Rinn Reflections

Isaac and I had a little adventure to Portrait Pros in Colleyville this morning! The gal (Lindsey) who took Isaac's pictures did an awesome job! She was so patient with him...especially when he did not like his clothes coming off for a few of the shots! She said newborn pictures are her very favorite photos to take, and after looking at these pictures I can understand why! I'm sure that I'm biased, but I think they are just precious! This is my favorite one of all. One of my friends used this idea with her son, and I just loved it. I have been waiting to have a picture showing our baby as a precious gift for a long time!
And, last of all...what's a newborn session without one of these?

Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what He has done for me.

I cried out to him with my mouth;
His praise was on my tongue.

but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.

Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me.
Psalm 66:16-17 & 19-20

Isaac's journey to our family has been filled with some of the deepest valleys and highest mountains we've ever experienced in our lives. Isaac was born on Friday, October 16. We spent the next 48 hours with him in the hospital, and that time with him was absolutely blissful.

Our situation turned tragic on the afternoon of Sunday, October 18 when our birthparents changed their minds & decided to parent the baby. We spent a final hour with Isaac before leaving the hospital with broken hearts. Thankfully, Dave was able to be home with me for the entire next week. Our friends and family overwhelmed us with their love & support and showered us with cards, e-mails, messages, prayers, meals, & even a few game nights in order to try to get us to laugh. We are still in awe of the incredible support we felt during this heartbreaking time.

While we were still in the hospital with Isaac, Dave's parents (Tim & Susie) purchased tickets to come to Texas on October 27 to meet their new grandson. Even when our birthparents changed their minds, Tim & Susie kept their tickets in order to come and support us as we grieved. We planned several fun things to do while they were here...one of which was Canton! This past Saturday (Halloween), my mom, Susie, my friend Jenny, & I left our house at 7 to head to Canton, while Dave & his dad planned on spending the day at Cabela's.

Just a few minutes after we left the house for Canton on Saturday morning, I got a text from our birthmother saying that she had received the card Dave & I had sent her and that she was so glad Dave & I weren't angry at her. (The day after we got home from the hospital, Dave & I wrote a letter to our birthparents saying that we weren't angry at them and that we would always remember both them and their beautiful baby boy.) I didn't respond to the text right away, because I was thinking of what to write back...about an hour later she wrote back asking if I was upset with her. I immediately texted back to say that I wasn't upset and that Dave & I were still thinking of her & the baby all the time. Right when we pulled into Canton, she sent back THE text of a lifetime saying that she had already contacted Shelley, the social worker at our San Antonio agency, because she wanted to meet us in Austin with the baby for good.

Even after reading that, I tried not to get my hopes up. Our birthmother had asked if we wanted the baby the previous week, but she and the birthfather ended up keeping him at that time, too. I didn't want either my mom or Dave's mom to get their hopes up, either...so I showed the text to my friend Jenny, who started sobbing in the backseat of my mom's Tahoe. I glared at her to stop crying, since I didn't want the moms to figure out what was going on. (Our parents have hurt for us so much through this whole process...so it's not that I was trying to keep this from our moms--it's just that I didn't want their hopes crushed again.) I texted her back to say that she needed to talk with the social worker about this, but that we would LOVE LOVE LOVE to still have the baby!

I ducked behind a display of clothes at a booth in Canton to call Dave & let him know what was happening. He & his dad were at Cabela's, but were about to head to lunch. Instead, they left Cabela's and went home, because Dave was starting to feel very hopeful about what could happen....so hopeful that he reinstalled the carseat and packed all of Isaac's bags back into the Tahoe before he & his dad left for lunch.

My mom, Dave's mom, Jenny, & I spent the next few hours trekking through Canton...every few minutes I wandered off by myself to talk with our birthmom, Shelley, and Dave. At 11:00 a.m., the four of us were eating lunch when Shelley called me to say that she & Justin (the director of the San Antonio adoption agency) were leaving to drive to Austin to meet our birthparents and have them sign the paperwork. At this point, there was no way I could keep the news from my mom & Dave's mom any longer...Jenny was about to burst, and I was finally starting to believe that maybe this could be for real this time. I started to say, "Mom, I have to tell you something, and it's a good thing you are sitting down..." Of course, both of our moms instantly knew that it had to be about the baby. My mom laid her head down on the table & started sobbing while both Dave's mom & Jenny began praying aloud. After praying and talking about the whole situation for a few more minutes, we started heading for our car...all of us on our cell phones and all of us in a daze!

We started heading back toward DFW on I20 when our birthmom texted me to say that all of her family & the birthfather's family were at their house to say goodbye to the baby. I called Dave to let him know, but he had also just gotten off the phone with our birthmom. I think it is incredibly special that she called Dave to make sure that he still wanted this baby just as much as I did....and, of course, HE DID! Dave & his dad were eating lunch at this time, but they left the restaurant and started heading down 35 toward Austin. Meanwhile, my dad drove down to I20 to meet my mom, Susie, and me...he joined us in our car while Jenny took my dad's truck back to Keller. For the entire trip, Dave and his dad were about 60 miles ahead of the rest of us.

Shelley told me that she would call or text me & Dave when the birthparents signed the paperwork. Around 2:45, I was starting to get nervous, because I knew that Shelley & Justin should have already met our birthparents.Right around 3:00, Dave called our car to say that BOTH BIRTHPARENTS HAD SIGNED THEIR PAPERWORK AND ISAAC WAS OURS!! To say that our car was full of tears, screaming, and cheering is an understatement!!!

Our birthfather's truck got a flat tire on their way to meet Shelley & Justin, and so they had all met at a Discount Tire in Georgetown so their tire could be fixed while they reviewed and signed the paperwork. Our birthparents left about 15 minutes before Dave & his dad arrived, and Shelley & Justin waited with Isaac for Dave to pick him up! At 4:00 p.m., Dave & his dad met Shelley, Justin, and Isaac in the parking lot.

Since our car wasn't near Georgetown yet, Dave fed Isaac a quick bottle, and then Dave & his dad started heading back north on 35.
My dad pulled off the interstate at exit 275, and since our car got there first, my parents, Dave's mom, and I were all waiting on the access road for Dave, Dave's dad, and Isaac. I don't think Dave had even put the Tahoe in park before I jumped in the backseat to see my Isaac again. All of the grandparents were crowding in through the doors to see their grandson, and my sister was on speakerphone so she could experience the moment as best as she could from Chicago.

We spent the next half hour in the parking lot passing Isaac around. It was unbelievably memorable that all of Isaac's grandparents were there to meet him!
After lots of hugs, kisses, tears, and pictures, we all circled around Isaac to pray over him before we headed back toward DFW.

The night after we got home from the hospital without Isaac, many of our close friends came over to pray over us & our home. Many of those same friends came back this past Saturday night...but this time, it was not for tears of sadness and confusion, but for a great celebration! Our family & friends spent the rest of the night passing Isaac around & retelling the story over and over in absolute awe of what God had done for us!


There have been countless times in our lives when we could very clearly see God at work...but this is a time when we both can say without a doubt that we have witnessed a MIRACLE. After we left the hospital without Isaac, we had continually prayed that God would be Isaac's mighty warrior...fighting FOR him & protecting his life. Even when we were completely convinced that we would never see Isaac again, much less have him in our family, God was doing an incredible work....our ram was on the way!

And, while this is a time of great joy for our family, we also recognize that our joy comes at a huge sacrifice of both our birthparents & their extended families. They cared for and loved this beautiful baby boy for nearly 2 weeks, and we can't imagine the sadness and loss they feel at placing him after that time of bonding. Please keep both our birthparents & their families in your prayers as they work to heal & move on from their loss.

We are beyond humbled for all the people who have been praying for us...many of whom we don't even know. We are blessed by your support & love beyond measure...and we can't wait for all of you to meet our amazing miracle, Isaac David!