy 5 Months, Isaac!  We love you so, so much!!